This 12-day itinerary showcases all the Garden Route highlights. Your holiday will start with 3 nights in the beautiful ‘Mother City’. You’ll be staying in a prime location, with a variety of popular local restaurants within walking distance, and just a 10-minute drive from the city centre. Cape Town city centre is home to a wide variety of great restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries and the atmosphere is always buzzing. Those looking for a bit of a culture will also be happy to discover the wonderful museums and art galleries dotted around the city. A visit to Cape Town is not complete without a drive along the coastline towards Hout Bay, where you can stop off for lunch, or continue a little further and swim with the local penguins in Simon’s Town. We also recommend taking a trip up Table Mountain and seeing the city from a different perspective.
The next part of your garden Route highlights trip will take you to Swellendam, South Africa’s third oldest town, and the official start of the Garden Route. You’ll be spending one night in a guest house in the historical part of the town, within walking distance of many popular restaurants. After breakfast you’ll set off for the heart of the Garden Route.
You’ll spend 2 nights in Plettenberg Bay, a picturesque seaside town with loads of activities and ways to explore the area. From beach and forest walks, to seaside hikes or visiting the nearby Birds of Eden, to simply relaxing on the sandy beaches and swimming in the warm waters. Plettenberg Bay really is one of the ultimate Garden Route highlights.
Day 7 takes you into the wilder regions of the Eastern Cape, where you’ll be spending 2 nights at the Amakhala Game Reserve. Here you’ll get to enjoy morning and afternoon-evening game drives, spending your days relaxing around the lodge and taking in the peaceful sights and sounds around you. Following your visit to Amakhala, you’ll take the road inland towards Oudtshoorn, fondly named the ‘feather capital’ due to its large ostrich populations, where you’ll spend a night on a working ostrich farm before heading back to the Cape Winelands.
You’ll spend the last 2 nights of your Garden Route highlights holiday in Stellenbosch. We recommend spending at least 1 day touring the nearby wine farms and going for dinner at one of the many popular local restaurants in this vibrant town.
Arrival in Cape Town International, collect your hire car, driving the easy 30 minutes to Cape Town where you will be spending the next three nights. There is loads to do and we highly recommend spendine a day exploring the Cape Peninsula – including Cape Point and the Boulders Beach penguins. Spend another day going up Table Mountain and exploring the V&A Waterfront which offers some great restaurants. Accommodation is at Winchester Boutique Hotel, which is well positioned to get easy access to all the places and breakfast is included.
You have an easy two hour drive to Swellendam. During the whale season, we always recommend to go via Hermanus and then head up onto Swellendam. This town is filled with history and interesting museums. There are also lots of local artists, potters and craftsmen, some who work from home with a studio you can visit.
You will be staying in the historical part of the town at Schoone Oordt Country House inclusive of breakfast.
Travelling further along the Garden Route to Plettenberg Bay where you will be spending the next two nights at Milkwood Manor on Sea, inclusive of breakfast. There is loads to do from walks in the forest or a long beach stroll. Visit the nearby Birds of Eden where you can easily waste away a morning. Otherwise do some shopping or laze on the beach.
The holiday gets wilder as you drive to the Eastern Cape where the next two nights will be at Amakhala Game Reserve. We recommed arriving in time for lunch, to settle in and then you can enjoy the afternoon game drive. The following day you will also enjoy a morning and afternoon game drive. During the day you can relax enjoying the bush surrounds or you can take a cruise on the river (subject to availability). Accommodation is at the Woodbury Lodge and is inclusive of all meals, house drinks and game activities.
After the morning game drive and breakfast, take the road inland again to Oudtshoorn where you will spend the night on a working ostrich farm.
Today is a longer day of travelling with arrival in the afternoon, giving you time to relax and enjoy the farm surroundings at Berluda Farm House. Breakfast is included the following morning.
The road takes you along the scenic Route 62 as you make your way to the Winelands where you will be spending the last 2 nights in the heard of Stellenbosch. We can recommend a stop off in Montagu for a lunch perhaps…
Oudewerf Hotel is centrally located and in walking distance to the shops and restaurants of this vibrant town. You also have a full day to explore the region – perhaps a lunch on one of the wine farms…
Although, today is your last day, with an evening flight, you really do still have the day to still ‘be on holiday’…
Perhaps some more wine tasting, or last minute shopping …. what about a hike in the nearby Jonkershoek Mountains or you could even pop back to Cape Town and have a last lunch on the Waterfront… There really is a lot you can do to make the most of your last few hours of holiday!
Please note that the price is based on low-season rates and all prices are correct at the time of writing.
Flight prices change a lot and for this reason, the flights are not part of the quote.
Make a bookingDo you fancy having a chat about Garden Route Highlights? Personally, it's one of our favourite things to talk about.