So you want to visit South Africa and by now you have probably already read loads of travel websites and seen the amazing places that the country has to offer! South Africa is huge, offering a diversity of tempting experiences and great destinations and our best advice is not to try and cram everything on your wish list into a short holiday – you will come home feeling exhausted.
Rather decide on what your main interests are – whether it is sipping G&T’s whilst on safari and ending off at the beach, or spending time in Cape Town and the Winelands. Then we can help you with working out the best holiday itinerary to fit in all these options at a pace that allows you to relax and enjoy all that South Africa has to offer.
Cape Town and the Winelands are destinations in their own right and often the mistake is to think that a night or two here will suffice – wrong! Cape Town offers a wealth of things to do from full day outings exploring the Cape Peninsula or a visit up Table Mountain. We highly recommend to allow yourself at least a week here to take in all the sights with 4 nights being a minimum to really make the most of your stay. The Winelands is only a ‘hop & skip’ from Cape Town and easily included as a day trip, however allowing yourself 1-2 nights here will not disappoint as its a complete contrast to the vibey Cape Town.
The Garden Route is best explored when basing yourself for 3-4 nights in the Plettenberg Bay or Knysna areas and doing day trips from here. Most places are easy to get to and it saves the continuous bag packing/unpacking stress. The same goes for the regions of the Natal Drakensberg and Battlefields – allow yourself the time to be able to explore and really enjoy the gorgeous surrounds.
Safaris are usually the next biggest spend after you have booked your flights and whilst everyone wants to keep costs down, you will do yourself an injustice by only allowing one night. The minimum recommended time for any safari lodge is two nights, with 3-4 nights being the ideal.
The beaches of Natal as well as Mozambique are a great way to end any holiday in South Africa and to allow yourself time to just relax and unwind before going home to the busy demands of life, we recommend to allow at least 4-5 nights.
Have a look through our pages of all the great holiday escapes and give us a call on (UK) 0207 112 0019, or email us for some help and guidance in planning your South Africa holiday.
