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Highlights

  • Full-day family fun tour in Franschhoek
  • Explore Cape Town & the scenic Winelands
  • Superb wine tasting & gourmet highlights
  • Discover the picturesque Garden Route
  • See wild flowers blossom & go whale watching (July to October)
  • Wellness & white sand beaches at Kurland
  • Malaria-free Big 5 game viewing at Kwandwe

Overview

This superb 16-day self-drive tour explores the premier attractions along South Africa's southern coast, beginning in the vibrant cafe culture of Cape Town, and the gourmet capital of the Cape Winelands, Franschhoek. Your tour continues along the postcard-perfect coastline of the Garden Route and finishes with malaria-free Big 5 game viewing in a private reserve.

Your adventure starts with a 4-night stay at the Cape Grace, a hotel set in Cape Town's V&A Waterfront - the perfect base from which to explore the city. There is so much to see and do here, from taking a trip up Table Mountain to visiting the endangered African penguins at Boulders Beach and sipping cocktails on Camps Bay's sunset strip.

Your next stop is the charming country town of Franschhoek, the gourmet capital of the Cape Winelands. Spend three nights at Le Quartier Francais, home to the internationally acclaimed The Tasting Room restaurant. Spend three sun-drenched days wine tasting and fine feasting.

Your tour shifts to a restful gear when you head up the wonderfully scenic Garden Route, home to indigenous forests, world-class polo and some of the world's best shore- and boat-based whale watching (July to October). After indulging in The Plettenberg Hotel's restoring spa treatments, you continue to your final destination: Kwandwe Private Reserve in the Eastern Cape. This rugged Big 5 reserve makes a perfect, grand finale to a sensational self-drive vacation.

Summary

  • Tour Duration: 16 Days

Accommodations Visited

Cape Town, South Africa, V&A Waterfront

Cape Grace

4 Nights
Day to day

Itinerary

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Day 1-4: Welcome to the Mother City

Cape Town, V&A Waterfront, South Africa
Detailed breakdown

Day 1-4: Welcome to the Mother City | 4 Nights

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Cape Town, V&A Waterfront, South Africa

You will be collected at Cape Town International Airport and driven to the V&A Waterfront to check into your home for the next four nights: the Cape Grace.

This glamourous but friendly hotel is perfectly located for you to experience Cape Town's favourite attractions. Your rental car will be delivered to the Cape Grace, ready for you to be begin exploring after a good night's rest. Catch the cable car to the top of Table Mountain or a ferry from the V&A Waterfront to the historic Robben Island, where the legendary Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Soak up the sun in one of Clifton beaches sheltered coves or sip sundowners in a cocktail bar in Camps Bay. Explore the shopping mecca on your doorstep or stroll through the street cafes and markets of the city.

Venture further afield to the dramatic beauty of Cape Point and its resident chacma baboons, or take a picnic to the lush grounds of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens - there is so much to do and see in and around this city!

Days 5-7: Africa’s Gourmet Capital | 3 Nights

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Cape Winelands, Franschhoek

Your next destination is Franschhoek in the Cape Winelands, an hour's easy drive from Cape Town, through fruit orchards and vineyards, along glorious mountain passes that sweep you through vistas of outstanding natural beauty.

Franschhoek is South Africa's gourmet capital: award-winning restaurants and cafés line the streets, which are best explored on foot. Its crown jewel is The Tasting Room, located at acclaimed boutique hotel, Le Quartier Français, which is your home for three nights.

With its 300-year-old winemaking tradition eloquently blending the Old World with the New, you will find the surrounding vineyards surprisingly accessible. Enjoy leisurely wine tasting and light lunches in dappled sunlight under ancient oak trees, or delve into cellars sunken into hillsides for perfect expressions of the Cape’s terroir.

On day 7, put on comfy shoes for a full-day guided tour of some of the area's best family-friendly destinations and activities. Meet eagles and other raptors at Spier, where you will also undertake wine tasting while the children enjoy a grape-juice tasting and learn more about the central role bugs play in the ecosystem. You will also visit a glass blower, taste goat's milk cheese (and meet the goats!) and sample some local chocolate - all interspersed with time in the sun at exciting playgrounds.

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Days 8-11: The Garden Route: a natural beauty | 4 Nights

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Garden Route, Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

You leave behind the Winelands and turn up the Garden Route, winding your way along this scenic coastline past white-sand beaches, sleepy lagoons and charming seaside towns. Your destination is The Plettenberg Hotel, a five-star retreat situated on a rocky headland in Plettenberg Bay, and your home for four nights.

Choose from a range of treatments at the hotel's Fresh Wellness Spa, discover a curated collection of items from acclaimed South African designers at the elegant Collection Boutique, or simply spend your days poolside enjoying breath-taking views of the Indian Ocean. Between July and October, head out on a boat trip to see southern right whales cavorting along this abundant coastline. Tour the area's renowned Tsitsikamma Forest canopy, join sea kayaking excursions or test your skills on a championship golf course.

Days 12-15: Big 5 at Kwandwe Private Reserve | 4 Nights

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Eastern Cape, South Africa

Your journey leads you onwards, to the Eastern Cape and the Kwandwe Fort House for your final four nights on tour. Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is one of the few malaria-free Big 5 reserves in Southern Africa, where thrilling game drives and guided nature walks take you in search of lion, black and white rhino, buffalo and elephant along with a host of classic African wildlife. This is the perfect conclusion to your southern coast tour of South Africa.

Day 16: Farewell to the Cape

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After breakfast, you return your car at nearby Port Elizabeth Airport and begin your journey home. You may want to extend your tour and return to Cape Town along the scenic Route 62, which takes you inland to a land of olives, ostriches and wine farms.

Inclusions tick icon

Inclusions

  • 15 Days car rental
  • Family Fun and Furry Friends Tour
  • Private transfer from Cape Town Airport to the Cape Grace
Exclusions tick icon

Exclusions

  • International flights
  • Airport taxes
  • All meals and drinks not specified
  • Tips and gratuities
  • Items of a personal nature