garden route road trip itinerary

The Ultimate Garden Route Itinerary (with map) (2023)

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Stretching from Storms River Mouth in the Eastern Cape to Mossel Bay in the Western Cape the Garden Route is one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the world and, having driven the Garden Route from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth on numerous South Africa trips, we’ve put together our recommended Garden Route itinerary. This is our guide to the Garden Route and includes things to do, where to stay and where to stop along the way. It’s the route we used when we visit South Africa and is the perfect guide for planning your Garden Route Itinerary.

Table of Contents

The Ultimate Garden Route Itinerary

We’ve listed our itinerary in a loop coming from and returning to the Cape Town/Western Cape. Reverse the order if you are starting the journey coming from Port Elizabeth or the east of South Africa !

How long for the Garden Route

Having driven the Garden route a number of times we recommend 2 weeks for exploring the Garden Route. We find 2 weeks to be the perfect length of time as you can explore everything the Garden Route has to offer at a leisurely pace, with short drives between each destination.

Best Stops on the Garden Route

The Garden Route begins at Storms River Mouth and the nearby Bloukrans Bridge is the perfect spot to brave one of the world’s highest bungy jumps! Plettenberg Bay, a beautiful coastal town on the Indian Ocean is the next stop followed by Knysna, famous for its sea cliffs, the Knysna Heads. The Map of Africa in Wilderness is the perfect short detour of the Garden Route followed by Mossel Bay where the Garden Route comes to an end.

Extending the Garden Route Itinerary

Most visitors join the Garden Route either from Cape Town or Port Elizabeth and there are some fantastic stops at either end to extend your Garden Route itinerary including safari, Route 62 and the Cape Winelands.

Renting a Car

Renting a car in South Africa is the best way to explore the country and the Garden Route, plus driving is relatively easy in the country. Having your own car gives you the flexibility to travel at your own pace a see place that are simply not possible on group tours or public transport.

We’re huge fans of road trips and have driven rental cars in almost 50 countries so we have a lot of experience renting cars in foreign countries. Book your car now with RentalCars.com , where you will find great rental car prices

Book your rental car for South Africa now

Garden Route Itinerary Route Map

Our recommended route for the Garden Route is as follow:

Cape Town (1) – Hermanus (2)/Gansbaai (3) – Cape Aghulas (4) and Mossel Bay – Wilderness (5) – Knysa (6) – Plettenberg Bay(7) – Storms River (8) – Addo Elephant Park  (9) – Amakhala Game Reserve (10) – Oudtshoorn (11) – Stellenbosch/Franschhoek (12) – Cape Town (1)

Click here for the Google Maps version of the route

Day 1 and 2: Hermanus/Gansbaai

Hermanus and Gansbaai are stunning stopovers en route from Cape Town to the Garden Route and their natural beauty is mesmerising. The rugged coastline is as spectacular as the sea life in its waters: whales, seals, penguins and sharks are abundant in the area and it’s known as the Great White Shark capital of the World.

Things to do: in Hermanus and Gansbaai

• Whale watching is a must do in Hermanus
• Gansbaai is one of the most popular spots for cage shark diving if you so desire!

Drive time: 90 mins Cape Town to Hermanus, 30 minutes from Hermanus to Gansbaai

Where to stay in Hermanus and Gansbaai

• Misty Waves Boutique Hotel – beautiful boutique hotel where it’s often possible to spot whales from the balcony! – check prices now!
• Bellavista Country Place – If you’re visiting the Garden Route you have to stay in this  – incredible –  check prices now!
• Bellamente Serene – A stunning hotel located right on the beach in Gansbaai –  check prices now!

  Click here for Hermanus Hotel prices

Day 2: Cape Aghulas (optional) and Mossel Bay

Cape Agulhas requires an optional detour down to the coast between Hermanus and Mossel Bay before driving to Mossel Bay to spend the night and explore the town the following morning.

Cape Aghulas

Cape Aghulas is the most Southern point in the African continent (it’s often touted as the Cape of Good Hope but it is the most South Westerly point in Africa) and marks the dividing point of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean. The rugged wilderness, the crashing waves where two oceans meet and the stunning African sunset took our breaths away – after all it’s not every day you stand at the most Southern tip of Africa!

The seaside town of Mossel Bay is a step back in time and our highlight was the Post Office Tree. The story goes that in 1501 a Portuguese sailor sought refuge in Mossel Bay during a storm and he left a written account, with an address, in an old boot. The report was found by the person it was addressed to and the tree then served as a post office – it’s still possible to post letters at the old tree today!

Drive time: 90 minutes from Gansbaai to Cape Aghulas and 3 hours from Cape Aghulas to Mossel Bay. Driving directly from Gansbaai to Mossel Bay will reduce the journey time to just over 3 hours.

Where to stay in Mossel Bay

• Bar-t-nique Guest House : panoramic views of the harbor and Outeniqua mountains with nice home made breakfast – check prices here!
• African Oceans Manor on the Beach – great guest house, rooms have beautiful views of the Indian Ocean – check prices here!

  Click here for  Mossel Bay hotel prices

Day 3: Wilderness

The coastal town of Wilderness is home to two of our favourite sights on The Garden Route, the Map of Africa and Kaaimans River Bridge. The sleepy little village of Sedgefield, close to Wilderness, draws visitors to its lagoon.

The Map of Africa is a viewpoint where the flow of the river has formed a piece of land shaped exactly like a map of the African continent. It has a spectacular view overlooking the Kaaimans River Basin and is as intriguing as it is beautiful. The mix of mountain, forest and river is a beautiful sight!

Close to the Map of Africa sits the Kaaimans River Bridge in Wilderness. The curved bridge passes over the amber coloured water at the mouth of an estuary and is a beautifully photogenic stop on the Garden Route. A steam train operated on the line until 2009 but the railway bridge is iconic even in its absence.

The sleepy little village of Sedgefield, about 20 minutes from Wilderness, is surrounded by lakes, vegetated sand dunes, an Estuary and the beautiful Indian Ocean. Its lagoon is popular for fishing, swimming, canoeing, bird watching and riverside walks and the Saturday morning Wild Oats farmers market is unmissable.

Drive time: 45 minutes from Mossel Bay to Wilderness, 20 minutes from Wilderness to Sedgefield

Where to stay in Wilderness

• Oceans Wilderness: a beautiful beachfront guesthouse with an amazing design, great breakfast and magnificent views, our favourite! – check prices here!
• Lodge on the Lake: amazing lakeside views, great rooms and an infinity pool – check prices here!

Click here for Wilderness hotel prices

Day 4 and 5: Knysna

Famous for its oysters Knysna, a waterfront town along the Garden Route, is home to the Knysna Heads and is a beautiful spot to relax for a few days on the Garden Route. The Knysna Heads are two imposing sea cliffs which protect the entrance to the Knysna lagoon from the unrelenting Indian Ocean. The boat journey to view the heads often results in a sea drenching but it’s spectacular to watch the sea thrash through the narrow gap amid the stunning scenery.

Things to do in Knysna:

• Take a boat trip on the lagoon and check out the Kynsa Heads
• Take the ferry to the Featherbed Nature Reserve with spectacular viewpoints and a nice hike

Drive time:  40 minutes from Wilderness to Knysna

Where to stay in Knysna

• Villa Afrikana Guest Suites:  Offering panoramic views across the bay this is one of the best options for staying in Knysna and close to the restaurants –  check prices now!
• Augusta Bay Guest House:  Beautiful guest hotels with views over Knysna Bay –  check prices now!

Click here for Knysna Hotel prices

Day 6 and 7: Plettenberg Bay

Plettenberg Bay, or Plett Bay as the locals refer to it, is a South Africa hidden gem overlooking the Indian Ocean and the perfect base for a few nights along the Garden Route.

The architecturally stunning Bloukrans Bridge is close to Plettenberg Bay and, at over 200 metres, is the highest in Africa and arches dramatically over the gorge below. As well as being visually stunning, it is also home to one of the highest bungy jumps in the world. Dave immediately signed up, leaped off that bridge like a pro and had the time of his life so if you’re feeling brave … bungy jump!!

Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary and the Birds of Eden free flight bird sanctuary are both great places to visit while in Plett Bay.

Drive time:  30 minutes between Knysa and Plettenberg Bay

Where to stay in Plettenberg Bay

• Singing Kettle Beach Lodge: We stayed at this gorgeous beach lodge and toasted the beautiful sunset from our balcony – check prices now!
• The Plettenberg Hotel: 5 star luxury on the Garden Route with infinity pools and ocean views – check prices now!

  Click here for Plettenberg Bay hotel prices

Day 8: Storms River

Storms River Mouth is the dramatic starting point of the Garden Route where the Storms River enters the Indian Ocean. Tucked away off the main road in the Tsitsikamma National Park sits this breathtaking stretch of coastline where the Indian Ocean relentlessly pounds the headland. There are some amazing hikes up through the gorge and a stunning rope bridge for the adventurous types!

Drive time: 45 minutes from Plettenberg Bay to Storms River

Where to stay in Storms River

• The Fernery Lodge & Chalets – located at the base of the Tsitsikamma Mountains, The Fernery boasts amazing views over the Sandrift River gorge –  check prices now!
• Misty Mountain Lodge and chalets – surrounded by ocean, forest and mountains this property is a real treat on the Garden Route –   check prices now!

Click here for Storms River hotel prices

Safari (Optional)

Safari is always a good idea in South Africa! Kruger and Sabi Sands are our safari favourites but they’re a long drive or a flight away. If you want to squeeze in some safari while exploring the Garden Route we’d recommend making extra stops at the Addo Elephant Park and the Amakhala Game Reserve.

Day 9: Addo Elephant Park

Addo Elephant Park, just outside Port Elizabeth, is home to one of the densest elephant populations on earth as well as rhino, lion, buffalo and leopard. With 450 elephants the elephant encounters can be truly magical – we will never forget the moment a family of elephants walked alongside our car in the setting sun.

Drive Time: 3 hours from Plettenberg Bay to Addo Elephant Park

Where to stay in Addo Elephant Park

• Gorah Elephant Camp – You can stay right in the park with the elephants at Gorah elephant camp –  check prices now!
• River Bend Lodge – another option for staying in Addo park itself! –  check prices now!

Day 10 and 11: Amakhala Game Reserve

A malaria-free safari option, just outside Port Elizabeth, the Amakhala Game Reserve is home to the safari big 5 of lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino as well as cheetah, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and plenty of antelope species.

Where to stay in Amakhala Game Reserve

• HillsNek Safari – on the banks of Bushman’s River the luxurious tented chalets have panoramic views of the plains – check prices now!
• Woodbury Tented Camp: in the heart of Amakhala, the accommodation comprises en suite canvas tents with views of the valley – check prices now!

Book your safari stay now

Returning to Cape Town

Many visitors return to Cape Town via Route 62 after exploring the Garden Route. Here are some extra stops to add some variety to the drive back.

Day 12 and 13: Oudtshoorn

Known as the ostrich capital of the world, Oudtshoorn is home to Ostrich Farms, the spectacular underground Cango Caves and the Swartberg Mountains which are part of the Cape Floral UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s also home to the Meerkat Adventures, a dawn tour to hopefully see some adorable meerkats waking up to a new day.

Be sure to stop at Ronnie’s Sex Shop in Barrydale en route to the Cape Winelands. Despite the name it is actually a famous dive bar with graffiti plastered walls on Route 62 and a fun stop for a cold beer and a stretch of the legs.

Drive Time: 4 hours 30 minutes from Amakhala Game Reserve to Oudtshoorn

Where to stay in Oudtshoorn

• Hlangana Lodge: a small lodge in a beautiful setting with great breakfast – check prices now!
• Earthbound B&B: quiet, well equipped and spacious guest rooms at an excellent price – check prices now!

Click here for Oudtshoorn hotel prices

Day 12 and 13: Cape Winelands – Stellenbosch and Francschhoek

The Cape Winelands are a collection of historic towns famous for their wine production and are the perfect stopover on the way back to Cape Town.  Wine tasting, delicious food, incredible landscapes and beautiful architecture are synonymous with the region.

Stellenbosh and Franschhoek are its two most popular stopovers and the heart of its wine industry. Stellenbosh, South Africa’s second oldest town, is a charming university town and Franschhoek a charming village filled with galleries, restaurants and wine shops. Hop on the wine trams to explore the vineyards and indulge in some wine tasting and admire the whitewashed Cape Dutch architecture prominent in the region.

Drive time:  4 hours 15 minutes from Oudtshoorn to Franschhoek and 4 hours 30 minutes from Oudtshoorn to Stellenbosh

Where to stay in Cape Winelands

• Asara Wine Estate, Stellenbosch: Beautiful location in the rolling hills of Stellenbosch, lovely rooms and good value for money with wine tasting on site – check prices now!
• The Corner House, Francschhoek: amazing value with excellent rooms and a great location – check prices now!
• La Residence, Franschhoek: set in a private estate, La Residence is the ultimate in luxury . Luxurious rooms and peacock’s roaming around the grounds, this is one for the bucketlist – check prices now!

Click here for Cape Winelands hotels

24 thoughts on “The Ultimate Garden Route Itinerary (with map) (2023)”

Hello, Fabulous itinary! Could you give a rough idea of budget please? Thx in advance

Hi Geraldine, I’m not sure how much we spent in total but, depending on the hotels you pick, food, drinks, gas etc are quite cheap so it was quite reasonably priced overall. We’re Europe based so have a strong exchange rate on our side at the moment!

We are planning a 4-day tour of the Garden Route in September and we are coming from the US. We are not sure if we should go with a tour company or rent a car and do it on our own. I think if we rented a car we would miss the cultural and historic info about the region. Would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

Hi Charmaine

We really enjoy the independence of having our own transport – we picked up some Cape Town and Garden Route guide books to give us the context and history which helped! It’s an awesome trip, hope you enjoy!

loved reading your itinary and we are going to base our own route loosely around yours as we have been to Cape own twice before and stayed in De Kelders and Pearly Beach we have been to Cape Aghulas we have bits we can change but your whole concept is one of the best I have seen

In reply to Geraldine once you are in South Africa everything is so cheap, Food, drinks, car hire, fuel and of course accommodation whale watching is a must a sight so worth seeing

In reply to Charmaine what Elaine has said the flexability of your own transport really cant be faulted being able to come and go as you please is so much better

Hi Kaz, so glad you found the itinerary useful. I hope you have an awesome trip, I can’t wait to return!

Good work guys. I am thrilled for my upcoming trip. Thanks very much

i love layout of your itinerary, im planning on using it for my upcoming trip in December with my family( spouse and 3 kids). we are planning a 15day trip and i was wondering if you can give to some advise on where we should stop and spend the night. For example are the places we should spend stay 3 nights in a lodge /resort and use that as a mini base to visit a couple of the stops at a time… it will be difficult sleep in a new hotel every night with kids…

any suggestions will be welcomed.

thanks alot.

delighted to hear you like the itinerary. You could base yourselves in Knysna and explore the Garden route from there for a few days. From here you could visit Mossel Bay, George, Oudtshoorn, Plettenberg Bay and Kysna itself. Knysna was one of our favourite stops on the route. Check out family friendly hotels here

Are 4 days enough for Garden Route?

We are planning to do the Garden Route from Cape Town. If we rent a car, are we able to return the car at George airport or should we drive back to Cape Town? Is driving your own car doable if coming from the States?

Any info will be useful.

4 days would allow you to do some of the Garden route and with that time we’d recommend returning the car the George airport. This will give you the most time on the route. With 4 days you could aim to see Mossel Bay, Kysna and Plettenberg Bay. The initial drive from Cape Town will take one day, with the rest for sightseeing. Driving a rental car in South Africa is very straight forward. We’ve driven in over 40 countries and the Garden Route in South Africa relatively easy. Check out our post here for tips on driving in South Africa

Hi, Really enjoying your blog we have found it really informative. We have 14 days booked in South Africa in April 2019. We have four nights in Cape Town which we are basing our itinerary on yours.We then have three nights in the wine region staying near Stellenbosch.

We have 3 days to plan before staying for the remainder of our holiday at Pettenberg Bay for the remainder of our holiday.

Of all the places that you have visited where would you recommend that we visit and stay for the days between Stellenbosch and Plettenberg. We have a rental car and fly home from Port Elizabeth.

Great to hear you are enjoying the content. Cape Town and Stellenbosch are fab, I hope you enjoy! I’d probably stop in Mossel Bay or George for 1 night to split the drive and see some of the sights. Then I’d follow up with two nights in Knysna. Safari would be another great option – you could spend two nights in somewhere like this Gondwana lodge on the way to the Garden Route and then spend one night in Knysna.

Hope that helps, have a great trip! Elaine

Hi, thanks for the great itinerary. We are planning a trip from PE to CT over 4 nights. Not as much time as we would like but that’s life! Just wondering if you’d recommend 1 night in Plettenberg Bay AND 1 night in Knysna or just 2 nights in Knysner, given they are so close? Both towns look great. Also, if we plan our last night to be in Hermanus, which town between Knysna and Hermanus you recommend for our 3rd night? Something like Wilderness or Mossel Bay?

Thanks very much

Hi Adam, glad the itinerary is useful! I’d spend two nights in either Knysna or Mossel Bay (to avoid having to pack up and move!). My personal preference is Plett Bay as it’s really nice and laid back but you’ll probably spend a whole day in Knysna so I’d actually stay there – you’ll have more choice of restaurants etc as it’s much bigger. Knysa is beautiful and has a really nice vibe for tourists. We’ve stayed in Swellendam to split the journey before (but definitely stop by Wilderness for the map of Africa en route!). We stayed in Arumvale Country House . Mossel Bay would also be fine but you still have a longish drive to Hermanus after.

Hope that helps Elaine

We are two ladies in our late 50’s planning on hiring a car to go from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth in June. We have heard lots of horror stories about hiring a car in South Africa and are a bit concerned. What is your opinion on our safety should we hire a car? Thanks

We found it quite safe, you can read our driving tips here . Avoid driving after dark for sure and don’t park anywhere remote. Don’t leave anything in your car. The tourist sites are usually busy in Cape Town and along the Garden Route.

Great blog, very helpful!

What time of year did you go? I am planning on going in mid July and I’m not sure if it will rain everyday.

Our trips have all been Christmas time or March, I’m not sure on July

Hi, everything here is really useful. We are trying to put together an itinerary.

Leaving Cape town With Stop at Oudtshoorn,then Plettenberg Bay and onto a safari,before returning to Cape Town. We had thought about then stopping at Knysna.

Are Plettenberg Bay and Knysna to close together and can you suggest another stop off point

They’re about 30 minutes drive – we’ve stopped in both on previous trips as they’re both lovely. From Plet Bay you can visit Storms River, Bloukran’s Bridge etc and the leave the Knsyna sights until you return. We stayed in a Protea in George before – it’s a little closer to Cape Town if you want to shorten the drive.

hi thanks so much for this information. We will be in Cape Town for three days in January, before an overland tour from Victoria Falls back to Cape Town. Then we have 12 days to do the garden route, probably self drive. Thanks for the ideas

So glad it was useful! Victoria Falls is one of the most magical places we’ve visited, I do hope you enjoy!

12 days is plenty of time for the Garden Route, you could maybe look into a safari or another few days in Cape Town depending on which you prefer.

Enjoy! Elaine

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The Garden Route: South Africa's ultimate road trip

Dec 11, 2019 • 5 min read

The ocean view form the village of Brenton near Knysna, South Africa © Chiara Salvadori / Getty

It’s one of the most popular parts of South Africa for visitors both local and international. Stretching some 200km, a Garden Route  road trip takes in national parks, dense forests, placid lakes and some outrageously beautiful beaches.

Known as much for its outdoor activities as its natural beauty, along the way you can learn to surf, leap into water-filled canyons, dive to shipwrecks or simply sit on board a yacht admiring the view with a glass of local bubbly in hand. Starting from the west, follow this article for the ultimate South African road trip along the Garden Route. 

Stop 1: Mossely Bay & the sea

Most people use Mossel Bay as a leg-stretching stop en route from Cape Town to the heart of the Garden Route, but if you can spare an afternoon, there’s really quite a lot to keep you occupied. If you’re just lunching, try Kaai 4 , an open-air braai restaurant, where traditional dishes are cooked over massive fire pits. If you have an hour or so, the Dias Museum is well laid-out and offers a look into the Mossel Bay of 500 years ago, when European explorers landed on South African shores for the first time. If you do decide to stay the night, book ahead for a morning surf class – Mossel Bay’s top activity and a great way to revive before settling back in the car.

The highway between Mossel Bay and George is fairly busy and not exactly send-a-postcard-home pretty, but from here things take a turn for the photogenic. George is the area’s largest town, but its appeal lies largely in amenities rather than attractions. If you are looking to stop in the area, head instead for one of George’s satellite towns, both clinging to the coast at the end of meandering roads. Victoria Bay and Herolds Bay are known for their surf and there’s little else to do, which is the basis of their appeal. If you’re not a surfer, opt for a simple seafood lunch while admiring the dramatic maritime views.

Read more: Cape Town: a wildlife lover's playground

Stop 2: Wilderness & Garden Route National Park

Head back to the main highway and take the short but scenic drive to Wilderness. Pull over at Dolphin Point for a peek at the decommissioned train line below and for photos of the wild and blissfully undeveloped Wilderness Beach. Wilderness somehow manages to remain under the radar of many Garden Route visitors. The town centre is little more than a supermarket and a few restaurants clustered around a gas station but the forest-meets-lake-meets-beach landscape makes it one of the loveliest places to stop on a route.

Perhaps the best thing to do here is to rent a canoe in the Garden Route National Park and explore the lake system. If you’re just looking for lunch, try the Timberlake Organic Village , right on the N2 hwy. The restaurant here, Zucchini , is known for its fresh country cuisine or if you prefer to snack, a cluster of shops sells artisanal edibles.

Stop 3: Knysna & the lagoon

The road dips and climbs slightly for 23km until you pass through Sedgefield, largely known for its busy Saturday morning market . As the road rises out of Sedgefield, the panorama changes to reflect the huge forest fire that ripped through the area in June 2017. Following ample winter rains, the forest is on the mend but the dense greenery that once lined either side of the highway will take years to fully recover.

Read more: Robben Island: tour the prison with Mandela's former guard and close friend

Despite all that, Knysna proved itself a veritable phoenix, with hotels and homes rebuilt and almost all of the forest-based activities up and running again. If you do just two things while in town, opt for a hike through the forest and a boat trip on the lagoon . The lagoon and its infamous Heads – sandstone headlands forming a narrow channel from lagoon to ocean – are the soul of the beautiful town, with the forest its lungs. Its heart though, beats in the adjoining townships, known as the Northern Communities. Take time to meet a few locals, sample traditional cuisine and tackle the clicks of the Xhosa language on a three-hour visit with Emzini Tours or join Brother Zeb for an impassioned wander around Judah Square, a friendly Rastafarian community.

Stop 4: Plettenberg Bay & Robberg Nature Reserve

Once you crest the hill that houses the townships, you find the road soon flanked by dense forest. It’s a pleasant and pretty 35km drive to Plettenberg Bay , with plenty of curiosities along the way.

Read more: 10 alternative ways to explore the V&A Waterfront

Plett, as it is invariably known, is an upmarket holiday town with a few snazzy restaurants and some of the coast’s best beaches. It’s a great place to unwind on the sand, but if you prefer to be in the ocean than next to it, sign up to swim in the seal-infested waters of the Robberg Nature Reserve.

East of Plett, the towns begin to fizzle out and things start to feel a little wilder. It’s also where you can swap adventure for gastronomy at one of the local wineries. Bramon was the first wine estate in the region and makes for a marvellous lunch stop, where you can enjoy a tasting and tapas among the vines.

Stop 5: Storms River & Tsitsikamma

The final stretch of the journey takes you over vertiginous bridges crossing canyons, past virgin forests and into the Eastern Cape . The tiny town of Storms River exists almost entirely for tourists, but still manages to charm with its little grid of unpaved roads lined with places to stay, eat and play. Adventure sports abound here thanks to the town’s proximity to what locals like to call "the garden of the Garden Route", Tsitsikamma.

Part of the large and scattered Garden Route National Park, Tsitsikamma is an old Khoe-San word meaning "place of much water" and whether they were referring to the wide rivers, the crashing ocean or the fact that the park receives close to 1000mm of rainfall each year, the moniker is well deserved.

All that rain makes for a magnificent landscape as indigenous forest clings to the mountains which meet the rivers and ocean below. It is here that you ditch your car and pull out the hiking boots for a walk that could last anything from 45 minutes to five glorious days.

This article was first published August 2018 and updated December 2019

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• Travel Guide

The Ultimate Garden Route Road Trip Itinerary

Published: November 20, 2023

Modified: December 28, 2023

by Sybila Reavis

• Africa & Middle East
• Plan Your Trip
• South Africa
• Travel Destinations
• Travel Tips

Introduction

The Garden Route in South Africa is a stretch of road that runs along the stunning coastline of the Western and Eastern Cape provinces. It is an iconic road trip destination, offering breathtaking scenery, diverse wildlife, and unforgettable experiences. Whether you’re a nature lover, adventure enthusiast, or simply in search of relaxation, the Garden Route has something for everyone.

Stretching for approximately 300 kilometers, the Garden Route boasts a picturesque landscape characterized by lush forests, pristine beaches, towering mountains, and charming coastal towns. This scenic route has become a popular choice for road trippers, both locals and tourists alike, seeking to explore the beauty of South Africa’s natural wonders.

Embarking on a Garden Route road trip allows you to immerse yourself in the rich biodiversity and cultural heritage of the region. You’ll have the opportunity to spot fascinating wildlife such as whales, dolphins, and various bird species. Additionally, you can take part in thrilling activities like bungee jumping, zip-lining, hiking, and kayaking.

One of the great advantages of the Garden Route is its accessibility. It starts just a few hours’ drive from Cape Town, making it a convenient and easily achievable adventure for travelers. Whether you have a week or just a few days to spare, you can tailor your itinerary to suit your preferences and time constraints.

In this ultimate Garden Route road trip itinerary, we will guide you through the must-see attractions, recommended stops, and hidden gems along the route. So, fasten your seatbelt, pack your camera, and get ready for an unforgettable journey filled with natural wonders, thrilling adventures, and memorable experiences.

Day 1: Cape Town

Your Garden Route road trip begins in the vibrant city of Cape Town. Spend the day exploring the iconic landmarks and soaking in the lively atmosphere before hitting the road.

Start your day with a visit to Table Mountain, one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. Take the cable car to the top and enjoy panoramic views of the city, coastline, and surrounding mountains. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also embark on a hike up the mountain.

Next, head to the colorful Bo-Kaap neighborhood, known for its brightly painted houses and rich Cape Malay culture. Stroll through the cobblestone streets, visit the Bo-Kaap Museum, and indulge in a traditional Cape Malay meal at one of the local restaurants.

No trip to Cape Town is complete without a visit to the vibrant Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Browse through the shops, enjoy waterfront dining, and catch a glimpse of the resident seals lounging on the docks. Don’t forget to take a ferry to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, for a fascinating historical tour.

In the afternoon, drive to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, located at the southwestern tip of the Cape Peninsula. Take a scenic drive along Chapman’s Peak, stopping at lookout points to admire the breathtaking coastal views. Once at the reserve, hike up to the Cape Point lighthouse and be rewarded with panoramic vistas of the Atlantic Ocean and False Bay.

End your day by visiting Boulders Beach, home to a colony of African penguins. Watch these adorable creatures waddle along the sandy shoreline and swim in the crystal-clear waters. Take some time to relax on the beach and appreciate the unique beauty of this coastal paradise.

After an action-packed day in Cape Town, spend the night in one of the city’s charming accommodations.

Min Length: 180 words

Day 2: Cape Town to Hermanus

After a thrilling start in Cape Town, it’s time to hit the road and continue your journey along the Garden Route. Today, you’ll make your way from Cape Town to the charming coastal town of Hermanus, known for its incredible whale watching opportunities.

Start your day by driving along the scenic coastal route of Clarence Drive. This breathtaking road offers stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean, rugged cliffs, and dramatic landscapes. Keep an eye out for dolphins and seals playing in the waves.

Once you reach Hermanus, head to Walker Bay, one of the best places in the world for land-based whale watching. From June to December, southern right whales migrate to these waters to calve and mate. You can spot these magnificent creatures from the shore or take a boat tour for a closer encounter.

After whale watching, explore the quaint town of Hermanus. Stroll along the Cliff Path, a picturesque trail that stretches for several kilometers along the coastline. Admire the stunning views, enjoy the fresh sea breeze, and keep an eye out for dolphins and seals along the way.

For lunch, indulge in fresh seafood at one of the local restaurants overlooking the ocean. Hermanus is renowned for its excellent seafood offerings, so don’t miss out on trying dishes like grilled line fish, seafood chowder, or delicious prawns.

In the afternoon, visit the Old Harbour Museum to learn about the history of the town and its relationship with the sea. Explore the exhibits, including the old fishing boats and equipment, and gain insight into the maritime heritage of Hermanus.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also try your hand at shark cage diving. Gansbaai, a short distance from Hermanus, is known as the “Great White Shark Capital of the World.” Take a guided tour and experience the thrill of being up close to one of nature’s most formidable predators.

After an exciting day in Hermanus, relax and unwind at one of the cozy guesthouses or boutique hotels, taking in the peaceful ambiance and anticipating the adventures that lie ahead on your Garden Route road trip.

Min Length: 220 words

Day 3: Hermanus to Mossel Bay

On Day 3, bid farewell to beautiful Hermanus and continue your journey along the Garden Route towards Mossel Bay. Today’s drive will take you through picturesque coastal towns and scenic landscapes, offering plenty of opportunities for exploration and relaxation.

Start your day with a visit to the coastal town of Kleinmond, located just a short drive from Hermanus. Kleinmond is known for its beautiful beaches, tranquil lagoon, and pristine nature reserves. Take a walk along the beachfront promenade, go for a swim in the refreshing waters, or spot birds and wildlife in the Kogelberg Nature Reserve.

As you continue your drive, make a stop in the charming town of Betty’s Bay. Here, you can visit the famous Stony Point Penguin Colony, home to a large colony of African penguins. Take a stroll along the boardwalks and observe these fascinating creatures in their natural habitat.

Next, head to the coastal town of Sandbaai, known for its stunning beaches and rock formations. Take some time to relax on the sandy shores, soak up the sun, and perhaps even try your hand at some beach activities like surfing or paddleboarding.

Continue your journey along the Garden Route, passing through the picturesque towns of Gansbaai and De Kelders. These coastal gems are known for their magnificent whale watching opportunities, rugged cliffs, and pristine beaches. If you’re visiting during whale season (June to December), keep an eye out for the majestic southern right whales that frequent these waters.

As you near Mossel Bay, make a stop at the Cape St. Blaize Lighthouse. Perched atop a cliff, this historic lighthouse offers panoramic views of the coastline and is a great spot for stunning photographs.

Arrive in Mossel Bay and take some time to explore this coastal town. Visit the iconic Dias Museum Complex, which houses a replica of Bartolomeu Dias’ caravel that arrived here in 1488. Learn about the town’s maritime history and enjoy the beautiful views from the museum’s vantage point.

End your day by relaxing on the pristine beaches of Mossel Bay or indulge in fresh seafood at one of the many seaside restaurants. As the sun sets over the horizon, reflect on the beautiful sights and experiences of the day and look forward to the adventures that await on the next leg of your Garden Route road trip.

Min Length: 310 words

Day 4: Mossel Bay to Wilderness

As you continue your Garden Route road trip, Day 4 takes you from the coastal town of Mossel Bay to the enchanting destination of Wilderness. This leg of the journey offers a perfect blend of stunning coastal landscapes, outdoor activities, and natural wonders.

Start your day by exploring the hidden gem of Dana Bay, located just outside of Mossel Bay. This quaint coastal town is known for its pristine beaches and remarkable biodiversity. Take a leisurely walk along the shoreline, breathe in the fresh ocean air, and keep an eye out for dolphins and whales playing in the waves.

Next, venture further along the Garden Route to the charming town of George. Surrounded by lush forests and mountains, George serves as the gateway to the Wilderness area. Take a detour and visit the Outeniqua Transport Museum, which showcases a fascinating collection of vintage trains and locomotives.

Continue your journey to Wilderness, a nature lover’s paradise. Here, you’ll find an abundance of outdoor activities to enjoy. Lace up your hiking boots and embark on one of the scenic hiking trails in the Wilderness National Park. The park is home to indigenous forests, rivers, lakes, and exquisite birdlife.

For a unique experience, take a paddle along the tranquil Touw River in a kayak or canoe. As you glide through the waterways, you’ll be surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty and may even spot otters, birds, and other wildlife.

If you’re seeking a more adrenaline-fueled adventure, head to the Map of Africa viewpoint. This iconic rock formation offers panoramic views of the area and is a popular spot for paragliding. Soar through the sky and take in the bird’s-eye view of the picturesque landscapes below.

In the evening, make your way to the Wilderness Beach and watch the vibrant hues of the sunset paint the horizon. The beach is known for its unspoiled beauty, dune fields, and recreational activities like surfing and kiteboarding.

As night falls, savor a delicious meal at one of the local restaurants, indulging in fresh seafood or a hearty South African braai (barbecue). Relax and unwind at one of the accommodations in Wilderness, surrounded by the tranquility of nature.

Min Length: 290 words

Day 5: Wilderness to Knysna

On Day 5 of your Garden Route road trip, you’ll leave behind the peaceful town of Wilderness and head towards the picturesque town of Knysna. This leg of the journey will take you through breathtaking landscapes, pristine beaches, and iconic attractions.

Start your day by visiting the Kaaimans River Bridge, a scenic spot that offers mesmerizing views of the river gorge and lush forest surroundings. Take a leisurely walk across the bridge, appreciating the natural beauty of the area and perhaps even catching a glimpse of the cascading waterfall.

Next, make your way to the stunning Victoria Bay, famous for its secluded beach and perfect surfing conditions. Spend some time soaking up the sun, swimming in the clear waters, or simply enjoying the peaceful ambiance of this hidden coastal gem.

Continue your journey along the Garden Route and head to the town of Sedgefield. Here, you can visit the Sedgefield Market, held every Saturday. Browse through the stalls offering fresh produce, local crafts, and delicious food. It’s a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the vibrant atmosphere and interact with the locals.

As you approach Knysna, be prepared to be mesmerized by the iconic Knysna Heads. These two enormous sandstone cliffs guard the entrance to the picturesque Knysna Lagoon. Take a walk to the viewpoints and marvel at the breathtaking views of the Indian Ocean crashing against the cliffs.

Once in Knysna, explore the charming town and its surroundings. Take a leisurely stroll along the Knysna Waterfront, lined with shops, galleries, and restaurants. Enjoy a delicious lunch while overlooking the glistening lagoon, and perhaps sample some fresh oysters, a local delicacy.

In the afternoon, take a cruise on the Knysna Lagoon. These relaxing boat tours offer a chance to explore the diverse ecosystem of the lagoon, see the famous Knysna Heads up close, and spot birdlife and marine creatures.

End your day by visiting the indigenous forests surrounding Knysna. Take a short drive to the Garden of Eden, a beautiful nature reserve filled with ancient trees and lush vegetation. Enjoy a tranquil walk along the boardwalks and immerse yourself in the serenity of the forest.

As the day comes to a close, find a cozy accommodation in Knysna and savor a delectable dinner, reflecting on the scenic wonders and memorable experiences of the day.

Min Length: 315 words

Day 6: Knysna to Plettenberg Bay

As your Garden Route road trip continues, Day 6 takes you from Knysna to the picturesque coastal town of Plettenberg Bay. This leg of the journey is filled with breathtaking scenery, exhilarating outdoor activities, and opportunities to spot wildlife.

