South Africa is one of the most diverse countries. Start in Johannesburg, the incredible beauty and ever-changing landscape of Mpumalanga, the game rich Kruger National Park, the extraordinarily beautiful city of Cape Town and the diverse Garden Route, experience all the South Africa has to offer.
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1 Depart USA on South African Airways from your choice of gateways.
Day 2 Johannesburg: Sandton Holiday Inn Garden Court
Arrive into Johannesburg, you will be met by an AfricaTours representative and escorted to the hotel. Your guide will explain the maps and routes for your self-drive. The Sandton Holiday Inn Garden Court is a modern hotel situated in Sandton and within easy reach of all city attractions. All rooms are air-conditioned with private bath and color TV, and the hotel which is within walking distance to shopping area, golf, tennis, squash and bowls nearby, has its own swimming pool, 24 hour room service, restaurant and bar.
Day 3 Mpumalanga: Chilli Pepper Lodge (B)
After breakfast your automatic transmission rental car will be delivered to your hotel. After breakfast, drive to the beautiful Mpumalanga and explore Blydepoort Canyon, God’s Window and Pilgrim’s Rest. Chilli Pepper Lodge offers upmarket bed and breakfast accommodation in the beautiful Mpumalanga area. Situated on a sub-tropical fruit farm in the heart of the low veldt, you are within easy reach of the Kruger National Park and the scenic attractions of the area. Relax around the pool set in beautiful gardens, spot birds at the private dam or have a walk on the farm to view the mango and litchi orchards. Enjoy a drink watching the beautiful sunset down the valley. Our house is your home for the duration of your stay. The luxuriously appointed en-suite bedrooms, one with optional private lounge/office, provide private entrance, bar, fridge, tea/coffee making facilities and ceiling fans. A full English breakfast is served and your host will be happy to book you for dinner into one of the good local restaurants and assist in planning your day trips. Chili Pepper Lodge is exclusive and luxurious and has been awarded a “luxury” grading by “The Portfolio Collection”. Our personal attention will help to make your visit to this area a memorable one.
Day 4 Mpumalanga: Chilli Pepper Lodge (B)
You will have a full day to explore this area.
Day 5 Private Game Reserve: Honeyguide Tented Camp (BLD)
After breakfast, drive to Hoedspruit (Eastgate) airport located just outside Kruger National Park, where you will drop off your rental car. You will be met at the airport by a Honeyguide representative and escorted to the lodge. Enjoy an afternoon game drive. The Honeyguide Tented Safari Camps, in the 23 thousand hectare Manyeleti Game Reserve adjoining Kruger National Park, is just a five hour scenic drive from Johannesburg or a short flight either to the Manyeleti airstrip or to Hoedspruit, half-an-hour's drive away. They offer breathtaking wildlife experiences at the same time as pampering the senses with meticulous service and superb cuisine. Morning and evening game tracking drives in open vehicles bring you into close contact with the Big Five effortlessly and safely. Highly experienced guides will take you on foot to bring into clear focus the magic of the bush with its myriad of busy insects and resplendent birdlife. The large, en-suite tents are comfortably furnished in contemporary style and have either double or twin beds made up with fine cotton sheets and down duvets. A double shower and separate toilet are provided and a private veranda in the front of the tent provides a restful seating area for you to absorb the atmosphere in peace and tranquility.
Day 6 Private Game Reserve: Honeyguide Tented Camp (BLD)
Enjoy a morning and afternoon game drive. A typical day consists of an early wake up call at approximately 5:30 am where you will be served tea, coffee and cookies in the Lodge before your start off on your early morning game drive. You will return to the lodge at approximately 10:00 am where you will enjoy a full breakfast. The rest of the morning is yours to enjoy catching up on your sleep, swimming in the pool, browsing in the curio shop or participating in a game walk. Lunch is served at around 1:00 pm. At 3:30 pm enjoy tea and coffee before setting out on your afternoon/evening game drive. You will return to the lodge at around 7:30 pm in time to get ready for dinner either in the lodge or the boma (a boma is a reed enclosed outdoor eating area. You will eat under a starry African night with the calls of the wild in the distance – a truly memorable event).
