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Holiday: Cape Town, South Africa + Escorted Garden Route Tour + Safari (Big 5)

Cape Town + Garden Route Tour + Safari

12 NIGHTS FROM:

$2,900

Per person sharing

Scheduled flights quoted separately

SYA12C

• Holiday Cape Town, South Africa

• Table Mountain

• Escorted Garden Route Tour

• Prince Albert

• Ostrich Farm, Oudtshoorn

• Knysna Lagoon

• Monkeyland

• Tsitsikamma Forest

• Port Elizabeth

• Big 5 Safari

This wonderful holiday to Cape Town in South Africa combines with a fully escorted Garden Route tour, including a visit to Mossel Bay & Oudtshoorn, before continuing along the scenic coastal road to Knysna, Tsitsikamma & Port Elizabeth. After your tour enjoy a thrilling East Cape safari to see the Big 5 and more. Regular departures. Group size 2-18. No children < 8.

Detailed itinerary ▶

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Day 1

You will be met at Cape Town Airport and transferred to your hotel in this beautiful city, within sight of Table Mountain.

Check in and relax in your magnificent surroundings.

Day 2

Today is free for independent sightseeing in Cape Town.

To orientate yourself, use your pre-paid pass for the Red Route Hop-Off Bus, which stops at all Cape Town’s key sights and attractions, including the Table Mountain cable car (a Fast Track ticket is included). Here you can ascend and enjoy one of the world's most famous views.

Continue to trendy Camps Bay beach and the many attractions of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

Note: Don't let the colour of the bus confuse you. All buses are red, but they run two different routes - the Red City Route and the Blue Kirstenbosch Route.

Table Mountain cable car is usually closed for annual maintenance from late July to early August.

Day 3

Today you will be collected from your hotel for a full day shared tour to the beautiful Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve.

We drive past the sparkling beaches of Camps Bay, Clifton and Llandudno to Hout Bay, the heart of the local crayfish industry.

We then cotinue via spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive to Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve to enjoy the rugged beauty of this spectacular coastline, with its diverse fauna and flora. Established in 1936 to preserve the indigenous flora of the Cape Peninsula, this 7,750 hectare reserve showcases the diversity in the Cape Floral Kingdom, including the protea, erica and restio families. The fauna of the reserve include eland, Burchell’s zebra, bontebok, Chacma baboon and many smaller mammals and reptiles, as well as over 250 bird species. You may even see dolphins or whales in season (July to November).

On the return journey we travel through naval Simonstown, where there is the option of visiting the penguin colony at Boulders Beach (pay entrance fee locally).

Note: Lunch is for your own account today. Group size is minimum 2 / maximum 15.

Day 4

At leisure to explore more of the beautiful city of Cape Town.

You can visit the Mandela Legacy Exhibition at the City Hall, explore the vibrant Victoria & Alfred Waterfront or take the ferry to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned (advance booking essential in season).

From July to November you can take an optional whale watching trip to Hermanus.

Alternatively you can take the Hop Off bus (Blue Route) to visit world famous Kirstenbosch Gardens or simply relax on golden Camps Bay Beach.

Day 5

This morning you will be collected from your Cape Town hotel for your small group tour along the beautiful Garden Route.

We travel across Sir Lowrys Pass with magnificent views of Grabouw and Elgin, a lush landscape surrounded by majestic mountains. En-route we stop at a farm stall packed with locally produced products. We then continues to Cape Agulhas at the southernmost tip of Africa, with its iconic lighthouse, marking the point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet.

Our journey continues via historic Swellendan and the Tradouw Pass to the small town of Barrydale and the famous Route 62. We continue to Oudtshoorn, the centre of the world's ostrich farming industry.

Tonight, enjoy an included dinner at an Ostrich Farm, dining on local specialities.

Note: On escorted group tours please note that for operational reasons it is sometimes necessary to substitute one hotel with another of a similar quality.

Day 6

We start today with a visit to the world famous Cango Caves. This vast series of underground halls and caverns was formed over 20 million years ago in the foothills of the Swartberg Mountains. The caves, which extend for over 3 miles, contain spectacular stalagmites and stalactites and offer relatively easy access.

