Garden Route Holidays & Tours • Freedom Destinations
Garden Route Tours & Self Drives Plus Cape Town city stays and Eastern Cape safaris

Garden Route Holidays

Even the most well-travelled visitors, won’t fail to be enchanted by the natural beauty of South Africa’s Garden Route. At FREEDOM we offer:

  • Garden Route self drives – with car hire and hotels included
  • Garden Route escorted tours – led by an experienced guide
  • Multi centre holidays – to wider South Africa and the Indian Ocean

Please explore the itineraries below then get in touch with our team of South Africa Experts to design your ideal holiday to the Garden Route.

Plan Your Holiday

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Cape Town, Garden Route & Safari

Cape Town | Montagu | Oudtshoorn | Knysna | Port Elizabeth | Eastern Cape

Self Drive & Safari 13 days from £1315

Plan Your Garden Route Holiday

Browse self drive itineraries, Garden Route tours, hotels and lodges.
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    Garden Route Self Drives

    Modular Garden Route self drives to add to your holiday, plus complete South Africa itineraries.

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    Exploring the Garden Route

    Cape Town | Stellenbosch | Montagu | Outshoorn | Knysna | Tsitsikamma National Park | Port Elizabeth

    Self Drive 6 days from £415
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    Cape Town, Garden Route & Safari

    Cape Town | Montagu | Oudtshoorn | Knysna | Port Elizabeth | Eastern Cape

    Self Drive & Safari 13 days from £1315
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    Luxury Garden Route

    Cape Town | Stellenbosch | Outshoorn | Knysna | Plettenberg Bay | Port Elizabeth | Shamwari | Port Alfred

    Self Drive 18 days from £4325
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    Ultimate South Africa

    Johannesburg | Panorama Route | Kruger | eSwatini | Hluhluwe | Durban | Addo | Garden Route | Winelands | Cape Town

    Self Drive Holiday 21 days from £1579

    Garden Route Tours

    Escorted tours of the Garden Route, plus complete South Africa holidays including a tour.

    Knysna Lagoon, South Africa

    Garden Route Splendour

    Cape Agulhas | Oudtshoorn | Cango Caves | Knysna | Plettenberg Bay | Storms River | Tsitsikamma

    Small Group Tour 6 days from £899
    Game drive, Kariega Ukhozi Lodge

    Garden Route Splendour & Safari

    Cape Agulhas | Oudtshoorn | Cango Caves | Knysna | Plettenberg Bay | Storms River | Tsitsikamma | Port Elizabeth | Kariega Game Reserve

    Small Group Tour & Safari 14 days from £2439
    Cape Town City Stay
    Lounge Car, Rovos Rail

    Garden Route Splendour & Rovos Rail

    Pretoria | Cape Town | Garden Route | Port Elizabeth

    Small Group Tour & Luxury Rail 13 days from £3279
    Cape Town City Stay
    Western Cape, South Africa

    Garden Route, Safari & Wine

    Oudtshoorn | Cango Caves | Knysna | Albertinia | Hermanus | Franschhoek

    Small Group Tour 6 days from £960
    Ostrich Farm, South Africa

    Magnificent Garden Route

    Cape Agulhas | Oudtshoorn | Cango Caves | Knysna | Port Elizabeth

    Small Group Tour 4 days from £689
    Boulders Beach, South Africa

    South African Odyssey

    Johannesburg | Kruger National Park | eSwatini | Lake St Lucia | Umhlanga | Tsitsikamma | Knysna | Oudtshoorn | Cape Town

    Small Group Tour 14 days from £2249

    Top Garden Route Hotels

    Three of our customers’ favourite places to stay on the Garden Route.

    Montagu Vines

    Montagu Vines Guest House

    Montagu

    Hotel

    ★★★★

    Buffelsdrift Game Lodge

    Buffelsdrift Game Lodge

    Oudtshoorn

    Hotel

    ★★★★

    Milkwood Manor

    Milkwood Manor On Sea

    Plettenberg Bay

    Hotel

    ★★★★

    Beach Front

    Free Planning Service

    Tell us where you want to go and what you would like to do and we will create your perfect Africa holiday – at a price you can afford.

    call us on 0333 234 3667 or

    Garden Route Self Drives & Tours

    There’s not much more you could ask for from a self drive holiday or tour than the spectacular scenery, welcoming towns and unique experiences you’ll find on South Africa’s Garden Route.