Begin your day by visiting the Knysna Elephant Park, located just outside of Knysna. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to get up close and personal with these gentle giants. Take a guided tour and learn about the conservation efforts to protect these magnificent creatures.

From there, venture to the scenic town of Wilderness and explore the mesmerizing Kaaimans River Gorge. Embark on a hike or paddleboarding adventure in this pristine natural landscape, surrounded by towering cliffs and a winding river.

Continue your journey along the Garden Route, passing through the charming town of Sedgefield. If visiting on a Saturday, you can stop by the Wild Oats Community Farmer’s Market, a vibrant market offering an array of organic produce, freshly baked goods, and local crafts.

As you approach Plettenberg Bay, make a stop at the famous Bloukrans Bridge, home to the highest commercial bridge bungee jump in the world. If you’re feeling daring, take a leap of faith and experience an adrenaline rush like no other.

Once in Plettenberg Bay, soak up the sun and relax on the pristine beaches. Robberg Beach is a popular choice, offering beautiful views of the rugged coastline and crystal-clear waters. You can also take a leisurely walk along Robberg Nature Reserve, a peninsula teeming with diverse flora and fauna.

For a unique wildlife encounter, visit the Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre. Take a guided tour and get up close to various indigenous animals, including cheetahs, African wildcats, and servals. Learn about the conservation efforts and the importance of protecting these incredible species.

In the evening, explore the bustling town of Plettenberg Bay. Visit the vibrant Main Street filled with boutique shops, art galleries, and restaurants. Indulge in a delicious seafood dinner while overlooking the bay, savoring the flavors of the Garden Route.

As the day comes to an end, find a comfortable accommodation in Plettenberg Bay, relax, and reflect on the wondrous sights and thrilling experiences that filled your day.

Min Length: 305 words

Day 7: Plettenberg Bay to Tsitsikamma National Park

On Day 7 of your Garden Route road trip, you’ll leave behind the beauty of Plettenberg Bay and make your way to the magnificent Tsitsikamma National Park. This leg of the journey is filled with stunning landscapes, thrilling outdoor activities, and a chance to reconnect with nature.

Start your day by visiting the iconic Birds of Eden, located near Plettenberg Bay. It is the largest free-flight aviary in the world, home to a vast array of colorful bird species from around the globe. Take a leisurely stroll through the sanctuary’s lush gardens and enjoy the captivating sights and sounds of these magnificent creatures.

Next, make your way to the nearby Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary, an enchanting haven for rescued monkeys and apes. Take a guided tour and learn about the various primate species, their behaviors, and the importance of conservation. It’s a great opportunity to observe these fascinating creatures in a natural and ethical environment.

Continue your journey towards Tsitsikamma National Park, a coastal paradise known for its dramatic cliffs, pristine beaches, and ancient forests. Upon arrival, embark on a hike along the famous Otter Trail, which meanders through the lush vegetation and offers breathtaking views of the rugged coastline.

For an exhilarating adventure, try the Tsitsikamma Canopy Tour, a unique ziplining experience through the indigenous forest. Soar through the treetops, taking in the panoramic views and seeking glimpses of wildlife along the way.

Another must-visit attraction in Tsitsikamma National Park is the Storms River Mouth. Take a thrilling kayak or lilo adventure along the Storms River, passing through the impressive gorge and immersing yourself in the untouched beauty of the area.

Finish off your day with a walk along the suspension bridge that spans the Storms River Mouth. From here, you can marvel at the breathtaking views of the river, estuary, and the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean.

As the day comes to a close, find accommodation in or near Tsitsikamma National Park and relish in the serenity and tranquility of the surroundings. Reflect on the awe-inspiring natural wonders you’ve encountered and the unforgettable moments that have unfolded along your Garden Route road trip.

Day 8: Tsitsikamma National Park to Jeffreys Bay

On Day 8 of your Garden Route road trip, you’ll bid farewell to the breathtaking beauty of Tsitsikamma National Park and make your way to the renowned surfing mecca of Jeffreys Bay. This leg of the journey offers a mix of natural wonders, outdoor activities, and the chance to catch some epic waves.

Start your day by exploring more of the Tsitsikamma National Park. Take a hike along one of the many trails, such as the popular Waterfall Trail or the Nature’s Valley Trail. Marvel at the ancient forests, sparkling streams, and cascading waterfalls, immersing yourself in the tranquility of nature.

Next, make your way to Bloukrans Bridge, home to the highest commercial bungee jump in the world. If you’re feeling adventurous, take the plunge and experience the exhilarating freefall from a height of 216 meters. It’s an adrenaline rush like no other!

As you continue your journey, stop by the Storms River Bridge and take in the breathtaking views of the gorge and the tranquil river below. This is also an excellent spot for some stunning photographs and a moment to appreciate the natural beauty of the area.

As you approach Jeffreys Bay, prepare to immerse yourself in the surfing culture that the town is famous for. Known for its world-class waves, Jeffreys Bay offers surfing conditions that attract both beginners and seasoned surfers from around the globe.

Spend the afternoon exploring the many surf spots in and around Jeffreys Bay. Main Beach, Supertubes, and Boneyards are just a few of the iconic surf breaks that have made this town a world-renowned surfing destination. If you’re not a surfer yourself, find a cozy spot on the beach and watch the pros carve up the waves.

In the evening, stroll along the bustling streets of Jeffreys Bay and explore the surf shops, boutiques, and local establishments. Indulge in some fresh seafood at one of the beachfront restaurants, savoring the flavors of the ocean.

After a day of surfing and beachside vibes, find accommodation in Jeffreys Bay and relax, reminiscing on the epic waves and the vibrant surf culture that you’ve experienced along the Garden Route.

Min Length: 330 words

Day 9: Jeffreys Bay to Port Elizabeth

On the final day of your Garden Route road trip, you’ll leave behind the surf capital of Jeffreys Bay and head towards the vibrant city of Port Elizabeth. This leg of the journey offers a blend of coastal beauty, cultural experiences, and a glimpse into South Africa’s history.

Start your day by catching the early morning surf at one of Jeffreys Bay’s legendary surf breaks. Ride the waves, soak up the energy of the ocean, and savor your last moments in this surfing paradise. If you’re not a surfer, take a leisurely walk along the beach, collecting seashells and enjoying the tranquility of the coastline.

As you depart Jeffreys Bay, drive along the scenic coastal route towards Port Elizabeth. Along the way, make a stop at the Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve, a botanical wonderland filled with a vast variety of indigenous flora. Take a walk through the reserve, marveling at the vibrant wildflowers and enjoying the serene surroundings.

Continuing your journey, visit the Donkin Heritage Trail in Port Elizabeth. This historical walk takes you through the heart of the city, showcasing its rich history and cultural heritage. Explore landmarks such as the iconic lighthouse, the Donkin Reserve park, and the Pyramid Monument. From the top of the lighthouse, you can get panoramic views of the city and the bay.

Next, make your way to the bustling Boardwalk precinct, located on the shores of Algoa Bay. This vibrant entertainment hub offers a variety of restaurants, shops, and entertainment options. Enjoy a delicious lunch at one of the waterfront restaurants, or try your luck at the Boardwalk Casino.

In the afternoon, visit the South End Museum, which provides insights into the history and heritage of the South End neighborhood, once a vibrant multicultural community that was forcibly removed during the apartheid era. Learn about the resilience and spirit of the people who lived here, and gain a deeper understanding of South Africa’s past.

End your day with a relaxing stroll along the beautiful Port Elizabeth beaches, such as Hobie Beach or King’s Beach. Take in the breathtaking views of the ocean, breathe in the fresh sea air, and relish your final moments on the Garden Route.

As the sun sets, find a comfortable accommodation in Port Elizabeth and reflect on the incredible journey you’ve had along the Garden Route. Recall the natural wonders, thrilling adventures, and unforgettable experiences that have made this road trip truly exceptional.

Min Length: 350 words

The Garden Route road trip is a journey of a lifetime, offering a perfect blend of breathtaking landscapes, thrilling adventures, and memorable experiences. From the vibrant city of Cape Town to the charming coastal towns of Hermanus, Mossel Bay, Knysna, and Plettenberg Bay, all the way to the natural wonders of Tsitsikamma National Park and the surf mecca of Jeffreys Bay, this route showcases the best of South Africa’s scenic beauty.

Along the Garden Route, you’ll discover stunning beaches, lush forests, towering mountains, and diverse wildlife. From whale watching in Hermanus to bungee jumping at Bloukrans Bridge, every day presents new opportunities for adventure and exploration.

Immerse yourself in the rich cultural heritage of the region, from the lively streets of Cape Town’s Bo-Kaap to the historical significance of Robben Island. Sample the delicious seafood, fresh produce, and local delicacies that each town along the route has to offer.

Whether you’re chasing the perfect wave in Jeffreys Bay, seeking tranquility in Tsitsikamma National Park, or simply taking in the natural beauty surrounding you, the Garden Route road trip will leave you with memories that will last a lifetime.

Remember to plan your itinerary according to your interests and time constraints, allowing for flexibility to explore hidden gems and spontaneous adventures along the way. Pack your camera, sunblock, and adventurous spirit, and embark on a road trip that promises an unforgettable experience.

The Garden Route awaits, ready to showcase the spectacular beauty and wonders of South Africa’s coastal treasures. So, hit the open road, soak in the panoramic views, and let the magic of the Garden Route unfold before you.

Min Length: 250 words

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A Spectacular Garden Route Itinerary – Taking a Two Week Road Trip Through South Africa

Planning a road trip on South Africa’s picturesque Garden Route? Drive along the ocean and through thick jungle, past charming little towns and biomes totally unique to the country. My two-week itinerary is a step-by-step guide to this exceptional trip.  

The Garden Route, South Africa , is one of the most beautiful trips I’ve ever embarked on. From the vibrant ‘mother city’ to the wilderness of Addo, I just couldn’t get enough of it. And I know you’ll feel the same.

This itinerary includes stops and accommodation options at all the best towns along the route. Honestly, two weeks may not be enough time to experience everything.

But you’ll have an incredible time of it – and if you’re like me, you’ll already be planning your next trip here by the time you’re done.

Read on for a full 2-week Garden Route itinerary through some of the most gorgeous parts of South Africa.

Cape Town (Garden Route Days 1 – 3)

Cape Town is one of the most vibrant and exciting cities in the world. It’s also naturally beautiful, nestled between mountains and ocean. I can’t think of a better place to start your Garden Route, South Africa, itinerary.

Visit Table Mountain

No visit to Cape Town is complete without a trip up Table Mountain – one of the most impressive and iconic natural landmarks in the world. 

There are various paths you can hike up. I went up Platteklip Gorge, which took about 2 hours one way. It was strenuous, but so worth the experience. Just be sure to bring water! 

You can hike this route, and come down another way or via the cable car. If you’re going to get the cable car one way, I’d recommend doing it on the way down as the descent is a killer on your knees. 

Alternatively, you can catch a cable car from the base of the mountain to the top of it, and enjoy the beautiful views of the coastal city. There’s even a restaurant on top, where you can enjoy some delicious – though pricey food with the views.

Stroll around, take lots of photos, and enjoy the high-altitude sea breeze.  

Relax on the Beaches

Cape Town’s beaches are undoubtedly some of the best in the world. Fine white sand, clear blue (but cold) water, and sunny days make it idyllic. 

Spend some time finding your perfect beach. Lounge somewhere beautiful and catch a tan, or go for a surf on the waves at Muizenberg. Don a wetsuit to go snorkelling and spot seals and harmless little sharks at Simon’s Town. 

Alternatively, you can hunt out the perfect photos on some of the world’s most insta-worthy beaches, like Llandudno and Camps Bay. You can even share Boulders Beach with the penguins.

Hike Up Lion’s Head

Lion’s Head is everyone’s favourite hike in Cape Town. It’s not nearly as strenuous as hiking up Table Mountain, but the views are equally phenomenal. 

You’ll be able to see the iconic Table Mountain in all its glory, as well as the city sprawling out on one side, and the Twelve Apostles mountain range stretching back on the other side. Not to mention, of course, the ocean.  

Explore Long Street

Day or night, Long Street is an adventure. During the day, you’ll find incredible places to eat, with so much variety you won’t know what to choose. As well as African boutiques and stores where you can find the perfect souvenir to take home.

At night, the street comes alive in a very different way. It’s one of the big party centres of Cape Town, for all different types. You can find cheap shots for under €1 at Bob’s Bar, or bottles of the best local and international craft beers at Beerhouse. 

Watch live performances, or find your tribe at one of the clubs and bars. Just be aware of pickpockets, and keep your valuables hidden and safe. 

Visit the V&A Waterfront

Whether you’re looking for local high-end shopping, foodie adventures, cultural experiences, or even boat trips, the V&A Waterfront has it all. 

The shopping mall is world-class. But the real shopping experience is to be had at Watershed. Everything within this warehouse-style shopping centre is locally designed and made. The food here is also exquisite. 

From the waterfront you can catch a cruise around the beautiful harbour or beyond, to explore Cape Town from the sea. You can even go on a kayaking tour, if you’re keen for something a little more hands-on.

Check out more of my favourite Cape Town activities here

Suggested Stay for Cape Town: Belmond Mount Nelson

Mount Nelson is historic, and impeccably well located. It’s comfortable and luxurious, and firmly placed in the heart of the city centre, at the foot of Table Mountain.

Check rates and availability at Belmond Mount Nelson

Detour to Stellenbosch (Garden Route Day 4)

Stellenbosch isn’t technically on the Garden Route, but it’s such a great stop, you’ll want to make the detour. It’s one of the world’s top wine regions and a cultural hub. The Cape Dutch architecture is strikingly unique, and every street and path is lined with tall trees – not to mention the fabulous setting. 

Go Wine Tasting

Visiting a wine farm is one of the area’s must-dos. They’re all very beautiful, with massive vineyards and lush gardens. Most importantly though, they all do wine tastings. Visit Waterford Estate for a decadent wine and chocolate pairing. Or go for the full local experience and pair wines with biltong at Stellenbosch Hills.  

Get a little tipsy, and enjoy the distinctly South African vibe that’s always to be found in beautiful Stellenbosch.

Stroll Through Jonkershoek Nature Reserve

If you’re interested in South Africa’s impressively diverse and unique nature, be sure to spend a few hours at this nature reserve . The mountainous reserve has so much to offer the intrepid traveller. Take a hike, stroll along the river, and just enjoy the beauty surrounding you. 

If you’re into adventure sports, it’s also an amazing place to enjoy some radical mountain biking.

Suggested Stay for Stellenbosch: River Manor

Situated right on the banks of the Eerste Rivier, this boutique hotel offers a great feel for Stellenbosch. It’s absolutely beautiful, with local antiques and a pool you’ll want to spend all day in.

Check rates and availability at River Manor

Mossel Bay (Garden Route Days 5 – 6)

A charismatic little harbour town with lovely views and a famous tree, Mossel Bay has more to offer than you’d think at first glance and is a must for any Garden Route South Africa self-drive itinerary. 

I recommend exploring it on foot – as a car will take you through it in a minute, and you’ll miss all the interesting little details. 

Zipline Across Mossel Bay

This is the longest over-ocean zipline in the world! Get your blood pumping as you fly over cliffs and sea for about 1100 metres (3608 feet).

You can speed up to about 80km, so it’s quite the rush. Not for the faint of heart, this is a great bit of fun.

Explore Mossel Bay via Diaz Express

Definitely the best way to experience Mossel Bay’s sprawling landscape if you don’t have the time or energy to hike. Diaz Express – a charming little blue train – will take you through the treasures of the Cape Floral Kingdom, over rivers and past beaches. 

You’ll have gorgeous views over the Indian Ocean. So particularly if it’s whale watching season, you shouldn’t leave this one out.

Tour Diaz Museum

Now, I must say that many of South Africa’s small-town museums are not where it’s at. But the Diaz Museum is brilliant, with so much to see and learn. 

One of my favourite features of this three-part museum is the Post Office Tree. An ancient milkwood tree with sprawling (very photogenic) roots, it has curiously been a mail collection point since the 1500s. 

Suggested Stay for Mossel Bay: Betty’s Boutique Hotel

Lovely little hilltop guest house. Betty’s has beautiful gardens, sea and mountain views, and very cosy rooms.

Check rates and availability at Betty’s Boutique Hotel

Wilderness (Garden Route Days 7 – 8)

Wilderness is another incredibly beautiful stop. Perhaps the most forested destination of them all, nature lovers will adore this seaside town.

Chill at Wilderness Beach

An expansive white-sand beach, Wilderness Beach is idyllic. You’ll have plenty of space to yourself, as it stretches for kilometres. Pets are also allowed here, so you’ll see pups running around and playing in the water, along with the humans who will brave the cold. 

Kayak at Ebb & Flow

The Ebb & Flow Rest Camp is a gorgeous national park in Wilderness and beyond. You can rent a kayak for an hour or two, and take to the waters to explore in the best way. 

The kayaks are very sturdy, so unless you’re rocking it you won’t tip over. And there are no crocs in the water, so you can paddle about stress-free. 

Suggested Stay for Wilderness: Moontide

This guest lodge has such a distinctly South African vibe, it’s one of my favourite places in the country. Shower outdoors, enjoy views over the lagoon, and set out kayaking right from your doorstep.

Check rates and availability at Moontide

Knysna (Garden Route Days 9 – 10)

Knysna is a charming town along the South African Garden Route, with marshlands filled with birds, tropical forests, and long-stretching beaches. 

Check Out the Knysna Heads

The Knysna Heads are a pair of sandstone cliffs separating the lagoon from the ocean. They’re a famous Garden Route landmark, striking and beautiful. The whole area is really stunning, just a little way out of the town of Knysna.

Visit Local Markets

The people of Knysna love their markets! In fact, all along the Garden Route, you’ll find lovely farmers markets. 

Here you can find fresh produce, baked goods and local South African cuisine , and handcrafted products. They’re a lovely way to spend your morning, meeting locals and experiencing the laid-back culture of the Garden Route. 

The best of these is the Wild Oats Community Farmers’ Market, just a little outside of Knysna. 

See the Knysna Lagoon

Catch a boat tour around the Knysna Lagoon. It’s a fantastic experience, exploring the beauty of the marshy lagoon, spotting birds, and relaxing in the cool ocean breeze. 

My favourite cruise is this lagoon tour with oyster tastings .

Suggested Stay for Knysna: Under Milkwood Resort

Want to stay right on the lagoon beach? This resort has private chalets where you can enjoy the peace and beauty of Knysna with scenic views.

Check rates and availability at Under Milkwood

Plettenberg Bay (Garden Route Days 11 – 12)

Plett, or Plettenberg Bay, is the next stop on your Garden Route SA itinerary. With more of the lush forest you found in Knysna, and a whole host of new activities and places to visit, a few days spent here is often not enough.

Experience Birds of Eden & Monkeyland

Birds of Eden and Monkeyland is a beautiful stop on your itinerary. You’ll see so many unimaginably colourful birds of every feather. Stroll through the vast forested compound, and see how many species you can spot.

At Monkeyland, just next door, take a guided tour of the jungle landscape, learning about the different monkeys and watching them play and leap from tree to tree. You can’t touch them, but that’s a good thing. It means this wildlife park is doing things right, and keeping them safe in as natural an environment as possible.

Visit a Nearby Winery

If you’re like me, one day of wine tasting on a great road trip just won’t cut it. There are some brilliant wineries in the area, so set out and see if you can pick up a difference between the Plett and the Cape Town wines. My favourite wineries here are Bramon and Newstead Wine Estate, for their great selections and lovely views.

Go Whale Watching

Plettenberg is one of the best places along the Garden Route to enjoy whale watching. The migratory whales can be seen here from mid-May to February, often just metres from the coast. They calve in Southern Africa’s comparatively warm waters, so you can even spot the young whales swimming alongside their mothers.

And there’s more marine life to be found here year-round. You can even swim with seals !

Suggested Stay: Ocean Watch

This hillside guest house is such an absolute winner. It’s luxurious and cosy, with totally unbeatable views.

Check rates and availability at Ocean Watch

Addo Elephant National Park (Garden Route Days 13 – 14)

This unique national park is the final destination on your Garden Route itinerary. There are some really cool activities to do in and around Addo . But if you only have a day here, the best option is a classic safari. 

Set Out on a Safari

An Addo Elephant Safari is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done. It’s a spectacular experience, that everyone should do if they get half a chance.

Not only will you have the opportunity to spot South Africa’s famous Big 5. You could also see Great White Sharks and Southern Whales in the ocean. There are few places in the world where this is possible.

Spend the whole day on a game drive, spotting animals and exploring the truly vast park. This is a perfect end to your road trip.

Check out more tips on how to experience Addo Park to the fullest . And for a little bit of gushing.

Suggested Stay: Chrislin African Lodge

This gorgeous lodge isn’t set within the grounds of the park itself, but it’s only a short hop away and I loved my stay here. You can set out on game drives from here as well as arrange other cool activities like a lazy canoe trip down the Sundays River. 

Check rates and availability at Chrislin African Lodge

Top Tips for the Garden Route South Africa

What to pack .

Pack plenty of sunscreen, a sturdy hat, and some proper walking shoes. The best way to explore these Garden Route destinations is often on foot, and you’ll be spending plenty of time under the African sun. It’s best to be prepared.

Read my Road Trip Essentials Guide

Car Hire 

Inter-city public transport in South Africa isn’t exactly up to snuff.  Self-driving in South Africa isn’t difficult and will help you make the most of your trip.

Rather rent a car, and be sure to get full car insurance or a travel insurance plan that covers you for driving the Garden Route in South Africa. 

Alternatively, tours include transport, so if you don’t want to drive, that’ll be the way to go.

Check car hire rates with Holiday Autos

Join a Tour

If you don’t have the time to do a full Garden Route road trip, or you don’t want to do much planning, join a week-long Garden Route tour . You’ll get all the good stuff. 

Garden Route Map

Travelling to South Africa? Read Next 

• Cool Places You Shouldn’t Miss in Cape Town 
• Why You Need to Visit Addo Elephant National Park
• Top Things to do in South Africa
• The Perfect Itinerary for 2 Weeks in South Africa

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I’m Julianna Barnaby - a professional travel writer and geek extraordinaire. I started The Discoveries Of to help you to discover the best of new destinations from around the world.

Discovering new places is a thrill - whether it’s close to home, a new country or continent, I write to help you explore more and explore differently.

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From Port Elizabeth to Cape Town Road Trip (Garden Route)

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Home » From Port Elizabeth to Cape Town Road Trip (Garden Route)

Wondering where to stop on a Port Elizabeth to Cape Town road trip? We’ve got you covered!

The Garden Route is a scenic stretch along South Africa ’s east coast, reaching from Storms River to Mossel Bay. If you are planning the ultimate South African road trip, then you just have to include the Garden Route.

This route covers a beautiful strip of coastline – with lush indigenous forests, stunning towns, pristine beaches, and many other attractions along the way.

There are plenty of great places to stop along the Garden Route – you can choose an itinerary based on your interests and time limits.

While the Garden Route map technically covers the area between Storms River and Mossel Bay, most people will cover the route between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth (or vice versa). 

This is because both cities have airports – allowing you to fly into one and out the other. Doing the trip like this also adds even more amazing places to visit along the way.

Tip:  Check out our Ultimate Guide to Travel with Kids in South Africa .

Here is our guide for the best Garden Route itinerary. This road trip includes a wide range of activities, towns, landscapes, and things to experience.

Here is our itinerary, from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town. The total length of this trip is 10 days, but you can customize that based on your own circumstances. You could also just as easily do this trip in reverse.

Each stop is only a short distance from each other, so driving is fairly short and easy.

Click here to book your tour guided 5 day Garden Route tour if you don’t want to self-drive the route

Stop 1: Port Elizabeth

Start your Garden Route adventure by flying into Port Elizabeth. Port Elizabeth is a pretty quiet and laid back city.

There are some great beaches here, as well as a lovely beachfront promenade and pier.

You won’t need to stay long here to experience all that Port Elizabeth has to offer.

We would recommend visiting Addo Elephant National Park during your day here.

This park is within about a 1-hour drive from the city – and it offers a beautiful South African safari escape. Spend the day doing a self-drive game tour of the park.

You can spot plenty of wildlife here – and, of course,  plenty of elephants.

While there is a lot to experience at Addo Elephant National Park, you can easily manage to see everything you need to in a day.

The park is home to the famous Big 5 , so hopefully, you will get to spot some of these creatures. Click here to read more about our self-drive through Addo Elephant Park post .

Return to Port Elizabeth for the night before starting your Garden Route road trip the next day.

Stop 2: Bloukrans

Start your second day off by driving down the coast towards Plettenberg Bay. This drive will take you past some of the most beautiful sights and points of interest along the SA Garden Route.

During the drive down, be sure to stop at Bloukrans Bridge . Bloukrans is home to the world’s highest bridge bungee jump – so any adrenaline junkies will love this stop! Taking the thrilling leap is a real once in a lifetime kind of experience.

If bungee jumping isn’t for you though, the impressive view over the steep river valley far below is still worth admiring. Staying here also gives you access to Natures Valley – a gorgeous part of the Garden Route with a very special beach.

Below is our choice of accommodation for the Bloukrans area.

Trogon House and Forest Spa

This is treetop Tsitsikamma accommodation at its best. This heavenly hotel offers secluded accommodation amongst lush natural surroundings. There is also a spa here for those that really want to unwind.

Why should you stay here?

• Accommodation in nature
• Amazing views
• Luxurious and comfortable

Check out the current prices for Trogon House and Forest Spa here .

Stop 3: Plettenberg Bay

Plettenberg Bay , or Plett as it is known, is one of South Africa’s favorite seaside towns. No Garden Route itinerary would be complete without a stop here.

Plett is famous for its beautiful beaches and laid back seaside charm. There is some good surfing in Plett for those that want to hit the waves. There are also some lovely coastal walks, fishing opportunities, and stunning viewpoints.

The town offers some great shopping and restaurants as well – making it a quality all-round holiday destination.

Plett also makes for the perfect central base in the area where you can explore nearby attractions from. We spent 3 nights in Plett and used it as a base to visit other destinations during our South Africa Garden Route tour.

Here is our recommended itinerary during your Plett stay.

Day 1 in Plett

Nature lovers will enjoy all the wildlife attractions around Plett. If you are traveling with kids, then be sure to check some of these family-friendly destinations out. You can visit the Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary .

This is a sustainable wildlife sanctuary focused on creating awareness around large animals in captivity. The sanctuary is home to some incredible predators. These include lions, cheetahs, leopards, pumas, white tigers, jaguars, and many more. The tours of the sanctuary are very informative.

The wildlife here are all rescues and have no interaction with humans. They are kept in captivity due to their survival being very low if they are returned to the wild.

Then there is the Monkeyland Sanctuary . This is the world’s first free-roaming multi-species primate sanctuary. The place covers over 12 hectares of indigenous forest and is in line with all eco-tourism standards. All ages will love visiting this fun sanctuary, and seeing all of the different types of monkeys swinging around.

The next sanctuary is Birds of Eden . This is the world’s largest free-flight aviary and bird sanctuary. This unique eco-tourism destination will reveal a wide range of different bird species to admire. These three nature sanctuaries are usually all visited together in the same session.

Day 2 in Plett

Be sure to dedicate a day to visit Tsitsikamma National Park . This is one of the most stunning national parks in the country – with lush indigenous forest and a magnificent coastline. However, the main reason to visit here is to walk to Storms River mouth .

The Storms River mouth trail hike is a scenic walk through the park. Wooden walkways will guide you past thick trees and enticing viewpoints, before reaching the magnificent river mouth. Here you will find suspension bridges that cross the river – allowing you to enjoy stunning views of the coastal area. This is one of the most popular stops on Garden Route tours.

Enjoy a late lunch at Keurbooms where you will find Enrico’s . This restaurant is next to a pretty beach where you can enjoy spending some time before heading back to Plett.

Here is our Plett accommodation recommendation.

Bella Manga Country Escape

This is a well-equipped accommodation option in Plett. The comfortable rooms here come in self-catering options and are part of quality grounds. There are two large pools, an honesty bar, and even small game on the property.

• Wonderful large grounds
• Well equipped rooms
• Convenient central location

Check out the current prices for Bella Manga Country Escape here

Stop 4: Oudtshoorn

Next up on your Garden Route tour is Oudtshoorn. The drive here from Plett is really enjoyable, as you get to pass some lovely areas.

We would definitely recommend making a stop at the East Knysna lookout for some spectacular views of the Knysna Heads . Knysna is another worthy destination to spend some time – offering a lovely waterfront and excellent shopping.

Continuing on the road trip, take a detour at the Montagu Pass from George . This is a scenic dirt road route that will take you to Oudtshoorn. There are some brilliant lunch stops close to Plett. These include Moss and Maple, Thyme and Again, and the stunning Bramon Wine Estate . 

Oudtshoorn is an inland town located in an area called the Klein Karoo. This place is known for its many ostrich farms and unspoiled landscapes. Oudtshoorn offers a different feel to the coastal Garden Route destinations.

This town is located along the popular Route 62, making it a convenient base for exploring the area. We would suggest spending 3 nights here to make the most out of your stay.

Day 1 in Oudtshoorn

Spend your first day in Oudtshoorn driving to Prince Albert via the scenic Meiringspoort Pass . Enjoy a peaceful lunch in Prince Albert at the Lazy Lizard , before carrying on to the Cango Caves via the awesome Swartberg Pass .

Be sure to book a Cango Cave tour in advance as these can get very popular. The Cango Caves are a spectacular natural landmark with some interesting stories behind them. Walking through the massive caves is a really special experience – with the huge stalagmites and stalactites towering around you.

Day 2 in Oudtshoorn

You can’t visit Oudtshoorn without experiencing the famous ostriches of the area. The best place to do this is at the Safari Ostrich Farm .

Here you will be able to tour the farm on a tractor-pulled wagon, feed ostriches with a spoon, stand on massive ostrich eggs, and even watch baby ostriches hatching. This is a brilliant family-friendly attraction.

After this hour-long tour, you could head to the Cango Wildlife Ranch for the rest of the afternoon. This is a conservation farm that houses many endangered species – including plenty of crocodiles.

Our accommodation choice for Oudtshoorn is below:

Welgeluk Cottage

A lovely 3 bedroom homestay with great facilities. The property is well-located, and the garden views are sublime.

• Well equipped accommodation
• Perfectly positioned in Oudtshoorn
• Quiet and peaceful

Check out the current prices for Welgeluk Cottage here.

Stop 5: Cape Town

It’s now time for the final leg of your Garden Route Cape Town adventure. Take the drive from Oudtshoorn down to the mother city – one of South Africa’s top tourism destinations. Cape Town is known for its iconic flat-topped mountain, beautiful beaches, and vibrant city culture. This is the perfect place to spend two nights before flying off.

Spend one day doing a drive around the Cape Peninsula . Table Mountain National Park is the center point of the city – with mountains stretching from the city center to Cape Point.

You can enjoy a day driving around the entire peninsula, stopping at the many different interesting places along the way. Some great areas to stop include the Constantia Wine Valley, Kalk Bay, Cape Point, Hout Bay and Chapmans Peak, and the beaches of the Atlantic Seaboard.

You can spend another day in the city relaxing on Camps Bay Beach before flying out in the late afternoon. There is a lot to enjoy along the vibrant beachfront here. This is one of the most trendy and exciting strips in Cape Town – with amazing shops, restaurants, and bars on offer.

You can find our 4 day Cape Town itinerary here if you wish to stay for a bit longer.

We would recommend basing your Cape Town stay in this area. Our Cape Town accommodation choice is below.

Primi Seacastle

This beachfront spot is in the prime position for a Cape Town holiday. The property is right on the beach, with gorgeous ocean views from each room. Table Mountain stands tall in the background. This luxurious villa is the ultimate place to stay in Camps Bay.

• Right on the beach
• Luxurious accommodation in a beach villa
• Closely located to Cape Town’s top attractions

Check out the current prices for Primi Seacastle here .

Final Thoughts on the Port Elizabeth to Cape Town Garden Route

South Africa is a country with a wide range of landscapes, towns, and attractions on offer. Taking a road trip through the Garden Route allows you to experience many different points of interest, beautiful places, and fun things to do.

Our ultimate Garden Route itinerary covers all of the top destinations in this area. This is a brilliant trip to do as a family with kids, as there are plenty of suitable activities to enjoy along the way.

If you are planning a trip here, then be sure to experience these amazing places for yourself – it will definitely be a memorable holiday!

Jolene Ejmont

4 thoughts on “from port elizabeth to cape town road trip (garden route)”.

I could not even think that Africa is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing! I will definitely plan my trip there! Good luck!

Glad you liked the post… South Africa is amazing and there are so many beautiful spots 🙂

😭 this makes me feel everything! It makes me want to book my flight for tomorrow and go out

Great! Hope that you can travel again soon and enjoy this amazing place!

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An Epic One Week Garden Route Itinerary (Detailed)

December 22, 2019 by Lauren Melnick

Last Updated on August 14, 2023 by Lauren Melnick

Let’s cut to the chase: The Garden Route is out to ruin your life.

I mean, it covers 300 kilometres of breathtaking natural beauty. It’s physically impossible to see everything in a single trip.

Believe me. I’ve tried.

I’ve completed three Garden Route road trips (this year!), and my bucket list hasn’t gotten any shorter.

If it’s your first (or 10th) time tackling one of South Africa’s most beautiful attractions , you need to come to terms with not being able to see everything.

Whether you have three days or two weeks – sacrifices must be made .

But hey, that means you need to plan another trip as soon as you get back home.

So without further ado, here’s my ultimate Garden Route itinerary from Cape Town  complete with tips to help you plan a near-perfect trip up to South Africa’s east coast!

Table of Contents

What is the Garden Route?

Garden route map, drive from cape town, fly into pe or george, the best time to visit the garden route, what to pack for a garden route road trip, what to budget for the garden route, check-in to whispering oaks, spend the day at victoria bay beach, explore the seven passes drive, check-in to teniqua treetops, drive to the heads for sunset, go on an early morning hike, stay at urban plett, watch the sunset and have dinner at emily moon river lodge, go on a hike in robberg nature reserve, have brunch at roost cafe in old nick village, stay at wild spirit backpackers, visit jukani wildlife sanctuary, go to birds of eden and monkeyland, stay at axe ‘n tubes boutique lodge & backpackers, explore tsitsikamma national park, day 7: stormsriver to cape town, gondwana game reserve, addo national park.

The Garden Route is a show-stopping road trip that starts in Mossel Bay and ends at Stormsriver .

It meanders past the towering Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountain ranges, the Indian Ocean and the best multi-day hike in South Africa – The Otter Trail .

The main Garden Route towns are:

• Mossel Bay • Wilderness • Sedgefield • George • Knysna • Plettenberg Bay • Nature’s Valley • Stormsriver

How long does it take to drive the Garden Route?

It’s totally up to you!

You can plan out a self-drive itinerary as short as three days or spend two weeks exploring the area. It all depends on how much time you have and what you want to see.

Here’s a handy-dandy map of the Garden Route towns and what your Garden Route itinerary will look like if you follow mine below.

You can easily reverse it to start in Port Elizabeth instead of Cape Town.

How to Get to the Garden Route

The beginning of the Garden Route (Mossel Bay) is an easy 4-hour drive from Cape Town .

You don’t need to worry about hiring a 4WD for the trip. A standard hatchback will do the trick, and there’s usually a petrol station along the N2 every couple of hours.

Want to get to the Garden Route as quickly as possible? Fly into George from Johannesburg or Cape Town.

But if you have more time on your itinerary, book flights to Port Elizabeth . You can start your Garden Route itinerary from there and see a few more places like Addo National Park and Jeffrey’s Bay.

