Newmarket Cape Town, the Garden Route & Big Five Safari

• Four game drives in search of the Big Five
• Two nights in the Garden Route Game Lodge
• A ride in Table Mountain’s rotating cable-car
• Touring the beautiful Cape Peninsula
• Visiting the whale-watching town of Hermanus
• See the extraordinary Cango Caves and visit an ostrich farm
• Journey to Knysna, on the beautiful Garden Route
• Cruise on the Knysna Lagoon
• Visit Tsitsikamma National Park and its towering ‘Big Tree’
• Discover the magic of South Africa’s Cape Winelands and beautiful Western Cape
• Enjoy a wine-tasting lunch and tour on a Stellenbosch wine estate
• Visit foodie capital Paarl and elegant Franschhoek
• A whale-watching cruise (September to November departures only)

• Nine nights’ bed and breakfast hotel accommodation
• One night on the aircraft
• Four lunches and four dinners
• Return scheduled flights to Cape Town via Amsterdam
• Coach travel and transfers throughout
• Fully escorted by a friendly, experienced Tour Manager

Day One: Fly to Cape Town

Fly from the UK to Cape Town, travelling via Amsterdam. Upon arrival, meet your Tour Manager and transfer to your hotel for a three-night stay.

Day Two: Included tour and Table Mountain cable car ride

Get to know one of the world’s most stunningly located cities, set on the side of the Atlantic Ocean and backed by breathtaking mountain scenery. Enjoy this morning’s walk through leafy Company’s Garden in the heart of the city, before joining an orientation tour that will include stylish Camp’s Bay and its white sand beach.

This afternoon, ascend Table Mountain in a rotating cable car, which offers a 360-degree panorama as it climbs to the 1000-metre high summit. This evening, perhaps spend time at the redeveloped Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

Day Three: Included tour of the Cape Peninsula

Enjoy a fascinating full-day tour of the Cape Peninsula. You’ll see treacherous Cape Point, where the Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean; the beach resort of Boulders, home to a colony of penguins; Kirstenbosch, famous for its Botanical Gardens; Hout Bay and – weather-permitting – the breathtakingly scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive, one of the world’s most thrilling coastal roads.

Day Four: Discover the Cape Winelands

Head west into the beautiful, verdant Cape Winelands region to spend a night in Stellenbosch, in the heart of the famous vineyards and overlooked by the mountains. This is every inch the welcoming tourist town, with its centuries-old oaks, its European-style, ‘Cape Dutch’ houses, village green and historic Dorp Street home to quaint shops and winetasting centres.

Enjoy an included lunch and tasting at a wine estate followed by a walking tour of the delightful town, ending with a glass of bubbly and the chance to sample some local treats. Later, check into your overnight hotel and enjoy dinner at leisure – you’ll find countless places in which to dine in style.

Day Five: Included visit to the Cango Caves

Enjoy a scenic day’s touring that will include visits to the beautiful Winelands towns of Paarl and Franschhoek, where designer elegance mixes with Victorian grandeur. Enjoy guided introductions to both towns, then head on to Oudtshoorn, the Ostrich Capital of the World, in the heart of the Little Karoo plain. The world’s strangest, largest and often most valuable bird has been farmed here for 130 years, first for its plumage and more recently for its high-protein, low-cholesterol meat. Enjoy a taste at a lunchtime barbecue, before you visit the world-renowned Cango Caves, with their caverns of stalactites and stalagmites, formed over millions of years.

Day Six: Included cruise on the Knysna Lagoon

Enjoy an informative early morning cruise on the beautiful Knysna Lagoon, which fringes the Featherbed eco-Nature Reserve. You’ll then continue travelling east, past the beautiful horseshoe of Plettenberg Bay and on into the Tsitsikamma National Park, where luxuriant undergrowth stretches right to the ocean’s edge, providing habitats for birdlife, monkeys and small antelopes. Towering overhead is the famous ‘Big Tree’, an 800-year-old Yellowwood- a giant amongst giants.

Day Seven: Included game drive

Journey along the famously scenic Garden Route, via the historic, sleepy harbour town of Mossel Bay, to spend the next two days in the wonderful surroundings of the Garden Route Game Lodge, a privately operated reserve. During your stay you’ll enjoy all the wonders of safari game drives in search of the ‘Big Five’ of lion, rhino, elephant, leopard and buffalo, with accommodation in comfortable lodges and typical African dinners under the stars. This afternoon, enjoy the first of the game drives, then perhaps enjoy a sun-downer drink around the authentic Boma (camp) fire before dinner is served.

Day Eight: Two included game drives

A second day at the Lodge begins with a pre-breakfast game drive, and includes a visit to the fascinating reptile centre. Enjoy some free time for a siesta – perhaps by the pool – before setting off on a second evening game drive and enjoying another memorable dinner under the stars.

Day Nine: Travel to Hermanus

After another early morning game drive, head east to Hermanus. This famous port is a whale-watching centre from July to November, and a year-round seaside resort, and offers stunning views out across the Atlantic waters. In season, you’ll embark on an included whale-watching cruise (Sep-Nov departures), as well as visiting the Whale Museum and the colourful country market. Later, enjoy a fantastic seafood dinner surrounded by the roar and spray of the ocean at Bietangs Cave.

Day 10: Fly back to the UK

After breakfast, you’ll board the coach and make the dramatic descent from Sir Lowry’s Pass onto the Cape Flats. Take in the spectacular views of distant Table Mountain, and visit a winery in Helderberg for a final wine tasting. Enjoy a farewell dinner with your fellow travellers, before returning to the airport to check in for your flight home via Amsterdam.

Day 11: Arrive back in the UK

Arrive home this morning, at the end of a wonderful holiday in South Africa.

Please note, prices listed are guide prices only and are based on 2 people sharing and don’t include any additional supplements. Holiday prices are fluid and dynamic and may be changed at a moment’s notice, prior to booking, at which point they are confirmed. Please call the team free on 0800 707 6229 for more departure dates available and a quote.