Garden Route and Addo - 7 Days

Hello Africa… and hello Cape Town. Ready to get going? It’s off to the Karoo desert via the famous ‘Route 62’. Today's scenic drive goes through mountain passes, vineyards and epic desert scenery along the way.An included guided tour of Africa's LARGEST show cave system. The Cango Caves are replete with cavernous halls, limestone formations, cave paintings and artefacts (which indicate they were in use throughout the Middle Ages)! How's that for a pitstop?Welcome to the Klein Karoo! We'll check into Oudtshoorn with our first adventure on offer. How good does a scenic bike ride (or drive down) the UNESCO Swartberg Mountain Pass, plus a Karoo braai dinner on a local farm sound? (So good!). And this evening, you can opt to do just that.

Good morning! Let's continue heading East towards one of South Africa's most loved National Parks: Addo Elephant. (Anyone guess which animal this place is famous for?) That’s right, it’s elephant time. After lunch, we’ll set out in our comfy (and tall!) coach in search of Africa's largest land mammal here at the Addo National Park, home to over 600 of these tusk-tastic creatures. (Keep your eyes peeled for lions, buffalo, and antelope too though!) We'll retreat here for the night but fear not, more safari adventures await in the morning. Stuck for something to do this evening? Let us introduce you to the karaoke bar just around the corner. (Cue your fave Lion King jams.)

Today is all about wildlife, both on land and in the ocean. We’ll start with a morning tour of the SANCCOB Penguin Rehabilitation Centre, who give sick and injured penguins the care they deserve and help them to return to the wild. Later this morning, we’ll set out on the first of today’s two private game drives (both optional but highly recommended!). The Eastern Cape’s game reserves are some of South Africa’s best spots for seeing the Big 5, home to valleys, plains, rivers and much more. Yup. That's three game drives in 36 hours, giving you the best chance of spotting the Big 5. Lucky you, right? Tonight we’ll head back to the city where a free evening awaits. Karaoke round two? We won’t stop ya.

Beach time. Desert? Tick. Caves? Tick. Safari? Tick. Now it’s time to make our way along the famous Garden Route to our next destination, Knysna – with a few sensational stop-offs on the way. Known as one of the best surf spots in the world, it’d be wrong not to start our day with some chill time on J-Bay… which is exactly what we’ll do. And of course, there's an optional surfing lesson for the wave-dodgers among us. Welcome to our next pitstop, known for the infinitely Instagramable Storms River Bridge – which we’ll take a picturesque hike to so you can get all the legendary snaps you need. Wanna up the adrenaline? You can choose to go kayaking up the mouth of Storms River. And then we pull into the beautiful coastal town of Knysna, ready to explore all the sights and activities the Garden Route is known for. (We've got two nights here too!)

Rise and shine, team. Today starts with an included breakfast, overlooking the Knysna lagoon, and then we’re off again once more. It’s ocean time! You can choose to join our marine safari and set out in search of whales, dolphins, seals and more spectacular sea life. Afterwards, we’ll spend the rest of the day relaxing on Plettenberg's main beach, catching those rays and helping ourselves to some splendid seafood. This evening, we’ll embark on an optional Township visit here in Knysna, where you’ll meet the locals and have the chance to make a positive impact for the children who live here. Afterwards, you'll have the option to cruise the Knysna lagoon & see the sunset onboard. And finally, we'll tuck into a group dinner by the water before finishing off with a night on the town (again, optional but unmissable!).

Make sure you call dibs on a window seat. As we drive back to Cape Town, you’ll watch the magnificence of the Garden Route unfold as we pass coastal towns, forests, gorges and some jaw-dropping ocean views. Marine mania… We’ll have lunch and a little free time here in the coastal town of Hermanus, which is one of the world’s best areas for spotting whales – between July and November at least – so have your binoculars at the ready.  And here we are, back in the city where it all began. Tonight, you can opt for a MasterChef-style cooking class and enjoy the food, music and drinks.

It might be our last day together but fear not, there’s still plenty planned about the Cape Winelands. And most of it revolves around food. But before that, you have the chance to hit the skies on an optional helicopter ride over the seas and peaks. After some free time to explore (and shop till you drop) we’ll set out to discover Stellenbosh’s awesome wine farms with an optional experience to sample the very finest of the Cape’s fine wines. With spectacular views, and a traditional South African braai for lunch, this really is one tasty excursion indeed. And, after a brief drive back to Cape Town for an airport/hotel drop-off, that's a wrap! You'll have the option to jump on our Cape Town Explorer trip starting this evening (that's 4 more days in the Mother City!). It’s been wild – we’re thrilled from what we’ve experienced, and we can’t wait to do it all again!