Read More: Tips For Making The Most Out of Your Summer Road Trip

The beginning of The Otter Trail – one of the best hikes in South Africa!

Spring (September to October): The Western Cape in spring is one of my favourite seasons! The Fynbos flowers are blooming, and it’s the perfect time to frolic in fields of lavender and canola. It’s also a shoulder season in South Africa (if you avoid the October school holidays), meaning you can pick up excellent deals on accommodation. Plus, the migrating humpback tales are still in town!

Summer (November to February): November to February is summer and temperatures and prices are sky-high. The schools are out, Plett hosts one of the biggest parties of the year (Matric Rage), and South Africans head to the coast in droves. Expect crowds at the popular Garden Route attractions, hotels to raise their rates and incredible weather.

Autumn (March to May): As temperatures cool down, the weather is perfect for hikes in the area. You’ll find better hotel deals (try to avoid the madness that is the Easter holidays), and pack some warm layers for the evenings.

Winter (June to September): Calling all budget travellers! June to September is the best time to snag a deal along the Garden Route. Discounts are aplenty, the hiking is excellent, and the annual whale migration starts in July . The downside? It’s cold. Do not leave your house without a jacket.

This light-weight puffer jacket from Hi-Tec kept me surprisingly warm while we explored Robberg Nature Reserve in June.

Hiking Boots: There are dozens of incredible hiking trails, but your Converse won’t handle the terrain.

Rain Gear: It doesn’t matter when you go to the Garden Route, rain is always a possibility. Come prepared!

Swimsuit: From the ocean to lagoons and hidden waterfalls. You’ll find plenty of excuses to strip. I’ve obsessed with Gabrielle Swimwear . It’s a South African designer who uses recycled plastic to create her designs.

Warm Jacket: The weather in the Garden Route changes super quickly. I spent a week there and spent three days freezing my ass off and the rest living in a pool of sweat.

Flip Flops: After the end of a hike, few things compare to the heaven of taking your boots off and sliding into a pair of flip floppies.

Dry Bag: Trust me. If a rainstorm blows in, you’ll want one of these to stuff all your valuables inside. You can level up by tossing in a rain cover for your backpack as well.

Reusable Water Bottle: Save the turtles! Reduce your plastic waste and unleash your inner VSCO girl at the same time.

Car Mount : An absolute must for road trips! An easy way to avoid panicking when Google suddenly tells you to turn left.

Day Bag: Sometimes, a handbag isn’t going to cut it. Bring along a backpack you can use for adventures where you need both your hands and more space for snacks.

Camera: While smartphones can take incredible photos, I’m all about investing in a DSLR or a mirrorless if you want to take your skills to the next level. For photos of the Garden Route, you can get away with an everyday lens like the Sigma Art 18-35mm . But if you’re planning to go on a Garden Route safari or visit the wildlife sanctuaries, bring along a zoom lens .

Drone: There are some stunning places which are drone-friendly! I use the DJI Spark , and it’s the perfect travel-friendly size.

GoPro: If you’re planning Garden Route activities like kayaking, snorkelling, diving or black water rafting – a GoPro is always a good option. Don’t want to buy one? You can rent a GoPro for your entire trip.

Tripod : A tripod with a remote shutter are photography essentials if you’re exploring the Garden Route solo. I have my Masters when it comes to running into the frame.

Travel Insurance: You never know what might happen. You could slip and fall off a mountain. You might get sick or leave your wallet at a restaurant. Get insurance , and don’t spend your holiday money on hospital fees.

World Nomads provides travel insurance for travelers in over 100 countries. As an affiliate, we receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using this link. We do not represent World Nomads. This is information only and not a recommendation to buy travel insurance.

Wild Card: Don’t have a Wild Card ? Get one! You’ll save so much money on entrance fees to national parks and nature reserves along the Garden Route and everywhere else in South Africa. There are options for internationals, but unless you’re living in SA, it’s probably cheaper to not get it, as the card is valid for an entire year.

Read More:  The Ultimate Road Trip Essentials Packing List (+ Free Checklist!)

The gorgeous Birds of Eden walkway in Nature’s Valley!

Accommodation: The great thing about the Garden Route is that there are options for every budget. You can splurge on four to five-star hotels costing R6000 per night, spring for private rooms around R300- R500 or stay in a dorm from R150.

Food: Eating out at restaurants? You should budget between R120-R200 per meal with a drink. If you’re staying at a guesthouse with a fully equipped kitchen, a week’s worth of groceries for one to two people should cost around R500-R800.

Petrol: I used my Toyota Etios Cross for my last trip up the Garden Route and spent R600 for the 300-kilometre stretch. You also need to budget R50 for the Tsitsikamma Toll Gate Plaza on the N2.

Activities: Save as much as possible on accommodation and food if you’re travelling to the Garden Route on a limited budget. The things to do in the Garden Route are incredible and are worth every penny! Go hiking in Tsitsikamma National Park or Robberg Nature Reserve for R50 or gather your courage and jump off the Bloukrans Bridge (the highest commercial bungee in the world) for R1,400!

Sunset on top of Signal Hill in Cape Town!

7-Day Garden Route Itinerary

Day 1: cape town to george.

Distance: 428km Time: 4 hours 28 minutes

Set your alarms for an early morning wake up call and get ready for the long drive from Cape Town to the Garden Route.

You want to arrive in George by the afternoon to give yourself enough time to check-in and enjoy the town before sunset.

I think George is one of the best towns to base yourself if you don’t want to keep changing hotels every day or so. You’re within short driving distance of some of the best Garden Route attractions , plenty of restaurants, and a mall if you’re having Woolworth’s withdrawals.

My stunning room at Whispering George!

Channel your inner hopeless romantic and stay at Whispering Oaks . It’s a beautiful guesthouse and one of my favourite Garden Route accommodation options.

You’ll have a cosy room with a giant bed, heated floors, an industrial-chic bathroom and a delicious breakfast to start your day.

The rooms do come with a microwave, plates and cutlery. If you want to keep your costs low, pack a ready-to-go meal and eat in.

Read More: Staying at Whispering Oaks in George, South Africa

Once you’ve unpacked your bags and had some lunch, make your way down to Victoria Bay Beach. It’s a small glossy gold beach, nested in a cove between George and Wilderness.

If you’re a surfer – you’re in luck!

Victoria Bay Beach is famous for its right point break and is one of the best surfing spots in the Garden Route .

One of the towering cliffs at Knysna Heads

Day 2: George to Knysna

Distance: 62.6km Time: 51 minutes

Check out and make your way to Knysna – the scenic way!

Instead of hopping back onto the N2, turn up Hoekwil Road and explore South Africa’s iconic Seven Passes Drive .

It’s a 75km stretch of road which winds past lush forests and breathtaking gorges and is one of the best things to do in Knysna !

Why stay in a run-of-the-mill hotel when you can spend a night in an eco-friendly treehouse overlooking the Knysna indigenous forest?

Teniqua Treetops is one of the most romantic Garden Route accommodation options and offers an experience you won’t find anywhere else.

Your bath looks over the gorge below, and breakfast is delivered to your door in a basket!

BUT if you’re squeamish when it comes to bugs, Teniqua might not be the best option. The local rain spider population likes to pay a visit from time-to-time.

Read More:  Staying at Teniqua Treetops in Knysna

Looking down from one of the Knysna Head viewpoints!

I don’t know about you, but finding a beautiful spot to have a sundowner is one of my favourite road trip traditions.

And The Heads in Knysna do not disappoint.

The giant pair of sandstone cliffs separate the Knysna Lagoon from the sea, and there are a bevvy of spectacular viewpoints.

Just another gorgeous day hiking through Robberg!

Day 3: Knysna to Plettenberg Bay

Distance: 32.4km Time: 29 minutes

I’m not sure what’s happened in the last three years, but I’ve blossomed into a morning person. I don’t think twice about waking up for sunrises or hiking in the dark to conquer a mountain in time for sunrise.

If you’re an early riser or you want to avoid hiking during the heat of the day, check-out of Teniqua as soon as you can and drive down to Goukamma Nature Reserve .

It’s a 23-minute drive, and the reserve has six trails ranging from 4-15km. You’ll get to wander past remote beaches, and pristine through indigenous forests.

My gorgeous room at Urban Plett

If it’s a cosy and adorable chalet you’re after, Urban Plett checks all the boxes.

It’s one of the most charming (and quirky) places to stay in Plettenberg Bay, and it’s within walking distance of bars, cafes and restaurants.

Relax in a claw-toothed tub with a glass of wine, unwind with a good book in front of a roaring fireplace or cook up a storm in the fully-equipped kitchen.

The pier at Emily Moon River Lodge

Emily Moon River Lodge oozes luxury with a distinct African flair. Set on the banks of the Bitou River, you can expect uninterrupted views of the wetlands and mountains as you sip on your G&T.

The exclusive boutique hotel has a gorgeous restaurant and bar. Both are decked out with quirky collectors’ items in every nook and cranny – it’s a photographer’s dream!

You can dine by the pool or retreat into the exquisite dining hall. If you’re visiting the Garden Route in high season (December to February), I’d recommend reserving a table as it’s one of the most popular spots in Plett.

Read More:  The Best Time to Visit South Africa

The view from Robberg Nature Reserve in Plett!

Day 4: Plettenberg Bay to Nature’s Valley

Distance: 34.1 km Time: 32 minutes

Ah, Robberg!

One of my favourite places to visit along the Garden Route. It’s a World Heritage Site and a region of South Africa with rocks that date back to the break-up of Gondwanaland .

Don’t want to strain your muscles too much? Tackle the quick 30-minute hike. You’ll get gorgeous views of the coastline, and there’s plenty of spots to stop and take photos.

If you want something more challenging, hike the 4km trail. It will take you past sand dunes and the beach before looping back to the car park.

If you’re lucky, you might even spot a Great White Shark stalking some seals !

Read More:  Hiking Robberg Nature Reserve: Everything You Need to Know

My tastebuds are obsessed with Roost Cafe.

I don’t think it’s possible for me to drive into Plett and not come here for a meal.

There are delicious and wholesome meals for vegans, vegetarians and every other dietary preference in between. The coffee is incredible, and the Wi-Fi is strong.

Once you’ve had your fill, you can wander around Old Nick Village. There are dozens of little shops selling all kinds of trinkets.

Readd More:  10+ Incredible Things to Do in Plettenberg Bay [WARNING: High FOMO Levels]

I know what you’re thinking:

“Ewwww! A backpackers. I’m waaaay too old for that bull crap in a wine glass.”

I feel you.

I’m on your level when it comes to people snoring like avalanches and having sex in the same room as me.

But hear me out.

Wild Spirit Backpackers is a special place in the Garden Route, AND private rooms are available.

I spent an entire week here, and while it rained the ENTIRE time, I still loved every second.

Surrounded by the indigenous forests of Tsitsikamma National Park, Wild Spirit is all about reconnecting with nature, eating well and Green Living.

One of the big cats rescued from captivity at Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary

Out of the three wildlife sanctuaries I visited along the Garden Route – I didn’t know what to expect from Jukani .

I wasn’t 100% sure if it was ethical.

But after spending over an hour here, I’m stoked to say that Jukani is an incredible place.

It’s home to:

• Bengal tigers (including a white one!) • Lions • Jaguars • Pumas • Caracoles • Cheetahs • and more!

All of their big cats are rescues from canned hunting farms, zoos or circuses . There are one to two cats per enclosure (only if they get along) and there’s more than space for them to roam, hide and enjoy the sun.

Jukani doesn’t breed their cats (all the females are on contraceptives). No one is allowed to use their former names (to stop them from responding to humans), and the local vet frequently visits to make sure they’re all in tip-top shape.

While it makes my heart sore none of these big cats ever got to experience life in the wild because of humans, I’m glad they ended up in Jukani.

Want to see as many big cats as possible? Come first thing in the morning! It’s cooler, and the cats won’t be seeking shelter from the sun.

King Julian and his wife living the good life at Monkeyland.

Day 5-6: Nature’s Valley to Stormsriver

Distance: 40.4 km Time: 35 minutes

For your last day in Nature’s Valley, aim to leave Wild Spirit Backpackers by 7:30 am. I know it’s early, but trust me it’s worth it!

You want to get to Birds of Eden at 8:00 am sharp. It’s the world’s largest free-flight aviary, and the staff are putting out food, making it much easier to spot some of the 3,500 birds.

Plus, the morning light through the aviary is gorgeous for photos!

Once you’re done exploring the sanctuary (it’s massive!) walk across the road to Monkeyland .

Monkeyland is the worlds first free-roaming multi-species primate sanctuary . It’s home to lemurs, gibbons, howler monkeys, the Bolivian Squirrel Monkey and more!

If you wear glasses, put them away or use contacts. The vervet monkeys can and will steal them right off your face.

This may or may not have happened to me.

How to Save Money: If you want to visit all three sanctuaries (Jukani, Birds of Eden and Monkeyland), you can buy a multi-site ticket. It’s R560.00 for all three, R450.00 for any two and R280 for a single visit.

Photo by: Axe ‘n Tubes Backpackers

Axe ‘n Tube is one of my favourite budget-friendly Garden Route accommodation options . It boasts deluxe dormitories, eco-friendly luxury safari tents and private rooms

Greg and I stayed in the tents during our road trip up to the Smoking Dragon New Years Eve Festival and loved it!

We had complete privacy, and the lodge is within walking distance of Storms River restaurants and shops.

BUT it’s on our bucket list to stay inside Tsitsikamma National Park at one of the chalets ! Imagine waking up to these views every morning!

Tsitsikamma National Park’s iconic suspension bridge!

Ever since I stumbled across Tsitsikamma’s Suspension Bridges on Instagram, I knew I had to go there.

I couldn’t believe such an incredible place existed in South Africa, and I became hell-bent on seeing it IRL.

And boy, have I kept that promise.

In 2019 alone, I explored Tsitsikamma THREE times, and each time I feel like it’s not enough.

Here are some of the things you can do in Tsitsikamma:

• Hike the first 6km of the Otter Trail • Scuba diving • Blackwater tubing • Bloukrans bungee jump (the highest commercial jump in the world!) • Tsitsikamma Canopy Tour • Suspension bridges

Read More:  Hiking The Otter Trail in South Africa: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know

Distance: 583km Time: 6 hours 32 minutes

I know what you’re thinking.

Lauren, I can’t still for six HOURS. Are you kidding me?!

If you’re not built for long hours on the road, and you have the time to add another day onto your Garden Route itinerary.

Here are some options to make the trip back to Cape Town more bearable:

Optional Garden Route De-Tours

Distance from Stormsriver: 3 hours / 214 km Distance from Cape Town : 4 hours 44 minutes / 420 km

Want to live out your wildest Lion King fantasies? You can visit a mob of meerkats in Oudtshoorn !

You need to spend the night here as the tours only take place at sunrise. The tour costs R660.00, and no touching or feeding of the animals is allowed.

The gorgeous pool at Schoone Oordt Country House in Swellendam

Distance from Stormsriver: 4 hours 10 minutes Distance from Cape Town: 2 hours 30 minutes

Swellendam is often overlooked by travellers heading to the Garden Route, but the sleepy Western Cape is the perfect pit stop for history buffs and oenophiles.

The town is home to impressive Dutch colonial architecture, a wine route and it’s a day trip away from the Southernmost Tip of Africa.

Read More:  Staying At Schoone Oordt Country House in Swellendam

Distance from Stormsriver: 2 hours 43 minutes Distance from Cape Town: 4 hours 15 minutes

Get your Garden Route safari fix with a trip to Gondwana Game Reserve . It’s the only free-ranging Big 5 private game reserve in the Southern Cape and is one of the best places to see wild lions, rhino, elephants, leopard, buffalo, zebra, giraffe and more!

But you need to stay on the property and book a safari package. Give it a skip if splurging R7k -R10k per night makes you cry salty tears on the inside.

The famous cliff path in Hermanus where you can see the migrating whales!

Distance from Cape Town: 1 hour 34 minutes Distance from Stormsriver: 5 hours 36 minutes

Hermanus is a gorgeous sea-side town less than two hours away from Cape Town. If you’re planning your Garden Route itinerary around whale season (July to October), spend one night here.

You can wander along the cliff path, spotting the gentle giants from the shore or join a tour for an up-close experience.

Read More:  Staying at One Marine Drive Boutique Hotel in Hermanus

A herd of elephants in Addo National Park

Distance from Stormsriver: 2 hours 18 minutes

Are you level 9000 obsessed with elephants?

Don’t miss out on a self-drive through Addo National Park . It’s one of my favourite places in South Africa and home to over 500 elephants.

It’s also the only place in South Africa where you can see the Big 7 (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhino, great white shark and the southern right whale)!

Read More:  How to Visit Addo National Park: A Complete Self-Drive Safari Guide

10 points to you, Glen Coco! You made it the end of my ULTIMATE Garden Route itinerary!

Do you have any questions? Did I miss out some Garden Route highlights you love? Hit ya gurl up in the comments and let’s discuss!

Want more South Africa travel inspiration? Check out my other posts:

• The Ultimate South Africa Bucket List: 40+ Amazing Places to Visit
• 10+ Incredible Things to Do in Plettenberg Bay [WARNING: High FOMO Levels]
• 10 Unique & Fun Things to Do in Knysna, South Africa
• Staying at Nima Lodge in Wilderness, South Africa
• How to Visit Addo National Park: A Complete Self-Drive Safari Guide
• 10+ Spectacular Road Trips in South Africa You Can’t Miss!

?If you like it, then you should put a pin on it ?

About Lauren Melnick

Lauren Melnick is the founder of Wanderlust Movement, Wander to Here and is a South Africa travel blogger. She's been travelling the world as a full-time freelance writer since 2016 and has visited over 40 countries.

When she isn't typing up a storm, you can find her conquering overnight hikes around the Western Cape, rock climbing, and hosting sold out group travel trips around South Africa, Namibia and Morocco.

Reader Interactions

December 23, 2019 at 11:13 am

What would be the best route that will incorporate where the 2 oceans meet without going to cape Town.

December 23, 2019 at 12:16 pm

You would just need to drive to Cape Agulhas. It’s three-hours from Mossel Bay, or you can stay in Swellendam. It’s only 1h 20min away so it’s easy to do as a day trip.

February 26, 2020 at 10:56 pm

Im totally obsessed with the garden route. Can’t wait to save up enough to do it! Great article.

March 5, 2020 at 8:07 am

Thank you! I’m glad you found it useful 🙂

October 13, 2020 at 7:48 pm

Thank you for an amazing read, taking all your advice into consideration as we plan our upcoming route ?

October 18, 2020 at 2:06 pm

Yay!! Can’t wait to see your pics 🙂

May 30, 2021 at 9:31 pm

Thank you so much for all the tips and discounts. I really enjoyed reading this.

September 14, 2021 at 2:29 pm

Thanks for sharing … I have always wanted to do this … great tips! A good read 🙂

September 16, 2021 at 9:01 am

September 20, 2021 at 4:31 pm

Thank you for an amazing read, taking all your advice into consideration as we plan our upcoming route? Would you recommend driving from Johannesburg? or would it be cheaper to fly to PE and rent a car ?

September 25, 2021 at 9:37 am

Hey! I’ve always driven from Cape Town (where my car lives). I can’t give you a personal rec, but I would run the numbers yourself to see which option would be cheaper and which one makes the most sense time-wise.

February 19, 2022 at 10:41 pm

Hi, I’m looking to do the garden route and would love to visit victoria falls while in South Africa. Could you please tell me the best way to achieve this. Thanks lionel

February 23, 2022 at 4:08 pm

you would need to fly into Vic Falls, Zimbabwe from South Africa

March 14, 2022 at 2:50 pm

This was so useful! thank you

March 29, 2022 at 10:52 am

Glad you found it useful Elda 🙂

August 20, 2022 at 7:02 pm

So glad I stumbled across this page. Great read, thank you!….inspired to get on with my garden route planning 🙂

August 21, 2022 at 1:52 pm

Hope you have the best time in the Garden Route 🙂

September 28, 2022 at 7:37 pm

Sadly I believe the Roost Cafe is no more? It looks have converted to a bakery?

October 1, 2022 at 1:13 pm

The cafe did have a bakery. As far as I know, it is still open.

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The Most Perfect Two-Week South Africa Garden Route Itinerary

By: Author Angela Price

Posted on Last updated: March 18, 2024

Do you want to drive the Garden Route in South Africa but are unsure how to plan the trip? This post will help you to plan your Garden Route self-drive adventure in South Africa.

It starts with all the essential South Africa travel tips you will need to know, followed by a day-to-day 2-week South Africa travel itinerary outlining where to go and what to do in Cape Town and along the Garden Route.

It’s the only travel guide you’ll need for planning the perfect Garden Route self-drive itinerary through South Africa.

This article may contain affiliate links – For more information, please read my  disclaimer and privacy policy.

Table of Contents

My Garden Route Self-Drive Itinerary

My South Africa self-drive Garden Route itinerary reflects a 14-day return trip starting and finishing in Cape Town.

A direct flight from London Heathrow to Cape Town will take 11 hours and 45 minutes.

My 2-week trip to South Africa gave me plenty of time to experience the highlights of Cape Town and the Garden Route (including going on a  non-malarial safari ) without feeling rushed for time.

I took my trip in April at the beginning of South Africa’s autumn season, and I experienced warm weather with only one day of rain.

My Two-Week South Africa Road Trip Itinerary

• Explore Cape Town and Cape Peninsula: Days 1 – 4
• Drive to Knysna to Knysna Elephant Sanctuary: Days 4 – 6
• Tsitsikamma to see Storms River: Days 6 – 7
• Amakhala Game Reserve for three days of safari: Days 7 – 10
• Plettenberg Bay: Days 10 – 12
• Gansbaai to include shark cage diving: Days 12 – 15
• Flight home from Cape Town

South Africa Garden Route Map

Helpful Information for Planning a Trip along the Garden Route

What and where is the garden route in south africa.

The Garden Route is a 300-kilometre (190 miles) stretch of road running through the southeastern coast of South Africa and gets its name from the abundance of flora growing along the route.

While the Garden Route officially starts in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape and finishes at Storms River Mouth in the Eastern Cape, the starting point is usually in Cape Town for most tourists planning to drive the Garden Route. It finishes on a safari near Port Elizabeth (or vice versa).

Visit DiscoverCars to book a hire car in South Africa

Why Choose The Garden Route in South Africa?

The Garden Route speaks for itself (as seen in my itinerary). It is unique because it is malaria-free , unlike other parts of South Africa and other safari destinations such as Kruger National Park.

You won’t need to worry about malaria as you explore the Garden Route, which is a plus, especially if you have children and aren’t happy to give them anti-malarial drugs.

Best Time to Drive the Garden Route

The Garden Route is gorgeous all year round but at its best between November and April .

These months are South Africa’s autumn (fall) season when temperatures start to cool off to a manageable heat. If going on safari, you can expect to see babies in the wild at this time, which is a magical event to witness.

How to stay safe driving the Garden Route

The Garden Route is driven by tourists and locals during the day and is considered relatively safe; however, driving at night is not advised .

Don’t turn off into the bush or a township and leave the car – dangers from wildlife and humans may be present! Use common sense and only stop at well-known tourist towns during the day.

World Nomads have some excellent tips for staying safe on South Africa’s roads and offers comprehensive travel insurance for your trip.

What are the driving times from Cape Town to Amakhala Safari Reserve?

My Garden Route self-drive itinerary starts from Cape Town in the west. It runs to Amakala Safari Reserve in the east, where I turn around and return on the same route.

Individual driving times between Garden Route locations are highlighted throughout this article.

The distance one-way on the N2 motorway is around 800 kilometres (500 miles). Driving in South Africa is on the left-hand side of the road, so perfect if coming from the UK!

What is the accommodation like in South Africa?

Accommodation in South Africa varies in style and budget, and you can stay in some stunning properties.

My accommodation ranged from 3-star to 5-star properties, and all offered a comfortable and enjoyable stay. I have listed my Garden Route hotels in each section of this Garden Route travel guide.

There are many hotels to choose from in each locale, so please look below at alternative accommodations along the Garden Route that will suit all budgets.

Cape Town accommodation to book

Knysna accommodation to book

Storms River accommodation to book

Amakhala Safari Reserve accommodation to book

Plettenberg Bay accommodation to book

Gansbaai accommodation to book

South Africa Time Differences (GMT)

Understanding time differences between countries is vital when planning a trip to South Africa. You don’t want to land late at night and have to find your hire car and accommodation in the dark.

South Africa is:

2 hours ahead of London, England

7 hours ahead of Washington DC, USA

9 hours behind Canberra, Australia

11 hours behind Wellington, New Zealand

3.5 hours behind New Delhi, India

South Africa 14-Day Travel Guide

Days 1 – 4 / cape town.

I picked up my hire car once I landed at Cape Town airport; however, if you prefer to take a taxi into Cape Town and organise your hire car from there, I would recommend Welcome Airport Pickups for reliable service.

Where to Stay in Cape Town

Lawhill Luxury Waterfront Apartments – 4 nights / 5-star rating

The Lawhill Luxury Waterfront apartments are the perfect place to stay if you want to explore the best Cape Town tourist attractions.

The luxurious self-catering apartments are well-designed and equipped with everything you need to enjoy a comfortable stay in Cape Town.

The apartments are a short walk from the Victoria and Albert Waterfront and have stunning views of Table Mountain.

Best things to do in Cape Town

Day one – victoria and albert waterfront.

Cape Town’s famous waterfront is where you will find restaurants, bars, boat trips to Robben’s Island and many other great activities.

You can read more here about 12 of the top attractions to visit in Cape Town .

Day Two – Table Mountain

One of the most iconic natural landmarks in South Africa is Table Mountain, and no visit to Cape Town is complete without a trip up this magnificent mountain.

Either hike to the top and take the cable car back down or take the cable car both ways. Whatever you choose, the impressive views from the top will blow your mind!

You can read more here about How to climb to the top of Table Mountain

Day three – the cape peninsula.

Encircling Cape Town central is the Cape Peninsula, home to one of the most popular tourist sights in South Africa, the penguins of Boulders Beach . Aside from penguins, the Cape Peninsula has beautiful sandy beaches, great surfing spots and colourful neighbourhoods.

The Cape of Good Hope nature reserve is a place to spot mountain zebras, baboons, and many birdlife varieties. At the same time, Constantia vineyards offer visitors the chance to sample delicious South African wines.

You can read more about the 10 Best Places to Visit Around the Cape Peninsula .

Cape Winelands

If you want to visit Cape Winelands, the drive is a 60-minute from Cape Town Central. I hadn’t factored in a visit to the wineries within my garden route road trip as I had children with me.

Still, on a return visit (now they are adults), you can be sure I will include the vineyards in my next South Africa itinerary!

You can read here about Visiting South African Wineries in the Cape Winelands .

Day Four – Driving Times – Cape Town to Knysna 6 Hours along N2 motorway

Angie’s Top Tip

After around 2.5 hours of leaving Cape Town on the N2, stop at Tredici in Swellendam for delicious Italian pastries and coffee.

Days 4 – 6 / Knysna

Where to stay in knysna.

The Lofts Boutique Hotel – 1 night / 4-star rating

The Lofts Boutique Hotel is unique in its styling and location. Perched on the edge of Knysna Lagoon on Thesen Island, this beautiful hotel offers a contemporary stay in stunning surroundings.

Breakfast vouchers are valid at four local eateries, and guests can book evening meals at the local Knysna waterfront restaurants.

Angie’s Dinner Recommendation

For great fish dishes in an enviable waterside setting head to The Dry Dock Food Company

Best things to do in Knysna

Knysna is a beautiful town with activities based around the Knysna Lagoon. Take a boat tour and combine it with tasting the famous Knysna oysters. Or why not enjoy a sundowner aboard a sunset cruise?

Adrenaline lovers will find hiking and biking around the Knysna forest a fun activity. Those seeking animal-centred experiences can swim with seals or interact with elephants at Knysna Elephant Park.

Organised activities in Knysna

Day Five Morning – Knysna Heads

Knysna Heads is the most popular place to visit in Knysna and is a famous landmark on the Garden Route. Enormous sandstone cliffs separate the Knysna Lagoon from the Indian Ocean.

Visitors come to the ‘The Heads’, as they are commonly referred to, so they can enjoy the stunning views of the surrounding town and ocean. A walk along the rocks takes you to the entrance of Knysna Heads, which is worth doing.

Angie’s lunch recommendation:

Find a seat with a view at East Head Cafe and enjoy lunch and drinks in this beautiful spot

Day Five Afternoon and Day Six Morning/Lunch – Knysna Elephant Park

Knysna Elephant Park – 1 night

The Knysna Elephant Park offers guests the opportunity to have a sleepover with elephants and join them on a sunrise walk to their watering hole. This activity is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will leave long-lasting memories.

You can read more here about Walking and sleeping with elephants in Knysna.

Day Six – Driving Times – Knysna to Storms River 60 minutes

Days 6-7 / storms river, where to stay in storms river.

Tsitsikamma Village Inn – 1 night / 3-star rating

Tsitsikamma Village Inn is a unique place to stay close to the official end of the garden route at Storms River. It is a collection of colonial and heritage buildings scattered around a central garden, all different in styling and offering basic but comfortable accommodations.

I chose this property for its quirkiness and proximity to Tsitsikamma National Park and Storms River. The hotel has three on-site eateries, De Oude Martha restaurant, a pub and a cafe. An outdoor swimming pool is also available for guests.

Best things to do in Tsitsikamma

The Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park is a must-visit destination if you love the great outdoors.

Hike through its numerous trails or head to the mouth of Storms River, where it meets with the Indian Ocean. The mouth of the river is where you will find the Storms River suspension bridge.

Other adrenaline sports include zip-lining through the forest canopy or bungee jumping from one of the world’s highest bungee jumps (216 metres) at Bloukrans Bridge.

Arborists will be interested in visiting Tsitsikamma’s famous 800-year-old ‘Big Tree’, standing 37 meters high and with a nine-metre circumference!

Day Six Morning – Storms River

Storms River Mouth Trail in Tsitsikamma National Park leads through coastal forest and along boardwalks, stairs and suspension bridges that cling to the cliff edge. It is one of the most popular things to do in Tsitsikamma.

You can read more here about the Storms River suspension bridge in Tsitsikamma.

Organised activities in Tsitsikamma National Park

Day Seven – Driving Times – Storms River to Amakhala Game Reserve 3 Hours

Days 7-10 / amakhala game reserve, where to stay in amakhala game reserve.

Quatermain’s 1920s Safari Camp – 3 nights / 3-star rating

A once-in-a-lifetime experience is to go on safari, and there is no better place than Amakhala Game Reserve.

There are several different types of accommodation to book, but for me, the real sense of being on safari is sleeping in a tent – luckily, the rest of my family agreed!

You can read more here about my review of Quatermain’s Safari Camp

Safari on Amakhala Game Reserve

Going on a safari is a magical experience that will stay with you forever.

To see wild animals in their natural environment will undoubtedly bring tears to your eyes; it did with me. Watch the animals interact with one another, feed, bathe, fight and sleep all right in front of you.

You can read here about My incredible lion encounter in South Africa

After being on safari, we turned around and headed back along the Garden Route to Cape Town.

We stopped in Plettenberg Bay and Gansbaai on the route to participate in more exciting animal encounters.

Day 10 – Driving Times – Amakhala Game Reserve to Plettenberg Bay 3 Hours 15 mins along N2 motorway

Days 10 – 12 / plettenberg bay, where to stay in plettenberg bay.

Milkwood Manor on Sea – 2 nights / 4-star rating

Milwood Manor has direct access to the beach with fabulous views of the Keurbooms River lagoon and the Indian Ocean.

The hotel has a restaurant and a bar with two communal lounge areas. The hotel has a 4-star rating and offers an upmarket stay in Plettenberg Bay.

Angie’s Top Tip:

Head to Old Nick Village in Plettenberg Bay and discover artisan shops, galleries and eateries in heritage buildings scattered amongst lush gardens.

Best things to do in Plettenberg Bay

Plettenberg Bay, or ‘Plett’ as the locals call it, is a premier seaside destination along the Garden Route. It is popular because of its sweeping golden beaches, indigenous forests and wine estates.

The world-heritage Robberg Peninsula nature reserve offers visitors the chance to hike some of South Africa’s most iconic trails.

Day Ten – Our visit to the Plettenberg animal sanctuaries

Plettenberg Bay is also the home to The Crags, where visitors will find plenty of Garden Route wildlife encounters. We visited Birds of Eden, Monkeyland and Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and would recommend all of them.

You can read here about ten ethical animal encounters along the Garden Route .

Organised activities in Plettenberg Bay

Day 11 – Relaxing by the sea

Today was the first time we had seen rain, so the day was a complete washout, but staying inside is no hardship when you are at a beachfront hotel. In some ways, the weather did us a favour, giving us a chance to rest. We watched films, read books and went for an evening stroll once the rain stopped.

Day 12 – Driving Times – Plettenberg Bay to Gansbaai 5 Hours along N2 motorway

Days 12-15 / gansbaai, where to stay in gansbaai.

Grootbos Private Nature Reserve – 3 nights / 5-star rating

Grootbos Private Nature Reserve is one of the most exclusive hotel resorts along the Garden Route. It offers guests sumptuous rooms overlooking the fynbos (indigenous plants) and the coastline. There is no reason to leave the reserve as it has a gourmet restaurant, bar, gym, and spa; however, you will be spoilt for choice with plenty of things to do in Gansbaai.

During your stay, there are plenty of activities to try out. These range from horse-riding, forest, beach and fynbos walks, shark cage diving, one of South Africa’s top tourist activities, and the chance to visit ancient caves.

You can read here about my review of Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

Best things to do in Gansbaai

Gansbaai is the heart of marine life and outdoor activities in South Africa. Cage dive with sharks and observe whales migrating across South Africa’s oceans. Visit African penguins at the seabird sanctuary or horse ride along the beach; there’s something for everybody in Gansbaai.

All the activities I experienced in Gansbaai were part of the package for guests staying at Grootbos Private Nature Reserve.

Day 13 – Horseback Riding and Ancient Caves

Day 14 – Shark Cage Diving

You can read about how to cage dive with great white sharks in gansbaai..

Day 15 Morning – Forest and Fynbos Safari

Organised activities in Gansbaai

Day 15 – Driving Times – Gansbaai to Cape Town 2 Hours

Day 15 evening – cape town airport.

With heavy hearts, we left Gansbaai and returned to Cape Town airport for our evening flight back to Heathrow.

Our 14-night Garden Route road trip had been exceptional in every sense of the word. We had experienced once-in-a-lifetime activities that would stay with us forever.

Are You Ready to Plan a Two-Week South African Road Trip?

Has my post inspired you to plan a self-drive road trip along the Garden Route? If it has, I would love to know – receiving feedback is how I can help my readers even more.

And if I can answer any questions you may have about my 2-week Garden Route itinerary, please leave me a message below. I will get back to you as quickly as possible.

Alternatively, if you prefer someone to drive you around South Africa, why not join a week-long Garden Route tour?

Are you looking for further inspiration for South African travel? Please check out the following in-depth blog posts on South Africa to give you the ultimate information on each location I visited.

Need to arrange  travel insurance, car hire or accommodation ? Check out my  resources  page to help you plan your trip.

Please PIN for future holidays in South Africa.

 I would like to receive occasional updates and new travel posts.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Thursday 23rd of February 2023

Really innovative and informative blog. Thank you for sharing such great information.

Sarah Cummins

Wednesday 22nd of February 2023

This has provided inspiration and courage to book a self-drive garden route trip with some vineyards thrown in. Brilliant blog!

WhereAngieWanders

Hi Sarah, I am happy I have been able to help you plan this dream road trip; I am sure you will love it. For more travel inspiration, why not subscribe to my blog for regular travel updates.

