Kruger Park, Cape Town & Garden Route

13 days / 12 nights

Classic Tour
Privately Guided / Self-drive

13 days / 12 nights Kruger, Cape & Garden Route with a difference

A great itinerary for friends, families, couples or groups to tour South Africa. It caters for tourists who wish to enjoy a private holiday with the comfort of a personal guide or a private self-drive vacation.

Highlights:

1 nights luxury accommodation, with en-suite facilities in Hazyview
3 nights luxury game lodge accommodation, with en-suite facilities
2 open safari drives per day
All game park fees and local taxes
Full board daily
5 nights luxury accommodation in Cape Town, with en-suite facilities
Hop-On Hop-Off Bus day pass
Full day excursion to: Cape Point OR Winelands OR Hermanus
3 nights luxury accommodation on the Garden Route, with en-suite facilities
Featherbed Nature Reserve

Day 1 – Hazyview

You will be met at Johannesburg Airport and transferred to your luxury hotel. Check in, settle in and relax by your hotel swimming pool under warm blue skies.

Overnight: Summerfields Rose Retreat (Hazyview) Meals: Dinner

DAY 2 – Panorama Route

This morning you will be collected and transferred to the Kruger National Park, a scenic drive of approximately 5-hours through the Eastern Transvaal.

[Or 2-hour transfer from Mpumalanga Airport]

Enter the world famous Kruger National Park, where game-viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately in this vast 2-million hectare game sanctuary. Hopefully we will see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe before we reach your lodge.

Check in to your luxury game lodge, settle-in and relax in your outdoor bushveld surroundings before enjoying your first game drive in an open-top game viewing vehicle accompanied by a lodge ranger. Later enjoy a delicious dinner in the outdoor Boma in the atmosphere that only the African bushveld can provide.

Overnight: Otter’s Den Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

DAY 3 & 4 – Kruger National Park

Set off early each morning on an open-top game viewing drive with your lodge ranger, to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day.

Explore the vast Kruger Plains, which offer magnificent game viewing opportunities and the highest concentration of lion in the whole of Africa. Hopefully we will see at least one of the Big Five today - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino, before returning to camp for breakfast. The rest of the morning is free for relaxing at camp or beside the swimming pool. Alternatively enjoy a guided walk with a lodge ranger, to study some of the smaller animals, insects and trees of the park.

In the afternoon enjoy another open-top game drive with your ranger. With nearly 150 different species of mammals and over 100 species of reptiles in the Kruger Park, we hope to see hippos, crocodiles, cheetah, giraffe, kudu, sable antelope, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons, wild dogs and a wide variety of other interesting animals.

With over 500 different bird species in the park, outstanding bird watching is also guaranteed - including eagles, vultures, storks, fish eagles and kingfishers. In the evening, enjoy the balmy weather and pristine stars of the Southern Sky and Milky Way, as you have never seen them before – including the spectacular Southern Cross.

NB: Game viewing restrictions may apply to children < 12. Please enquire when booking

Overnight: Either at Arathusa, Nottens, Elephant Plains or Nkorho Game Reserve

Meals: Full Board

DAY 5 – Fly to Cape Town

This morning transfer to Mpumalanga Airport for your 2.5-hour flight to Cape Town. You will be met at Cape Town Airport and transferred to your luxury hotel, conveniently situated near the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Check in and relax in your magnificent surroundings.

Overnight: Glen Avon Lodge Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

DAY 6 – Cape Town

Today is free for independent sightseeing in Cape Town. You will be given a day pass for the convenient red Hop-On Hop-Off Bus, which stops at all Cape Town’s key sights and beaches, including the cable car for Table Mountain (optional) where you can ascend to enjoy one of the world’s most famous views.

Continue to Camps Bay beach and then explore the shops and many other attractions of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, which is also the centre of Cape Town’s nightlife.

Overnight: Glen Avon Lodge Meals: Breakfast

Day 7 – Choose an activity

Today enjoy a full day Small Group Tour to:

Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve where two oceans meet, and where you may see baboons, penguins, ostrich, antelope and dolphins; or

Your tour travels via Hout Bay and along spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive to the Cape Point, returning via naval Simons Town, Fish Hoek and Constantia. A very scenic tour of the whole Cape Peninsula, with the opportunity of visiting the penguin colony at Boulders Beach (optional)
Stellenbosch Winelands for a cellar tour and wine tasting at some of the famous the wine estates of Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek; or
Your tour travels from Cape Town to the renowned Cape Winelands of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl, including stopping at several famous Wine Estates for wine tasting and visiting the historic university town of Stellenbosch
Hermanus a small seaside village regarded as the best site for land-based whale watching in the world (July to November season)

Your tour travels over Sir Lowry’s Pass with spectacular views of False Bay and includes wine tasting at a Wine Estate (closed Sundays) and a visit to the Harold Porter National Botanical Garden with its fynbos flora and bird life

You will be collected from your hotel between 08h30 and 09h00 and return to Cape Town around 17h30.