Afterwards enjoy a wine tasting at a local wine estate in the scenic Schoemanshoek Valley.

We then continue to an Ostrich Farm to see these huge flightless birds with magnificent plumage in their natural surroundings.

Day 7

Today we drive over the magnificent Outeniqua Pass to the oyster capital of Knysna in the heart of the scenic Garden Route.

We travel through George and past the glorious beaches of Wilderness and lakes of Sedgefield to Knysna. Along the way we visit the Dalene Matthee Big Tree Memorial in the Knysna Forest. This enormous yellowwood tree is over 880 years old and was named after Matthee, a well-known author who wrote four books about this magnificent forest which is the stamping ground of the elusive Knysna elephants. Discover the stories of the woodcutters who worked the forests, the elephants that were hunted to extinction and the discovery of gold.

After an included lunch en route, we continue to Knysna and check into our hotel in this area of outstanding natural beauty. Dinner is for your own account tonight.

Note: In season we recommend booking Knysna restaurants online in advance of your visit, to avoid disappointment.

Day 8

This morning we visit Monkeyland where you will be able to see primates up-close in their natural surroundings. This sanctuary is known for its efforts to rehabilitate previously caged primates and a portion of the entry fee goes towards wildlife preservation and re-introducing them into the wild. Lunch is for your own account.

Afterwards we stop at the picturesque Eastern Head for more spectacular views over the Knysna Lagoon, before continuing to Brenton On Sea, a nature lover’s paradise with its endless unspoilt beach.

We then return to our hotel, with the afternoon free to explore more of Knysna independently. Dinner is for your own account tonight.

Day 9

Today we leave Knysna and travel 1.5-hours along the scenic Garden Route to Tsitsikamma.

We pass through the 'millionaires playground' of Plettenberg Bay and visit the Birds of Eden sanctuary, the largest free flight bird aviary in the world. Located within a two-hectare dome that spans a gorge of indigenous forest, you can see beautiful local birds in their natural habitat.

We also stop at the Bloukrans Bridge, a high single span arch bridge that offers the highest bungy jump in the world, and continue through the indigenous Tsitsikamma Forest to the spectacularly beautiful Storms River Mouth.

Afterwards we check in to our hotel in Tsitsikamma. Dinner is for your own account.

Day 10

Today we travel 2-hours from the Tsitsikamma Forest to Port Elizabeth.

On arrival in Port Elizabeth enjoy a short orientation of the city. We visit the Donkin Reserve with its stone pyramid, lighthouse and views over the harbour; the Horse Memorial erected in memory of the horses that died during the South African (Anglo Boer) War, and Fort Frederick - built to prevent a French invasion of the Cape Colony during the Napoleonic Wars.

In the early afternoon you will be dropped off at your hotel in this warm and friendly holiday city, with its magnificent beaches.

Day 11

Today transfer 2-hours from Port Elizabeth to your malaria-free private game reserve near Addo in the beautiful Eastern Cape.

After checking in to your lodge enjoy an afternoon game drive, where game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately. Hopefully see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe - as well as several of the Big Five - before dining under the stars in your warm African surroundings!

Day 12

Rise at dawn to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day and enjoy a thrilling shared open-top game viewing safari with your lodge ranger in your Private Game Reserve which is home to all the Big Five - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino. Hope to see many interesting species before returning to your lodge for breakfast.

The rest of the morning is free to relax by the lodge swimming pool, before setting out again in the late afternoon for another game drive. Hope to see giraffe, hippo, kudu, antelope, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons and many other interesting animals. With hundreds of different bird species, outstanding bird watching is also guaranteed!

After a beautiful African sunset, enjoy the balmy evening and pristine stars of the Milky Way as you have never seen them before – as well as the spectacular Southern Cross.

Note: If travelling with a child < 6 please request a family lodge that allows young children on open top game drives.

Day 13

Enjoy some final early morning game viewing, before your 2-hour transfer to Port Elizabeth Airport for your flight home.

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