Wednesday 12th of October 2022

Very beautiful and inspiring post.

Sunday 6th of March 2022

Thank you very much! You have just planned my next holiday!

Wow!! What an amazing adventure. I would LOVE to do this 2 week Garden route trip ... sans the shark cage! Love your tips and lodging recommendations. Pinned for future travel.

Focused Travels

Our 10 Day Garden Route Itinerary

There is often disagreement between people about where exactly the Garden Route in South Africa starts – some say it starts in Mosselbay, others believe it only begins in George. Similarly, people can also not agree on whether the Garden Route ends with the Stormsriver Village (still in the Western Cape) or with Port Elizabeth (in the Eastern Cape). To let you know what the Garden Route covers, we decided to share our 10-day Garden Route itinerary.

The Garden Route is not very long (450 kilometres – about 4,5 hours of driving) and can easily be driven in a day. BUT doing that would mean missing out on all the exciting things to see and do on the Garden Route. Not leaving anything to chance, we did the “full” Garden Route, all the way from Mosselbay to Port Elizabeth. Our road trip spanned 14 days with ten days spent exploring the Garden Route.

Our Garden Route itinerary

Here is our Garden Route itinerary and a short description of each place we visited.

Day 1: Mosselbay

Mossel Bay is one of the seaside cities in the world with the most moderate climate. We spend only one day in Mosselbay as there were not that many sights around. Also, it is one of the most popular towns in the Garden Route during South African school holidays,  meaning that accommodation can become scarce and pricey! There are a few things to do in Mosselbay apart from spending time on the beach. The Dias Museum is in Mosselbay, and there is also the Cape St Blaize lighthouse to see. Another highlight in Mosselbay is the many restaurants selling authentic South African food.

Day 2 – 3: George, Wilderness & Buffelsbay

Driving from Mosselbay past George , you arrive at Wilderness. George has several excellent attractions, such as museums and old churches, but Wilderness is easily one of the most beautiful places in the Garden Route. It is small, but there are plenty to see in and around Wilderness. The Dolphin Point Lookout is just outside Wilderness, and Buffels Bay beach is a 15-minute drive from there. The Map of Africa is in the mountains near Wilderness . For its size, it is a relatively expensive place. The beaches are lovely, but apparently not ideal for swimming because of the strong currents.

Day 4 – 5:  Knysna, Brenton on Sea

From Wilderness, you drive past Sedgefield (South Africa) before passing Brenton-on-Sea and eventually arriving in Knysna . Knysna is in the heart of the Garden Route. An expensive place, very popular with foreign tourists. Knysna annually hosts the Oyster Festival in the winter, which is attended by thousands of people. There is also a marathon held at the same time as the Oyster Festival. Knysna is an essential part of any trip to the Garden Route and as such should be one everyone’s Garden Route itinerary.

Day 6 – 7:  Plettenberg Bay, Nature’s Valley

From Knysna, it is about an hour’s drive to Plettenberg Bay , another city that is very popular, but to a different crowd. Every year in December, after finishing their final exams, the grade 12 students go to Plettenberg Bay for their first adult trip without their parents. Plettenberg Bay has a very central location with lots of activities and sights in the surrounding areas. It is another of the more expensive places in the Garden Route as it is very popular with foreigners, so we stayed near Nature’s Valley which is more isolated and much smaller. There are lots of excellent restaurants in Plettenberg Bay, and the beaches are fabulous too!

Day 8: Stormsriver mouth and Village

The Stormsriver Village is a tiny town in the Garden Route. Just before getting to the village, you can see the Stormsrivier , which to me was the most beautiful scenery of the entire Garden Route.

I felt like the Stormsriver Village should be the end of the Garden Route as it was the last town on the Garden Route that is located in the Western Cape. Near to Stormsriver Village, you enter the Eastern Cape and the landscape changes completely.

Day 9-10: St Francis Bay, Port St Francis, Jeffrey’s Bay & Port Elizabeth

We passed several towns on our way to Port St Francis, Saint Francis Bay and Jeffreys Bay . Although slightly off of the main route, we had heard that these towns were gorgeous, unique and had lots of shells on the beach.

After spending some time in Jeffrey’s Bay, we eventually made our way to Port Elizabeth . Port Elizabeth is the capitol city of the Eastern Cape Province. South Africans call it the windy city, the friendly city or PE. Plenty of lovely beaches, nice restaurants on the beach and much more affordable accommodation compared to the other towns and cities in the Garden Route. There are several museums and other sights to explore. Despite the wind, it has a lovely mild climate most of the time (in summer).

There you have it – our Garden Route itinerary. Overall, I was satisfied with the time we spent at each location. If I had to make any changes, I would probably add more time for Plettenberg Bay and Port Elizabeth. However, my favourite places were the quiet and small towns of Nature’s Valley and Stormsriver Village.

Have you ever been to the Garden Route? What was your favourite place to visit there?

2 thoughts on “Our 10 Day Garden Route Itinerary”

Reading this part ” Day 9-10: St Francis Bay, Port St Francis, Jeffrey’s Bay & Port Elizabeth ” is my favorite! thanks for sharing!! great article! cheers!

Those are the places with the best beaches!

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An Ultra-efficient Garden Route Itinerary for 5 Days

Streching for more than 300 kilometers (or 190 miles), South Africa’s Garden Route is perhaps the most popular road trip in the entire country. In some ways, the Garden Route is a condensed version of South Africa: it has forests, mountains, lagoons, grasslands, and deserts. This Garden Route itinerary is perfect for both the adventurous as well as the laid-back traveler, with plenty of activities to mix and match. And since there are so many things to do in the Garden Route in South Africa, you can let yourself be occupied from morning until night!

Personally, I loved South Africa’s Garden Route and could’ve spent twice the number of days here than I could. Especially if you love outdoors activities, you’ll be spoiled for choice with the fabulous national parks in this region.

Here are the highlights of my Garden Route trip, some tips on driving it yourself, extra activities I missed but wish I’d had time for, plus guided tours to the Garden Route from Cape Town in case you’re not renting a car.

Enjoy this beautiful slice of paradise ✨

Garden route accommodation

In general, you can stay in most towns along the Garden Route and not go terribly wrong. There are a lot of Garden Route itineraries that recommend a bunch of different locations, ranging from guesthouses to full-blown luxury lodges. These are the places I personally stayed at that ended up being excellent, both in terms of facilities and logistically, and won’t blow your budget.

• Hermanus – We loved our stay at The Nantucket . It’s a three-story guesthouse, and the owner will give you decades-worth of tips for the Garden Route. He even printed out a list of recommended stops for us! Great ocean views, our neighbors staying here saw whales from the balcony! Super clean and bright.
• Knysna – Another guesthouse, Cloud 9 has stunning views over the sea and the lagoon from its high vantage point. The cost per night is a steal, though access is along a weird dirt road Google doesn’t know about so be prepared.
• Port Elizabeth or Jeffreys Bay – We stayed at Brighton Lodge in Port Elizabeth, which ended up being very lucky as they gave us SUPER helpful tips for our trip to Addo Elephant Park, including where best to enter the park and which roads to avoid. Besides Port Elizabeth, you can also base yourself in Jeffrey’s Bay.

Garden Route Itinerary for 5 days

Day 1: cape town to hermanus.

• Day 2: Mossel Bay, Wilderness, Knysn

Day 3: Plettenberg Bay, Nature’s Valley, Tsitsikamma National Park, Port Elizabeth

Day 4: addo elephant park, day 5: return through klein karoo to cape town.

While not technically part of the Garden Route, Hermanus is a town that a lot of people (us included) build into their Garden Route itinerary. And why not? It’s on the way from Cape Town to Mossel Bay (the official start of the Garden Route), and is famous as the best land-based whale-watching capital of the world . From June to December every year, the Southern Right whale comes to the bay to give birth to its calves. That’s right – you can see baby whales!

Apart from seeing whales, you can also often see the Cape Fur Seal as well as dolphins.

Things to do in Hermanus

• Take a whale-watching boat tour – While Hermanus is famous for its excellent land-based whale-watching, you can get within 50m of these gentle giants by boat. Must-do if you are visiting during the whale season from June to December (there were still whales in the bay during our trip in early December).
• Hermanus Whale Festival – September is peak season, even if the whales can be seen for many more months. This three-day festival includes street food, activities for kids, live music, and whales obviously.
• Cliff Path – Another place you can watch whales from, this easy 10km coastal hike is a great way to spend time in Hermanus. You don’t need to stay long to enjoy the view and breathe in Hermanus’ famous “champagne air”.
• Go for oysters at locales’ favorite oyster joint – Recommended to us personally by our host in Hermanus, Lemon Butta has excellent seafood, especially oysters.

Day 2: Mossel Bay, Wilderness, Knysna

Mossel Bay marks the official start to the Garden Route, even though many people make sure to stop in Hermanus on the way here. Its name literally means “Mussel Bay”, like the mussels you might like to eat! If you’re trying to do this as a day trip, that probably means mussels for breakfast or lunch. Based on some reviews (and our trusty South Africa guidebook ), we ended up at Oyster Bar , which offered 3 oysters for under $10.

Things to do in Mossel Bay

• Eat oysters – You’ll notice this is a theme on the Garden Route! Oysters and other seafood are extremely popular here and you can find them ultra-fresh in Mossel Bay.
• Visit the Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex – Remember how we talked earlier about how sailors used to crash against the southern tip of Africa? You can visit a musem named for the explorer who was the first European to sail around it. It’s got ships inside.
• Diaz Beach – The biggest beach in Mossel Bay, with beautiful sand and has a restaurant and surf school nearby. You can go swimming here, just not too far because the area does have sharks.
• The Point – A popular surf point and beach, complete with both a small and a large tidal pool. Entry point to the St. Blaize hiking trail.
• St. Blaize Hiking Trail – A 15 kilometer long stretch of hiking trail along the coast of Mossel Bay.

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Knysna is famous for having both a beautiful coastline as well as an inland lagoon. Depending on your vantage point, you can actually see both sides of Knysna at the same time. Its unique geography also means it was famous as a dangerous place to sail (this seems like a theme, no?). The Knysna Heads has been called the single most dangerous ocean mouth in the entire world. Sounds like a place you want to hang out, eh?

Truth be told, Knysna is one of my top picks for places to visit on the Garden Route and you’ll soon see why!

Things to do in Knysna

• Eat oysters at the Knysna Oyster Festival – If you’re in Kynsna in June, you can eat oysters at the most famous place to eat oysters in the entire country! You can check the exact dates on the Kynsna website .
• Go for a boat ride – Just after telling you how dangerous it is to sail, I’m going to give you the idea to go for a boat ride! Often these are canceled owing to wind, but it doesn’t hurt to give it a try. You can do a Whale Watching Boat Tour in case you didn’t get a chance to see whales in Hermanus!
• Knysna Elephant Park – You’ve got a lot of chances to see elephants on this trip, and if you won’t make it to Addo Elephant Park (which, by the way, you SHOULD!) – you can also see elephant in Kynsna.
• See the Knysna Heads at the Eastern Viewpoint – One of the best spots to get a view over the lagoon in Kynsna!

This stretch is a very pretty drive, including stops in a national park and plenty of chances to see babboons! If you have more time, you can break this stretch up for this garden route itinerary into several days. We met people during our South Africa road trip that spent several days in Tsitsikamma National Park alone.

Plettenberg Bay

Also known as “Plett”, Plettenberg Bay is a city famous for its beaches. It’s a popular place especially for families who want to spend time together on the beach. You can come here and grab a drink overlooking the beach, or jump in the water. Keep reading for more information about things to do in Plettenberg Bay!

Things to do in Plettenberg Bay

• Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve – If you’re looking for somewhere to go on safari during your time on the Garden Route, my top recommendation is Addo Addo Elephant Park near Port Elizabeth. However, there are plenty of spots to do it before reaching the far end of the route, such as Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve .
• Go to Monkey Land – If you want to walk among the monkeys, this is the place to do it. This park has free-roaming monkeys you can interact with as you experience Monkey Land. Bring your camera but hold onto it tightly 😉
• Drive through Nature’s Valley – After Plettenberg Bay, you’ll have the option to veer off the N2 onto the R102. It’s a scenic drive and plenty of changes will arrive to see babboons crossing the street! Read more about Nature’s Valley in the next section.
• See the Bloukrans Bridge – Bloukrans Bridge is the highest bungie jumping point in the world. It’s set up in such a way that you need to zipline to the bungie jumping point, so it’s not for those who are afraid of heights! If you want to do it, definitely book your bungee jump slot in advance – when we went they were sold out for the day!

Nature’s Valley

Nature’s Valley is a small resort village along the Garden Route. Even if you don’t decide to stick around for long, you can drive through the area by taking a detour off of the N2 (The Garden Route) onto the R102. As you drive through be careful as babboons cross the road!

Tsitsikamma National Park

Tsitsikamma National Park is a marine reserve most famous for its suspension bridges you can walk to in about 15 minutes across wooden walkways. For the more adventurous and prone to outdoors activites, kayaking through the gorge or ziplining through the canopy of trees are two of the most popular things to do in Tsitsikamma.

Port Elizabeth

I honestly didn’t spend a lot of time in Port Elizabeth itself, and found the city relatively vanilla compared to most of the other places in the Garden Route. But it’s a great place to base yourself if you’ll he heading to Addo Elephant Park the following morning! We stayed at Brighton Lodge which was super easy to find, secure, and had a good location for driving to Addo the next day.

Addo Elephant Park

Addo Elephant Park is the third largest national park in South Africa after Kruger National Park and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. It has more than 600 elephants, and is really special because it’s a place where you can see immense herds of elephants altogether. There are numerous watering holes (many man-made) which often attract elephants in large numbers.

When we were there we also saw zebra, buffalo, hartebeest, and a number of other animals. There are even plans to expand the park to include a marine area, making it the only park in South Africa to be home to the “Big 7” (elephant, rhinoceros, lion, buffalo, leopard, whale and great white shark).

Addo Elephant Park was one of the highlights of our South Africa trip! Keep reading for my top tips for visiting.

Tips for visiting Addo Elephant Park

Here are a couple of practical tips for your trip to Addo.

• Enter through the north entrance. Addo is an enormous park, you won’t have time to loop around. If you enter through the North, you can exit through the South and head back to wherever you’re staying.
• Roll down your window and talk to other self-drivers. Drive slowly and if you see other drivers and have a tip for them, or want to ask them something, don’t hold back!
• Go on a guided tour. Addo is an awesome place to experience budget safari in South Africa , because you can do both a self-drive safari (where you drive your own car around the park) and you can join a group guided safari (which will educate you and show you more of the smaller animals too!).
• Get plenty of gas in advance. There is gas available close to the entrance, but you’ll want to make sure you don’t run the risk of running out because obviously there is just anywhere to get gas inside.
• Bring water and snacks. You’re going to be in an air-conditioned car, but you’ll turn it off and wait at certain viewings and it can get toasty! Plus you’ll want to spend at least a few hours driving yourself around. Be prepared!
• Bring your binoculars! If you haven’t used them for real, binoculars are AWESOME when you’re on safari. It’s even better than looking through a zoom lens. We bought these binoculars by Olympus and they were so great everyone else on our later safari asked to brorow them!

If you’re flying back out of Cape Town, go ahead and loop back through the Klein Karoo. If you’re flying out of Port Elizabeth to go elsewhere in the country, like Johannesburg or Kruger National Park, you can do the Klein Karoo in between Hermanus and the other parts of the trip. In any case, this is a special area with open landscapes and rolling hills of farmlands.

Klein Karoo

Klein Karoo means “Small Karoo”, and it’s a desert region that stretches above the coastal region of the Garden Route. The most famous road through this area is called Route 62, considered one of the best roadtrips in South Africa as a whole.

Things to do in Klein Karoo

• Drive the famous Route 62 – Along this route you’ll find a number of towns serving up great wine or hosting ostriches!
• Go to an ostrich farm – One of my regrets in my South Africa trip that I didn’t get to visit an ostrich farm! Just please do not ride the ostriches , it puts the birds under stress.
• Follow the Klein Karoo wine route – Officially, the Klein Karoo wine route goes through Montagu, Barrydale, Ladismith, Calitzdorp, Oudtshoorn, De Rust, and Herold. Check out this website on the Klein Karoo wine route for suggested itinereries.
• Stop in Calitzdorp for a glass of Port – Our host in Hermanus explicitly recommended stopping at De Krans , though there are a number of different options in the area for port wine.
• Hike through the Swartberg Pass – There’s literally a valley in this area called Hell ! If you want to see a side of South Africa most people miss, you can do a guided hike through Swartberg Nature Reserve .
• Go on safari – If you only have a day away from Cape Town, you can still go on a big 5 safari in the Klein Karoo, the Big 5 being lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards, and rhinos. Naturally, on safari, it’s not possible to ensure what you see, but the Klein Karoo is the only area near Cape Town that has all of the big five!

Safari in Klein Karoo

There are two main reserves in the Klein Karoo, both of which are home to the Big 5. If you drive yourself on this day trip from Cape Town you can save a lot of money on the transfer (which takes about two hours).

• Aquila Private Game Reserve (does not include transfer) – As you might know, sunset is one of the best times to see animals on safari. If you can, booking either a sunrise or a sunset safari a great idea, because that’s when the animals are most active.
• Inverdoorn Game Reserve (includes transfer) – You can go on a day trip to this game reserve, including a 3-hour game drive. Unlike many public drives, you only share the open-top jeep with up to 8 other people. Inverdoorn is unique because of its cheetah rehabilitation program!

Reach the Garden Route from Cape Town

While it’s possible to reach the start of the Garden Route from Cape Town on a day trip, your best option is to spend several days on the Garden Route. Personally, we loved driving ourselves down the Garden Route because it gave us a ton of flexibility. That said, driving in South Africa can be a little scary sometimes, and not just because of driving on the left. Roads aren’t always in the best condition and there is a lot of speeding. That said, we obviously survived 😉

As for guided tours, after a lot of research, I think the 5-day Garden Route + Addo Tour is the best value . You’ll have a better chance to see rare animals the more often you go on safari, and this tour gives you three safari opportunities. While it doesn’t visit Hermanus, you can easily do that as one of your day trips from Cape Town if you’re visiting in the whale-watching season from June to December.

Here are the pros and cons of the top two highest-rated Garden Route tours for different durations. Both of them have 4.9 out of 5 ratings or higher based on customer reviews.

Highlights not to miss: Addo Elephant Park (famous for having huge herds of elephants), Hermanus (best land-based whale-watching the world, June-Dec), Tsitsikamma National Park (kayaking and suspension bridge), Knysna (just plain beautiful).

How long does it take to drive the Garden Route?

The Garden Route itself (from Mossel Bay to Port Elizabeth) from a pure driving standpoint could be done in one day, but when you include stops, the main route requires at least 3 or 4 days to see it properly. That said, many people spend an entire week on the Garden Route and still do not see it all!

This Garden Route itinerary spends 3 days on the official route, plus one day in Hermanus and one day driving back to Cape Town through the Klein Karoo for a total of five days . If I were to do it again, I would spend more time in the Tsitsikamma National Park and more time in the Klein Karoo!

Best time to drive the Garden Route

We drove the Garden Route in early December, and it was warm enough to wear shorts and a t-shirt basically everywhere. It’s also really important, even in early Summer before peak season starts, to wear bug spray and sunscreen anytime you go outdoors. The peak season in South Africa is mostly the end of December through February, so be aware of that when booking accommodation!

Have you ever been to South Africa? Where’s the best place you’d like to visit in the Garden Route? Let me know in the comments if you have any extra tips for me!

About the author

Hi there! I'm Monica, an American expat living in Germany for over six years and using every opportunity to explore the world from my homebase in Berlin. My goal is to capture my memories in photos and posts that show how easy it is to start from scratch and travel the world by working abroad.

Follow along on Instagram , Twitter , Bloglovin , & Facebook .

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Garden Route South Africa: Road Trip Itinerary Planning

The Garden Route South Africa is the country’s most iconic road trip. The full Garden Route stretches from the cosmopolitan city of Cape Town to the friendly town of Port Elizabeth. It winds past beautiful beaches, staggering cliff drops and peaceful beachside communities.

The epic road trip is one of the most popular things to do in South Africa. And for good reason. Whether it’s a honeymoon, a road trip with friends or a wonderful family holiday, it has something for everyone. There is simply so much to do en route. You could drive the Garden Route time and time again, and still do different activities every single time.

Best of all, the Garden Route is a great self-drive adventure. Whilst you can take bus services or organised tours, such as this one, you can definitely self-drive the Garden Route. So in this guide, I’ve listed top things to do along the Garden Route. I’ve also included suggestions of places to stay and to eat, all within an itinerary for driving the Garden Route.

Essential information: Garden Route South Africa

You can of course start the route in either direction. But for the purpose of this blog post, this itinerary will start in Cape Town and end in Port Elizabeth. More officially, the Garden Route actually starts in Mossel Bay (387km outside of Cape Town). And it finishes in Storms River (166km from Port Elizabeth). The distance between Mossel Bay and Storms River is actually only between 200km and 300km, depending on the route take. If you drove the official Garden Route from start to finish, this would only take you between 2-3 hours. So you can really see how many amazing attractions and places to visit are concentrated in this relatively small area.

However, this 7-day Garden Route itinerary could be squeezed into just 3 or 4 days if needed. But it’s more common to spend at least a week driving the Garden Route. There’s certainly enough to do to in two weeks, or even longer!

Best time of year to explore the Garden Route

As with everywhere along the coast in South Africa, the spring and summer months are the best time to visit. This is from around October to April. Daily average temperatures during this time range from 24c and 30c, and you can expect long sunny days. It can rain occasionally during the summer months. And when it does, it tends to linger a full day, rather than be a flash rain storm. But don’t worry, there are plenty of things to do on the drive if you do have a day of drizzle.

With the great weather, of course there will be larger crowds. The Garden Route is likely to be busy in some areas if you visit in the peak summer season.

Self-drive or organised tour

The best way to explore the Garden Route in South Africa is to hire a car. It offers unparalleled freedom and flexibility. You could collect a car at Cape Town airport and drop it off in Port Elizabeth. Doing this, you would just have to pay the one-way fee. f you had the time, it would be possible to drive the Garden Route from Port Elizabeth back to Cape Town again to drop the car off

Furthermore, I would say the quality of roads are really good on the Garden Route. Traffic is minimal and the roads are mostly two lane. I would say to only choose an organised tour if you’re a very low confidence driver. Or if having a car is simply impractical.

However, here are a couple of suggestions of organised tours doing the Garden Route South Africa:

• 3 Day Garden Route & Safari (depart and return Cape Town)
• 4 Day Garden Route Adventure Tour (depart and return Cape Town)
• 6 Day Garden Route & Addo Adventure Tour (depart and return Cape Town)

Driving tips in South Africa

As always in South Africa,  be vigilant when stopping at traffic lights . Although the risk of any car robberies happening does decrease as you leave Cape Town.

Watch out for roaming wildlife . A real hazard across the whole of South Africa is wandering animals such as baboons, ostriches, tortoises and hares. Even antelope may suddenly come bounding from the side of the road. Drive carefully and slow down when you see the signs showing animals when doing day trips from Cape Town .

Remember to  keep spare change at hand for toll roads . Many of these don’t accept foreign credit cards so keep some South African rand for this.

Also, remember to  keep 5 Rand coins spare for parking guards  at the car parks along the Garden Route. The car guard will help direct you into a space and mind your car whilst you go off sightseeing. When you return, they will approach you expecting 5 Rand as a tip.

Where to stay on the Garden Route

The Garden Route offers tons of accommodation to suit all budgets. There are plenty of camping and glamping sites, as well as hostels for those looking for budget accommodation. For those seeking luxury accommodation on the Garden Route, there are some wonderful places to stay. I’ll include suggestions for each area below.

In terms of campsites along the Garden Route, these are some of the best:

Ebb & Flow campsite in Wilderness . Offering camping and caravan spots, as well as 4-bed log cabins and forest lodges.

Timber camping decks in the Knysna Forest . Beautiful camping decks for tents as well as treetop forest chalets.

Nature’s Valley Rest Camp in Tsitsikamma National Park. Forest huts and camping spots.

Storms River Mouth Rest Camp in Tsitsikamma National Park . Offering a mix of forest huts, rondavels and camping spots.

Budgeting for the Garden Route

As with most trips, this epic road trip can be done on a budget, or you can splash out.

Transport:  The first thing you’ll need to consider is the hire car or the cost of the bus pass. Car hire will really vary depending on the time of year you drive the Garden Route. If you visit in peak season, car hire will be a lot more expensive. Most car hire companies also charge an insurance premium that lowers the cost of the excess should anything go wrong. So I would recommend budgeting for the insurance premium – just in case.

Gas/Petrol: This is generally quite affordable in South Africa.

Accommodation : As mentioned, there are places to stay on the Garden Route to suit every budget. A nice hotel room is likely to cost around £50 per night. Whilst a camping spot will be around £12 per night.

Activities and Entrance Fees

One of the best things about the Garden Route is that so many activities are free or inexpensive. For example, you’d need to pay an entrance fee into the national parks. But once inside, many activities are free like hiking and swimming.

To help you plan, here are the entrance fees to various sections of the Garden Route National Park:

Tsitsikamma section:

• South African citizens (R62/£3.25 per adult per day, R31/£1.65 per child per day)
• Overseas tourists (R248/£13 per adult per day, R124/£6.50 per adult per day)

Nature’s Valley section:

• South African citizens (R56/£3 per adult per day, R28/£1.50 per child per day)
• Overseas tourists (R112/£6 per adult per day, R56/£3 per adult per day)

Wilderness section:

• South African citizens (R38/£2 per adult per day, R19/£1 per child per day)
• Overseas tourists (R152/£8 per adult per day, R76/£4 per adult per day)

Kynsna section:

Another option is to purchase Wild Card membership . This gives one year’s unlimited entry to 80+ national parks, reserves and resorts across South Africa and neighbouring countries. It can be bought for an individual, a couple or a family (two adults, two children). This may work out to be really good value depending on how many parks you’re planning to visit.

The prices are as follows (valid until 13 October 2020):

• All parks in Southern Africa (80+):
• Individual R685/£36, Couple R1,130/£60, Family R1,380/£72.

A (slightly) less expensive if you’re a South African citizen is to opt for the SANParks Wild Card, which gives access to 21 parks in SA:

Individual R655/£34, Couple R1,065/£65, Family R 1,280/£67

Note this is not available to international tourists. You can check full details of all pricing here .

Garden Route South Africa Itinerary

So let’s get stuck into this itinerary. Although the official Garden Route is far shorter, logistically, for most travellers it’ll make sense to travel from Cape Town so that’s where I’ll start this route.

As I did the whole route to Port Elizabeth, I’ve extended my Garden Route itinerary to here and provided several suggestions of things to do and see near this lovely city.

Cape Town and Mossel Bay

From Cape Town , you have several options to go from here to Mossel Bay. For example, you could start your Garden Route itinerary by driving towards the Cape Peninsula. This shorter drive is one of top things to do in Cape Town . I’d normally suggest it as a day trip, but it is also a great start to the Garden Route if you have time. Along this mini road trip, you can spot penguins at Boulder’s Beach and visit the beautiful Cape Point Nature Reserve. You could also stop by the charming Simon’s Town or Kalk Bay.

Alternatively, you could also make your first stop Hermanus, instead of doing this as a day trip from Cape Town. This beautiful town is often visited by a huge Humpback whale population every year, and is widely considered one of the best whale watching spots in South Africa. Between Hermanus and Mossel Bay is the official most Southerly point on the African continent, at Cape Aghulas .

As you can see in the below, the most direct way to get to Mossel Bay from Cape Town is along the N2. But Hermanus or the Cape Peninsula would be nice stop points.

But it is Mossel Bay that is the official starting point of the Garden Route. This is a relaxed coastal resort with some lovely beaches and interesting history. One night is probably enough time here, but it’s well worth a stop.

You can do some great hikes near Mossel Bay, including a 14km route from St Blaize Cave to Dana Bay and a much longer route known as the Oystercatcher Trail . Note this is a one way hike and you’ll need to jump in a taxi back to town.

Mossel Bay is also one of the places in South Africa where you can go cage diving, but if you’re after something a bit more relaxing then sunbathing and surfing is definitely top of the order in Mossel Bay. Make sure to check out this detailed guide on all the best things to do and see in Mossel Bay here .

Places to stay in Mossel Bay

If you plan on staying over night in Mossel Bay, there are some great places to rest. From the family-friendly convenience of the Protea by Marriot in Mossel Bay , to the stylish Lavandula Manor and 94 on Rodger .

Distance from Cape Town to Mossel Bay: 387km

This town, a little further inland is well worth the short detour. Home to both the  Cango Caves , an interesting web of underground tunnels and caves, and the  Cango Wildlife Ranch , the perfect place for up-close encounters with unusual animals. You can pay to hold lemurs as well as meerkats and servals. Oudtshoorn is known as the ostrich capital of the world, so make sure to stop at the nearby  Cango Ostrich Farm  too, the main place to meet these quirky birds!

There are also plenty of great hiking trails nearby in and around the Klein Karoo if you fancy spending a couple of days longer here.

Some great tours in and near Oudtshoorn include:

• Guided Ostrich Farm Tour
• Cango Caves Zipline Adventure
• Swartberg Pass Tour

Some recommended places to stay nearby include  Old Mill Lodge ,  Karoo Retreat  and Raw  Karoo Guesthouse .

Distance from Mossel Bay to Oudtshoorn: 85.6km

George is the largest town around and has an airport, so it is a convenient access point to Knysna and Plettenberg Bay if you want to visit the Garden Route, but you’re short on time. There’s also a  large shopping centre  here, but otherwise I wouldn’t recommend stopping for too long in George.

Distance from Oudtshoorn to George: 63km or go directly from Mossel Bay (46km)

Wilderness is nestled at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains and is a small, peaceful town with an abundance of natural beauty. This beautiful destination is bordered by the Kaaimans River to the West, and the Goukamma Nature Reserve to the east, and faces the warm Indian Ocean.

Its location means visitors can enjoy a wide array of outdoor activities along the vast stretches of beaches and in the nearby mountains, lagoons, forests, lakes and rivers. Days can be spent hiking, mountain biking, bird-watching, whale-watching, angling, boating, horse-riding and swimming. Soif you’re into outdoors activities, you can easily spend several days here!

Make sure to check the SANparks site for a guide of the  five main hiking trails in Wilderness and also visit Dolphin Point Lookout too. Here you can take in expansive views over the stunning coastline and Kaaimans River Mouth.

Wilderness is the perfect place to immerse yourself in nature – definitely take the time to absorb the charm of this soulful town.

Places to stay in Wilderness

Wilderness is home to the excellent Ebb and Flow Rest Camp, which offers budget-friendly forest huts, log cabins or camping spots.

If you’re not camping, there are plenty of well-priced small boutique hotels to pick from, including  On the Beach ,  Oceans Wilderness  and  Views Boutique Hotel & Spa .

Make sure to stop at  BITE Wilderness  for some great food and excellent craft beers, and book a table at the stunning Serendipity Restaurant for a delicious South-African inspired meal in a beautiful location.

Distance from Mossel Bay to Wilderness: 59km

Knysna is a beautiful town set around a huge lagoon and is a definite highlight along the Garden Route. Days in Knysna can be spent exploring the huge estuary on boat trips, enjoying numerous watersports or hiking along the cliff tops. In fact, between just Knysna and Plettenberg Bay (the next town in my guide), you can easily spend a week or two doing something different every single day, especially if you’re travelling with kids.

My favourite things to do in Knysna include trying my luck at fishing in the huge lagoon, playing in the shallow waters near Bollard Bay beach or making my way around some of Knysna’s excellent restaurants.

Some excellent tours in Knysna include:

• Lagoon Boat Cruise and Oyster Tasting
• Knysna Kayak Hire
• Sailing Experience in Knysna
• Knysna Whale Watching Tour
• Downhill Forest Scootour Adventure
• Knysna Standup Paddleboard Hire

Places to stay in Knysna

Knysna has an enormous number of places to stay. Not only can you stay around the edge of the lagoon, but you can also stay on some of the islands within the lagoon, including Thesen’s Island. My favourite place to stay is  The Turbine Hotel & Spa  and I highly recommend enjoying booking into their spa to enjoy some of their spa treatments too.

Other places to stay in Knysna include the  Westhill Luxury Guest House  for its views,  The Rex Hotel  for comfort and convenience, or the  Knysna Guest House  for a budget-friendly option.

Places to eat in Knysna

Knysna food is great! I’ve enjoyed many delicious lunches at the  East Head Cafe  on its beautiful terrace out the back, and I also highly recommend sailing over to  Featherbed Beach Bar  for a wonderful lunch at the water’s edge. On Thesen’s Island, I highly suggest visiting  34 Tapas & Oysters ,  Ile de Pain ,  Sirocco  and enjoying lunch at the  Island Cafe at The Turbine Hotel .

One thing to definitely try is the oysters in Knysna – the town is known for them!

From Knysna, it is just 30 minutes to Plettenberg Bay (32km drive)

Plettenberg Bay

This beautiful beach town is the home of the South African summer holiday, so if you visit November – February, expect it to be very busy with locals on vacation. It’s affectionately known as Plett and many South Africans have holiday homes there.

My favourite thing to do in Plettenberg is to visit the Robberg Nature Reserve , one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. From one of several hiking routes in the Reserve, you might see seals, dolphins and whales and the beaches here are truly some of the best in South Africa .

Other brilliant things to do in Plettenberg include diving with seals, canyoneering, mountain biking, hiking and if you’re with kids, definitely stop at Adventure Land, a huge complex of pools, slides and water-based activities.

You can even go on game drives near to Plettenberg. As Knysna and Plett are so close, I’ve popped all the best things to see and do near the two below.

Places to eat in Plettenberg Bay

One of the most popular places for lunch in Plett is  Lookout Deck . Serving up excellent seafood all day long, it’s definitely somewhere to visit whilst in Plett.

Slightly outside of town, the Bramon Wine Estate is well worth a visit, and is the only vineyard in the area. You can even spend a full day here, but make sure to book in advance for picnic-style lunches.

Another popular spot is the awesome Emily Moon River Lodge, a bohemian guesthouse where day visitors are welcome to visit for lunch, dinner or sunset drinks. Another place not to miss includes seafood at The Fat Fish .

Best things to do near Knysna and Plettenberg Bay

As mentioned above, the two towns are just a 30 min drive apart, making them excellent places to spend a couple of nights whilst driving the Garden Route. I’ve listed some of the best things to see and do near Knysna and Plett here:

• Knysna Elephant Park is well worth a visit, and is one of the best things to do on the Garden Route for kids. Visitors can arrange several different elephant interactions, from feeding them to walking with them. Another similar alternative is at Plettenberg Bay’s  Elephant Sanctuary .
• At nearby, Tenikwa Animal Sanctuary, you can have even more animal encounters, including the chance to walk with a cheetah. Book your visiting to Tenikwa here.
• Another stop is the Garden Route Wolf Sanctuary , a fascinating centre to learn about these interesting creatures.
• If you can fancy getting out on the water, then perhaps consider whale watching with  Ocean Safaris . July to December is a particularly good time to do this.

Other great tours include:

• Monkeyland, Birds of Eden and Jukani Wildlife centre visit
• Plettenberg Game Reserve 2 Hour Guided Tour
• Wild Cat Experience
• Swim with seals in Plett
• 2 Hour Horseback Game Reserve Tour
• Plettenberg Bay Canyoning

Nature’s Valley

This town is, as you might guess, a paradise for nature lovers. Just another 30 minutes’ drive along from Plettenberg, this coastal town sits at the foot of the Tsitsikamma Mountains and between the Salt River and the Groot River lagoon. Similar to Wilderness, it’s a beautiful place to stop on the Garden Route.

