The Garden Route stretches 300 kilometers along the south-western coast of Southern Africa. Accessible from three major airports, the garden route is easily combined with the vibrant city of Cape Town and a Big Five safari experience in Port Elizabeth. Most commonly explored as a self-drive, this beautifully scenic route consists of several major attractions including ostrich farms, pristine coastlines, natural forests, wildflowers, lagoons, hiking trails, whale watching, top golf courses, and an array of adrenalin activities.
The Garden Route is a popular tourist destination all year round.
Peak season is regarded to be in the summer between mid-December and early January. Due to the long December school holidays, the coastlines do tend to get very busy.
February to April are the ideal summer months for travelers planning a beach vacation, however, it is important to note that unlike Cape Town, the Garden Route can experience rain at any time of the year.
The winter wet season is predominantly from June through August. This is ideal for travelers with an interest in whale watching, as the season generally runs from June to October. Hiking is great in winter as well as the famous Knysna Festival which runs for 10 days in the month of July.
The Garden Route is a 300 kilometer stretch of the south-western coast of Southern Africa. Accessible from three major airports, the garden route is easily combined with the vibrant city of Cape Town, a safari in Port Elizabeth or with the commercial hub of the Garden Route known as George.
Most commonly explored as a self-drive, this beautifully scenic route consists of several major attractions.
Mossel Bay is a coastal village situated between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. This popular holiday town is surrounded by a sunbathed peninsula and the refreshing waters of the Indian Ocean. It is a busy summer destination as well as an ideal winter retreat, offering travelers an array of activities that include shark cage diving, hiking trails, abseiling, whale watching, and golfing.
Oudtshoorn is home to one of the world’s great natural wonders; the limestone Cango Caves. Oudtshoorn is also well known for its ostrich farms. Amidst the 400 ostrich farms surrounding the town, three have distinguished themselves worthy to be named " show farms". Become exposed to this exotic bird species, the largest in the world. Gaze with the awe at slithering crocodiles from all over the world. Imagine more than 400 crocodiles and alligators in their prehistoric unattractiveness.
George is the sixth oldest town in South Africa and is the Capital of the Southern Cape. The town is very centrally situated: halfway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and is the center of the Garden Route - ideal from where to explore the areas many variants and diverse scenic wonders.
Wilderness is an all year round destination renowned for its warm hospitality and natural beauty. It is a great spot for water sports enthusiasts, who flock there regularly. There is 2500 hectare National Park with five rivers, five lakes, two estuaries and 18 kilometers of coastline. Wilderness sports many types of wildlife, in particular birds, making it the ideal location for bird-watchers. The many other types of recreation include hiking, dolphin and whale-watching, hang-gliding, paragliding, horse riding, mountain biking, scenic drives, Wilderness Lakes Art Route, day tours, ferry cruises, angling, boating and other water sports.
Sedgefield is a resort town located between Knysna and George and is the ideal location for outdoor enthusiasts and bird watchers. There are many hiking trails and bird hides established for just that pleasure. You can also marvel at the beautiful and colorful wildflowers and fynbos. To the west lies Swartvlei, forming a safe estuary for bathing. The estuary provides for good fishing for the enthusiastic angler and near Gerickes Point there are beautiful rock formations and a popular spot for spearfishing.
Knysna is renowned for its oysters and the Heads; which is the most striking geological feature along the entire southern African coastline. They flank a deep but potentially treacherous channel through which the sea pours in to flood the wide and breathtakingly pretty lagoon at the mouth of the Knysna River. Knysna has many attractions in the surrounding area including the Knysna Forest and Featherbed Nature Reserve.
Plettenberg Bay is a sporting paradise and boasts fabulous trails for hikers, mountain bikers, horse riders, and canoeists. The highlight of the area is undoubtedly the rivers, beaches and the bay with its ideal conditions for all facets of watersports, including sailing in the safe waters of the Bay, superb rock and surf fishing and scuba diving spots. Other popular attractions include the Plettenberg Elephant Park and Monkeyland.
Stormsriver / Tsitsikamma is the Khoi-San word for a place of many waters. The Tsitsikamma National Park is internationally recognized for its forests which harbor and conserve the giant Outeniqua yellowwood. Tsitsikamma is also Africa's oldest and largest marine reserve, playing a vital role in the preservation and conservation of marine fauna and flora. The region has many wonderfully scenic hiking trails including the world-renowned Otter Trail which is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Other activities include canopy tours, whale watching, and bungee jumping.
Apr 17, 2024
Great experience!
Leigh-Ann was very helpful, responsive and knowledgeable about our safari options. Handled our safari booking, transfers and even hotel in Cape Town for us! We’re excited for our trip - Thank you :)
Apr 16, 2024
Perfect!!
Sara is really friendly and helpful. She has planned everything according to our wishes and made all our wishes feasible.
Apr 12, 2024
Anja is very attentive and patient.
Anja is very attentive and patient.
Apr 11, 2024
Shann is a great professional
Shann immediately demonstrated pleasant professionalism, competence, experience and patience. She advised and accompanied me in organizing the trip. She listened to all my needs and the suggestions were very fruitful for me. he was very kind and always available even during the holidays. thank you Shann
Apr 11, 2024
It was easy
It was easy, it all worked as planned, our expectations were exceeded. Anja was easy to communicate with through Whatsapp and always responded promptly to any questions.
Apr 10, 2024
She made it so easy to book
She made it so easy to book - Leigh-Ann was great to deal with . She made it so easy and worked with the dates I gave her . I appreciate it so much and when I book my next safari - I hope to have the same experience - which was awesome !!!!
Apr 10, 2024
Botswana Experience
Anja, our agent, was very kind and helpful all the time to organize the perfect trip. She did it quickly and efficiently. The amount of days we spent in every place was perfect to really enjoy the hotels and the different activities they proposed (in general the hotels are very nice but we don’t have the time to really experience the place but here we did). Also the selections of hotels was very very nice. Nice infrastructure, excellent service (very professional) and outstanding places to visit (all the parks were great). We had a wonderful experience with the company in Botswana.
Apr 10, 2024
Thank you Heleen for great service and…
Thank you Heleen for great service and always very helpful with all the changes we made. highly recommended
Apr 10, 2024
Keith was extremely helpful during the…
Keith was extremely helpful during the booking process. He is the only reason I continued the booking process with your firm. There were issues with your website among other things that had me feeling uncomfortable. Keith has great energy which eased my concerns. I feel the package Keith put together is great and I expect to have a wonderful trip.