    The coastline is simply stunning, with gorgeous beaches interrupting rocky cliffs, from where southern right whales can be spotted at certain times of the year. Inland, thick forests climb steep-sided mountains, before giving way to the picture-perfect Winelands and dramatic Karoo.

    Whether you enjoy travelling in your own vehicle or in the company of others on an escorted tour, a Garden Route holiday won’t fail to leave you enchanted.

    Where does the Garden Route start and end?

    The Garden Route starts in Mossel Bay and ends at Storms River, 200 km to the east, along the South African coast.

    Many people begin their road trip in Cape Town however, and continue to Port Elizabeth (now known as Gqeberha), a journey of around 750 km.

    Whilst it is possible to follow the well-maintained N2 highway the whole route, from Cape Town, many people choose to either travel through Stellenbosch and the Winelands, then drop down to the Garden Route from Oudtshoorn, or drive via Hermanus and L’Agulhas, the southernmost point in Africa.

    Things to do on the Garden Route

    If you have the time, we recommend allowing yourself at least six or seven days to drive from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, as there are plenty of places to visit on the way, including:

    • Hermanus – to spot southern right whales on a cruise or from the cliff-top, as they return to South African waters to calve between June and November
    • Montagu & Calitzdorp – two charming towns on Route 62, worthy of a visit to admire their historic buildings and taste the local red muscadel or port wine
    • Oudtshoorn – to take a tour of a working ostrich farm to learn how the world’s largest birds are bred for feathers, leather, eggs and meat
    • Cango Caves – an incredible underground world of hidden chambers and gravity-defying stalactites in the foothills of the Swartberg Mountains
    • Outeniqua Pass – which links Oudtshoorn and the Little Karoo with George on the Garden Route, climbing to 800 metres and offering unbelievable views
    • Mossel Bay – to go sandboarding, quad-biking or deep-sea fishing, or just to relax in a beachside restaurant, and perhaps try the local oysters
    • Wilderness National Park – to wander along a choice of nature trails keeping an eye out for kingfishers and the brightly coloured Knysna lourie
    • Seven Passes Road – an adventurous alternative to the N2 to travel between George and Knysna, from which you can reach the Map of Africa viewpoint
    • Knysna – to take a boat tour across the lagoon to Featherbed Nature Reserve, home to blue duiker antelopes, tortoises and blue cranes
    • Plettenberg Bay – with its miles of sandy beaches, boutique hotels and shopping, and nearby Robberg Nature Reserve with its resident seal colony
    • Nature’s Valley – a hidden gem on the Garden Route, where the Groot River feeds a picture-perfect lagoon before it meets the sea
    • Tsitsikamma National Park – where ancient forests cling to rocky cliffs, and you can gaze out at the Indian Ocean from a suspension bridge across the mouth of the Storms River

    From Port Elizabeth, the wildlife of the Eastern Cape is within easy reach. A self drive safari in Addo Elephant National Park is a popular addition to a Garden Route holiday, or a two or three night stay in a private Eastern Cape reserve, with game drives included.

    Where to stay on the Garden Route

    There is a wonderful variety of hotels on the Garden Route and in the Western Cape, from boutique lodges to beachside resorts. Three that our recommended by our South Africa Experts include:

    • Montagu Vines – a charming guesthouse on a working olive grove in the Little Karoo, with just eight bedrooms, each with a patio and garden view
    • Hog Hollow – set in its own private nature reserve overlooking an indigenous forest, just east of Plettenberg Bay
    • Buffelsdrift Game Lodge – between Oudtshoorn and the Cango Caves, with a game drive included in your stay, in search of elephant, giraffe and rhino

    Garden Route Escorted Tours

    If you’d prefer to let someone else do the driving, you can enjoy a fully escorted tour of the Garden Route, either travelling from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth or as a round-trip from the Mother City.

    Travel by luxury coach, high quality hotel accommodation and daily activities are included, such as wine tasting and cultural tours.

    Garden Route 2024 & 2025

    To start planning your Garden Route holiday for 2024 or 2025 please get in touch with our friendly team. They have all lived or travelled in South Africa and would be pleased to use their first-hand knowledge to help you plan your ideal itinerary.

    With FREEDOM, you can book you flights, Cape Town hotels and Garden Route self drive or tour in one place, as a fully ATOL protected package. South Africa awaits!

    Get In Touch

    South Africa Holidays Design For You

    Choose one of our holiday ideas or ask our Africa Specialists to design one just for you.

    Ask an Expert to create a holiday for you

    Call us on 0333 234 3667 or Enquire online