There are an endless array of activities to enjoy here, between the untamed coastline, the deep forest and the rugged mountains. The order of the day in Nature’s Valley is simply to embrace Mother Nature, and all of the wonders she decided to place in Nature’s Valley. Trails wind through the forest canopy, where you might emerge into an opening with a deafening waterfall ahead of you, or see curious monkeys playing in the trees above you.

One of the most unusual things to do on the Garden Routes is here at Nature’s Valley in its ‘gully’, where visitors can swim with sharks in shallow waters. The sharks, known as the Sharptooth Houndshark are not dangerous, and the ones here feed on lobsters, crabs and other small fish.

If you’re up for some physical adventure than make sure to hike the Kalanderkloof hiking trail, or cycling the Groot River pass amongst the indigenous rainforests of the Tsitsikamma.

Places to stay in Nature’s Valley

Nature’s Valley is a fantastic place to stay somewhere a little unusual and right in the heart of nature. One option is Nature’s Valley Rest Camp , where you can stay in wooden forest huts, or of course, camp surrounded by the towering trees.

Alternatively, there is the Four Fields Farm or the stylish Entre Mer et Fôret Beach House . A little further out is the Trogon House & Forest Spa , offering tree top accommodation.

Distance from Plettenberg Bay to Nature’s Valley: 34km

Storms River

Another 40km along the Garden Route and you’ll find yourself in the Storms River National Park . This is another stunning spot to visit on the route, particularly as it is where the Indian Ocean meets the river. The drive from Knysna and Plettenberg Bay to Storms River weaves between canyons, with jaw-dropping views from the bridges you cross on route.

Storms River is known for awesome adventures in the forest canopy, including rope bridges, suspension bridges and zip lining. In fact, a canopy tour in Storms River is often considered one of the best things to do in the whole of South Africa!

Book your Canopy Tour here

In the river and along the shoreline, kayaking and tubing are two of the best activities to do, as well as snorkelling in the marine protected area, where you might see sharks, rays and even octopus!

Arrange your Storms River kayaking tour here in advance

There are also several walking trails and waterfall hikes, mostly taking around 2-3 hours, and exhilarating mountain biking on the scenic Storms River Pass. Book your hiking tours here .

One other activity to do near here, which is particularly good for thrill-seekers, is the bungy-jump at Bloukrans Bridge. At 216m, it’s one of, if not the highest bungy jumps in the world.

Where to stay in Storms River

Like Nature’s Valley, stays here meaning immersing yourself in the surrounding nature. Storms River has a good variety in places to stay, from camping at the Storms River Rest Camp, to quaint stays at places such as Swallows Nest Country Cottages or the Storms River Guest Lodge . There are also some beautiful luxury places to stay, including The Fernery Lodge & Chalets and the stunning Forest Nest .

From Storms River to Port Elizabeth, the final stop on this Garden Route itinerary, it takes around 2 hours of driving (170km).

Jeffreys Bay

This world-renowned surf spot is on the way to Port Elizabeth. Often known as J-Bay, Jeffreys Bay is one of the best places in the world to surf. Every year, the planet’s best surfers come to Jeffreys Bay to ride some of the iconic waves and soak up the atmosphere. If you’re not into surfing yourself, it’s actually a great beachside community to spend a few days in with excellent accommodation options and good beach facilities.

Book your surf lessons for Jeffreys Bay here

You probably don’t need that long here if you’re not into surfing but if you do choose to stay, a great value option is Villa Petit, or The Mandyville .

Port Elizabeth

The final stop on this Garden Route itinerary is the friendly city of Port Elizabeth , one of the lesser visited cities in South Africa. Whilst it doesn’t have the obvious natural beauty of Cape Town or the vibe of Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth is in itself a peaceful, chilled out town to spend a few days in.

Port Elizabeth, aka PE is a safer and calmer place to visit in South Africa that still offers plenty of interesting attractions and beautiful places to visit.

Things to do in or near Port Elizabeth

My favourite place in PE is the unbelievable Sardinia Bay beach, which, despite seeing all of incredible beaches on the Garden Route, will still blow you away with its beauty.

Accessed by climbing a huge golden sand dune, you emerge on a vast beach with miles of soft golden sand and turquoise waters. There are few facilities here, but days can easily be spent enjoying the sea or playing ball games on the expansive sand. Make sure to stop at Grass Roof café , which is a brilliant farm stall and restaurant with a great laid back beach atmosphere. Sardinia Bay is about a 15 minute drive from the heart of PE, but if you want more centrally located beaches than try perhaps Hobie Beach or Humewood Beach.

In the heart of Port Elizabeth, a day can easily be spent in Summerstrand between the beach there and The Boardwalk . This is a shopping and leisure centre in one, all built around an artificial lake. There’s a light show on the fountains in the evening, as well as numerous other entertainment venues, shopping and great restaurants.

Another great spot to visit in the historical centre of PE is Route 67 , an arts and heritage trail showcasing artworks made by artists based in the Eastern Cape. The idea is that there’s one piece of art for every year that Nelson Mandela devoted to South Africa, and the trail weaves together the story in the run-up to the 1994 elections. Whilst wandering in the old part of the city, why not also visit the old public library?

Book your Port Elizabeth walking city tour

Near to Port Elizabeth are some excellent wildlife viewing opportunities including Addo Elephant Park and the Cape Recife Reserve, where you can see an abundance of marine life and penguins.

Book your tour to see the marine life near Port Elizabeth here

Where to stay in Port Elizabeth

There are a huge number of really good value places to stay in Port Elizabeth, many of which are located really centrally.

To stay in the very heart of the the city, I’d recommend staying at the Boardwalk Hotel or alternatively, the Radisson Blu Hotel .

Places to eat in Port Elizabeth

I’m always so pleasantly surprised by the dining options in PE, and have now sampled a fair few places in the city. La Kouzina on the seafront is an amazing spot for Greek and sushi in one place, as well as the neighbouring Coachman’s restaurant . Make sure to also stop by the original Vovo Telo , the now super popular café and bakery that has spread across South Africa. Another great smoothie and coffee spot is Rhubarb and Lime , which is right by St George’s Park, home to the city’s cricket ground.

Addo Elephant Park

Another amazing activity to do near Port Elizabeth is to visit Addo Elephant Park . Just 45 minutes from the centre of PE, and you can experience a true African safari – and you can even self-drive in the park with your hire car!  

If you don’t fancy self-driving amongst the wild animals, fear not! Another option is to book a full day guided tour, such as this one!

As South Africa’s third biggest national park, it offers more than 440,000 acres of game viewing land, and you can see a lot more than elephants – including lions, zebras, rhinos, hyenas and antelope.

Where to stay in or near Addo Elephant Park

I spent the most amazing day here, but you also do overnight stays. Some recommendations include:

Luxury : Gorah Elephant Camp or Hitgeheim Country Lodge

Mid-range: Addo Wildlife or Avoca River Cabins

Budget: Addo African Home or Addo Rest Camp

Garden Route South Africa

So there you have it! My complete guide to planning your Garden Route itinerary, including all the stop towns and beaches communities to visit. I hope this is useful but feel free to drop me a line if you would like any further information.

If you’re planning on spending a bit of time in Cape Town, then you might find some of my other guides useful. From this detailed Cape Town itineraries post, to these guides on the best places to eat in Cape Town and things to do in the city too.

I’ve also written a complete guide to the best beaches in South Africa , as well as a guide to going on safari in Kruger National Park .

Wanna see more? Check my Instagram  here , my Facebook  here  or my Twitter  here !

Disclaimer: This visit to South Africa was entirely paid for by myself. There was no involvement from the tourism board or a hotel. This is an independent guide.

Enjoyed my guide to the Garden Route South Africa. Pin it!

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Hiking in the rif mountains near …, a london supper club with yellow …, cape town foodie guide: the best …, best things to do in ghana, ….

The photos of Knysna Heads are amazing! I can’t believe so much is in such a small bit of the country! I’m dying to re-visit!

I know! It’s crazy isnt it!

You had quite an adventure of 7 days! When I visited Cape Town years ago, I booked only a day tour around the coast. So, I’ve learnt lots from your post today.

Ah that’s awesome! Yes, we did have a huge adventure! Amazing country.

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Garden Route Road Trip Itinerary Part 1: Intro and Addo Elephant Park

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• Last Updated On: February 2, 2024

One of the few things I knew about South Africa’s vacation destinations before moving here was an area called the Garden Route. Nested between mountains and the Indian ocean coast of South Africa, this stretch of 800km is home to some of the most breathtaking and diverse landscapes, beaches, forests, lagoons, game reserves, and overall greenery giving it its name. According to the Guinness book of world records, it has the second mildest climate after Hawaii. Year round, it ranges from 10-30 degrees. I had been planning this trip for awhile and what a trip it was! Great decision I could have made doing this trip in the South African summer. Enjoy my recounts of the trip!

In addition, for those looking to visit South Africa for longer but plan to visit the Garden Route, read my post about the perfect two, or three week South Africa itinerary  as well as the ultimate South Africa honeymoon itinerary .

Garden Route Trip Summary

The Garden Route is simply the area along the coast between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town . We landed in Port Elizabeth, rented a car, and drove all the way to Cape Town via the scenic N2 highway. Having a GPS is absolutely necessary and it saved us everywhere we went. A combination of GPS + Google Maps is the best choice as a GPS won’t know where a hotel or restaurant is.

The airports all over South Africa sell pay as you go sim cards and Vodacom is what I recommend for this part of the country as there are plenty of remote areas and Vodacom has the biggest cellular network.

Rent a car for the Garden Route, this is a road trip

The Garden Route is located solely in South Africa. This is a proper developed country and the roads are proper roads (unlike the dirt roads of Tanzania). There are tours done by all the major operators like Nomad, Acacia, AfricaTravelCo, etc. that do overland tours through the Garden Route but I don’t see the need unless you’re traveling on your own and want some company. I did this trip with my girlfriend who flew in from America and this is the ultimate road trip in South Africa!

There is SO much to see on this stretch of land that you may miss it if you’re following someone else’s agenda. The roads are perfect, the signs are clearly labeled and helpful, everyone speaks English, and the weather’s great. As long as you have some good company, music, and a good sense of adventure, this is the trip for you. All the big car rental companies are located at the Port Elizabeth airport. Picking up from PE, and dropping it off in Cape Town is not a problem at all.

Plan, but be Spontaneous

Like any trip done in Africa, a well thought out itinerary is a good thing to have. However, the Garden Route is a very developed part of Africa. Many of the towns on this stretch of land are very western and you would need to think twice to remember you’re in Africa. Everyone speaks great English even if people’s first languages are something else (Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu etc.)

DO make a plan for this trip, and have some semblance of an agenda. Depending on how much time you have for this trip, be spontaneous as well. There are so many little stops along the road, whether it is a game farm, wine estate, beach, hike, biltong, etc, you want to soak in as much as you can.

You’re likely not going back to this area of the world anytime soon, so make the best of it. Have a rough idea of what you want to see and where you want to stay the night and take it from there. The drive from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town is around 800km. By the time I arrived at Cape Town, my trip odometer read 1600km! So that’s 800 extra km that I drove to go off the beaten path and see what I wanted to.

I made a plan initially, taking note of where I would be staying, and what activities I would do but things changed as I started the trip. For example, I saw in one of the airplane magazines on my flight to Port Elizabeth that Sardinia Bay is a beautiful, less crowded beach near Port Elizabeth. Never heard of it before but we decided to go just because and what a winning decision that was. You can click on the links and see how much itinerary changed from pre-trip to post trip.

»  Pre Trip  | Post Trip  «

How long for garden route.

I hate these questions, usually because I’m always on the “not enough time” side of things. The Garden Route is only 800km and can easily be driven in a day but there’s no fun in that! With so much to see, it’s all about how much time you can allocate. But alas, we live in an on the go, vacation strapped world so we have to be realistic as well. We spent 7 full days and 6 nights on our trip. We then spent 4 nights in Cape Town as CT is a trip on its own.

I felt this gave us enough time to see most of what we wanted to see. We wasted no time however, were constantly on the go, and made it a point of emphasis to do as much as possible. Resting and relaxing were not high on our priority list. Who needs to rest? You’re only here once. There were some places I wish we could have stayed another night like Hermanus, and a night or two in the winelands. As I lived in South Africa , I went back to the wine country of Stellenbosch numerous times.

In the end, we came out satisfied with our trip. Ideally, I’d recommend people to allot 7-10 days for this trip. Minimum, I’d say 4 days.

Peak Season Visiting for the Garden Route

The towns along the Garden Route are not just meant for foreign tourists; the South Africans appreciate the beauty of this part of the country just as much as us foreigners do. This is never more apparent than during the times we decided to do our road trip, late December during the Holiday Season.

It’s absolutely packed. 

Plettenberg Bay was a complete zoo, and Cape Town may as well have been bourbon street during Mardi Gras. The whole of Gauteng (Johannesburg, Pretoria etc), migrate to the coast during the holiday season and combine this with all the tourists from America and Europe, and you have a recipe for mayhem.

Visiting during South Africa’s summer months, you’ll be expected to pay more for lodging but not quite as much as peak season which is during the holidays. However, the summer months are the beautiful months and weather really makes a huge impact on this road trip. When it is nice and sunny out, it is REALLY nice. When it is cloudy, which we had 1 day of, it is still rather nice. The Garden Route can be done year round but if I were to do it again, I’d probably go sometime between March-May  when the weather is still very nice and peak season tourism is nearing an end.

To put it in perspective, if we had visited during the off season or just at a time that wasn’t during the Holidays, we could have just driven into a town and picked out our accommodation the night of because there would be such higher vacancy.

Booking Accommodation

With more people, comes more demand for lodging and your hotels and B&Bs will be booked full. If you’re planning on doing this trip during the holiday season, absolutely make sure to book months in advance, perhaps even a half year! Expect to pay about 50% more during the holiday season.

For booking accommodation, I can recommend using Booking.com which always has the best deals in my opinion. Airbnb is also a great option to find unique accommodations in places like Cape Town.

TripAdvisor

I’m of the new school of thinking in that if hundreds or thousands of other people have visited something I’m interested in visiting and have given it rave reviews, who am I to say I’m better than those people and that I’m too good to bandwagon with the crowd? Sure tourists aren’t the same as locals but you’re not likely to find knowledgeable locals wherever you go so thank god for TripAdvisor because it’s the next best thing. I used TripAdvisor to choose all my restaurants, and book my lodging. It didn’t lead me wrong and I’m incredibly happy with all the restaurants I went to and all the places I slept at. So make sure to download the TripAdvisor app and use it liberally.

If you’re like me, one of the biggest and most exciting parts of traveling is sampling the local fare. South Africa has no shortage of great restaurants and the Garden route is home to many. There’s really nothing distinctive about South African cuisine but they do everything well, especially steaks and seafood, two things one can never complain about. For all our meals, we just alternated between one and the other. Some days we’d feel like steak, others we felt like we had too much red meat and it was time for some fish or prawns. Tough life. Game meats are also readily available at most restaurants and this is a must do for anyone visiting SA.

Also make sure to absolutely make restaurant reservations in the bigger cities like Plettenberg Bay, Knysna, Hermanus and Cape Town.

In this post, I’ll just be writing about the places we ate at which was usually one or two places per stop so in no means will this be a restaurant guide to the Garden Route (that’s what TripAdvisor is for) as I would need at least a month to be qualified to write that!

Garden Route Day By Day Itinerary

Here is a day by day breakdown of my Garden Route Itinerary

Day 1:  Land in Port Elizabeth, explore the town and drive to Addo Elephant Park, afternoon game drive Day 2: Early morning Addo Elephant Park game drive, drive to Jeffrey’s Bay, and spend night in Plettenberg Bay Day 3:  Explore Plett, swim with seals, hike Robberg Mountain Day 4:  Natures Valley Beach, Bloukrans bungee jump, explore more of Tsitsikama area Day 5: Visit Knysna in morning, drive to Oudtshoorn, afternoon ostrich visit Day 6: Cango caves in the morning, drive to Hermanus Day 7: Gansbaai shark cage diving in the morning, relax around Hermanus Day 8-12: Cape Town and surrounding areas

Day 1: Port Elizabeth

And finally, the trip begins! Our flight from Joburg to Port Elizabeth landed 9am in the morning so we had the whole day to explore. Upon landing, I pick up my car at the Avis booth expecting the usual Volkswagen Polo, Honda Jazz or some other boring car but nope, we are upgraded to a brand new Mercedes C200! It only had 44km on the clock! 

After spending some time configuring the car’s bluetooth capabilities so it would connect with our phones to play music (highly important), we are on our way. We decide to drive into Port Elizabeth and check out the city in the morning.

Port Elizabeth Town

Located in the Eastern Cape province, Port Elizabeth or PE as the locals call it, is one of the largest cities in SA and home to one of its major ports. There isn’t a whole lot to do in this city and we weren’t here long enough to explore it.

The city is rather large and coming from the airport you’ll come to a T intersection where one side leads to the city and the other leads to Summerstrand. Without a doubt, take the turn to Summerstrand. We drove around the city for all of 5 minutes initially before realizing this isn’t where we want to be and turned around to Summerstrand.

Summerstrand Neighborhood

This is the wealthy beachfront suburb right next to PE where everyone flocks to during the summer. The beach here is gorgeous! Long stretches of sandy beaches, tropical colored water (this is the Indian Ocean), and perfect weather. We came right around Christmas time and it was completely packed on the beach. This would be the theme for most of the trip as the entire country flocks to the coast for the holidays. A perfect time to park the car and walk around.

The beach stretches on for miles and the sand is incredibly soft. We thought how great it would be to have a place here in one of the many modern condo buildings and be able to visit whenever. While we thought this beach was very nice (which it was), the beaches would actually only get better from here on out. There is also a boardwalk area with restaurants, shops, and other things.

We spend an hour walking along the beach before breaking for lunch. There are some very good restaurants in Port Elizabeth but we only had time for lunch. There are many restaurants in Summerstrand and we picked a place called  Ginger right by the beach. Other restaurants that looked appealing to me were De Kelder, The Bayside Pantry, El Greco. Ginger did not disappoint as I had some grilled fish with a beer, which would be a common theme throughout the lunches. Seafood lunch with beers for two came up to 200R.

Sardinia Bay

After lunch, we walked around the boardwalk which took no more than a half hour and it was only noon. Addo Elephant Park was the end destination for the day but we had 5 hours to kill before our scheduled game drive and it’s only 1 hour drive to the park. We decided let’s check out the beach we read about in the airline magazine on our flight down here. It was highly recommended and gave us something to do. Why not? Plug this place into our GPS and 25 minutes later, we’ve arrived.

Wow. Now THIS is the beach to be. Not only were there just a fraction of the people here, the beach was absolutely breathtaking. No buildings or signs of civilization was the theme of this place. To top it off, we had to climb a dune from the parking lot to actually get onto the beach. There were dunes everywhere! Dunes and beaches, it’s hard to beat that combo.

I felt like I was in Namibia again. The color of the water was even prettier here and the long evenly distributed waves crashing into the shore added to its beauty and this style of beach would be something we’d see many more times along the Garden Route. We ended up hiking up a dune, and passing the hell out for an hour. It was great but now I had sand all over me, a small price to pay I suppose. If you’re in Port Elizabeth for a few hours and want to see a beach, make sure to come to THIS one.

Day 2: Addo Elephant Park

Around 3pm, we figured it was probably a good time to start driving to the Addo Elephant Park as our game drive was scheduled for the sundowner at 6pm. The drive took around 1.5 hours from Sardinia Bay and we arrived to our accommodations right outside the park around 4:30. Turns out, the sunset drive which we booked starts at 5! We so droped off our bags and drive the 10 minutes to the park to make it in time.

The Game Drive

The Addo Elephant park is one of 19 game reserves in South Africa and the third largest by size at 1600 square km. This area along the Garden Route was once home to thousands of elephants until the European settlers came in and hunted these elephants for ivory until near extinction. There were only 11 elephants left in this area until this area was turned into a sanctuary dedicated to the revival of the population. Now there are almost 500 elephants here which is a massive number for a park this size.

There are other animals on the game reserve like warthogs, jackals, kudu, and Cape Buffalo. The owners have also introduced a few lions into the park to control the animal population but at the end of the day, the name of this place is elephants and that is what you’re here to see. You should have zero problems spotting elephants and a lot of them at that. The drive was lasted two hours which is ample time to see this park.

As we started our drive, it took maybe 5 minutes before we saw our first group of elephants. Our game vehicle was fully packed with 20 people so cue the cameras here as everyone scrambled to get pics. Eventually, we saw so many elephants that no one took out their cameras unless the elephants got very close to the vehicle which is ALWAYS cool.

We probably saw at least 50 elephants here. Our guide told us the best time to see them is actually during the day when it’s been dry for awhile, similar to the Etosha Park in Namibia , as the elephants all congregate to the watering holes and at times you can see 100 of them at once! We didn’t see that many, but we did have a herd of 15 of them walk within a meter of our truck as they crossed the road (Look at the picture at the top of the post). We saw some cape buffalo too which is always cool

As the sunset, we parked in the middle of the road to have some beers and biltong that our guide had set up. The herd of buffalo we just saw were about 50 meters from us at the watering hole and a few stray bull elephants were near us as well. This was pretty cool how close we were to the buffalo. These are dangerous animals as they account for more human deaths than any other animal in Africa and we were questionably close to them.

As we finish our snacks, we get back into the car, content with what we had seen in the last two hours (many elephants, buffalo, zebra, kudu etc.) and headed back. I was planning on going for another drive the following morning but I feel that a two hour drive here was all we needed. This park felt more like a giant zoo and while it’s incredibly easy to see big animals, it didn’t really feel like a proper safari. To put it in perspective, the Masai Mara in Kenya is about the same size and there must have been 10x the diversity and amount of animals.

More Pictures

Where we stayed in Addo Elephant park

All the major game reserves in South Africa are very developed and there is a wide spectrum of lodging available to everyone. Whether you want to camp for cheap or stay in a super fancy luxury lodge for 1,000$ a night, everything is possible.

I ended booking a night at the Aardvark Guesthouse  after reading great reviews on TripAdvisor and Booking.com. It’s located 10 minutes outside the park and it was the perfect first night stop for us. We had a small chalet but the beds were comfortable, the showers strong, and there was a fan to keep us cool at night. For 550R a night, it is a bargain for two people and that was during peak season too so I’d expect that price to drop significantly in other months.

For a more luxurious stay, I would recommend these places:

• Hillsneck Safari Camp
• Gorah Elephant Camp
• Sundune Guest House
• Harmony Luxury Tents
• Camp Figtree
• Addo Dung Beetle Guest Farm
• Ikwanitsha Lodge

Where we ate

Our lodging for the night is conveniently located right next to  Hazel’s , a restaurant with the top ranking on TripAdvisor for the PE area famous for serving up game meats. What better place to eat at after seeing so many animals than to a restaurant that is famous for serving them hot? We made a reservation before we left for the game drive and we arrived promptly at 8pm. Wow, what a great first dinner to start the trip!

We got springbok carpaccio to start, and Wildebeast and Blesbok steak for our mains. Mmm, wow. I’ve had many game meats but never even heard of Blesbok until this place so it was good to check that off the list. This place deserves its #1 rating on TripAdvisor. The meat is cooked perfectly.

The chef even told us that cooking game meat requires a different skill than beef. Cows are all killed at the same age so the meat is consistent but game is hunted and they could be any age. A young springbok will have different meat texture to a fully grown springbok so it’s up to the chef to feel out how it should be cooked and these guys are damn good at doing it. Highly recommended.

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Hi Johnny, I have been following your fantastic blog on and off since inception in 2014. Mainly because I had set-up a similar blog on the same platform and had come across your website on a technical forum. Anyway, my website fizzled out, but yours is going strong – well done! and congratulations on your travels and early retirement from the rat race.

My wife and myself will be flying in to Cape Town this year on February 26th and flying back out of the country on March 12th. We only want to do Cape Town, Wine country and the Garden route, at a relaxed chilled out pace, not so young anymore but more time on our hands. So far I have been looking at the Honeymoon itinerary, minus Mauritius and the Safari (We have done Serengeti and Masai Mara, so Addo does not appeal following your description in this blog post).

So far our plan is 4 nights Cape Town, 2 nights Stellenbosch, 1 night Hermanus, 1 night Oudtshoorn, 3 nights Plettenberg Bay. That still leaves 4 nights spare to get back to Cape Town and fly back out. Elizabeth Bay does not really appeal, so I am thinking to stick to the Garden Route district itself as far as Storms River. Maybe spend one extra night in Stellenbosch.

We do fancy some extra time in a quite beach somewhere if possible and would appreciate any guidance you can give. Also if we should spend any extra time somewhere along the route. Finally should we drive back to Cape Town, or fly back from George/Elizabeth Bay airport? Any and all guidance you can give would be appreciated.

Hi Kailas, so happy to hear that you like the blog and crazy you’ve followed me for that long. I really wasn’t even properly blogging back in 2014 as it was more of a journal that I was writing.

Since you have more time on your hands, I would maybe stay an extra night in Stellenbosch to enjoy the wine country so you don’t have to rush through it as much. I would spend some time in the Tsitsikama area to get some hiking in as I really love that area of the Garden Route. Finally another night in the Plett area never hurts. This way you can spend a day in Knysna as well.

If you don’t want to drive all the way back to Cape Town, I would just drop off the car one way in George and fly back to Cape Town. If it was me, I would do the one way drop so I would spend less time driving.

Hey Johnny. Thanks for getting back to and really appreciate your help. All of your recommendations made sense. I have booked the internal flight back to Cape Town from Gerorge. Extra night in the Wine Country and also an extra night in Plett to explore the surrounding area including Tsitsikamma. I have also allowed two nights Hermanus, as it seems nice with stuff to see and do, but also to allow for an earlier and relaxed drive to the the Garden Route (Oudtshoorn or Mossel Bay) with potential sightseeing stops along the way. We still have one further night to spare which I am mulling between a night in Mossel Bay or an extra night in Oudtshoorn. Do you think Mossel Bay is worth an extra night, or would you advise driving straight on to Oudtshoorn (especially with an earlier start from Hermanus), and spend the extra night in Oudtshoorn or even in Plett or Tsitsikamma.Cheers, Kailas

I’ve only been to MOssel Bay for lunch once before. It was nice but I’m not sure what there is to do there that is mor eunique than other stops on the Garden Route. It’s a good way to break up the drive between Hermanus and Oudtshoorn but no tusre if it is necessary. I would probably just spend another night in the Plett/Knysna area. I didn’t think I needed another night in Oudtshoorn.

Planning a trip for later this year in December. This is the vague itinerary I have so far, Cape Town 3 nights- Stellenbosch 1 night- Hermanus 1 night- Outsdhoorn 2 nights- Kynsa 1 night- Stormsriver 1 night- Plettenburg Bay 2 nights- Port Elizabeth 2 nights

Do you think itinerary will work?

Hey sam, looks like a solid itinerar. i would spent one less night in PE and one extra night in Cape town or Stellenbosch! Also 2 nights in Oudstrhoodn might be too much, I would spent more time along the coast personally!

Sounds like great advice, I’ll add an extra night into Cape Town. Was only thinking 2 nights in Oudtshoorn as it’s the longest drive and didnt want to rush.

Is it just me or does this article stop at day 2?

Hi Emma, there are 3 other posts for the rest of my garden route trip! Probably should add those links to this post 😉

Part 2 Part 3 Garden Route Roadtrip Part 4: Cape Town New Years Travel Guide

Hello Johnny!

I am Eirini and am from Greece. I am writing to you because we will travel (me and my 2 besties) to South Africa for Christmas. Unfortunately, Auto Europe cancel our car reservation and we don’t know how we can go from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town. We will really appreciate if you could inform us if it is safe to travel by bus or if you know any other option (something like 1-day tour or taxi).

Thank you in advance, Eirini.

Hi Eirini, sorry to hear about your car! But yes, it is totally safe to take a bus. I’ve taken teh Bazbus before but that is a hop on hop off type of bus, but you can definitely just take it straight one way as well from PE to Cape Town. Alternatively, you can just fly. It is quite cheap with all the discount airlines in South Africa and will be much faster.

Hi, Thanks for this article. I have a question which I don’t have any answer to. Me and my husband will be arriving in Cape town on September 16 in the evening from Durban. We will have 13 days until we take our flight back home to Europe on September 23 in the evening at about 10pm. we have planed on renting a car of course. Was thinking 3 days to explore Cape Town and then 5 days on the Garden route. Big question, what would you recommand we do: drive the garden route, but where should we stop because of our return flight constraints ? should we go back to cape town by car ? Or drive the garden route for 5 days and then flight from George to Cape town to get the best of it, to avoid waisting time in the car on our way back.. which stops will you recommand on a 5 days trip on the garden route then, keeping in mind our return flight is in Cape Town. plus we would have been in Kruger already so no need to stop for Safari. Hope you can help me figure that out –)

Hi Debby! I think you have a good game plan. If you read through my post, you can see exactly what I did for those days on the Garden Route (hermanus, knysna, plett, etc.) i also spent 5-6 days on the Garden route and another 4 days in Cape Town. I think if it makes financial sense, then def do a one way rental and drop it off in George or Port Elizabeth. I have helped many people plan their trips with one way drops and the prices are not that much more if at all.

Thanks for sharing ur adorable experience,I’m going to SA alone for 7 days next month and I don’t have driving license. But still, I want to seek the beauty of Garden Route too. Think of the times changing,for my case,do you think I can make it on my own or I should go for operators you mentioned like Nomad, Acacia, AfricaTravelCo ?

By the way,I’m not a dude so I also wanna know is it safe to go out during the night or not in Cape Town?

Waiting to ur reply.

Hey Summer, thanks! I would say if you’re a solo traveler, then an overland tour around the region makes sense. Nomad, Acacia, dragoman, g adventures and lots of other companies do group camping and glamping tours of the area. 7 days might be a bit short to do the garden route and cape Town but you should be able to find something accommodating of your schedule. As for Cape Town, it is fine to walk around at night. Just exercise the same caution you would going to any other large city in the world. Enjoy!

ok you know what ! I did not even think to drop it off at Port Elizabeth, I will look into that then. Good advice. thanks a lot -)

Thanks for this detailed write-up of the Garden route! I am also thinking of doing this over the holidays this year. Do you have any tips to avoid the crowds?

Great write up! This has really been helpful in our planning for our trip to the garden route. Really liked your map and spreadsheet too!

Thanks, hope it’s helped you plan your trip out so far!

Hi. My husband and I are thinking of doing the same, driving the garden route from cape town to Port Elizabeth May 2018. In present climate did you encounter any problems on your journey from any locals etc. I’m led to believe that the situation in SA is changing and problems are on the rise. I look forward to your response. Many thanks for reading.

Hi Christine, times have changed since I’ve visited but it’s nothing drastic. I don’t think you’ll encounter any problems, especially along the Garden Route which is both safe and beautiful. Enjoy your trip!

This is incredibly helpful and great pics especially the map you made!

We are planning a garden route trip in October and thinking of starting in the Durban so we can do some of the Wild Coast. We’re thining of spending two weeks going from Durban to Cape Town. Do you think this is enough time for us? Thanks!

Hi Ellie, I think two weeks is plenty of time and you’ll be able to see so much, even from Durban. I’ve never driven the area between the Durban and POrt Elizabeth but have heard so many good things. Coffee Bay I hear is absolutely stunnign and if you’r einto diving, Aliwal Shoal is one of the best places to see sharks of all sorts in one place!

Road trip   |   Garden Route   |   South Africa

The garden route in south africa: 10 day road trip itinerary, text   |   anninka kraus photography   |   tobias kraus.

The Garden Route is one of South Africa’s most scenic drives as it stretches 300 kilometers along a stunning coastline from Mossel Bay to Storms River in Tsitsikamma National Park.

This route is located in South Africa’s Western Cape region that with its surf-thrashed beaches, charming coastal towns, indigenous Southern Afrotemperate Forest, mountains, and wildlife sanctuaries guarantees an epic road trip.

As you plan your Garden Route road trip, keep in mind that every Garden Route itinerary is a little different, so it’s important that you find one that suits your interests. We love hiking and spending time in the outdoors, not so much adrenaline-packed activities like bungee-jumping and shark cage diving, and this itinerary reflects our interests.

The Garden Route stretches 300 kilometers along a stunning coastline in South Africa’s Western Cape region from Mossel Bay to Storms River in Tsitsikamma National Park. These are the top places to visit on your 10-day Garden Route road trip:

Day 1: Cape Town

Day 2-3: Discover South Africa’s 3 Capes: Cape of Good Hope, Cape Point, and Cape Agulhas

Day 4-5: Mossel Bay and Knysna

Day 6: Plettenberg Bay and Robberg Nature Reserve

Day 7: Birds of Eden , the world’s largest free flight aviary and bird sanctuary

Day 8: Tsitsikamma National Park and Hikes at Storms River Mouth

Day 9-10: Oudtshoorn – ostrich capital of the world – and Inland Route 62

View of Cape Town from Table Mountain.

Garden route map, what to expect..

Surf-thrashed beaches, indigenous Southern Afrotemperate Forest, mountains, and wildlife sanctuaries

Start and finish your Garden Route road trip in Cape Town and enjoy the famous views of the city from the top Table Mountain

Visit South Africa’s Famous Capes: Cape of Good Hope, Cape Point, and Cape Agulhas

Explore the charming coastal towns dotting the route, like Knysna and Plettenberg Bay

location & visitor information.

When to go on a Garden Route road trip: South African spring and summer (October – April) is the best time to drive the Garden Route. In the summer months, from October to March, you’ll have warm weather and long days.

How long to spend on your Garden Route road trip : Mossel Bay is 4.5 hours by car from Cape Town, where most visitors to South Africa will arrive, so we’ve adjusted this guide to the Garden Route into a 10-day round trip from Cape Town.

If you’re starting from Port Elizabeth and want to only focus on a Garden Route road trip, you can easily skip the Cape Town and Capes (Cape of Good Hope, Cape Point, and Cape Agulhas) sections. Storms River is a short 2-hour drive from Port Elizabeth, so starting from PE, you can cover Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Mossel Bay, and Oudtshoorn in a couple of days.

To truly immerse yourself in this stunning region in South Africa, however, it’s best to allow at least a week for your Garden Route road trip. This 10-day itinerary also grants a little rest in between because we didn’t feel like rushing this epic road trip.

The best way to explore the Garden Route: Exploring the Garden Route on four-wheels is easily the best way to do – it’s a fantastic self-drive journey. All major car rental agencies have rental locations throughout South Africa.

Arrival in Cape Town

Some places have been on our bucket list for years and while cities such as New York, Vancouver, and Melbourne are too far away to visit over a long weekend, this excuse doesn’t work as well for the fact I have never set foot in Barcelona despite living in Berlin. However, far worse in my opinion is that while I have travelled extensively, I seem to have neglected an entire continent, and one that is moreover, reasonably close to home. It is in any case closer than Australia or New Zealand where I have been regularly.

It was time to stop finding excuses and finally visit the place that held a great fascination for both Tobi and I … Africa!

Our curiosity about Africa was sparked a long time ago, fuelled by notions of ample wildlife grazing on barren steppe dotted with lone acacias, stories of spirit worlds shared around a campfire, disjointed snippets of a difficult past and present taught in history class, and of course the news. We landed in Cape Town filled with eager anticipation to discover this, to my mind, profoundly mysterious whole other world. Cape Town itself didn’t fit any of those exotic notions, it was in fact almost disappointingly normal, and can be comfortably explored on a red sightseeing double-decker bus. We frequently hopped on and off along its route that highlighted the virtues of Cape Town set against the ever-present dominating backdrop of the city’s storied Table Mountain.

