Best of South Africa Tour

Arrive at Johannesburg International Airport where you will be met by your driver/guide, or you will be picked up at your hotel.

Leave the city behind and head for the province of Mpumalanga via the coal mining towns of the Highveld all the way to village of Lydenburg. Destination… the luxurious Mount Sheba Nature Reserve Hotel! Mount Sheba Nature Reserve is unbelievably beautiful with a rain forest and several trails, worked out gold mines, waterfalls and spectacular scenery.

Dinner and Overnight at the luxurious Mount Sheba Nature Reserve Hotel. (Dinner on this night is a set menu by the hotel’s award winning chefs.)

After breakfast, enjoy the scenic mountain route, then a first stop at the nearby mining town of Pilgrim’s Rest. This is a living museum as the entire town has been declared a national monument, taking the visitor back to the days of the gold rush in the 1870’s. You can enjoy a beer in the old church, now a restored bar!

Then we have another stop at: God’s Window, Pinnacle Rock, Blyde River Canyon and Bourke’s Luck Potholes for breathtaking scenery.

Dinner and Overnight at the Aventura Blydepoort Resort.

Proceed to Kruger National Park through Orpen Gate as you explore this world-famous National Park, home to the Big Five and many other predators and antelope. A full day of game viewing!

Overnight in the central section of the Park in bungalows, bed only. You will enjoy dinner paid directly at the restaurant.

Full day’s game drive to the southern section of Kruger National Park

Overnight at the Berg-en-Dal Camp inside the Park, room only. Meals paid directly at the hotel.

Check out and exit through the Malelane Gate, you will be driven to the small kingdom of Swaziland at Jeppe’s Reef border post. We will have another stop at the world-famous Ngwenya Glass Works near Mbabane, then we proceed to the Golela border post, before we enter Kwa Zulu Natal. Overnight at St. Lucia Wetlands, World Heritage Site.

Overnight at the St. Lucia Wetlands Guest House on bed and breakfast.

After breakfast, we are taking a boat cruise on the lake for a better view of crocodiles, hippos and magnificent waterbirds. After enjoying the viewing, be driven through the scenic and tranquil landscapes to Eshowe which is one of the highlights of the tour as we enter Shakaland, a village of the proud Zulu nation.

Have a cultural tour within; get involved in spear throwing, homebrewed bear drinking, meet the medicine man and a lot more. In the evening, experience song, tribal dancing, drum beating and the traditional food of the Zulus.

Overnight at the Zulu huts, run by the Protea Hotel.

Today, check out and be driven through green sugar cane fields towards Durban. Check-in at the Balmoral Hotel or similar on the beachfront. In the afternoon, we visit the new Ushaka Marine World Ushaka offers a world of ocean activities, rides, oceanarium, amusement parks, displays and beach activities.

Dinner and Overnight at the Garden Court Hotel South Beach, or similar, Bed and breakfast.

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Durban Airport for domestic flight to Port Elizabeth.

You will be met on arrival and proceed to Addo Elephant Park. Check-in then have an afternoon game drive within the Park.

Overnight in chalets on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.

Today, we start with the Garden Route Tour and a visit to the Storms River Bridge. Take the opportunity to stretch your legs at the Storms River Mouth for a walk to the swing bridge over the river.

On this day, we also get to visit the 800-year-old Big Tree in the Tsitsikamma Forest with a stop at the Bloukrans Bridge – the highest bungee jumping site in the world.

Overnight at the Log-Inn Hotel, bed and breakfast.

Beautiful sceneries await as you travel from Knysna across the Outiniqua Mountains to Oudshoorn.

First stop is the world-famous Cango Caves. A specialist guide will show you the hidden wonders inside the caves. No crawling! From the caves, drive on to a working ostrich farm where you can try a ride on one of the large birds.

Cross the mountains again via another mountain pass to end up in Mossel Bay and stop at the age-old Post Office Tree were sailors in the old day’s left post for homebound ships in a shoe.

Overnight at the Point Hotel on bed and breakfast.

After breakfast, we check out and drivel to Swellendam to take a look at a masterpiece of Cape Dutch architecture, the Drosdy, built-in 1747.

Then we proceed through the countryside as we view the wheat planted farms as far as the eye can see. The drive is to the Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa and also the place where the two oceans, the Indian and the Atlantic, meet. A marker and inscription show the exact location.

Overnight at Harbour Lights Guest House, bed and breakfast.

We head to Hermanus. During the whale season, July – November, be sure to see giant whales coming to this region to give birth.

Enjoy the most dramatic and scenic route to Cape Town which starts at Rooi Els and ends at Gordon’s Bay with a stop along the way as you capture the sights with your camera.

On arrival in Cape Town, you will check-in at the Ritz Hotel. The rest of the day is spent at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront shopping.

Overnight at Ritz Hotel on bed and breakfast basis.

Experience a scenic drive through Sea Point, the beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay to Hout Bay, here a trip to Seal Island can be arranged.

The spectacular Chapman’s Peak drive is breathtaking and will lead to Cape Point – The Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, undoubtedly one of the Cape’s biggest attractions. Situated at the most southern point of the Cape Peninsula, it is noted for its abundant floral diversity. The reserve has a spectacular coastline with Cape Point boasting the highest sea cliffs in South Africa. There is a funicular that takes visitors up to the highest vantage point, or one may opt to walk.

Later, we visit the penguin colony at Boulders, then proceed to Simons Town, the Constantia wine valley and the Table Mountain, Table Mountain is one of South Africa’s best known landmarks. The famous flat top is approximately 3 km wide and its highest point 1086m above sea level. The summit can be reached by a cable car with a revolving floor for panoramic views.

Overnight at Ritz Hotel on bed and breakfast basis.

TodaThis day, we will explore the Cape Winelands via the highway to Paarl – meaning ’pearl’. The town named after a massive granite rock that glows like a pearl in the sunlight.

The first stop at KWV wine emporium for a cellar tour with wine tasting. Paarl is renowned for its exquisite, world-class red wines because of the granite content in the soil. Enroute to Franschhoek, taste cheese and wine at Boschendal, visit the Franschhoek village and the Hugenot Memorial. This ’French corner’ was so named after the French Hugenots who settled here in 1680.

Our next stop will be at the historical town of Stellenbosch via the Helshoogte mountain pass. A tour of Stellenbosch, a free time walk and an informal wine tasting in the area awaits you then you will be driven back to your hotel.

Overnight at the Ritz Hotel on bed and breakfast basis.

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Cape Town Airport for your flight home.