5-day 

 

Luxury Garden Route Tour

 

Discover and experience the best of South Africa’s picturesque Garden Route during a 5-day round-trip from Cape Town where you will stay at luxury accommodation offering fine cuisine and personalized service, catering to the needs of the discerning traveler. Visit the Addo Elephant National Park where you can get close to elephants, big cats like lion, buffalo, black rhino, hyena, a variety of antelope and in the marine section, great white sharks and southern right whales, as this is one of the few reserves in the world housing the Big 7. Hike through lush forests and canoe on picture-perfect water. Unwind and soak in the sun on soft, sandy beaches for an unforgettable holiday.

 

     Itinerary:

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Day 1: After pickup between 7 and 8 am from your Cape Town or Stellenbosch hotel, (see recommended list), you’ll travel in a comfortable vehicle to our first stop at Spier Wine Estate where we will have a taste of premium wine ranges. Completing this appetizer we drive for approximately five hours to the town of Mossel Bay where we visit the Bartolomeu Dias museum complex to see the famous 500 year old Post Office Tree, the life-size replica of the Dias Caravel, the Shell Museum & Aquarium and Ethno-Botanical Garden. Now off to the town of Wilderness, where you will overnight at the 5-star Views Boutique Hotel & Spa. The lounge is the perfect place to laze or sip sundowners, spot dolphins & whales or watch spectacular sunsets. Also winner of the Les Nouvelle Esthetiques Award for Best Boutique Spa.

 

Day 2: After breakfast you drive through the town of Knysna and view the famous Heads from the viewpoint. You then go to the town of Plettenberg Bay, where you can take a boat ride for a “Dolphin Encounters” excursion of 1,5 to 2 hours at Ocean Blue Adventures. Alternative activities available if weather doesn't permits, like a tree canopy zipline tour. You go to the Storms River Suspension Bridge that hangs over the red-brown waters of the Storms River Mouth, it spans 77 metres and remains one of the most popular tourist attractions of the Tsitsikamma National Park. It hangs just seven metres above the churning waters of the river as it enters the foamy Indian Ocean. The walk is well worth the magnificent views. Birds accompany walkers along the way and there are a number of lookout point and places to have a seat and rest, while enjoying the vistas of the turquoise ocean. A short drive takes us to the ±1000-year-old Big Tree in the Tsitsikama forest. From here we go to overnight at the 4-star On the Beach Guesthouse and Suites in Jeffreys Bay, located on the sun-drenched shores of the beautiful Eastern Cape offering a relaxed and refined atmosphere in which to enjoy the spectacular setting right on the beach in Jeffrey’s Bay. Have dinner at De Viswijf, situated on the beachfront of the in Jeffreys Bay. An extensive menu comprising of seafood, beef, poultry, traditional local dishes and several exotic dishes. Their extensive wine list includes wines from numerous South African wine estates and regions that are made to satisfy and tantalize your palate.

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​Day 3: You have an early morning start for a day trip to Addo Elephant National Park, the third largest national park in South Africa. Home to elephants, lions, buffalo, black rhino, spotted hyena, leopard, a variety of antelope and zebra species, this park host the largest remaining population of wild elephants on the planet. You’ll enjoy a safari tour with knowledgeable park Guides and get the opportunity to see buffalo and other big animals. We via Jeffrey’s Bay on our return in the afternoon to try surfing in one of the world's most famous surf spots, or just relax on the beach. Overnight is at On the Beach Guesthouse and Suites in Jeffreys Bay.

 

Day 4: After breakfast, you’ll travel approximately four hours on the famous Route 62 to get to Oudtshoorn for a Heritage Tour at the Cango Caves. Located in a limestone ridge parallel to the picturesque Swartberg Mountains, the caves include over 2.5 miles (4 km) of drip stone caverns with vast halls and towering formations of stalactites and stalagmites. You’ll walk through some of this subterranean wonderland with your guide on a 2-hour tour of the caves. From here we go to an Ostrich Farm where the largest fowl in the world can be studied. We drive to our overnight farm at De Zeekoe, which is surrounded by the Swartberg and Outeniqua mountains, and one of the world’s 17 “hot spots” with 3 overlapping flower zones, which is located between the lush green Garden Route and the wide-open spaces of the Klein (Little) Karoo with the Outeniqua and Swartberg mountain ranges as backdrop. Here you can take part in a Wild meerkat tour which offers you the unique opportunity to see these animals that are part of the shy 5 in their natural environment. Meerkats are part of the so-called Shy 5 which also includes the bat-eared fox, the aardvark, porcupine and aardwolf. We spend the night at the 4-star De Zeekoe outside Oudtshoorn.

 

Day 5: After you chose to do more of the activities (optional) on this farm after breakfast, we return to Cape Town along Route 62, the world's longest wine route. You’ll pass through breath-taking scenery and have plenty of rest stops. Also to be visited is Ronnie's Sex Shop which had visitors from all over the world, judging by the graffiti on its wall. There will be more stops for wine tasting before reaching Cape Town to end your tour.