After gazing at this mountain from all parts of the city, we stumbled off the bus at stop 13, the Lower Cableway Station. Most people wandered off to the cableway – lovingly call fondue pot because of its Swiss built gondolas, imported in 1997 – but we looked forward to some exercise after the long-distance flight and started on a rewarding 2-hour hike, climbing 700m in altitude, to the level plateau. At the top, 1086m over Cape Town, the city sprawling at our feet spilled forward towards the rugged coastline, beyond which lay the sparkling Atlantic Ocean.

The bright sunshine was deceptive for chilly winds raced across the plateau with astonishing strength. Strong winds appeared to be ever-present in Cape Town and in that regard, it reminded me of Wellington, New Zealand, where pilots are known to need three landing approaches before the wheels of the plane, constantly buffeted by churning gusts, finally touch the runway. On our approach to Cape Town International Airport the day before, the plane also swayed badly in the turbulence, but our pilot landed the plane without difficulty, so I suppose Wellington’s wind is even worse, or the runway too short.

The view from Table Mountain is included in the list of the New 7 Wonders of Nature chosen along with Halong Bay, Iguazu Falls, Komodo, and the Amazon River by more than 500 million votes around the world. While I always consider such rankings restrictive and highly subjective, I won’t challenge describing the iconic backdrop to Cape Town and views from its top as a wonder of nature. They are truly spectacular.

Within five minutes we glided back down the escarpment in one of the revolving fondue-pot cable cars and hopped back on the bus to stop 15 – the beach. It was beautiful and one of an impressive abundance of white sandy beaches stretching along Cape Town’s coastline. The shore is arguably the city’s most arresting feature besides Table Mountain and the docklands. It was October – that is spring in South Africa and the days were not yet at their warmest – so despite frothing waves rolling across the turquoise sea, sunshine, and an air temperature of 24 degrees, we passed on a plunge in the 16-degree cold water. The many surfers riding the waves wore wetsuits, not without reason.

For dinner we went to an area of the docklands called Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. At first, when we were strolling along the boardwalk past fashionable boutiques and fine dining restaurants, it all seemed rather consumption-oriented and somehow superficial. But on closer inspection, the charm of the historical harbour and the gritty working port added a down-to-earth touch to the relaxed atmosphere of a hedonistic, sophisticated crowd enjoying sundowners whilst indulging in views of the harbour, blurred contours of Table Mountain, and the city’s halo of dazzling lights at night.

related | Hike Table Mountain and Lion's Head

Cape Town's Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is located in South Africa's oldest working harbour.

Discover the 3 capes in south africa: cape of good hope, cape point and cape agulhas.

Shrugging off the outskirts of Cape Town in a small Hyundai i20 (we would definitely not be going off-road in this tin can, not voluntarily at least) we followed the western shoreline of the Cape Peninsula towards Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope.

Past Hout Bay we arrived at the start of Chapmans Peak Drive, a famous 9-kilometre scenic drive winding along the rocky coastline, along which our guide book promised fantastic scenery. This promise was indeed fulfilled by a view of violent waves rushing up rugged cliffs, engulfing them in a foamy bubble of white spray several metres high, alternating with unspoiled, deserted beaches.

Past Scarborough the road turns inland and traverses the peninsula to its very tip that forks into Cape Point in the east and the Cape of Good Hope, Africa’s most south-westerly point. At Cape Point, which was decidedly touristy, the Flying Dutchman funicular railway ferried carloads of tourists up a gentle incline to the lighthouse towering atop sheer cliffs. We decided to walk up and a little further to a cliff jutting out into the ocean as the most impressive view of all was from here looking back at the lighthouse. I wondered how the lighthouse survives those notorious storms unscathed considering how fragile and exposed it looked perching there on the very edge of the cliff before the escarpment plunges into the sea.

We continued on to the Cape of Good Hope, which was a rather unspectacular promontory and attracted fewer tourists, yet its infamy as a graveyard for shipwrecks was intriguing. I imagined fearsome tales of treacherous waters and violent gales while taking some photos of us with its famous signpost. Our guidebook lured us 150 kilometres further southeast to Africa’s southernmost point, Cape Agulhas.

This turned out to be nothing more than another signpost, a survey marker on a rocky coastline, yet we still thought it worth a visit just to stand at the point where the Atlantic and Indian oceans converge while entertaining the notion that this mass of water is all that stands between the Cape and Antarctica.

Cape Agulhas is the southernmost point of the African continent and marks the divide between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Our first encounter with the aftermath of apartheid.

Apartheid was officially abolished in South Africa in mid-1991 and Mandela elected president in 1994, yet its troubling legacy remains ever-present, even now, almost twenty years later. While we were not naive enough to think that legislations would change a country overnight, we were surprised by the extent to which the aftermath of apartheid still appears to influence everyday life in South Africa.

The lives of coloured and white South Africans hardly ever seemed to touch – not in the suburbs, not in the primary school classes enjoying an outing at Betty’s Bay penguin colony, nor in the restaurants, busses, cafes, or markets. While social ostracism and discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and basically any other characteristic that makes us unique happens in most places, we’d never experienced such rigid segregation and found it disconcerting and foreign.

Being German, our history lessons are rife with the most shameful examples of discrimination and unspeakable injustice inflicted on our own population and the rest of the world, and I was surprised at how unprepared I was for the blatantly obvious segregation in South Africa. Nothing I had previously experienced compared.

Townships consisted of vast sprawling slums of shabby corrugated metal huts in direct juxtaposition with predominantly white neighbourhoods resembling nuclear power plants – electrified fences topped with coils of barbed wire, jagged shards of glass protruding from concrete walls, and military style alarm systems – guarding artificial enclaves of wealth, security, and dissociation in voluntary confinement. But we were strangers in a foreign place and have no idea how South Africans themselves perceive the changes and speed at which society adapted to the new legislation of 1994.

Germany is often dubbed a service wasteland, and rightly so for in some restaurants it feels like you could play a full game of chess before attracting the attention of a waiter. But South Africa it seems is the exact opposite. Even at a basic 3-star hotel in Cape Town two porters helped with our luggage while a third kindly handed us a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, and the next morning four waiters dashed around the breakfast room trying to accommodate everyone. At the gas station we waited while an attendant pumped fuel for us and even the cashiers bagged our groceries at the supermarket check-out. While this is probably common practise in many countries we’re used to cashiers at Aldi pushing groceries our way faster than we can bag them.

Mossel Bay and Knysna

We headed east towards Port Elizabeth and promptly came across road works. Several traffic controllers stood waving red and green flags to navigate traffic through a single-lane stretch of road while I watched wide-eyed as they stood dangerously close to speeding cars.

My arms fall off after an hour’s aerobics (without weights) and these workers waved flags for hours with their arms extended with no protection from the sun. Two other things also crossed my mind. Firstly, what must the minimum wage be for it to be cheaper to hire a dozen flagmen in place of a set of temporary traffic lights and secondly, I noticed that there wasn’t a single white South African among the workers, or for that matter among the many staff we had come across in the hotels, supermarkets, and petrol stations. White South Africans only make up about 9% of the population but we saw surprisingly few.

Mossel Bay and Knysna are small coastal towns along the Garden Route that cater to tourists but have retained their authentic charm. We arrived in Mossel Bay first, which is located halfway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. After strolling along its waterside promenade, we explored parts of the 13.5km St Blaize Hiking Trail that winds along the cliffs westwards from Cape St. Blaize Lighthouse and rewarded us with breath-taking views of high waves mounting steadily and then rushing toward the shoreline.

In Knysna we came upon Thesen Island, an offshore marina development spread over 90 hectares and linked by a causeway and bridge to the mainland. While its location, classy boutiques, an oyster bar buzzing with a happy crowd, sea views, and proximity to the water were stunning, it was also obviously an artificial haven, a neighbourhood carefully groomed, tucked away from the general public, and catering to a very privileged (and exclusively white) crowd. The residential area was guarded by a 24-hour security gate and only accessible to residents and their visitors but we were allowed to wander around the public areas.

On their website Thesen Islands estate management pays tribute to a glorious past where everything was lovely, secure, and kids played outside (what century are they talking about?). Apparently nowadays everything is bad. Directly quoting from their website ‘Fast-forward some decades. Things have changed. You probably have kids or grandchildren of your own. You constantly worry about their safety. They can’t walk or cycle to school or to their friends and you mostly drive them wherever they need to go. They spend most of their time indoors in front of the TV or computer and they don’t get enough exercise. Your home is permanently locked, and the alarm is switched on, even when you are inside. You don’t really know your neighbours and you hardly ever see them. Welcome to suburbia 21st century style!

My first reaction was one of disbelief, perhaps because my experience is so wildly different. I just could not identify with the described scenario at all. While we don’t have kids, friends of ours do and their kids play outside all the time without anybody worrying about their safety. At our last home, a flat in Berlin on the fifth floor, I never worried about safety either. I left the windows open while I was at work, regularly forgot to lock the door (which meant anybody could just turn the doorknob and walk right in), and for alarms, I wasn’t even aware that they existed for private homes. And that was after somebody had broken into our first home in Berlin, a ground floor flat. That would certainly not have happened on Thesen Island, which seemed like an isolated world inside a snow globe – but with sunshine instead of snowflakes – promising a happy, secure, and exclusive life.

I do realise that my initial reaction – dismissing the concern of South African residents for safety as paranoid – was very naive and ignorant, but as a tourist, one is lulled into a false sense of security here, as at first glance there is no perceptible difference to our safety in Central Europe. Despite South Africa being the country with the highest rape crime rate per capita in the world and ranking in the top 10 countries for intentional homicide we never felt threatened during our entire stay.

Plettenberg Bay

Plettenberg Bay, a two-and-a-half-hour drive west of Port Elizabeth, boasts a long sweeping arch of beach, and seemed a prosperous place that on summer weekends drew tens of thousands of Cape Towners who own holiday homes in ‘Plett’. Our hostel recommended Robberg Nature Reserve, a rocky promontory 8km south of Plettenberg Bay, for a short hike.

We set off at once but by the time we arrived at the trailhead it was already late afternoon and we opted for the second longest of three circular trails, the 5.5km Witsand Circuit, skirting the northern ridge of the peninsula. The path closely traced the cliffs that fell off sharply to waves rushing unspoilt coastline. The sight of the Cape fur seals and screeching seabirds dancing on the waves below was spectacular but didn’t prepare us for the beauty of Witsand Dune.

On the map the contours of this sandy tip look much like a boot – not Italy’s classy high heel boot, but more like a clunky hiking boot – stepping into the ocean. In real life it looked nothing like a boot of course but like a dune dropping away to a sandy corridor stretching into the sea that was bathed by the ocean on either side. While one beach is pretty, two back to back was paradise and not a soul in sight.

related | Hike in Robberg Nature Reserve

Birds of Eden

Back on the road, we visited the world’s largest dome, called Birds of Eden, a half-hour out of Plettenberg Bay. It is noteworthy for its sheer size alone, consisting of a 3.2 hectares free flight bird sanctuary which is home to over 3500 birds from 200 species.

Though I vehemently oppose the captivity of birds in principle, this enormous aviary (“where previously caged birds can live a life of free-flight in a habitat as large and natural as possible”) was no ordinary bird cage. I’ll usually start yawning if someone mentions bird watching, but during the two-hour walk along a 1.2 km wooden walkway through rainforest, across suspension bridges, and past waterfalls, I was totally captivated by the beauty of native African and other exotic birds playing hide-and-seek in the foliage of indigenous South African trees (Afromontane Forest).

Several times during our visit all birds suddenly became airborne and I watched fascinated as the cranes, flamingos, ibis, and parrots circled in colourful brush strokes below the mesh, screeching at the top of their lungs at some perceived danger.

Birds of Eden is the world's largest free flight aviary and bird sanctuary and home to over 3,500 birds.

Tsitsikamma national park.

Tsitsikamma National Park marked the end of our road trip eastwards and turning point back towards Cape Town. Storms River Mouth is located at the eastern end of the national park, at the end of a 10km cul-de-sac, and is the starting point of many hiking trails.

Even the shortest, the 2km Mouth Trail, was full of variety – beaches, three suspension bridges (one spanning 77m across the Storms River Mouth), and a boardwalk winding through coastal forest offering sweeping vistas of the shoreline. We enjoyed the scenery so much that we came back a few years later to walk the spectacular multi-day Otter Trails that winds along the rugged coastline between from Storms River Mouth in the east to Nature’s Valley in the west.

related | Hike the famous Otter Trail - one of the world's best coastal walks

Oudtshoorn - ostrich capital of the world & Route 62

From Storm River, we continued inland towards Oudtshoorn, itself an inconspicuous town on Cape Route 62, but ostrich capital of the world and home to 90% of the world’s ostrich population. As few ostriches (the largest living bird species) walk about on German roads – none actually – we were keen to see one close-up, which was easily done as a great many ostrich farms were daring tourists to pet, feed and ride the birds. Or you can stand on an ostrich egg – the 1.5mm eggshell indeed withstood Tobi’s weight, but imagine the look on his face if it hadn’t. That was rather harmless fun, I thought, but whoever thought of the macabre sports of ostrich riding?

When a ranger asked for volunteers, hands shot up quickly in the stands but few were below the maximum weight of 75kg that was allowed. One lucky volunteer was chosen at random and scrambled into the pen. Meanwhile a poor bird had a hood pulled over its head because it would have bolted in fright at the sight of a tourist walking towards it, as a ranger explained. But even with the hood this poor bird then raced around like crazy with a tourist on its back holding on for dear life. The sight was hilarious, but the discomfort of the bird was not. Apart from the ostrich riding, visiting the farm was great fun. We watched ostrich chicks hatch in an incubator, learned that the males look after the young, and that their tiny brain fits on a teaspoon.

At the recommendation of our B&B hosts, Huw and Zoe, we went to Buffelsdrift Game Lodge, a private game reserve 10 minutes out of Oudtshoorn, for dinner. Though the food was delicious, it paled in comparison to the setting – we ate bathed in the warm light of a glowing orange sunset on their beautiful veranda elevated on stilts over a large waterhole that attracted hippos and antelopes at night.

The next morning, after serving a delicious breakfast, Zoe sat down to talk with us. She is South African born and raised and was happy to tell us a little about her country. ‘Crime, drugs, and corruption are the country’s greatest challenges,’ she told us. She believed that when apartheid was abolished in 1994 with the election of the first black government, this government’s promise of prosperity – a house, a car, and much more – for all Africans, sadly omitted the word ‘opportunity’. They were promising that everybody would be given the opportunity to prosperity but only if one was prepared to work hard. Instead many Africans were simply expecting the government to deliver on how they had understood their promise, waiting for what they believed was their proper due, which led to frustration and discontent when that did not eventuate.

She told us that one major problem was teenagers skipping school to earn some Rand (South Africa’s currency) as a parking guard or petrol station attendant, as this was more appealing to them in the short term. These Rand though were all too often not spent on food but drugs and alcohol, a downward spiral often difficult to escape. In her opinion it will take at least one more generation to change the currently prevalent mind-set of a society where everyone feels accountable only for their own well-being and chances.

Ideally every child would receive the necessary support from home to make use of the country’s opportunities, but how, she pointed out, were South Africans at the bottom end of the salary scale supposed to make a living and support a family. The minimum wage of 12 Rand an hour (barely 1 Euro at our time of visiting) leaves much of the population earning 10 Euros a day for 10 hours of work or 300 Euros at the end of the month if they work every day including weekends. That is completely insufficient in a country where living expenses are only a quarter to a third lower than in Germany. Without trivialising poverty in Europe, the definition of ‘being poor’ here is a very different and much starker.

Equally foreign to us was the omnipresence of corruption that Zoe talked about. Zoe and Huw met all the requirements to obtain a liquor license for their B&B and had applied to the responsible officials many times but they refused to bribe said officials. They had been waiting in vain for three years as without a bribe there would be no license. Anything from a driver’s license, handymen, any kind of official formalities, water, gas, and electricity – the list goes on – were all services that would drag on forever or be refused outright if bribe money didn’t change hands. Zoe and Huw wanted no part in corruption, but Zoe admitted that the daily struggle to get anything done was exhausting.

With the soccer world championships held in South Africa in 2010 the level of crime apparently took a turn for the better though crimes of opportunity were still rife despite the overpowering presence of police and self-appointed security guards. Zoe explained it was things like leaving a sweater on the backseat of your car, showing your wallet when tipping the petrol station attendant, leaving a door unlocked, or leaving the washing on the line overnight. To assume that every stranger wants to rob you should the opportunity arise would take some getting used to.

Visiting Denali State Park and Hiking the Curry Ridge Trail

Delicate arch hike in arches national park, devils garden trail with landscape arch (full circuit).

The Garden Route adventurer’s road trip

The Garden Route is a 300 km long coastal route in the Western Cape that stretches from Mossel Bay to Storms River in the Eastern Cape province, and includes popular towns like Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. As the name suggests, this area is renowned for its spectacular natural beauty. Its ecology is diverse and includes ancient indigenous rainforest, rivers and lakes that hug the ocean, coastal mountains that fringe the sea and a rugged coastline full of marine life. Not forgetting the charm and appeal of the towns along this route.

Together with the varied and unspoiled nature of its landscape, plethora of charming towns and ease of access, it is the perfect destination for outdoor adventurers looking to escape city life.

Garden Route highlights

• Spectacular coastal scenery including the iconic Knysna Heads and lakes.
• Miles of soft sand or rocky beaches to enjoy.
• Varied and abundant marine life, including migrating southern right and humpback whales.
• Escape into the verdant Outeniqua Mountains.
• Explore the unspoiled Knysna forest, home to free-roaming forest elephant in the Harkerville section, and the 800 year old Big Tree in the Tsitsikamma section.
• Charming towns with a range of accommodation, fantastic restaurants and plenty of attractions including local artisans, and annual food and lifestyle festivals.
• Plenty of mountain, forest and coastal hiking and mountain biking trails through the Garden Route National Park, including the world-famous multi-day Otter Trail.
• Adrenalin activities including the world’s highest bridge bungee jump, kayaking, surfing and black water tubing on the Storms River, not to mention coastal and estuary boating, angling, bird watching and forest canopy tours.

Garden Route quick facts

• Total distance is 300km, from Mossel Bay in the west to Storms River in the east.
• Best known for its coastal stretch, inland towns between Heidelberg in the west and Uniondale in the east, including popular stops such as Oudtshoorn, have recently been added to the route.
• With its verdant mountains, forests and numerous rivers and estuaries, the Garden Route is one of UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
• Its relatively short distance and accessibility of attractions makes it perfect for self-driving.
• Enjoy the hospitality of the numerous small towns along the Garden Route, or completely immerse yourself in nature by overnighting in SANPark’s Garden Route National Park.

Garden Route itinerary for outdoor adventurers

Cape Town is home to the closest international airport. There is so much to see and do in the Western Cape, and a Garden Route itinerary starting and ending in Cape Town includes the best that this area has to offer.

Map of the Garden Route Itinerary

Cape Town’s international airport makes it an ideal starting point for this route. Affectionately known as the Mother City, and voted as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Cape Town has plenty to offer visitors itself. Depending on your time schedule, you may choose to start or end your Garden Route trip with a few days exploring this iconic city and surrounds. For your time in Cape Town, choose to stay in:

• City suburbs like  Oranjezicht  or the  Green Point  promenade for easy access to restaurants and city attractions
• Chic and luxurious coastal suburbs of  Llandudno  and  Camps Bay  for nightlife, access to the city and glamorous beaches
• southern suburbs like  Rondebosch  or  Constantia  for easy access to wine farms and outlying areas
• remote beach towns like  Kommetjie  for barefoot coastal living and great surf

Spend as much or as little time exploring Cape Town and surrounds as you prefer. We’d recommend a minimum of three days to see the main sights without feeling too rushed. Some must-see highlights include:

• Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
• Exploring Table Mountain on foot  or by cableway
• The wild, windswept beaches and wildlife of  Cape Point Nature Reserve
• Enjoy beach and surf time on  Cape Town’s picture-perfect beaches
• Go wine tasting at one (or more) of the excellent wine estates in the area

Region 1: Mossel Bay

If you follow the N2 national freeway out of Cape Town, your first stop on the Garden Route will be Mossel Bay. Largely known for its offshore oil rig, Mossel Bay might not be on everyone’s dream itinerary, but this town does have a number of attractions that make it worth a stop. These include the Cape St Blaize Lighthouse complex and St Blaize hiking trail, as well as the Bartolomeu Dias Museum complex which, among other things, is home to the largest shell museum in Africa for something a little different. There is also some pretty good surfing to be had when the conditions are right, but be aware that this area is also well-known for its Great White sharks!

We’d recommend using Mossel Bay as a lunch stop before you head further into the Garden Route. If you would like to overnight here, you can use this link to  browse available accommodation in Mossel Bay .

Region 2: Hidden bays at George and surrounds

One of the biggest towns on the Garden Route, George has its own airport and is a good base from which to explore some of the surrounding gems including the excellent swimming beaches at Herolds Bay and Victoria Bay. Scenic sandy beaches nestled within a steep, bouldery coastline is what you’ll find at both Victoria Bay and Herold’s Bay. They are perfect for a day’s outing, and a great opportunity for some chill and swimming time on the beach. The point break at Victoria Bay is also very popular among surfers.

Those short on time may choose to fly in or out of the airport at George rather than using Cape Town as an entry or exit point. We’d recommend basing yourself in George for a few nights to fully explore the area. You may also consider making a trip inland from here to visit the popular Cango Caves at Oudtshoorn, and take some time to drive the nearby Swartberg Pass.

Click here to  browse available accommodation in George.

Region 3: River activities at Wilderness

On the border of the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park, Wilderness itself has access to wide sandy beaches and local attractions including the Map of Africa viewsite and Dolphin Point which, as the name suggests, is the ideal lookout from which to spot some of the ocean’s most playful inhabitants. The Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park encompasses the Touws River and five coastal lakes, ending just beyond the Swartvlei Estuary at Sedgefield. As well as beach activities, visitors to Wilderness can access the number of hiking trails within the park and enjoy outdoor activities that include birdwatching, canoeing, ferry tours and angling.

Click here to  browse available accommodation in Wilderness.

Region 4: An empty, unspoiled coastline at Sedgefield

Sedgefield has some incredible beach options for those looking to experience the unspoiled natural beauty of this region. Gericke’s Point to the west of the town has dramatic rock formations and a point that extends out into the sea. It is the ideal spot to take in a beach sunrise or sunset. If it’s long walks on a fynbos-lined white sand beach you’re after, then the Goukamma Nature Reserve and Marine Protected Area to the east of the town has exactly that. Similar to Wilderness, Sedgefield also offers a number of water-based activities such as boating and angling on the Swartvlei Lagoon and Estuary, while bass fishing in the Groenvlei Lake is also popular.

Click here to  browse available accommodation in Sedgefield.

Region 5: Forest hikes at Knysna

Another of the bigger towns along the Garden Route , Knysna has made a name for itself as a foodie and cultural center with, of course, breathtaking coastal scenery that includes the Knysna coastal lakes and Knysna Heads.

An unmissable trip from Knysna is to explore the  Diepwalle section of the Knysna Forest , and search for one of the last remaining free-roaming forest elephants along one of the many forest hiking trails. You can also spend the night on one of their wooden platforms in the forest itself, an experience we’d highly recommend. Another section of the Knysna Forest is the Harkerville Forest with a number of short hikes including a wheelchair-friendly wooden boardwalk, mountain biking trails and coastal hikes including the two-day Harkerville Coast Hiking Trail.

Click here to  browse available accommodation in Knysna.

Region 6: Coastal living at Plettenberg Bay

Around the corner from Knysna lies Plettenberg Bay, a vibrant coastal town that is home to a number of local artisans. If you’re looking to combine a wide range of outdoor activities with the comfort of a small town with excellent amenities, then Plettenberg Bay is your ideal base.

To the south of the town is the Robberg peninsular, the entirety of which is included in the Robberg Nature Reserve. It has a very scenic hiking trail from which vantage point hikers can spot Cape Fur seals (as well as the occasional Great White shark!) cruising through the water below. Plettenberg Bay’s beaches are incredibly picturesque, and the best for swimming and surfing include Solar and Lookout beaches. Long, uninterrupted beach walks can be enjoyed from Keurboomstrand to the town’s northeast. Other coastal activities include angling and boating from the beach or in the Keurbooms Lagoon, and dolphin and whale watching cruises. Within the town are a number of excellent restaurants, and in close proximity are a range of wildlife sanctuaries.

Click here to  browse available accommodation in Plettenberg Bay.

Region 7: Coastal hikes at Nature’s Valley (and the world’s highest bridge bungee)

A tiny hamlet nestled amongst indigenous forest on a beautiful coastline is the only way to describe Nature’s Valley. As the name suggests, the impact of man is hardly felt in the corner of the Garden Route and apart from a few houses and restaurant, there is little else to disturb the refreshing synergy of green forest, river lagoon and incredible beach.

While Nature’s Valley is the perfect place to just laze around on the beach, there are a number of hikes that are well worth checking out. Nature’s Valley is the end point for the ever-popular Otter Trail, a 5 day 45km hike that winds its way along the coastal clifftops and beaches between the  Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park , and ends on the beach at Nature’s Valley. Visitors to Nature’s Valley can experience a little of what this amazing trail has to offer by going for a beach walk to the east (left) along Nature’s Valley’s coastline.

For something a little more physically strenuous, there is  a very scenic hiking trail to the west, to the mouth of the Salt River.  Along the way, hikers get an elevated view from the dunes back over Nature’s Valley before winding through shady coastal forest and emerging at a secluded beach at the river mouth.

If ultimate adrenaline is your thing, then a little further along the N2 from Nature’s Valley is the Bloukrans Bridge, home to the  world’s highest bridge bungee jump , a more than 200m freefall towards the Bloukrans River below! Those not interested in doing the jump can also walk out onto the aerial boardwalk to the jump site (paid activity) to take in the breathtaking views below.

Click here to  browse available accommodation in Nature’s Valley.

Region 8: Adrenaline and ocean adventures at Storms River and the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park

The  Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park  is marks the edge of the farthest reaches of the Garden Route! One of the absolute gems along this stretch of coastline, it is a treasure trove for outdoor adventurers. From a rough and rugged coastline that is home to the country’s oldest marine protected area, to numerous hiking trails, birding in the coastal forest, dolphin and whale spotting from the numerous clifftop viewpoints,  kayaking , snorkeling, diving or  boat cruises into the Storms River gorge … The list is almost endless.

For day visitors, we’d recommend  exploring the Storms River mouth via the two suspension bridges  that lead to a lovely viewpoint at the top of a nearby cliff. In total, 12 circular hiking trails begin and end in the rest camp. Of them, we enjoyed the Waterfall Trail that is part of the first day of the multi-day Otter Trail hike.

The rest camp in the park offers comfortable accommodation for those wishing to spend a little more time here. There is also the option of completing the Otter Trail between the Storms River rest camp and Nature’s Valley, arguably one of the best hiking trails in the country ( booking well in advance is essential ), or opting for one of two slackpacking trails. The  Dolphin Trail  follows the coastline while the Tsitsikamma Trail follows an inland route through the forested Outeniqua Mountains.

The nearby town of Storms River is a good base from which to explore the park as well as nearby attractions such as the 800 year old Big Tree, not to mention there are plenty of adventure activity operators based in the town offering activities such as  canopy  and  Segway tours  in the Tsitsikamma Forest.

Click here to  browse available accommodation in the town of Storms River.

Extend your route towards Port Elizabeth

If your time on the Garden Route hasn’t been enough to completely scratch the need for adventures on South Africa’s beautiful southern Cape coastline, we’d highly recommend extending your itinerary to include the nearby gems of Cape St Francis and Jeffreys Bay, en route to the airport at Port Elizabeth. Both are small holiday towns with incredible beaches and friendly locals. Of the two, Cape St Francis is smaller, quieter and the beaches less developed. The larger, busier Jeffreys Bay is well-established in the international surfing scene for good reason, with its world-class Supertubes right-hand point break as well as plenty of other surfing options.

Click here to  browse available accommodation in Jeffreys Bay , and here to  browse available accommodation in Cape St Francis.

For those wanting to include some time in the bush, then Addo Elephant National Park near Port Elizabeth is a great way to experience the phenomenal wildlife in South Africa. Set in a malaria-free region, it is home to over 600 elephant as well as lion, buffalo and elusive leopard as well as countless smaller species. Recently expanded to include the Alexandria Forest and a marine protected area, it is one of the more unique parks and the third largest in the country. It is suitable for self-driving and offers a range of accommodation including camping and self-catering chalets. Alternatively if you’re looking for a luxury safari experience, the 5 star Shamwari Private Game Reserve (75km outside of Port Elizabeth and close to Addo) might stretch the pocket, but offers experiences you’ll never forget!

Click here to  browse availability in the lodges within the Shamwari Private Game Reserve.

Things to consider when visiting the Garden Route

Here are some things you might like to keep in mind when you visit the Garden Route:

• The Garden Route has a mild climate and can be visited at any time of the year.
• The nearest international airport is Cape Town International Airport. Domestic airports can be found at George and Port Elizabeth.
• While you may prefer the convenience of staying in the towns of this area, there are plenty of SANParks national parks and rest camps along the Garden Route with excellent facilities that get you right into nature, and cater for a smaller budget.
• This route can be driven in one direction, with visitors flying into Cape Town and out from Port Elizabeth or George, or as a circular route along the N2 and then return to Cape Town via the  Overberg  to include lovely towns like Hermanus.
• Book ahead during peak holiday periods (April, December to January, May to August) but outside of these, be a little more flexible. We guarantee there’s a stop that you’ll love and wish you had planned to spend more time in!
• The Garden Route is perfect for self-driving but, as with anywhere in South Africa, store valuables in a locked boot (trunk) and make sure they are out of sight when you leave the vehicle unattended.
• Beware of speeding cameras and remote trapping stations – there are a lot on the Garden Route!

What to do next

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Why South Africa’s Garden Route is a road-trip classic

Spend four dreamy days on one of the world's most beautiful drives..

Most visitors are introduced to South Africa either through the lens of its two largest cities— Johannesburg and Cape Town —or through a safari. But as a road-trip aficionado who has completed long, multi-day drives around the world, I can say with absolute confidence that driving the iconic Garden Route is not only one of the best ways to get to know South Africa—it’s one of the best road trips you’ll find anywhere. The scenery is dramatic, the roads are (generally) smooth and free from traffic, and you really get a taste of how South Africans live outside of the major cities.

Technically, the Garden Route begins in Witsand in the Western Cape, but with so many flights and rental cars to be found in Cape Town, it makes sense to start your journey just a little further west. I drove from west to east, starting in Cape Town and finishing in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth).

As you’ll find out, there really are no right or wrong ways to do the Garden Route. Here, I’ve broken it down into a four-day itinerary—paced so that you feel like you’re covering a lot of ground, but still enjoying unhurried stretches of time in the car to take in the unbelievable landscapes and make the most of what road trips are all about.

DAY ONE: Cape Town to Hermanus

Total mileage: 75 miles

MORNING: Calling all green thumbs

You could spend weeks exploring all the history, restaurants, beaches, and culture of Cape Town, but if I had to choose one thing to see before heading out to the Garden Route, it would be the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden on the east side of Table Mountain, away from downtown’s main hubbub. I loved the serene morning atmosphere at the garden and it was also enormously educational, tackling all of the unique plant life you’ll see in this southern part of South Africa. You can grab a quick breakfast at the Fynkos Tea Room , too, and then it’s on to the N1 for a drive to the winelands.

AFTERNOON: A picture-perfect farm

The city of Cape Town quickly disappears in the rearview mirror and idyllic farmlands and vineyards start to crop up on this route. Again, South Africa’s winelands are a place where you could spend days exploring—but if you want a quick taste before heading further east, a stop at Babylonstoren is essential. It’s one of the oldest Cape Dutch farms in the country, and has been turned into a stunning hotel and wine farm. Squeeze in a tour and a farm-fresh lunch at the Greenhouse restaurant—even if you aren’t an oenophile, the experience here is super emblematic of this region’s rich agricultural history.

EVENING: Where the locals go for a beach weekend

It’s not much farther on to the beach enclave of Hermanus, a holiday town where the mountains meet the sea. This region is known for its floral diversity, so if you arrive before sunset, make sure to pull off the road at some point and admire some of the wildflowers during golden hour—the Cape Floral Kingdom is home to some of the most biodiverse and beautiful plants in the world.

I relished in the laid-back vibe in Hermanus, a town known for its retirees and family weekenders. I started the evening with a dinner of small plates paired with local wines at Pear Tree , then walked over to The Gecko for a nightcap, and found an energetic local atmosphere with live music and gorgeous water views. There isn’t a ton going on in Hermanus—but for a single night, it’s perfect.

Worthy detours along the way

Where to stay

DAY TWO: Hermanus to Mossel Bay

Total mileage: 194 miles

MORNING: The southernmost point of Africa

I ordered some delicious eggs and bacon, then took a strong cup of coffee to go from Groves Cafe . If you’re lucky enough to be in town on a Saturday morning, check out the Hermanus Country Market before you leave—I wasn’t there on the right day, but the baked treats and artisan goods make for fantastic road-trip snacks. Once you’re ready to hit the road, hop on the R43 down to the Cape l’Agulhas Lighthouse , Africa’s southernmost point. It sounds like an overhyped, underwhelming spot, but I promise, there’s something really momentous about looking out across the horizon and knowing that the next closest landmass is Antarctica.

AFTERNOON: Taking in the history

Head back out on the road towards Swellendam, a great midway point to stop for refueling, snacks, and bathroom breaks. To break up the drive and stretch my legs, I also paused for a stroll around the Drostdy Museum , a former government building transformed into a museum containing a multitude of 18th- and 19th-century Cape Colony artifacts. In particular, I found the furniture amazing—I walked away with plenty of interior decorating inspo to bring home.

EVENING: A lighthouse, a sunset, a seafood dinner

When I arrived in Mossel Bay, I drove straight to the Cape St. Blaize Lighthouse to catch the sunset. It’s amazing—there are so many great ocean views along the Garden Route, but somehow each one feels unique and worthwhile. Once you’ve basked in the views, grab a fresh seafood dinner at Café Gannet . The sushi was some of the best I’ve ever had.

DAY THREE: Mossel Bay to Plettenberg Bay

Total mileage: 84 miles

MORNING: Grab coffee before hitting the road

One of my favorite stops on the entire Garden Route was an unassuming local spot called The Nursery Coffee Shop —which, as its name implies, is a plant nursery and café. Grab a coffee and a scone, walk around, admire the plants, and eavesdrop on locals comparing gardening notes. Don’t linger too long, though, as the day is full of classic Garden Route vistas and sightseeing.

AFTERNOON: Choose-your-own-adventure in a unique travelers’ town

My favorite town on this road trip was Wilderness, an unusual waypoint that feels like the beating heart of the Garden Route’s tourism scene. It’s a gorgeous town nestled between the ocean and the forest, and everyone here seems to be a visitor or catering to visitors. You’ll find all sorts of operators from mountain biking guides to kayak tours— I settled on a guided horseback ride for several hours down some forested trails and couldn’t recommend it more. On your way out of town, instead of sticking to the N2, take the scenic route: Seven Passes Road , a dramatic byway filled with twists and turns and historic bridges over deep gorges.

EVENING: Sunset in “Plett”

By evening, the journey brings you to Plettenberg Bay, an elegant beach town filled with adorable shops, cafés, and charming streets to explore. I had a beautiful dinner at Nguni , where South African cuisine is the main event—think springbok and ostrich filets, fresh fish, bobotie (a type of spiced meatloaf), and plenty of local wines.

