As you touchdown in Cape Town, you will be met at the airport and transferred to your chosen hotel. Enjoy four days exploring the city at your leisure, and spend five days at the South Africa v England Cape Town Test.

Check in and drop off your bags at the hotel, then enjoy a relaxed afternoon. You may like to head to a waterfront restaurant for a leisurely dinner, take a stroll along the waterfront, or unwind on the beach.

Pullman Cape Town City Centre or similar
– to upgrade your hotel, please ask

Spend the day exploring Cape Town’s eclectic neighbourhoods, or venture out of the city to take a tour of the rolling Winelands or the stunning Cape of Good Hope.

Get ready to celebrate this evening. Hotels, bars and restaurants will host New Year’s Eve events, and you’ll likely find lively beach parties down at Camps Bay or Clifton Beach. Make sure to head to the V&A Waterfront before midnight, as there is a spectacular fireworks display.

Pullman Cape Town City Centre or similar

Breakfast

There are two popular New Year’s Day traditions in Cape Town. Many like to climb Table Mountain, quite literally starting the year on a high! It is a challenging hike that typically takes five hours, but the views are a great reward. The cable car is usually running on New Year’s Day, so you can always take this option, either one or both ways, if you don’t fancy the climb.

Locals also descend on the city’s beaches, particularly Camps Bay and Clifton Beach. The atmosphere is electric, as people ring in the New Year and soak up the sun.

Pullman Cape Town City Centre or similar

Breakfast

Today is yours to explore the city. Why not visit the resident penguins at Boulders Beach, wander around the colourful Bo-Kaap neighbourhood, or head back to the V&A Waterfront to enjoy a spot of shopping.

Perhaps take a guided city tour, discovering historical landmarks, attending a diamond cutting workshop and admiring the views from the top of Table Mountain. Or, discover Robben Island, on a moving visit to the prison where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated, led by a former political prisoner. We can include experiences and day tours as part of your itinerary, just let your Travel Consultant know what you’d like to do.

Pullman Cape Town City Centre or similar

Breakfast

Backdropped by the ever impressive Table Mountain, Cape Town’s Newlands Cricket Ground is one of the world’s most iconic, and the perfect venue for the final South Africa v England Test Match.

The New Year Test at Newlands tends to be the most popular with visiting England fans. The ground holds 25,000 spectators and again, you’ll have a reserved seat for all 5 days, to see Roots & Co. wrap up a series win (fingers crossed!).

Pullman Cape Town City Centre or similar

Breakfast

Collect your car this morning, or join your escorted tour (see below), and head up into the picturesque Winelands to your first stop of Stellenbosch. Here, stop for lunch at one of the region’s many vineyard delis or farm-to-table restaurants.

Wine your way through the Hawequas Mountains in the afternoon, and stretch your legs at the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden. From here, join Route 62, regarded as one of the most scenic drives in South Africa. Your home for the night is a quaint guesthouse in Montagu, nestled within the mountains.

Cape Town > Montagu | 150 kms

Montagu Vines or similar

Breakfast

Continue along Route 62 today, and you’ll enter the Garden Route District Municipality. On your way, visit Calitzdorp to pick up a bottle of the town’s famous port wine, admire the sandstone church and take a dip in the nearby hot springs.

Spend the night in Oudtshoorn, a charming town known for its ostrich farms.

Montagu > Oudtshoorn | 250 kms

Hlangana Lodge or similar

Breakfast

You have a whole day to explore the fascinating Little Karoo region. Why not visit the Cango Caves on a guided tour, exploring its vast limestone halls, once inhabited by the Khoekhoe and San people.

Visiting one of Oudtshoorn’s working ostrich farms is also a must. The birds have been bred in the area for over 160 years for meat, leather and feathers. You’ll find ostrich steak on the menu at many restaurants in town.

Hlangana Lodge or similar

Breakfast

Leaving Oudtshoorn this morning, drop down through the spectacular Outeniqua Pass to George and the lush coastal section of the Garden Route. Either follow the N2 to Knysna, with the ocean on your right and ancient Yellowwood forests to your left, or take the winding Seven Passes Road, which heads back into the hills and crosses seven gorges before dropping into town.

Knysna is characterised by its large saltwater lagoon. You can join an afternoon cruise across the lagoon to Featherbed Nature Reserve, for stunning views and to learn about the local fauna and flora from your guide, or simply enjoy a stroll on the waterfront.

Oudtshoorn > Knysna | 110 kms

Waterfront Lodge or similar

Breakfast

Around 30 minutes from Knysna is the upmarket seaside town of Plettenberg Bay. It makes a great day trip, as you can relax on its long sandy beaches and enjoy a leisurely lunch, before walking it off on one of the scenic trails on the Robberg Peninsula, where a colony of fur seals lives.

Waterfront Lodge or similar

Breakfast

En route to Port Elizabeth, stop at Tsitsikamma National Park. Hugging the coast around the mouth of the Storms River, the park protects an area of temperate high forest and fynbos (indigenous plants) that cling to rocky cliffs, pounded at their foot by the waves of the Indian Ocean.

Continue on to Port Elizabeth, where you can simply chill out on the beach, or explore more of the scenic coastline, walking the wooden promenades in Summerstrand.

Knysna > Port Elizabeth | 250 kms

Fifth Avenue Beach House or similar

Breakfast

This morning, make your way to the Eastern Cape for a three night safari at Amakhala Game Reserve. This often overlooked safari destination offers a great alternative to South Africa’s larger parks, with superb wildlife viewing, fewer vehicles and a relaxed pace.

Spanning over 9,000 hectares of diverse landscapes from river valleys to open plains, this private reserve is home to lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard, alongside cheetah, giraffe and an abundance of antelope species.

With expertly guided game drives, river cruises along the scenic Bushman’s River, and optional walking safaris, you’ll experience warm Eastern Cape hospitality and exceptional wildlife encounters in this beautiful and accessible reserve.

Port Elizabeth > Amakhala Game Reserve | 67 kms

Woodbury Lodge or similar

Breakfast, lunch and dinner whilst on safari

There may be time for one last game drive this morning, before the drive back to Port Elizabeth for your flight home.

Amakhala Game Reserve > Port Elizabeth | 67 kms
Breakfast

Led by an expert guide, discover the striking scenery and the charming towns along the Garden Route. Visit an ostrich farm and explore the fascinating Cango Caves in Oudtshoorn, before crossing the scenic Outeniqua Pass in the mountains. Stay beside the Knysna Lagoon, and then spend a night in Tsitsikamma National Park, where you can explore the Storms River Mouth Suspension Bridge.

View the full itinerary here: Garden Route Splendour