Riviera Travel Grand Tour of South Africa

• Experience the country’s varied flora and fauna at Featherbed and Swartberg Nature Reserves.
• Enjoy a full day’s game drive in Kruger National Park, searching for lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and buffalos.
• Discover Wineland, South Africa’s famous wine-growing region, with visits to local wineries and tasting delicious wines.
• Explore South Africa’s epic landscapes on Chapman’s Peak Drive, through the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point.
• Journey on the famous Route 62 and Panorama Route to witness breathtaking scenery.
• Tour the legendary Zulu War battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift with a specialist guide.
• Visit some of South Africa’s most famous sights, including Cape Town’s Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the amazing Cango Caves, and an ostrich farm.

• Return flights and transfers
• 17nts in 3-4* accommodation
• Selected Meals: Daily breakfast, 4 lunches and 3 dinners
• 23 experiences and visits
• Services of an expert tour manager
• Checked luggage

Day 1: Departure

Head to the airport for your overnight flight to Johannesburg

Day 2: Arrival in Johannesburg

Arrive in Johannesburg in the morning before enjoying the rest of the day at leisure.

Day 3: Panorama Route

After breakfast, venture out of the city to follow the Panorama Route to Kruger National Park. Follow the Blyde River Canyon for some of the best views in Africa. Check in the hotel before enjoying an included dinner.

Day 4: Kruger Game Drive

Today, you’ll head out on a full day’s game, travelling in specially adapted 4×4 vehicles and accompanied by experienced game rangers.

Day 5: Kruger Free day

Spend the day at leisure in the national park. You can choose to relax at the hotel, or join a morning game drive or evening safari. Alternatively, visit the Graskop Gorge Lift which offers breath-taking views of the surrounding gorge and forest. As a Riviera Travel Guest, you might get the chance to spend the night at a tented camp, enjoy a dinner and go on a bushwalk. (At an extra cost.)

Day 6: Eswatini & Kwazulu Natal

Leaving Kruger, head towards the battlefields of Zululand. Enter the small country of Eswatini, driving through its capital Mbabane before crossing into South Africa’s Kwazulu Natal Province.

Day 7: Isandlwana & Rorke’s Drift

After breakfast, explore the significant Zulu Wars battlefields, Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift. Isandlwana, where 1,300 British forces suffered a devastating defeat against a 20,000-strong Zulu army, while Rorke’s Drift witnessed a valiant stand of 140 soldiers against 4,000 Zulus, earning eleven Victoria Crosses. Learn about the battles, the brave soldiers, and Zulu chieftains, immersing yourself in history. Lunch is included, and return to the hotel in the afternoon.

Day 8: Knysna

Return to Johannesburg this morning for a flight to George in the Western Cape. From here, you’ll drive to town of Knysna.

Day 9: Featherbed Nature Reserve

Take a ferry from Knysna to the Featherbed Nature Reserve this morning. Upon arrival, board 4×4 vehicles to explore the area with a guide who will describe the fauna, flora and history of the reserve. Later, enjoy a easy guided walk and a lunch under the trees, weather permitting. Take the ferry back to Knysna where you’ll have some free time to explore.

Day 10: Hermanus

Enjoy a long, scenic drive to the Winelands before continuing onto the town of Hermanus, one of the world’s best spots for onshore whale watching, with the best chance of seeing them between July and November.

Day 11: Winelands

Today, tour the Winelands, stopping first in the elegant town to Stellenbosch. Explore the historical town before a cellar tour and tasting at the Neethlingshof Wine Estate. After, visit Franschhoek. In the evening, enjoy a South African BBQ or Cape Malay buffet dinner at the hotel.

Day 12: Cape Town

In the morning, visit the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, home to more than 7,000 plant species. Then, continue onto Cape Town, where you have the afternoon at leisure to start exploring the city.

Day 13: Cape of Good Hope

Drive out of the city to the fishing harbour of Hout Bay, before continuing on Chapman’s Peak Drive, which offers scenic views of the ocean. Today’s drive will also take you through the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. Stop at Cape Point to take in the views before visiting Boulders Beach, home to a colony of African Penguins. Return to Cape Town in the afternoon with the rest of the day at leisure.