Day 4: Plettenberg Bay to Jeffreys Bay

Total mileage: 102 miles

MORNING: A serene morning on the beach

Residents in “Plett” are all about their morning routines, which usually begin (as mine did) with a hearty breakfast at the Thyme & Again farm stall, and then a stroll on the beach. I went to Robberg 5 beach, which felt non-touristy and filled with locals walking their dogs and basking in the area’s natural beauty. If you want more of a relaxing day, spend as much time here as you like—it’s one of the most beautiful beaches on the entire Garden Route—but if you’re looking to break a sweat, then pack up and hit the road, because one of the best adventures awaits a little further east.

AFTERNOON: The Garden Route’s main attraction

A short drive from Plettenberg Bay brings you to the amazing natural wonders of Tsitsikamma National Park . There are tons—and I mean tons—of hiking trails to choose from. Check in at the main entrance gate for maps, and a rangers’ station where you can inquire about which trails are best for your ability. This area is also home to Bloukrans Bungy , a bungee-jumping experience from the top of Africa’s largest bridge. Just thinking back makes my heart race and my anxiety spike—I’m glad I did it, but I can only recommend it to the bravest thrill seekers.

EVENING: Refueling and resting for the onward journey

This is probably the most adventurous day of the Garden Route, so by the time you roll into the small, unpretentious town of Jeffreys Bay, you’ll be ready to relax. After adventuring all day, I like to indulge in some comfort food—and I found just that at Brouhaha Craft Beer Restaurant , a gastropub serving up awesome locally made craft brews and pizzas, burgers, steaks, and ribs. While the town isn’t west-facing, I still found that the sunset here was spectacular. It was the perfectly serene, low-key place to go for a beach stroll and unwind before the short drive on to Gqeberha to catch my flight the next day.

I had sailed across the Garden Route at a good clip, but felt like I had done it at the right pace—and saved plenty of adventures for a return trip.

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The Ultimate Garden Route Road Trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town

Hostelworld Blog | Posted on February 21, 2018 |

Get ready for an epic 3200km road trip through South Africa that passes along the Garden Route, covering deserts, sand dunes, wildlife, buzzing cities, traditional villages, romantic coves, heavenly beaches, rugged coastline and adrenaline-fuelled thrills. We’ve called on the expertise of travel junkies Bolle and Marco who have done the drive from Johannesburg to Cape Town, so you’ll get plenty of tips you won’t find anywhere else.

Expect plenty of stops along the way to gape at South Africa’s  stunning landscapes and experience unforgettable moments in this amazing country.

1. Johannesburg

The first stop on our Garden Route road trip is Johannesburg, and right now, the neighbourhood of Maboneng is trending. Buzzing with loads of cool cafés, galleries and boutiques, the crowd is young and stylish, with a flair for fashion and design. Check out the Curiocity Backpackers Hostel  while you’re there.

Braamfontein should also be on your list. The Neighbourgoods Market is held here every Saturday, with a DJ, a rooftop terrace, mouth-watering food from around the world and a cool urban atmosphere.

Tip: Want to learn more about the country’s past? Then it’s worth taking a guided tour of the SOWETO township, stopping off at the Hector Pieterson Museum and the house where Nelson Mandela once lived.

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2. Drakensberg

If you want to go hiking and experience nature, don’t miss out on the chance to spend a couple of days in the Drakensberg. The sheer scale of the scenery and the majestic mountains is awe-inspiring. Most hostels also offer tours of the Kingdom of Lesotho, with hikes to the Tugela Falls.

It’s also worth taking a hike through the Royal Natel National Park and staying a night or two at Karma Backpackers . The park boasts amazing viewpoints, waterfalls, natural pools and much, much more. The admission is a steal, at less than €2.50 a person.

Tip: Did you know that Lesotho boasts the highest pub in Africa? Take a 4×4 up through the legendary Sani Pass to be rewarded with a view that’s out of this world.

3. Coffee Bay

As you get closer to the coast, the landscape starts getting more wild and rugged. This part of KwaZulu-Natal isn’t known as the “wild coast” for nothing. Stunning Coffee Bay has rugged rock formations and cliffs, traditional round huts and heavenly coves.

Like many other backpackers, we ended up staying here longer than originally planned because it was just so beautiful. Make friends with other travellers at the Coffee Shack Hostel in front of the cosy bonfire with a cool Savanna Dry.

Don’t miss taking a hike to the “Hole in the Wall”, an extraordinary natural doorway in a rock formation in the ocean. Spend an evening with the locals, enjoying good food, music and dancing.

Tip: If you visit South Africa between June and October you’ll have a good chance of spotting dolphins and whales along the coast.

If it’s endless, wide sandy beaches you’re after, Chintsa is the perfect place to spend a day or two on the way from Johannesburg to Cape Town. This tranquil destination with lush subtropical vegetation and wild banana trees only has a population of 1800 people. We can’t think of a better place to chill out.

Tip: Rent a surfboard and wetsuit at the Buccaneers Backpackers hostel to catch a few waves.

5. Jeffreys Bay

Each year sees thousands of surf-junkies flock to Jeffreys Bay. The pros here especially like to surf the legendary 800 metre-long “super tube” waves. Jeffrey’s Bay also hosts the fantastic JBay Winter Fest, music festival.

Tip: Go sand boarding over epic dunes with Island Vibe Hostel .

6. Addo Elephant National Park

The first stop on our Garden Route itinerary for anyone who wants to see some South Africa’s legendary wildlife. You can see elephants, zebras, wildebeest, and hyenas at Addo Elephant National Park, a diverse wildlife conversation park situated close to Port Elizabeth – all without having to get out of the car.

Tip: Don’t forget to take a pair of binoculars to see the wildlife from a distance. You’ll get the best sightings in the early morning and late in the evening, usually at waterholes.

7. Tsitsikamma National Park

If you haven’t already fallen in love with South Africa by this point, you will be after visiting Tsitsikamma National Park. Fresh sea air, rugged cliffs, green hillsides and turquoise ocean waters are just some of the highlights.

A must-see is the incredible viewpoint that is a short 20-minute walk from the Storm River suspension bridge.

Tip: Don’t skip the Waterfall Trail, which takes 90 minutes each way.

8. Bloukrans Bridge

Consider yourself an adrenaline junkie? Then don’t miss the chance to bungee-jump from the Bloukrans Bridge. Standing 216 metres above the valley floor, it’s the highest bridge in Africa. Standing on the edge of the platform, staring down into the deep ravine, is exhilarating.

9. Nature’s Valley

We headed from Bloukran’s Bridge to Nature’s Valley, where we spent a couple of nights in a safari tent. If you’re just looking to relax for a while, this is the place to do it.

10. Oudtshoorn

This is where the Garden Route starts to head back inland, and before long you’ll reach “little Karoo”, a semi-desert wilderness that feels like the Australian Outback. Driving over the Robinson Pass with its countless twists and turns, is a real highlight . Also don’t miss out on the chance to visit one of the many ostrich farms in Oudtshoorn itself.

11. Mossel Bay

This town often gets called the “ugly duckling” of the Garden Route, but we beg to differ. Mossel Bay is a cool and laid-back town. Here, you can relax on the beach, stay in a converted train ( Santos Express Train ), enjoy good food and sip on delicious lattes.

Tip: Visit the Blue Shed Coffee Roastery for its great coffee and instagrammable exterior. Try the chocolate brownies. They’re heavenly.

12. De Hoop Nature Reserve

The sand dunes of the De Hoop Nature Reserve were without a doubt one of our favourite South African sights during our road trip along the Garden Route. They are located between Mossel Bay and Cape Agulhas nature reserve.

Tip: The area is one of the best places to whale watch from the shore. Catch a sighting while hiking on the “Whale Trail”.

13. Cape Agulhas

Cape Agulhas is the southernmost point of Africa. Follow the road to a lighthouse and a small trail that leads to the “Foot of Africa” where two oceans meet.

Tip: Venture about 2km further and you’ll find old shipwrecks sitting in the sea, like the Meisho Maru38, which ran aground during a violent storm in November 1982.

14. Hermanus

Hermanus is an incredibly beautiful little town on the coast. Here you’ll find plenty of accommodation options, bars and restaurants, supermarkets and boutiques. Hermanus is considered the whale-watching capital of the world. Each year from June to December, southern right whales and humpbacks arrive from the Antarctic.

Tip: Take a couple of hours to hike along the Cliff Path Trail. It’s a lovely route that hugs the coastline.

15. Muizenberg

Muizenberg was another one of our favourite places in South Africa. There’s not much there, apart from a supermarket, some surf schools, a couple of small restaurants and cafés, however, Muizenberg exudes charm. It’s key attractions are surfing and kitesurfing. You can rent out a board and a wetsuit for about €15-20 a day at Gary’s Surf School or Surf Emporium.

16. Chapman’s Peak Drive

Heading out from Muizenberg, you end up in Simon’s Town and the Cape of Good Hope. Don’t miss iconic Chapman’s Peak Drive. This scenic road is one of the most beautiful in the world and is a must-visit destination on the Garden Route. Hidden around every corner are views that will leave you breathless.

17. Cape Town

The final stop on the Garden Route from Johannesburg to Cape Town will throw you back into the deep end of civilisation.

We could probably write a whole novel about this unique, buzzing metropolis. Cape Town is as diverse as South Africa itself. We love the cool markets and cafés, international cuisine and colourful nightlife.

Climbing up the Tafelberg from Kistenbosch Botanical Gardens was a favourite, as was the Neighbourgoods market in Woostock. Don’t miss out on a trip to Lion’s Head to see the sunset from Signal Hill.

Tip: There are MyCiTi buses going in any direction at pre-scheduled times. The buses are modern and cheap.

Feeling inspired to go road tripping? Check out our car hire service . 

About the authors:

Bolle and Marco have been travelling the world for over a year. Visit their blog Komm’ wir machen das einfach (Come On, We’ll Make it Easy) to find even more entries, routes, pictures and videos about their e-book on South Africa.

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The Ultimate Road Trip: Garden Route

A serendipitous combination of world-class beaches, iridescent lagoons and indigenous forests interspersed with welcoming towns, and a simple, scenic, ocean-hugging highway guarantees the Garden Route inclusion in every roundup of ultimate four-wheeled adventures.

Stretching for 124 miles through the Western Cape between Mossel Bay and Storms River, the route is set up for seasoned road-trippers as much as first-timers. With countless detours and pit stops showcasing the region’s beauty, culture and hospitality, the challenge is deciding whether to devote four days or a fortnight.

1. Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay , the western gateway to the Garden Route, is less than 249 miles from Cape Town along the N2 highway. Driving conditions are excellent and the scenery peerless: before the fabled Garden Route even commences, drivers are treated to coastal idylls like Betty’s Bay, and pit stop cafes serving farm-fresh, road trip snacks known locally as padkos . Mossel Bay offers a chance to stretch your legs on the St Blaize Trail, a rugged, nine-mile (one-way) coastal romp from a cave below Cape St Blaize Lighthouse to Dana Bay.

Map illustrated by Guillermo Trapiello

The historic timber town of George lies 30 minutes down the coast. Pause at the Garden Route Botanical Garden for an introduction to the fynbos that characterizes the Cape Floral Region, recognized by UNESCO for its staggering biodiversity. While the region only spans 0.5% of Africa, it contains 20% of the continent’s plant species. From George, exit the main highway to reach nearby Wilderness or head further inland on the Seven Passes, a route that explores the Outeniqua Mountains, snaking through canyons and over high bridges towards Knysna, 44 miles away.

One of the highlights of the Garden Route is the town of Knysna , a culinary hotspot famous for its 10-day Oyster Festival in late June, which overlooks a tranquil lagoon dotted with sailing boats. The ocean lies beyond twin sandstone promontories; the eastern head viewpoint affords beautiful views across the lagoon’s islets at sunset. Linger in Knysna for a day or two, savoring its upmarket restaurants, renting mountain bikes from the friendly folk at Knysna Cycles to explore the surrounding wilderness, and supporting the local Xhosa community with a township visit with Emzini Tours .

4. Wilderness National Park

Wilderness National Park calls to campers, hikers and kayakers. Its wetlands are rich in exotic birds and its forests are threaded with hiking routes that meander between waterfalls. To soak up the area’s beauty, strike out from the rustic Ebb and Flow camp with binoculars and a swimming costume on one of the four trails named for local kingfisher species, ranging from two to 6 miles.

5. Plettenberg Bay

Plettenberg Bay , half an hour further east, is a byword throughout the Western Cape for breathtaking beaches. Here, sandy coves popular with surfers sit beneath sheer cliffs, and waters teem year-round with migrating whales and dolphins. To the south lies Robberg Nature Reserve, a jutting peninsular home to seal colonies and perfect for a picnic, best explored on the 5.6-mile round-trip trail to The Point. Moving on eastwards, stop in at Birds of Eden — the world’s largest free-flight aviary; a verdant sanctuary for over 3,000 exotic birds rescued from cages — and swing by Enrico Restaurant for seafood and Italian fare within meters of the waves.

6. Storms River

The eastern terminus of the Garden Route is Storms River village, 50 minutes from Plettenberg Bay. Its evocative name speaks to the rugged, indomitable landscape that surrounds it. Inland to the north lies the dense, mountainous Tsitsikamma Forest, home to zip-lining experiences , kayaking expeditions through gorges and the world’s highest bungee jump (709ft) at Bloukrans Bridge . To its south, skimming the coastline, lies the maritime Tsitsikamma National Park. The oldest hiking route in the country, the five-day Otter Trail, kicks off at Storms River Mouth and runs through the park’s gallery forests and along the clifftops to Nature Valley, and offers a suitably epic and energetic conclusion to a Garden Route road trip.

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Driving The Garden Route: Roadtrippin’ South Africa

It all started with a photograph of two giant eggs next to a curious looking bird. The coffee-table book I was reading informed me that the picture was taken at an Ostrich Farm in Oudtshoorn, South Africa. At the time, driving the Garden Route was a distant dream. A decade later, when Vid and I finally embarked on our road trip through South Africa , I was sure I wanted to visit Oudtshoorn. Thus, The Garden Route was firmly pencilled on our itinerary.

We spent a fortnight exploring The Garden Route’s sandy beaches, turquoise lagoons, wildlife reserves, and untamed countryside. We’ve been on more road trips than we care to remember, but the Garden Route is truly second to none. There is nothing it doesn’t offer – great people, amazing panoramas, activities by the dozen, ambrosial wines, and delectable sea-food. We would recommend it to anyone – young or old – in a heartbeat.

The Garden Route, traditionally, stretches between the Storms River and Mossel Bay. However, for the ultimate road trip , we suggest an extended version of the traditional route:

Driving The Garden Route: A suggested itinerary

Distance Covered – 950 kms, Days required – 12

a) Start at Addo Elephant National Park (2 days)

b) Continue to Storms River and Knysna (3 days)

c) Explore Mossel Bay and  Oudtshoorn (2 days)

d) Wrap up your road trip by exploring Cape Town and The Wine Routes (5 days)

Driving the Garden Route is no mean feat. Prepare to be tempted by stunning panoramas or intrigued by wildlife at every turn. There is so much to be done and so much to be seen.

Without further ado, here are our top 5 reasons why Driving the Garden Route must be on your travel bucket list 🙂

1) The Views and Culture

One moment we were driving next to the Indian Ocean, the next we were driving through a forest. The polarities of The Garden Route make it special. There are lush valleys, azure lakes, game reserves, spectacular mountains, and colourful vistas.

There are dozens of quaint towns and seaside resorts along the way. The local markets are a sight to behold – they sell everything from African dolls and ethnic jewellery to tribal masks and colourful clothes. We enjoyed a number of towns including Riversdale, Heidelberg, and Mossel Bay, but it was Knysna that stole our hearts.

Knysna appears as if from the clouds. It isn’t the quietest town on the stretch – far from it. It is popular with tourists but still incredibly charming. The famed Knysna lagoon is separated from the rough waters of the Indian Ocean by 2 dramatic limestone cliffs, known as the Knysna Heads.  At the time we visited, there were barely any people at the lagoon. Suspended clouds framed the Heads, adding to the mystery of the place.

2) Extreme Adventure Sports

South Africa offers a variety of extreme adventure sports including Shark Cage Diving, Sky Diving, and Bungee Jumping. The world’s highest Bungee Jump is located at the Bloukrans Bridge along The Garden Route. We went there and tried it for ourselves – it is errr scary.

Notice the rope under the bridge? Imagine dangling at the end of that rope – nuff said 😉

3) Safaris and wildlife

The Garden Route is dotted with Game Reserves that provide a perfect opportunity to see The Big 5. We opted for a self-drive Safari at The Addo National Park and loved every moment of it.

For something a bit tamer yet equally enjoyable, we visited the Ostrich Farms in Oudtshoorn (yes finally 🙂 ). A lot of fun was had exploring the ranch, acquainting ourselves with Ostrich babies and learning more about Ostrich eggs (they’re HUGE).

4) The Food and Wine *sigh*

On our first night in South Africa, we had food off a Braai (Afrikaans for BBQ)  . Over the course of our trip we sampled bunny chow in Durban, oysters in Knysna, and springbok and game meat in Cape Town and fell hopelessly in love with food in South Africa . It wasn’t a fling, ladies and gentlemen, but a full-blown love affair. I find myself craving sea-food “cooked the South African way” to this day.

Don’t even get me started on the wine. Who hasn’t picked up a bottle of South African pinot noir or chenin blanc off the shelves of a supermarket for a night in with friends? The ambrosial taste might be familiar, but the experience of visiting wine cellars and attending tastings along The Wine Routes is totally novel. The Cape Winelands, especially Stellenbosch and the Franschhoek valley, are resplendent. Can you blame us for going weak at the knees? 🙂

5) Penguins

I will never forget the day we saw penguins for the first time. I could spend hours observing them waddle awkwardly, tip over, fall down, and get back up only to fall down again.

Boulder’s Beach near Cape Town is home to a huge colony of jackass penguins. Anyone can visit the beach, but it is also possible to have breakfast with the penguins if you decide to stay at one of the hotels lining the beach.

It is hard to resist the charm of these clumsy li’l things 🙂

 FURTHER READING

Is driving the Garden Route on your bucket list? Have you been to South Africa? If not, our experiences in South Africa should get you started ! 🙂

1)   An Epic Road Trip in South Africa : A Suggested Itinerary

2) A Self Drive Safari at Addo National Park, South Africa

3) An Offbeat Budget Safari at Hluhluwe National Park

4) Frolicking with lions at the Johannesburg Lion Park

5) 5 Reasons you MUST visit a township in South Africa

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62 thoughts on “ driving the garden route: roadtrippin’ south africa ”.

Penguins ^.^ so cute..and yes yes it is on the bucket list 😉 awesome post 😀

Good pick Shivangi. The Garden Route and The Wine Routes are definitely worthy of being on every bucket list out there 🙂

When is the best time to visit South Africa ? To experience the wild life , the penguins , and the beaches ?

I believe the best time to view wildlife is in their winter months i.e. April-September.

Ohh wow! What an amazing trip! Fab photos!! I didn’t know there was penguins in South Africa…lol

Thanks Kim. South Africa is full of surprises 🙂

i want to go traveling so bad! x

Join the gang Chloe 😉

I think this looks like you had an amazing adventure! I will have to show my friend your pictures of the penguins, she loves them!! Ahhh I wish I could go travelling 🙁 x

Thanks Hurnae- The Garden Route is supposed to be one of the best roadtrips in the world, so there’s penguins and a whole lot more 🙂

The pics are amazing! Especially love the one in which you both are standing with the penguins. How beautiful. I love local markets. 🙂

Thanks 🙂 We couldn’t get enough of the penguins

Amazing pics, a treat for the eyes after long hours of working 🙂 I was always intrigued by South Africa, but this post made me want to visit it asap 🙂 The pics are beautiful. And OMG, OMG, I love penguins! Don’t they look oh-so-cute?? 🙂

Penguins are the most adorable animals EVER 🙂 Ramya you should totally plan a trip. We have a road trip itinerary for South Africa so you don’t have to work hard at putting one together 😉

the views are like hell astonishing .. the photo with penguins is awesome !!! and not to miss , i love the red thing in the hair . 🙂

Damn! You noticed the red feather- how cool 🙂 The views on The Garden Route are absolutely stunning

Great post. Thanks for the helpful advice! I hope to be able to visit South Africa soon.

Stef I hope so too – you will love it 🙂

Capetown has always been my South African home – regardless of where I live in this world. I’ve done the garden route a few times and simply love it! I’m currently living in Capetown until March and plan to explore the garden route again with my partner whose never been. This week we plan to plan with penguins and touch the tip of the cape point. It’s been hard to pull him away from the vineyards – I’m glad you had such a wonderful time here 🙂

Natasha I’m so jealous. I want to live in Cape Town too 🙁

Love the idea of driving across South Africa! We have done it all across North America and Europe and firmly believe driving is the best way to see places. It is so great to be able to pull off and stop for awhile at any place that strikes your fancy. Hope we can do this soon.

Well said ! We both love road trips – the flexibility and freedom it offers is unbeatable. Going to check out your blog for your tips on the North American road trip – that’s very high on our to-do list 🙂

Love your blog! Did the roadtrip of Iceland last year! ONe of my favs! Heading to South Africa to do the Garden Route / Capetown for 2 weeks in November. Do you have any accomodations you would recommend? Thank you!

Hey Kim- Did you enjoy Iceland as much as we did? You’re going to love South Africa – we rented with Air B&B while we were in South Africa- they have some great houses for rent there 🙂

Great post! What time of the year did you go? The penguin pics are adorable, so are your outfits!

Hey Ash, thanks a ton. We visited South Africa in April 🙂

South Africa offers more than just safaris….Here is a snapshot of our road trip along the Western Cape in South Africa… Wish we could add a little of what you did into our itinerary!

http://tickingthebucketlist.blogspot.in/2014/07/western-cape-roadtrip.html

Hey Sonia – we agree. South Africa has so much more to it than just safaris. Good to see you had an amazing time too 🙂

Do spare some time for whale watching and shark cage diving the next time you are there….we did…and we are glad that we did!

Sure – that sounds so exciting 🙂

I enjoy catching up with your writing and pics, keep going! That one photo of the wine cellar could be mistaken for the solemn interior of a church with pews…lol.

Thanks Deborah. You’re right – that wine cellar could well be a cathedral 😉

Getting ready to head to south africa for a few weeks this october and then hop over to south east asia. just want to tell you how much im enjoying reading your blog. i am only thru a few blog posts but i am already mentally planning my outfits and photo opps thanks to you! hoping my boyfriend and i can be half as stylish as you and Vid! 🙂

Awww Kristina thank you ever so much 🙂 Your comment makes us so happy. Hope you have a great time in South Africa !

I was needing a some help from you for planning my Sa holiday

1) since I will be doing kruger can I miss ado national park or is it a must do ?

2) I plan to drive from port elizabeth to cape town taking a night halt at a few places, which places or hotels would you recommend for the same ?

3) should I do hermanus while driving the garden route or do it as day trip from cape town ?

Hi Randhir,

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. We are assuming that you have already completed your trip, but just in case you haven’t, we’d suggest stopping at Hermanus on your way to Cape Town.

Also, if you are visiting Kruger, then you can definitely give Addo a miss. We stopped in Knysna for a couple of nights on our way to Cape town from Port Elizabeth. We hadn’t booked anything ini advance and found a lovely homestay there!

What did you do for navigation? Does Google maps work? or did you rent a GPS device provided by the car rental agency?

hey google maps works perfectly.. you will be better off saving money on a gps device

Yes, google maps will work fine. Now, you can also use them offline (we haven’t tested out this feature yet), but if you have a data card, then there will be no problem in using google maps anyway.

Hi, I need your help, in planning the garden route roadtrip. My wife and I are renting a car from George, and driving to Knysna, where we will be staying for 3 days. We would like to drive to oudtshoorn, to see Cango caves, ostrich farm and the wild life ranch. We are interested in driving around the scenic coastal routes,lagoon, beaches, mountain passes, national park, route 62. Remember, we are staying in Knysna – base, for all 3 days, so it has to be roundtrips. From Knysna, we are driving to Capetown,please suggest the best scenic routes with the stops for great views enroute. Will Google maps be sufficient. Appreciate your help. Mohan

Google maps will be sufficient for sure.

If you have a look at the map in this article and follow the route from Knysna to Capetown, you’ll encounter a very scenic drive.

Hi, Thanks for the post. I am planning self drive trip this December with my wife. Could you please comment on the safety aspect?

Hey Prathamesh – we felt quite safe and didn’t face any trouble but you should definitely exercise caution while driving around in South Africa. Have fun on your roadtrip 🙂

That sounds amazing! I’m in SA soon, but still unsure whether to do the Garden Route. I’ve got a terrible reptile phobia and I’m so scared to encounter snakes and/or iguanas on the way. Is this very likely to happen there? Did you encounter any snakes or reptiles? Thank you and kind regards from a German reader, Ronja

Don’t worry at all. We didn’t encounter any reptiles there 🙂

As long as you stay away from bushy/forested areas, there’s no need to worry

First of all, absolutely love your blog..! 🙂 Secondly, your blog is a great inspiration to me and my husband for penning down our travel experiences and itineraries in a blog.. We are planning SA trip soon, and was wondering if we can take Garden route starting cape town to port Elizabeth. Would that gift us good views and sights as your? 🙂 or its recommended to drive towards Cape town only?

Please suggest.

Thanks much in advance

You can drive from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth too – the views will be equally great 🙂

Hope you have a great trip!

Hi, Very impressed and inspired by your blog. I’ve just booked a self drive garden route tour and I was hoping you could tell me a bit about the roads. Are they all standard main roads or do you go on any duel carrageways /motorways. I’m a bit nervous about the bigger roads and was hoping you could tell me a bit about the drive itself.

Don’t worry, you’ll be just fine 🙂 The roads were mostly duel carriageways and very easy to drive on.

Have a great trip!

Hi! I stumbled upon your blog a couple of weeks ago and am using it now to plan my trip to SA. I was wondering, i really want to do the garden route, but we have to start in Cape town and end in cape town and would only have 6 days to drive to and back from capetown->addo elephant. Do you think this is possible while still enjoying some stops or is it to much driving? Which stops do you absolutely recommend? and what is there to see @ mossel bay?

Hi Katrien,

Happy to hear that our posts have been helpful 🙂

Driving from Cape Town to Addo and back in 6 days might get a bit tiring but is certainly doable. On your way from Cape Town to Add, you could spend a couple of nights in Knysna (we prefer Knysna over Mossel Bay) . Spend a couple of nights in Addo and then drive back to Cape Town (you could do this drive in a day albeit a long one).

Hi my fiance and I are planning to travel to South Africa towards the end of the year.

We are staying for 4 nights at Kruger and were planning for 2 nights through the Garden Route and 3 nights at Cape Town, ending our trip with the New Years Eve at Sun City for 3 nights.

After reading your post, I am so mesmerised by Garden Route. I wonder if two days with self drive and stay at Knysna is sufficient. What would you recommend?

Hi Priyanka,

2 days should be fine 🙂 If you have flexibility, add another day but if you can’t then 2 days will give you ample time.

Hi Savi, I just stumbled onto your blog and it reads so well that it seems you visited the place only yesterday! 🙂 I’m too planning to visit South Africa soon with my wife. Would love to hear your inputs about the following: 1) How safe the route is for driving as is till what time in the evening 2) Which would be the best place to celebrate New Year eve 2) A little bit more info about the possible places to stay along the Garden Route (letting me where you stayed would be very helpful) Thanks in advance!

Hey the route is safe as long as you exercise caution (don’t flash expensive camera gear, valuables etc). Cape Town is best for New Year. And we used this website to compare hotel prices and find the best deal along the Garden Route – you can check it out too 🙂 https://www.hotelscombined.com/?a_aid=148771

Hi- really inspired by your blog and life story. We are finally planning a trip to SA and i keep dreaming about it specially after looking at your pictures. We have only a day in Kynsa. What do you suggest we do in that day?

Please see our article for suggestions on what to do in Knysna 🙂

Great blog! So inspiring!

I am a planning a trip to SA and Seychelles! Its a 14 days trip, planning to spend 8 days in SA and 6 days in Seychelles! Please suggest me a best itenary.

That sounds like a great trip. We have already written in detail about what all we did in south Africa and Seychelles so it’d be best if you go through our articles and decide what you’d like to do and what you’d like to skip 🙂 Just search for South Africa and Seyschelles.

Enjoy your trip 🙂

Great blog! Could you please tell me some spots in SA, as I am heading to SA next week for a casual weekend. Never been there and searching some stuff related to SA.

All itineraries and tips are in this article and other articles (that are linked in this article on South Africa) 🙂

I only been to cape town & it is by far one of the most beautiful cities in the world. However, safety may be one of the concern. Read about cape town travel guide here http://www.markmyadventure.com/cape-town-south-africa-travel-guide/

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The Garden Route in South Africa: The Ultimate Road Trip Guide

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• ~ mins read

There’s a 300-kilometer stretch of coastal road on the south west tip of South Africa regarded as the most beautiful region in the country. Known as The Garden Route, the road trip gets its name from the Garden Route National Park that it covers, and the diverse vegetation and wildlife, and abundance of lagoons, lakes, mountains, forests, and beaches along its winding roads. Home to almost a dozen nature and marine reserves, a road trip on the Garden Route offers plenty of opportunities for activities along the way, from hiking to eco and whale watching tours, to exploring caves and deserted sandy beaches. 

The route meanders between the Indian Ocean and the Tsitsikamma and Outeniqua mountain ranges, creating contrasting, yet equally stunning views on either side. The lush greenery of the indigenous forests meets the jagged cliffs and the sprawling coastal vistas, producing the type of panoramic views only found in magazines.

• Mark Bromley

Garden Route Road Trip Facts

The Garden Route Road Trip Recommended Itinerary – 5 days

There are dozens of sights, activities, and standard pit stops along this route. The itinerary really depends on how much time you have and what you want to do.

It’s also worth noting, that while a Cape Town tour is not technically on the Garden Route (it ends well before that in Mossel Bay), most tours will use the start or endpoint as Cape Town. This is because Cape Town is a more convenient place to start/end tours in than Mossel Bay, and the city, in its own right, is also one of the top attractions in any South Africa tour .  

Below you can check out a recommended Garden Route self-drive itinerary for 5 days, including all the highlights and can’t miss attractions. Cape Town is the endpoint for this tour.

Day 1: Port Elizabeth to Knysna

Travel through the Tsitsikamma Forest and along the coast to the seaside town of Knysna. There are plenty of viewpoints and scenic stops to make along the way. Keurboomstrand, a small holiday town with a chilled-out vibe, is perfect for leisurely strolls on the long beach that stretches all the way to Plettenberg Bay. This bay is also worth a stop for the lively beach atmosphere, water sport activities, nature reserves, and hiking trails.

Carry on another 30 kilometers and stay the night in Knysna.

Day 2: Knysna to Oudtshoorn

A boat cruise on the Knysna Lagoon is recommended. Highlights include views of the sandstone “Heads” that guard the lagoon’s entrance and the pristine beaches and forests that lay just beyond. Visit the Featherbed Nature Reserve, offering nature walks along the coast, through the forests and fynbos (shrubs and vegetation native to South Africa), with an exploration of ancient sea caves. There’s also the option of hiking to view the “Heads” up close and personal, which will elongate the itinerary.

The next portion of the road takes visitors through the mountainous Outeniqua Pass. The twists and turns keep drivers on their toes and the views over the ocean framed by endless mountains are nothing short of incredible.

Arrive in Oudtshoorn, named the Feather Capital of the World due to South Africa’s ostrich farming industry being centered here. Take an ostrich farm safari to view these interesting birds and learn about their relevance in South Africa. Stay the night in Oudtshoorn. 

Day 3: Oudtshoorn to Struisbaai

Tour the Cango Caves, the oldest tourist attraction in the country. The stunning natural wonder is located in the limestone cliffs parallel to the Swartberg Mountains, just outside of Oudtshoorn.

These caves are some of the finest examples of dripstone caverns, with spacious rooms and gigantic limestone formations. Tours of varying degrees are available. There are beginner level tours as well as advanced “adventurous” tours, but they must be booked in advance as there are only a certain number of visitors allowed per day .

After the caves, stop in Mossel Bay. This charming port town of 130,000 is exactly halfway between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Enjoy the 60 kilometers of beaches, multiple hiking trails with gorgeous views, whale watching (depends on the season), and historical sites like the Post Office Tree or the Diaz Museum. Seeking something more relaxing? Wine tasting, golfing, and shopping are also available here.

After a full day of exploring, continue to Struisbaai , where you can spend the night. 

Day 4: Agulhas to Hermanus

Just a few miles west of Struisbaai is Agulhas, the southern most tip of Africa. Here you can visit the Cape Agulhas Lighthouse, the third oldest in South Africa and the second oldest still in use today. You can go to the top of the lighthouse and enjoy some excellent view of the sea and the surrounding coastal area. From here, drive inland to Napier, looping back around to the coastal city of Gansbaai. This is the place to go Great White Shark cage diving, if you dare!

Drive along Walker Bay to the town of Hermanus. This town is known as the Whale Capital, as it is a great place to do some whale watching (again, your luck of spotting these gentle beasts is greater during winter and spring season).

An alternative to whale watching is the Fernkloof Nature Reserve, a beautiful area with plenty of flora, fauna, and walking trails with a stunning view of Walker Bay.

Stay in Hermanus for the night.

Day 5: Hermanus to Cape Town 

Believe it or not, the final stretch has some of the best vistas! Travel through multiple nature reserves and mountain ranges, before coming out to the coastal area of False Bay.  

Drive around the bay and you’ll arrive in Cape Town . “The Mother City” is located on the shores of Table Bay with the stunning Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and Devil’s Peak creating the city’s backdrop.

Alternate Garden Route Itinerary

It makes no difference if you tour the Garden Route from east to west or west to east. Some itineraries have you spending a few days in Cape Town before setting off on the drive or after you’ve completed it. This is recommended because it allows more time to explore Cape Town, which has many famous attractions of its own. 

One way you can change up the itinerary (and if you have the extra time) is by including the most famous trek on the Garden Route – The Otter Trail .

The Otter Trail picks up about 70 kilometers east of Plettenberg Bay, about 200 kilometers from Port Elizabeth. The trail is a 5 day, 4 night trek through the Tsitsikamma Forest, starting at the mouth of the Storm River and finishing at the Groot River in Nature’s Valley. The total distance is 43 kilometers.

The Otter’s biggest claim to fame is its ability to combine both dense wilderness and forests with breathtaking coastal views. During the trek, you’ll spot many different types of birds and wildlife as well as waterfalls, rivers, and naturally-formed rock pools.

Note:  The Otter Trail is not allowable for children younger than 12 or adults over 65 to participate in this hike due to its physical demands.

Recommended Transportation

If you want to explore the Garden Route at your own pace and make stops when you want, renting a car or a motorcycle is the way to make a memorable trip. However, if you do not have the time, resources or skill to navigate the long journey, there are many guided Garden Route tours (like this one ) that are very good. When chosen wisely, depending on what places you really want to see, a guided tour can make for a hassle-free, relaxed and enjoyable trip. 

Good to Know

• Buy a local SIM card so you can always have access to your phone and GPS.
• Buy a South African plug adaptor so you can charge your necessary electronics (3 pin plug) anywhere, anytime.
• The Garden Route has many tourists and therefore is very safe to travel. However, to avoid any potential risk, do avoid walking the back roads at night.
• Stay clear of street food in South Africa – you could risk illness by eating from one of these stalls.
• Stay hydrated! The African sun is hot. Only drink bottled water, unless you can filter or purify the tap water.
• Check with your doctor regarding any vaccinations before you go!
• Read the car rental agreement carefully before making any commitments. Be sure to speak to the rental car company about what to do in case of a car breakdown. They can provide you with the numbers to call and how they will assist you.
• Gas stations are plentiful with developed towns every 45 kilometers or so along the route.

