13 Day The Garden Route (BS-UKK)

Sawubona! Welcome to South Africa.

An arrival transfer is from the airport to the hotel is included in your tour. If you have confirmed this transfer by providing your flight details at least 15 days prior to departure you will be met on arrival and transferred to the joining point hotel.

You can arrive at any time on day 1 as there are no activities planned until the important welcome meeting tonight. Your leader will leave a note at reception telling you where and when this important meeting will take place. Please ask a member of reception for this information. After the group meeting there is the option of joining the group for dinner.

Your leader will collect your local payment at this meeting.

The journey beings in Durban, South Africa's second most populous city and a tourist magnet thanks to its wealth of golden, sandy beaches and glitzy nightlife. If you have time to spare before the meeting, there is the Golden Mile to explore, a stretch of fine sands bordered on one side by frothy surf and on the other by an attractive beachfront of shops, restaurants and cafes.

Meals included: None

Overnight: The Blue Waters Hotel is a three star beach front hotel located on Durban's famous Golden Mile. The rooms are comfortable with all the expected facilities of a business style hotel including air conditioning. There is also an indoor swimming pool, squash court and sauna available.

Depart Durban and head to the stunning Wild Coast, visiting the Nelson Mandela Museum en route. On arrival at Mazeppa Bay we spend time relaxing on the beach, exploring unspoiled stretches of coastline and experiencing age-old traditions and customs of the local Xhosa people. We spend two nights at Mazeppa bay where you are free to explore surroundings. Optional canoeing, hiking and culture activities are available for the adventure seekers.

Overnight: Comfortable Lodge with en-suite facilities at Mazeppa Bay.

Distance travelled: 600km

Time Travelled: 9 to 10 hours including stops

Meals included: Breakfasts, Dinners

Travel into South Africa's interior to explore a truly magical destination. In Hogsback you can hike through indigenous forests and visit a couple of waterfalls or just relax and get in touch with nature. Here you can find one of the oldest and biggest yellow wood trees in South Africa.

Overnight: Comfortable Lodge with en-suite facilities in Hogsback area

Distance travelled: 310km

Time travelled: 5-6 hours including stops

Meals included: Breakfasts, Dinners

Our hotel features comfortable twin share facilities with ensuites.

We wake up early and depart for the Addo Elephant National Park, which was set aside in 1931 to protect the region's 11 remaining elephants from poachers. Today, some 450 elephants flourish within the park, along with lions, leopards, buffaloes and rhinos- get ready for an exhilarating safari experience.

Overnight: Comfortable rooms with full ensuite facilities.

Distance travelled: 250km

Time travelled: 4 - 5 hours including stops

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

We spend the next three days discovering the most spectacular stretch of the Garden Route. Our first stop is a visit to Tsitsikama National Park, spending the next two night in this beautiful area.

The next day is free for you to enjoy the many optional activities in this area before we hit the road to spend the last night near the white beaches at Wilderness. Enroute, we visit the picturesque town of Knysna. You can choose to do a canopy tour, which involves gliding from one big Yellow Wood tree to another in a harness, about 40 meters off the ground through an indigenous forest.

Overnight: We spend two nights in Tsitsikama and one night in Wilderness in comfortable Lodges with en-suite facilities

Distance travlled: From Addo we travel 250km to Tsitsikama and from Tsitsikama to Wilderness is 120km

Time travelled: We do an final morning game drive in Addo after which we leave for Tsitsikama.This scenic drive will take us about 4-5 hours. The drive from Tsitsikama to Wilderness will take us around 3-4 hours excluding the stop in Knysna.

Meals included: Breakfast

Departing the coastal regions of the Garden Route, we travel across the arid lands of the Karoo to the ostrich capital of the world, Oudtshoorn.

Here, we spend time at one of the many ostrich farms, which is a chance to learn more about these exotic, flightless birds. Afterwards we drive another hour to the spectacular Cango Caves. We wander into the many caves and caverns to look at enormous stalactites and stalacmites.

Overnight: Comfortable rooms with all expected amenities and full ensuite facilities.

Distance travelled: 80km

Time travelled: 2-3 hours as we have to cross the Outiniqua Mountain Pass

Meals included: Breakfast

It is an interesting drive today as we travel from Oudshoorn to Stellenbosch on the scenic Route 62 via the towns of Calitzdorp, Ladysmith, Montaque and Robertson.

Leaving Oudshoorn after breakfast we travel slowly towards Stellenbosch amking the most of the stunning scenery and visiting a winery en-route. Arriving in Stellenbosch in the afternoon where we check into our accommodation before heading out to sample some of the local produce from this beautiful area.

Overnight: Comfortable Lodge with en-suite facilities in the Stellenbosch area.

Distance travelled: 350km

Time travelled: 7-8 hours along the very scenic Route 62 with plenty of stops.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

This morning you can relax or explore the beautiful town of Stellenbosch before we depart for the Mother City of Cape Town. The drive to Cape Town is around 120km which is about two hours drive time. Spend an evening out on the town, enjoying a meal at one of the many restaurants and maybe taking in some live music.

The morning of our final day is spent discovering Cape Town with a visit to Cape Point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. We then enjoy an optional farewell lunch at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town. Our tour finishes on arrival back at our hotel.

Overnight: Accommodation is not included for the night of day 13, but we are happy to organise additional nights for you to enjoy this wonderful city. Please ask at time of booking.

Distance travelled. approx. 200km round trip

Time travelled: Around 6-7 hours including stops

Meals included: Breakfast