Day 14: Free day in Cape Town

Spend a whole day exploring Cape Town’s many attractions, perhaps taking a cable car ride to the top of Table Mountain or visiting Robben Island (weather permitting). Or, you could spend it relaxing in the hotel.

Day 15: Montagu

Head back into the Winelands today, visiting the Viljoensdrift Wine Estate, a family-run estate where you’ll enjoy a tasting and a boat ride along the nearby River Breede. Later, continue on to Montagu, which was once a popular spa resort.

Day 16: Oudtshoorn

Start the day’s exploration with a brandy tasting at a local distillery before continue along the famous Route 62 to an ostrich farm. Here, you’ll take a tractor ride to see their flocks and the hatchlings. Lunch at the farm’s restaurant is included.

Day 17: Swartberg Mountains

Today, venture to the Swartberg Mountains for a 4×4 drive through the Swartberg Nature Reserve. The area boasts vibrant floral displays, including proteas, ericas, watsonias, and rare plants. The region is also home to diverse wildlife, including baboons, antelopes, over 130 bird species, and occasional sightings of leopard and caracal. Then, continue to the Cango Caves, home to unique rock formations which you’ll see on a guided tour. Return to Oudtshoorn for an evening at leisure.

Day 18: Matjiesfontein

Returning to Cape Town, pass through De Rust and Prince Albert, with a stop at Matjiesfontein. Founded in 1884 by Scottish railwayman James Douglas Logan, this village served as a Victorian health spa and is now a living museum and national monument, renowned for its historical architecture. Visit the museum at the railway station, the station master’s office, and the original signal room, all dating back to the late 1800s.

Day 19: Depart from Cape Town

Transfer to the airport for your overnight flight home.

Day 20: Arrive home

Arrive back in the UK.

Indaba Hotel, Johannesburg
The hotel features low-rise buildings amidst lush gardens and two outdoor pools. Enjoy local and continental cuisine at Epsom Terrace, al fresco lunch at the Courtyard, and an authentic African ambience at Chief’s Boma. For relaxation after your long-haul flight, indulge in treatments at the excellent on-site spa. The 260 air-conditioned rooms are comfortably furnished with en-suite bathrooms, hairdryers, cable TV, safes, and tea/coffee makers.

Top of FormHippo Hollow Country Estate, Hazyview
Located near to the gate to Kruger National Park has large gardens with sun-loungers, two pools and a restaurant. The hotel rooms have garden views and have tvs, air conditioning, a shower, safe and tea/coffee making facilities.

Battlefields Lodge, Dundee
This hotel lies in the heart of the battlefields of Kwazulu Natal. On site you’ll find a restaurant, pool and gardens.

Pearl Valley Hotel, Franschhoek
The hotel, set within the Val de Vie Estate, boasts its own wine cellar, equestrian and polo center, spa, and the acclaimed Golf course. The rooms here all have a balcony or terrace, a kitchenette, tea/coffee making facilities and tv.

Southern Sun Waterfront, Cape Town
This hotel is a short stroll from a selection of restaurants, bars and shopping outlets. The rooms are comfortable and offer a bath, shower, safe and tea & coffee making facilities.

Montagu Country Hotel, Montagu
The hotel features a coffee and cocktail lounge, along with a restaurant serving breakfast and country cuisine-style dinners. Retire to your air-conditioned room with amenities like a TV, seating area, tea/coffee facilities, hair dryer, and complimentary Wi-Fi

Queen’s Hotel by BON Hotels, Oudtshoorn
Located in the centre of Oudtshoorn, this colonial-era hotel has three dining venues. The rooms are equipped with a TV, tea and coffee-making facilities, an in-room safe, a desk and chair, a hair dryer and complimentary Wi-Fi.

The Lord Milner Hotel, Matjiesfontein
A graded three-star heritage site, this hotel has an outdoor pool, a coffee house and restaurant that offers South African cuisine. The historical rooms offer tea & coffee making facilities, a seating area and complimentary wi-fi

Fact File

• Currency: South African Rand
• Flight time: Approx.  11 hrs 30 mins
• Languages: English, Afrikaans
• Time zone: GMT+2