The Garden Route should be on every adventurer’s bucket list. The world-class vistas and nature reserves will keep the naturalists happy, while the opportunity for heart pumping scuba diving and water sport activities will keep the adrenaline junkies enthralled. There’s always more to do and see, which is why people often return to repeat this epic road trip. This should be on your list of things to do while you are in Garden Route National Park.

For more exciting itineraries and travel tips, check out our article on how many days to spend in South Africa . Get in touch with our South Africa travel experts today if you want professional advice on a custom trip to South Africa .

For a seasonal overview, see our article on the best time to visit South Africa .

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Nevada Road Trip Ideas: 11 Best Road Trips + Itinerary

N evada is a wonderfully diverse and beautiful region that offers so much more than its famous Las Vegas casinos (while that is also a fun aspect of the Silver State). Often overshadowed by Utah and California, Nevada has natural scenery in its own right that is well worth exploring. There are some amazing state parks, National Parks, unforgettable bodies of water (such as Lake Mead and Lake Tahoe), incredible hiking trails, and much more to experience. You’ll be amazed at how many unique adventures can be enjoyed here- that’s why we compiled this list of the 11 Best Road Trips in Nevada.

1-Day Road Trip In Nevada

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• Route: Reno>VirginiaCity>Gardnerville>Lake Tahoe>Incline Village
• Distance: 133 Miles
• Trip Time: 3 Hours And 22 Minutes Driving Time
• Route: Lamoille Canyon>Wilson Canyon>Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
• Distance: 688 Miles
• Trip Time: 10 Hours And 40 Minutes Driving Time
• Route: Amargosa Valley>Rachel>Hiko
• Distance: 281 Miles
• Trip Time: 4 Hours And 26 Minutes Driving Time
• Route: Carson City>Reno>Fallon>Pahrump>Henderson
• Distance: 498 Miles
• Trip Time: 8 Hours And 17 Minutes Driving Time
• Route: Valley Of Fire>Clark County Wetlands Park>Red Rock Canyon National Park>Spring Mountains>Lake Tahoe Meadows>Mt Rose>Washoe Lake State Park
• Distance: 591 Miles
• Trip Time: 10 Hours And 54 Minutes Driving Time
• Route: Reno>Incline Village> Sand Harbor Beach
• Distance: 41.6 Miles
• Trip Time: 1 Hour And 7 Minutes Driving Time
• Route: Lake Tahoe>Reno>Wasoe County>Dayton>Elko County>Great Basin National Park>Floyd Lamb Park> Spring Mountain National Recreation Area
• Distance: 1,063 Miles
• Trip Time: 18 Hours And 3 Minutes Driving Time
• Route: Sparks>Reno>Virginia City>Carson City>Genoa> Gardnerville> Las Vegas> Henderson
• Distance: 561 Miles
• Trip Time: 10 Hours And 42 Minutes Driving Time
• Route: Las Vegas> Goldfield>Carson City>Reno>Lovelock>Elko>Wells>Ely>Las Vegas
• Distance: 1,188 Miles
• Trip Time: 18 Hours And 33 Minutes Driving Time
• Route: Great Basin National Park> Hotel Nevada> Santa Fe Motel & Saloon> Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge> Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa> Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area> Valley of Fire State Park> North Shore Inn at Lake Mead
• Distance: 831 Miles
• Trip Time: 13 Hours And 42 Minutes Driving Time
• Route: Eureka>Indian Hills>Kingsbury>Minden>Yerington>Tonppah>Beatty>Caliente>Panaca
• Distance: 892 Miles
• Trip Time: 15 Hours Driving Time

These are some of the very best road trip itineraries you can follow if you’re planning to explore the state of Nevada! Do any of these getaways stand out to you? Let us know in the comments!

The post Nevada Road Trip Ideas: 11 Best Road Trips + Itinerary appeared first on Only In Your State ® .

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Moscow to Kostroma via Elektrostal

Moscow to kostroma road trip planner.

Here's a sample itinerary for a drive from Moscow to Kostroma. If you're planning a road trip to Kostroma, you can research locations to stop along the way. Make sure you check road conditions to double check the weather. Find the best hotels, restaurants, and attractions based on the most talked about places recommended by Trippy members.

10:00 am  start in Moscow drive for about 1 hour

11:07 am   Elektrostal stay for about 1 hour and leave at 12:07 pm drive for about 1.5 hours

1:50 pm   Vladimir stay for about 1 hour and leave at 2:50 pm drive for about 1.5 hours

4:25 pm   Ivanovo stay for about 1 hour and leave at 5:25 pm drive for about 1 hour

6:31 pm  arrive in Kostroma

driving ≈ 5.5 hours

Where should I stop along the way?

Elektrostal Vladimir   (2 answers) Ivanovo

What are some things to do in Kostroma?

This section could be endless, so rather than trying to suggest every local activity or attraction, we'll leave it open-ended.

Of course, Trippy is the perfect place to ask questions because there's an entire community of travelers talking to each other and sharing tips and advice. Trippy is where you can get answers personalized for your tastes, budgets, trip dates & more!

Click the button below to explore more questions and answers related to Kostroma.

Do I really have to go back home?

Yes, even this step is optional, because if you're on vacation who wants the trip to end? It's okay, you can start planning your next trip!

Want to plan the trip back? Get the reverse directions for a Kostroma to Moscow drive , or go to the main page to plan a new road trip .

You can also compare the travel time if you're flying or driving by calculating the distance from Moscow to Kostroma . Or get a full Moscow to Kostroma flight plan .

Don't forget about exploring your own hometown with a staycation. You can also find some cool day trips or get away for a weekend.

And if you know Moscow well, please help your fellow travelers and answer their questions about Moscow!

More info on this route:

road conditions from Moscow to Kostroma

places to eat

alternate routes

Google driving directions

A Luxury Garden Route Road Trip Itinerary

One of the world’s greatest road trips, the Garden Route is something I strongly recommend that you try and fit into any South Africa itinerary . It can be a little overwhelming to plan as there is SO much to do here and there are countless tweaks you can make to suit your preferences and style of travel. Having done this trip twice myself now and learnt lots from it, I have finally put together my recommended 5 day Garden Route itinerary , with lots of variations to customise as you wish.

Table of Contents

My Love of the Garden Route

I have been to a fair few places in my lifetime and at some point during each of these trips, often boldly proclaim that I will be back (not Terminator style). Outside of visiting family, the Garden Route in South Africa is the only place I have actually managed to go back to , rather than being enticed by the prospect of exploring a new destination.

I always think that everyone has that one destination that captures their heart a bit and they can’t help but return (or just think of it obsessively). The Garden Route is that for me and bearing in mind how fussy I am, that is saying something!

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Why I Love the Garden Route

It has what I think is the perfect balance between stunning natural scenery, divine food and a surprisingly varied selection of wonderfully top end, mostly boutique, accommodation . The coastal location (I LOVE the sea) that you can regularly see dolphins and whales in AND has super surf adds to the package, as does the abundance of great wine (not necessarily to be enjoyed at the same time). I also really like the distinct lack of commercialisation, the laid back atmosphere and friendly people, as well as it being a destination that is off the radar enough that it is never heaving.

The cherry on top is that I get zero culture shock here and somehow just fit into the flow of life easily, without feeling distinctly like a tourist. Don’t get me wrong, in the right circumstances, culture shock is exciting and exhilarating to anyone who loves to travel, but it can also be emotional and exhausting. I actually RELAXED while visiting the Garden Route. That never happens.

And the gold dust on top of that cherry? Hands down the cheapest destination I have ever travelled to for mid range to luxury travellers . Your money goes farrrrrr here. Before you ask, yes I have travelled to South East Asia (and Central America) and yes, I am still going to stand by that statement!

Related Post: Ultimate South Africa Packing List (Including a Few Surprise Items!)

What is the Garden Route?

If you haven’t heard of the Garden Route, it is 300 km (190 miles) of sheer natural beauty along South Africa’s southern coastline . The most western town is Mossel Bay, a 4.5 hour drive from Cape Town and the most eastern is Storms River.

The distance between these two towns (200 km / 125 miles, about a 2.5 hour straight drive) is the ground the majority of people cover when driving the Garden Route , with the additional 100 km falling west of Mossel Bay. While there are a couple of good detours on this stretch, it is mostly just driving on the N2 highway, so for this reason, isn’t included in the vast majority of Garden Route itineraries.

If you’re driving in from Cape Town though, there’s a good chance you will take this route on your way to the main Garden Route anyway, so you can make some detours if you choose.

Between Mossel Bay and Storms River, you have multiple places worth stopping in, with the Garden Route highlights being (from west to east) Wilderness, Sedgefield, George, Plettenberg Bay and Nature’s Valley .

The route is as diverse as it is beautiful; you have everything here from mountain ranges, lagoons, rivers, forests and of course, that stunning ocean (hence the name, the Garden Route).

When to Plan Your Garden Route Road Trip

I’ll be honest, I’m a sunshine chick and try to spend as much of January and February chasing it, rather than be rained on in the UK. For this reason I have only ever visited South Africa during this time, which for all accounts and purposes, is probably the best time to visit the Garden Route (for me anyway)!

The Garden Route is a popular destination for holidaying locals from the likes of Cape Town and Johannesburg and prices and visitor numbers particularly surge during the school holidays. These generally mirror the UK and USA holiday dates, but their summer break is during December and the first couple of weeks of January (when prices also peak).

Summer (December to February)

The weather is balmy and beautiful and it’s no secret, this is the busiest time along the Garden Route and hotels raise their prices accordingly. If you don’t mind the price hike, don’t let it put you off, Garden Route busy really isn’t that bad!

Autumn (March to May)

It starts to cool down a bit now and with a corresponding drop in visitor numbers. It is a popular time for non water based activities, particularly hiking.

Winter (June to August)

If you value your luxe for less even in the cold , now is the time to come. The hotels cut their rates by an astonishing amount, even the super duper luxury ones. This is also a great time to visit if you want to go whale watching; the season runs from the end of May to the beginning of November. If you’re here at the end of June, don’t miss Knysna’s Oyster Festival either!

Spring (September to November)

The Garden Route is supposed to be at its most stunning in spring . Prices are starting to rise agin as you move into the shoulder season, but you’re also still here in time to spot those migrating whales.

Driving the Garden Route

Hiring a car is cheap and easy in South Africa and you can also hire them straight from George and Port Elizabeth airports if you are flying in (or drop them off if you drive in and are flying out, or vice versa).

Our first time travelling the Garden Route we hired a driver with said car as we had a very busy itinerary and were staying in a new hotel virtually every night; no time for getting lost or mucking around!

The next time we had a much more chilled visit and decided to base ourselves in one place for our three week Garden Route trip, so just hired a car and drove ourselves.

Honestly, loads easier that driving in both the UK and USA ; roads are wide, well maintained, very quiet and everyone seems to be a good driver here! You can read more about the rules of the roads in the driving section of my South Africa Travel Tips post, they have an interesting way of overtaking!

If you are driving in from Cape Town and want ideas on routes to take and stop off options, scroll to the bottom of this post; you have three options, the Coastal, Safari and Mountain routes . If you are returning to Cape Town afterwards, you can take a different route back and experience two out of the three!

How Long Does it Take to Drive the Garden Route?

Well, this is up to you. You are not going to run out of things to do ; even spending three weeks here we still ran out of time and didn’t get to do everything we wanted.

The core of the Garden Route and the stretch I recommend everyone explore regardless if you have two days or two weeks, is the area between Wilderness and Plettenberg Bay .

5 Day Garden Route Itinerary

Safe to say, I quite like this part of South Africa! After two very different trips here; one short and whirlwind and another long and laid back, as well as copious hours of research and some trial and error, I have finally put together my recommended 5 day Garden Route road trip itinerary .

I have also included some optional extras if you are lucky enough to be here longer, as well as some useful information for planning your own trip to this super area of the world.

I have ordered the itinerary from west to east assuming you are either landing in George Airport if you are flying in, or you have driven from Cape Town and have ended up in the Mossel Bay area. If you are landing in Port Elizabeth, then you may want to do this backwards.

All the accommodation I have recommended is on the mid range to luxury end of things as this is how I travel ; but the places to eat are a range, from finer dining to burgers in beach shacks, as I love a bit of variety with that! My suggestions for things to do can pretty much be adapted to any budget ; many are free or have a nominal fee (e.g. access to the National Parks) and then activities like boat trips etc. you can choose to splash out for a private trip, or take a group one, it’s totally up to you!

Day 1 – Mossel Bay / George Airport – Wilderness – Knysna

You’ll know when you’ve reached Wilderness. You’ll be trundling along that N2 highway, la la la and all of a sudden you will round a corner with the most stunning views down the cliff side and along the Wilderness coastline.

Distance: 105 km / 65 miles from Mossel Bay to Knysna and 70 km / 44 miles from George Airport to Knysna Time: 1 hour 15 minutes from Mossel Bay and 53 minutes from George Airport

Things to Do

• Visit Wilderness Beach – one of the best beaches on the Garden Route, after you’ve seen a glimpse of those views from the top of the cliff on your way in, you’ll struggle just to drive past it.
• Hike the Giant Kingfisher Waterfall trail – the most popular of the five main hiking trails in Wilderness National Park.
• Admire the View from Dolphin Point Lookout – busy driving when descending down into Wilderness and not able to take in the view? Stop here and soak it all in, it is a truly spectacular sight.
• Shop at Milkwood or Timberlake Village – if you fancy a browse and a mooch around, have a stop at one of these shopping locations.

Where to Stay

I’ll level with you, if you’re a luxury lover, this isn’t the place to stay , you need to go onto Knysna (which is what I recommend doing).

If you’re set on staying here, the only option I would consider for a quick stay is Serendipity, a mid range boutique hotel on the water that also has what I think is the best restaurant in Wilderness.

Where to Eat & Drink

• Serendipity – superb location, excellent service and the food is even better (the wine isn’t bad either!). Make sure you book in advance, the place is popular but very tiny. You can book Serendipity here .
• The Girls on the Square – for a varied menu that they seem to do very well and a buzzy, fairy lit atmosphere.
• Salinas – the elevated deck is the best place to overlook the ocean with a cocktail. Bonus if you manage to be here at sunset.
• Pomodoro – excellent Italian food right in the centre of town.

For more information on this beautiful Garden Route town, read my complete guide to Wilderness that also contains a FREE downloadable Google map of the exact location of things to do, places to eat and the best views.

Day 2 – Explore Knysna

This is my favourite place on the Garden Route and where we chose to rent a villa for three weeks on our most recent trip. There is loads to do here and if you have some extra days to add onto your Garden Route road trip, you’ll want to spend them between here and Plettenberg Bay (your next stop).

• Eastern Head View Point – oh the views. On one side of the cliff you have the serene Knysna Lagoon and on the other, that wild ocean. You will also be able to see why the passage into the lagoon through the Knysna Heads is said to be one of the most dangerous harbour entrances in the world!
• Featherbed Nature Reserve – the most popular and easiest way to visit the Western Head, you access it from the water via ferry. It is a beautiful walk and at the end is a rather super buffet lunch under the milkwood trees.
• Thesen Island – my favourite place in Knysna for a stroll, this chic marine development is the place for a bit of boutique shopping and an excellent selection of places to eat.
• Take a Boat Trip – whether it’s a sunset lagoon cruise with a glass of something sparkly or a whale watching trip out into the ocean, Knysna is an excellent place to take to the water.
• Brenton Beach – the best beach on the Garden Route. In every way. Find out why and a list of the other best beaches in Knysna here !

• Head Over Hills – an all out luxury boutique hotel perched on the Eastern Head. Come here for the views, but stay for the food, wine and excellent service. See pictures and book Head Over Hills here
• The Turbine – a quirky hotel on Thesen Island built in the old power station, that still houses a lot of the restored old machinery. View and book the Turbine here .
• Lofts Boutique Hotel & Spa – another boutique hotel option on Thesen Island with views over the lagoon. View and book the Lofts here .
• Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa – a big luxury golf hotel with an excellent restaurant and great views. View and book Pezula Resort here .

The unofficial capital of the Garden Route and my personal favourite! You can read my complete guide to Knysna here, which also comes with a FREE downloadable Google Map of the locations of the top things to do, places to eat and the best views.

Knysna has the best selection of places to eat out of anywhere else on the Garden Route. These are my favourites, but you can read my separate guide of the best restaurant and bars in Knysna for more ideas.

• Sirocco – a big restaurant, with a lively vibe on Thesen Island waterfront and the closest you’ll get to formal dining in Knysna.
• The Project – a cocktail bar above Sirocco, great for a sundowner with a view out across the lagoon and Knysna Heads.
• East Head Café – with a beautiful outdoor deck right on the Heads and a great brunch menu.
• Freshline Fisheries – super casual beach bar vibe with the best and biggest range of seafood.
• Olive Tree – rustic and romantic with a a mix of South African and Italian dishes.
• Ile De Pain – a bakery and café with another killer brunch selection.

Day 3 – Knysna to Plettenberg Bay

This may be a short distance, but the biggest concentration of things to do on the Garden Route are on the road from Knysna to Plettenberg Bay. Take advantage of the short drive and spend lots of time exploring!

Time: 30 minutes Distance: 32 km / 20 miles

• Visit Jukani – an ethical wildlife sanctuary that rescues and re-homes big cats and other animals from captivity, including Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Pumas and Jaguars. They don’t breed from the animals here. You can book tickets to Jukani here .
• Hike at Robberg Nature Reserve – this is one of the Garden Route’s best hikes, according to those I know that I been, somehow I never made it! Choose from three circular hikes between 2 km and 11 km in length and keep your eyes peeled, spotting dolphins and whales isn’t uncommon.
• Shop at Old Nicks Village – a converted old Cape Farm complex that now houses lots of individual shops focussing on locally made goods, with everything from artesian chocolates to home décor. There is an on site café and you can also visit Mungo Mill that weaves a lot of the textile goods that are available to purchase.
• Visit Lookout & Keurboomstrand Beaches – just when you think the Garden Route must be done with beautiful beaches… you’d be wrong. Go to Lookout for long walks and a swimming lagoon behind the sand dune and Keurboomstrand for a quieter spot and a killer sunset view.

Dear god, there are some good hotels on the stretch between these two towns. Good luck choosing!

• Tsala Treetop Lodge – luxury rooms perched high in the forest canopy, complete with private pools, outdoor showers and a safari vibe. Watch out for the resident monkeys! Even if you’re not staying, try and nab dinner here, they do relaxed upscale dining and the food is just excellent. View and book Tsala here .
• Fairview House – a new hotel due to open at the beginning of the year owned by the same family that run Fugitives Drift , the well reputed luxury hotel at Rorke’s Drift. We got a sneak peak on our last visit; it is absolutely beautifully done (I’m not doing justice to the interiors with that statement, you need to see for yourself) with magnificent views from the front terrace. View and book Fairview House here .
• Emily Moon River Lodge – situated on the banks of the Bitou River, this small hotel has a rustic African luxe vibe in a beautiful setting. The fire pits and outdoor sofas on the decking is the perfect place to watch the sunset as well. View and book Emily Moon’s here .
• The Old Rectory: a restored historical building from the 18th century right by the beach and with a lovely shaded pool area in the centre of Plett. View and book the Old Rectory here .
• Hog Hollow Country Lodge – if Tsala is out of budget (it’s somehow more than doubled in price since I last stayed there), this is a great and much more affordable alternative with another stunner of a view down into the surrounding forests and valleys. View and book Hog Hollow here .

Plettenberg Bay

For more information and travel tips, read my ultimate guide to Plettenberg Bay , including a FREE downloadable Google Map of the exact locations of everything mentioned in this post, plus LOTS more!

• Emily Moon & Simon’s Bar – if you aren’t staying here, come here for dinner instead. The sunset is something else and when it all goes dark, have a great South African meal among lots of twinkly fairy lights.
• Enrico’s – a wildly popular genuine Italian restaurant right on Keurboomstrand beach. Get here early, they don’t take reservations and by 7:00pm the queue is crazy.
• Lookout Deck – Perched above the beach just high up enough to get that lovely ocean breeze, this is the kind of place you can accidentally end up spending a whole afternoon at, drink two bottles of wine and eat enough seafood to sink a ship.

Day 4 – Day Trip from Plettenberg Bay to Nature’s Valley

For the last two days, I recommend day tripping from your chosen hotel in or around Plett to both Nature’s Valley and Storm’s River .

There’s a couple of reasons for this; firstly accommodation becomes distinctly more hostel and backpacker vibed as you head east from Plett. It is not entirely surprising as the towns here are tiny (more villages) and you are in adventure country right in the middle of Tsitsikamma National Park . Plus, when the accommodation is as good as it is west of Plettenberg, why would you want to move?

Secondly and related to the first point, there are far fewer places to eat and when we were in Storms River , the only option was the supermarket for lunch (there was a buffet option, but with huge queues and a less than appetising looking display, we skipped it).

Distance: 34 km / 21 miles Time: 30 minutes

• Kay & Monty’s Vineyards or Bramo Wine Estate – whether you love your wine (all day long) or aren’t so fussed, relaxing at a vineyard is a lovely way to spend an afternoon. These are two of the best wineries on the Garden Route and also do a fabulous lunch.
• Monkeyland & Birds of Eden – another two wildlife sanctuaries that re-home captive animals. Monkeyland is a guided walk through the forest and Birds of Eden you have a wander around the boardwalks criss crossing through the dome yourself. I thought they may be too geared towards kids for adults to enjoy, but I was pleasantly surprised. You can book both Monkeyland and Birds of Eden here ( Top Tip: they are right next door to each other and it is cheaper to buy a combo ticket if you want to visit both).
• Hiking in Nature’s Valley – you are at one end of Tsitsikamma National Park here so there is some very scenic hiking here. The Salt River hike is probably the most well known, but definitely a more challenging one.
• Visit the beach – another lovely beach to have a stroll or relax on.

Day 5 – Day Trip from Plettenberg Bay to Storms River

Storms River marks the end of the Garden Route and is probably the most well know and frequently visited area of Tsitsikamma National Park.

Distance: 66 km / 41 miles Time: 50 minutes

• Walk across Tsitsikamma Suspension Bridge – a short 2 km hike mostly over a wooden boardwalk, the highlight being the 77 metre long suspension bridge, divided over 3 sections, spanning the entire river mouth. You can also kayak or go blackwater tubing through the canyons at the river mouth.
• Jump off Bloukrans Bridge – with a bungee rope please… or just do as I did and watch others do it! The highest commercial bungee spot in the world, neither is for the faint hearted! You can book here .
• Hiking in Tsitsikamma Forest – this is the beginning of the famed Otter Trail, a strenuous 5 day hike. I wasn’t quite up for this so did the Waterfall Trail, which is a roundtrip of the first 3 km along the coast. If you want to know more about it, here is a detailed guide to the Otter Trail from someone who has done it .
• Zipline through the forest – for a more leisurely adrenaline rush, you can also take a canopy tour. You can view and book here .

Garden Route Detours

If you are lucky enough to be able to extend your time here, then these are some extra Garden Route itinerary ideas to consider adding in, however I personally wouldn’t swap any of these out for anything in the above list .

The generally agreed upon starting point of the Garden Route, Mossel Bay is a pretty seaside town that is a great stop for a day trip.

• Visit Santos Beach – I feel like I say this a lot, but one of the best on the Garden Route. What can I say, they do a good beach!
• Climb the Cape St Blaize Lighthouse & Hiking Trail – the lighthouse offers great views across the ocean and is the starting point of the popular 13.5 km hiking trail along the coast.
• Explore the Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex – consisting of the Post Office Tree, a milkwood tree that was used as a mail collection point since the 1500s, the Maritime Museum, an aquarium and botanical gardens.
• Take a trip to Seal Island – I think taking at least one boat trip is a must on any Garden Route road trip and this is a great option. Over 3,000 Cape fur seals inhabit the island and live there all year round. You can book your trip here .
• Dive with sharks – I can’t say I have any desire to do this, but if this floats your boat (or sinks your cage, as the case my be), this is where it’s done. You can book shark cage diving tours here .
• Eat at Café Gannet – a fabulous seafood and sushi restaurant overlooking the ocean. You need to book during peak season, or you can scoot over to the Blue Oyster Bar next door for some smaller plates from the same menu with your cocktails of choice.
• The Kingfisher is another good option – serves a range of dishes on the menu and some more great ocean views.

I have to be honest, there’s nothing wrong with George, but it’s not the kind of town I fly 10,000 miles around the world to visit . I’ve passed through on my way to and from the airport there multiple times, but there is just so many things to do on the Garden Route, spending a day here just hasn’t got to the top of my list.

However, if I ever get around to it, below are some ideas for how I would plan to spend my time there, based on some idle googling and recommendations from family and friends.

• Visit George Museum – displaying the history of George, the Garden Route and the apartheid.
• For some traditional retail therapy – the Garden Route Mall is the place to go.
• Browse Outeniqua Farmers’ Market – open on Saturday mornings, it has about 150 stalls and sells a range of goods from foods like fruit, veg, honey, cheese and sweet treats to arts and crafts.
• Explore Garden Route Botanical Gardens – they have guided tours as well as hikes ranging from 5 minutes (not sure this counts as a “hike”) to “moderate to strenuous” trails.
• Relax at Herold Wine Estate – rumoured to be one of the best in the area, stop here for a gentle walk, picnic stops as well as wine tastings and a tour.
• Visit Outeniqua Transport Museum – this seems to be recommended on every website I go on but have yet to talk to someone who has actually been!
• Eat at 101 Meade – international and local fusion food, supposed to be the best restaurant in George.
• Go to Fancourt Links – for golf, restaurants and views. It also has a pretty stellar hotel, you can view and book it here .

I love Sedgefield. Cute, dinky and breezed through by many visitors to the region, it has a few great selling points making it a worthwhile stop.

• Eat at Wild Oats Sedgefield Market – a huge market every Saturday morning with lots of local producers selling decadent treats, produce, fresh seafood, breakfast, coffee, all to eat in or take away. Plus some great live music! This was one of my favourite stops on all of the Garden Route, well worth a detour.
• Browse Scarab Craft Market – lots of stalls with a good selection of arts, crafts, clothes, gifts, jewellery and delicious food.
• Upstairs at Rosie’s in Sedgefield – a very small menu, but some very mega food.
• Visit the beaches – Ciola, Myoli, Swartvlei, Sedgfield and Gerickes Point.
• Hiking in Goukamma Nature Reserve – both a World Heritage Site and a Marine Protected Area with coastal and forest fynbos with lots of opportunity to spot birds and wildlife, both on land and at sea.

How to Get to the Garden Route

Ok, there are a few ways to do this, dependant on where you’re coming from and where you want to end up after.

Fly to George or Port Elizabeth

You can fly from the major South African cities (including Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban) into George Airport , located fairly centrally along the Garden Route. Port Elizabeth airport is also an option , which is about a two hour drive east from Storms River. You can rent cars from both of these airports.

If you only have a short amount of time to spend exploring the Garden Route (I’m talking five days or less), then I would personally recommend flying into George and visiting Wilderness, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay and then either continuing onto Port Elizabeth and flying out of there, or doubling back on yourself and flying back out of George again (the distance between George and Plettenberg is only 105 kms / 65 miles, less than an hour and a half’s drive).

Top Tip: If you do want to fly in or out of Port Elizabeth, consider adding Addo Elephant National Park to your itinerary (it’s on the way) if you have any extra days and fancy some safari. It’s definitely not just elephants though, you can see the Big 5 here as well!

Drive from Cape Town

However, if you have longer and want to start or/and end in Cape Town, you can drive from there. The beauty of doing this is that there are actually three fabulous routes between Cape Town and the start of the Garden Route . You can blast through these and not stop, but if you have longer, I would recommend having one (or more) nights on your way.

You can also drive one way and fly the other, or you can road trip there and back taking in a different route for each leg. So many options!

Get access to the Travel Resource Library for a downloadable Garden Route map giving exact directions for these three routes from Cape Town, as well as the locations of all of the accommodation, things to do and places to eat mentioned in this article.

Safari Route: Cape Town – Swellendam – Mossel Bay

The main one is the quickest via the town of Swellendam. If you don’t want to stay overnight on your way to the Garden Route, this is the option I recommend taking .

However, this route is still a great option if you do want an overnight pit stop as it takes you right past Gondwana Game Reserve . If you don’t have time to go up to Kruger National Park (which is two separate flights from Cape Town), this is a great alternative as it’s the only free-ranging private game reserve in the Southern Cape (with all of the Big 5 present).

I haven’t made it here yet, but it is top of my list on my next trip, particularly as they seem to do some really great upper mid range to maybe even luxury accommodation for some very affordable prices (virtually unheard of in safari world). You can read a thorough review article of the property here to get more information.

Alternatively, you can stop in Mossel Bay or George (recommendations for things to do in the detours section above).

Distance: 384 km / 239 miles Time: 4.25 hours

Coastal Route: Hermanus & L’Agulhas

The second route option takes the coastal route through Hermanus and L’Agulhas (where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic, country to popular belief, it is not at the Cape of Good Hope) which adds an extra 100 km (62 miles) onto your drive and will take around 6.25 hours if you go straight from Cape Town with no stops.

Personally, I recommend breaking this trip up with at least one overnight stay, ideally two.

Cape Town to Hermanus

A former fishing village, Hermanus is one of the world’s best whale watching destinations . The Southern Right whales breed here between June and November and there are lots of opportunities to spot them from both land and sea. If you do want to keep your feet on the ground, Gearings Point is probably the best place to try and spot them. For a water based trip, you can check out whale watching tours here .

If you’ve come outside whale season though, there is still lots to keep you occupied. You can keep it whale themed by visiting the whale museum in the Old Harbour or go for a nature walk in the pretty Fernkloof Nature Reserve , along the cliff path along Walker Bay. If you’re a sucker for a good beach, you’re in luck, visit Grotto or Voelklip beach , both of which are absolute stunners.

Hermanus also has an excellent food, wine and craft beer scene , so gear up to spend a good portion of your day indulging if possible.

Distance: 120 km / 75 miles Drive Time: 1.5 hours

Where to Eat in Hermanus

If, like me, you are a sushi and seafood fanatic, then head to Harbour Rock . To enjoy wine and home made, locally sourced food in a rustic setting, Moggs Country Cookhouse is an easy place to while away a whole afternoon in their restaurant among the vineyards. For more super seafood in a relaxed setting, go to Bientangs Cave , so close to the sea you can feel the spray. The whales sometimes come super close to shore here as well so keep your eyes open in season!

Where to Stay in Hermanus

Stay at boutique hotel Birkenhead House for a super luxe experience right on the edge of the cliff. It’s beautiful, but spenny, so for a more budget option that is on the upper mid range to luxury scale try One Marine Drive or Harbour House .

Hermanus – L’Agulhas – Mossel Bay

The southernmost location of the African continent, L’Agulhas is also the meeting point between the Indian and Atlantic oceans. Climb the lighthouse for great views and before wandering along the boardwalk on the beach. Stop for lunch at the Black Oystercatcher Winery or scoot along the coast to Struisbaai and dine on the coast at Sea Shack .

Accommodation is limited here and I struggled to find anything in the luxe range, which is why I recommend a quick stop here only.

Instead, head onto Mossel Bay to explore (ideas on things to do in the detours section above) or you can spend the night at Gondwana Game Reserve if you want to add some safari in (the Safari and Coastal routes both converge here).

Distance: Hermanus – L’Agulhas, 127 km / 79 miles. L’Agulhas – Mossel Bay, 275 km / 171 miles Drive Time: Hermanus – L’Agulhas, 1.75 hours. L’Agulhas – Mossel Bay, 3 hours

Mountain Route: Ostriches & Wine

The final route is via the wine lands (Stellenbosch and Franschhoek) and the Klein Karoo (or Little Karoo), including a visit to Oudtshoorn, the ostrich capital of South Africa . It is a different kind of South Africa here with some of the roads looking like Death Valley in the USA and is personally my favourite route.

A straight run without any stops will have you covering around 500 km / 310 miles which will take about 6 hours. Unlike the two other route options, this one will deposit you in George further along the Garden Route , rather than Mossel Bay (which is where the Garden Route starts).

Cape Town to the Winelands: Stellenbosch & Franschhoek

There are lots of other places in the Western Cape to experience the joy of South African wine, including along the coastal route and on the Garden Route itself, but this is most definitely South Africa’s wine making capital . You can easily do this on a day trip from Cape Town as it’s less than an hours drive away, in which case, you can just drive through and not stop.

However, if you do want to incorporate a visit into your Garden Route road trip, you are going to want to stay overnight . I don’t care what anyone says, good wine is not for spitting out and I used to work in the wine industry, couldn’t even do it then. Getting paid to drink wine was still the best job I ever had (still wonder why I left sometimes).

Anyway, these two towns are cute, quaint and wonderful for a stroll along their colonial style streets. Shockingly, the most popular things to do here is visit vineyards and engage in some wine tasting with some excellent food accompaniments. Hire a driver or have a taxi on speed dial.

Distance: 81 km / 50 miles (to Franschhoek, the furthest from Cape Town) Time: 1 hour

Where to Stay in the Cape Winelands

There is no shortage of beautiful places to stay here and the prices are high; I actually think it’s more expensive for comparable options in Cape Town. I stayed at Lanzerac Manor in Stellenbosch which is an excellent hotel and and my family came back after a stay at Mont Rochelle in Franschhoek last year absolutely raving about it (it’s a Richard Branson property, so no surprises there). You can book Lanzerac Manor here and Mont Rochelle here .

Alternatively, check out Mr & Mrs Smith for a range of options from out and out opulence, to cute and more relaxed B&Bs.

Franschhoek to Oudtshoorn

I loved this out of the way town more than I thought I would and actually would have really like to have stayed here a second night (and the rest!).

The route from the winelands and here is nothing short of stunning and Oudtshoorn actually has a surprising amount of things to do for such a quiet and out the way place.

You can visit meerkats (tours are only run first thing in the morning though, so you will need to stay overnight to do this), tour ostrich farms or visit Cango Caves or Cango Wildlife Ranch .

Distance: 375 km / 233 miles Time: 4 hours 10 minutes

Where to Stay & Eat in Oudtshoorn

Stay at Rosenhof Country House , a beautiful boutique hotel with a very old English manor feel. The rooms are excellent and the atmosphere very relaxing. The only thing to be aware of is that for some reason their restaurant doesn’t measure up to the standard of the hotel and the rest of the facilities, which unfortunately I don’t think was a one off on my visit; two separate groups of people I have recommended this hotel to have had the same feedback.

Instead, head to Baron Van Reede Street just north of the intersection with Voortrekker Street for a few options, including Jemima’s, a small home style restaurant specialising in local South African dishes.

Your final drive to George from here is 64 km / 40 miles and just under an hour’s drive.

Final Thoughts: 5 Day Garden Route Itinerary

Coming up with the perfect Garden Route itinerary is very difficult as there are just so many options, just remember you’re going to have to make some hard decisions as you are likely not going to be able to fit it all in!

I am INCREDIBLY jealous if you are planning your trip here, but know you are going to have the best time; happy road tripping!

Travel Resources – View & book accommodation with Booking.com , Agoda or Hotels.com . – Check  flight routes and prices with Skyscanner . – From the UK,  British Airways  fly from London Heathrow to Cape Town and Durban (three times a week to each) and Johannesburg (twice every day). –  Click here  to buy your  Lonely Planet Guide  for South Africa. – You can check out my full list of  tried, tested and recommended  Travel Resources here .

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