The Mother City, one of the world's great coastal drives through lagoons and forest, and a Big Five park with no malaria at the end, South Africa's gentler classic, all coast and green.
Into Cape Town between Table Mountain and the sea. After the flight we keep it easy, a first glass of Cape white on the V&A Waterfront, the mountain pink at sunset, an early night.
The cable car up Table Mountain, the colourful Bo Kaap, and the spectacular Cape Peninsula, the Chapman's Peak drive, the penguins at Boulders Beach, the wild Cape of Good Hope where the oceans meet. A Camps Bay sunset.
An afternoon in the nearby Winelands, Stellenbosch or Constantia, a Cape Dutch estate and a long vineyard lunch, or Robben Island and the city's museums. The Mother City at its considerable best. (overnight Cape Town)
East along one of the world's great coastal drives. The whale town of Hermanus (June to November), the fynbos and the cliffs, the long beaches, into the lakes, lagoons and indigenous forest around Knysna, the heart of the Garden Route.
The Knysna lagoon and its sandstone heads, the Tsitsikamma forest and the suspension bridge over the Storms River, the beaches of Plettenberg Bay, and an elephant or primate sanctuary. Oysters, a coastal walk, a green and blue day.
Over the pass to the Cango Caves and the ostrich farms of Oudtshoorn, the Robberg peninsula walk among the seals, or a marine safari for whales and dolphins. The lush, lovely coast at its own gentle pace. (overnight Garden Route)
Inland to the Addo Elephant National Park, a malaria free Big Five reserve with hundreds of elephants. An afternoon game drive in an open 4x4, the herds at the waterhole, lion and buffalo, the rare black rhino, and sundowners in the bush.
Dawn and dusk game drives across the reserve, the elephants and the cats, a guided bush walk and the night sky; the perfect, easy safari finish to a coastal trip. A last bush dinner under the stars. (overnight Addo)
A last bush breakfast before the short drive to Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) for your flight. The Cape and the Garden Route are South Africa at its most relaxed and beautiful, city, coast, forest and a Big Five finale, all without a malaria pill.
Three ways to do the same route: Comfort, Premium or Luxe. Breakfasts in. Mix tiers city by city if you like, it is your trip.
Priced to your dates, your hotel tier and how the two of you like to travel. Ask, the first answer usually lands within minutes.
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