7 Day Best of Cape Town & Garden Route

This morning we undertake an orientation walk through the vibrant Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, led by your tour guide. We then depart on a Cape Town City, Table Mountain and Blouberg Beach Tour. This tour incorporates some of the most interesting and historical sights of Cape Town, unforgettable views from the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, and the summit of Table Mountain itself. The tour ends with a visit to Blouberg Beach which offers outstanding photographic opportunities of Cape Town City, the Cape Town Waterfront and Table Mountain across Table Bay.

Includes:

• Table Mountain – weather permitting (otherwise Signal Hill)
• Scenic City tour passing the Houses of Parliament, City Hall and the Castle of Good Hope
• ‘Bo-Kaap’ (traditional Malay Quarter)
• Green Market Square
• District Six
• Blouberg Beach

Please note… as the operation of the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway is weather-dependent, the cable car fare is on your own account and is payable at the ticket office. You are requested to be ready for pick-up at 09:00, and will be back at the hotel at approx 17:30.

• Accommodation & Meals: City Lodge Victoria and Alfred Waterfront ~ B

Today you undertake a full day Cape Point Tour. First on the program is a drive to Cape Point, where traditionally two oceans – the Atlantic and Indian – meet. On our drive along the rugged and scenic Atlantic coast, you will begin to understand why Sir Francis Drake described this as “the most beautiful Cape in the whole circumference of the globe”, but also why at times the Portuguese name of the ‘Cape of Storms’, could be as appropriate. We also visit Boulder’s Beach, home of one of the very rare African Penguin colonies on the African coast. The tour ends with a visit to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, world-renowned for the beauty and diversity of the Cape flora it displays, and for the magnificence of its setting against the eastern slopes of Table Mountain.

Includes:

• Clifton and Camps Bay beach views
• Picturesque Chapman’s Peak Drive
• Cape Point and nature reserve
• The Cape of Good Hope
• Penguin colony at Boulder’s Beach
• Fish Hoek& Simon’s Town
• Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Please note… for those who do not feel up to the steep walk to the view site at Cape Point, there is an electrically powered funicular railway, the only one of its kind in the world. The cost of the funicular is included. You are requested to be ready for pick-up at 08:30, and will be back at the hotel at approx 17:30.

• Accommodation & Meals: City Lodge Victoria and Alfred Waterfront ~ B

This morning you are collected for a full day tour of the magnificent Cape Winelands. The picturesque towns of Paarl, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, in the heart of South Africa’s wine producing areas, will be visited today. Apart from magnificent scenery, these towns have much to offer and one thing that must not be missed is a visit to a few of the many wine estates, where some of South Africa’s best wines can be sampled.

Includes:

Paarl

• Informative drive through the town of Paarl
• Cellar tour with wine tasting
• Afrikaans Language Monument, the world’s only monument dedicated to a language

Franschhoek

• Visit to a wine estate with wine tasting
• Village of Franschhoek
• Huguenot Memorial

Stellenbosch

• Helshoogte Mountain Pass
• City tour of Stellenbosch with some free time to explore on foot
• Visit to a wine estate with wine tasting

Please note… you are requested to be ready for pick-up at 08:30, and will be back at the hotel at approx 17:30.

Accommodation & Meals: City Lodge Victoria and Alfred Waterfront ~ B

Please note… the City Lodge Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is an excellent 3-star hotel, well located at the entrance to the V&A Waterfront. However, there are numerous other hotels in Cape Town, any of which could be used as an alternative to the City Lodge. Should you wish to be accommodated at any other hotel of your choice please let us know and we will send you an amended quote.

Today you depart on the exiting Garden Route leg of the tour. The route crosses over the Du Toit’sKloof Mountain Pass, continues via Worcester and Robertson, and then along the well known ‘Route 62’ past the interesting towns of Montagu, Barrydale and Calitzdorp to Oudtshoorn, the ‘Ostrich Capital of the World’.

Includes:

• Du Toit’sKloof Mountain Pass and tunnel
• Interesting and historic towns of Worcester, Robertson, Montagu, Barrydale and Calitzdorp
• Oudtshoorn – the ‘Ostrich Capital of the World’
• Guided tour of the awe-inspiring Cango Caves
• Accommodation & Meals: La Plume Guest House ~ B

The day starts with a visit to an ostrich farm where, through interesting talks and demonstrations by experts, you will get to know more about these fascinating birds. Our route then continues over the Robinsons Pass to Mosselbay, and continues via George and Wilderness to the charming town of Knysna, in the heart of the Garden Route.

Includes:

• Guided tour of an ostrich farm
• Diaz Museum in Mosselbay
• ‘Post Office Tree’ where early sailors left mail for home bound ships to Europe
• Scenic coastal drive between George and Knysna
• Accommodation & Meals: Bradach Manor (lagoon facing room) ~ B

A full day is spent exploring the Garden Route between Knysna and the Tsitsikamma forest before returning to Knysna in the late afternoon for a romantic boat cruise on the Knysna Lagoon.

Includes:

• Plettenberg Bay
• Monkeyland, the world’s first free-roaming multi-species primate sanctuary
• Garden of Eden, in one of the most lush and beautiful parts of the Knysna forest
• The Big Tree
• Dizzying view from the Paul Sauer Bridge over the Storms River
• Cruise on the Knysna Lagoon to the Knysna Heads
• Knysna Waterfront
• Accommodation & Meals: Bradach Manor (lagoon facing room) ~ B

An early departure from Knysna as we travel via Swellendam to the southernmost point of the African continent at Cape Agulhas. The route then continues to the famous whale watching town of Hermanus, before ending back in Cape Town after four fabulous days exploring the beautiful Garden Route!

Includes:

• Swellendam, the 3rd oldest town in South Africa
• Southernmost tip of the African Continent
• Whale watching at Walker Bay in Hermanus (seasonal)
• Scenic coastal route past the villages of Kleinmond, Betty’s Bay and Pringle Bay

Arrival in Cape Town at approximately 18:00