Overnight: Glen Avon Lodge Meals: Breakfast

DAY 8 & 9 – Day at leisure

At leisure in the beautiful city of Cape Town. Choose one of the many optional excursions available today, such as a visit to Robben Island the infamous prison home of Nelson Mandela, or explore the many sights of Cape Town. Alternatively simply relax on golden Camp’s Bay beach – the choice is yours

Overnight: Glen Avon Lodge Meals: Breakfast

DAY 10 – Fly to the Garden Route

This morning transfer to Cape Town Airport for your 1-hour flight to George on the beautiful Garden Route. You will be met at George airport and enjoy a 45 minute scenic drive to your luxury lodge in Plettenberg Bay. Check in and relax in your hotel in this area of outstanding natural beauty.

Overnight: Lairds Lodge Country Estate Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Day 11 – Knysna

This morning you will be transferred to the ferry to visit Featherbed Nature Reserve situated on the Western Head, one of two magnificent sandstone cliffs guarding the entrance to the vast Knysna lagoon. This spectacular nature reserve is only accessible by ferry, followed by a short trailer ride to the top of the reserve, which offers panoramic views.

Most visitors choose to return on foot via a 1-mile guided nature walk through natural coastal forest onto the cliffs, through caves and along a scenic coastal path. A seafood buffet lunch is then served under the old Milkwood trees.

Overnight: Lairds Lodge Country Estate Meals: Breakfast

DAY 12 – Day at leisure on the Garden Route

Today is free for relaxation and independent sightseeing on the Garden Route. Knysna is a lively town situated on a vast lagoon and is famous for its bohemian artists and oysters, which are grown in the lagoon. It offers many interesting craft shops and many excellent seafood restaurants.

Plettenberg Bay is South Africa’s playground for the rich and famous and has spectacular sweeping beaches. Schools of dolphins are regularly seen in the warm Indian Ocean and whales may be seen in season (July to November).

Many optional excursions are available such as a day visit to Oudtshoorn to see ostriches and the Cango Caves.

Overnight: Lairds Lodge Country Estate Meals: Breakfast

DAY 13 – Return flight home

Return transfer to George Airport for your journey home.

Meals: Breakfast

This is where this tour ends.

Why not extend your stay in South Africa? We have a wide range of options available. The perfect extension for this tour is the Garden Route, the Kruger Park or even Victoria Falls. Enquire now on these extensions.

This is an open invitation to speak directly to me concerning this tour or any of our itineraries. If you email me your contact detail, I will phone you personally. Click HERE for my contact detail.

Alternatively, you can phone me free of charge on Skype if you are a registered Skype user. My Skype Name is: jewel.of.africa To register with Skype, click HERE.

Price per person sharing: Price available on request

Starting Point: Anywhere in Johannesburg or Pretoria

Ending Point: George Airport

Duration: 13 days / 12 nights

Minimum persons: 2. A supplement applies for single travelers

WHAT IS INCLUDED:

All airport and ground transfers in air-conditioned vehicles
Specified accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis
Sunset cruise on a luxury yacht
Safari & dinner at Clara Anna Fontein
Tour of the winelands
Lunches and dinners as per itinerary
Services of a registered cultural and nature guide
Activities specified in itinerary, including transfers and entrance charges
(For self-drive option) Car rental inclusive of super-cover and unlimited mileage
Optional: Services of a VIP Body guard & Paramedic Level 6 – ask us for a quote

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED:

International flights to and from South Africa. Book your own, or ask us for a quote
Domestic flights where applicable (unless specified)
Lunches & dinners (unless specified)
Drinks & refreshments
Tips for porters and restaurants
Telephone calls, laundry & other incidental personal expenditure
Additional activities not specified
Travel insurance
(For self-drive option) Fuel deposits and airport surcharges, additional driver/younger driver surcharges, fuel, oil, vehicle collection, etc.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

All activities are subject to prevailing weather conditions
Jewel of Africa Safaris is a registered tour operator with the necessary permits and insurance cover to transport International Tourists. All our driver/tour guides are Satour accredited, medically cleared, hold Professional Driving Permits and are accredited First Aid practitioners
Our standard terms & conditions apply. Here you can find more information on how to book, travel insurance, cancellation fees, baggage and other important issues.

Optional extensions are available - enquire now

Note: This is a suggested itinerary and it is based on our many years of experience and previous tailored tours for other clients. As the above tour will be conducted on a private or self-drive basis, the itinerary can be tailored to include any number of days, persons or accommodation required, depending on your personal requirements.