Day 7 Cape Town: Four Rosemead (B)
After a morning game drive and breakfast, fly via light aircraft to Nelspruit airport for your flight to Cape Town. Arrive into Cape Town, where you will be met by an AfricaTours representative and driven to the hotel. Four Rosemead is an exclusive guesthouse situated on the slopes of Table Mountain in the select residential suburb of Oranjezicht. It is within walking distance of the city as well as vibrant Kloof Street, which is well known for its restaurant and café culture. Accommodation consists of eight en-suite bedrooms (one suite, four deluxe and three luxury rooms). All rooms feature highest quality linens, air-conditioning, separate bath & shower, heated towel rail, under-tile heating, bath robes, hairdryer, satellite TV, telephone, bar-fridge, coffee and tea facility, electronic safe and broadband wireless internet access. Four Rosemead offers the following facilities: continental or full English breakfasts, swimming pool with loungers, landscaped gardens, off street parking, vegetarian friendly menu's and broadband, wireless internet. In addition, various stress relieving and invigorating therapies are offered by trained professionals in a Pamper Spa. Four Rosemead displays carefully selected artwork crafted by local South African artists. Guests are able to choose from a variety of works ranging from wire sculptures to oil paintings to beaded animals. Most of these pieces are available for purchase as a tangible memory of your stay at Four Rosemead in Cape Town.
Day 8 Cape Town: Four Rosemead (B)
Your automatic transmission rental car will be delivered to the hotel. You will have a two full days at leisure to explore the “Mother City”. Places of interest to consider on the Cape Peninsular: time in Hout Bay, once a fishing community and now a thriving residential area, a drive over dramatic Chapman’s Peak (PROVIDED THE PASS IS OPEN) with a 200 meter drop on one side and a 200 meter rise on the other. Fishoek beach the Jackass penguin colony at Boulders Beach just outside of Simonstown, Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, and the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, visit the Irma Stern and SA Museum, take the ferry and tour to Robben Island, walk around the Cape Malay Quarter, visit the many art galleries and more!!
Day 9 Cape Town: Four Rosemead (B)
Today you will have a full day at leisure to explore Cape Town.
Day 10 Paarl: Roggeland Country House (BD)
After breakfast, drive to Paarl. Explore at leisure the 10 major wine routes. Experience the unforgiving crags that rise up in a haze of splendor around these renowned Winelands with their range of award winning wines. Or, simply marvel at the majesty of it all. A rare find. Rated one of the best 50 hotels in the world in the Tatler’s 1994 Travel Guide, Roggeland Country House is in the Paarl Winelands, a 60-minute drive from Cape Town. The centuries-old Cape Dutch farmhouse, circumscribed by emerald lawns and rose gardens, is a wonderful place to relish sunny days and outstanding hospitality. Dinner and breakfast consist of four-course Menu Degustation of regional cuisine, accompanied by fine Cape wines. Enjoy personal tours of the wine routes, viewing 2000 flamingos and other bird species along the walking trail, horse riding, a refreshing swim, or exploring surrounding historic towns. The eight delightful bedrooms have private bathrooms, ceiling fans and mosquito nets.
Day 11 Outshoorn: Riempies Estate Hotel (B)
After breakfast, drive to Outshoorn, which is well known for the Cango Caves, the largest population of Ostriches in the world. There is also a crocodile and cheetah farm. The large town with its wide-open spaces and broad streets is the capital of the Klein Karoo. The town is spread along both banks of the Grobbelaars River, a tributary of the Oliphant’s River, and the Swartberg Mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south encompass its fertile valleys. The Cango Caves, one of the world’s great natural wonders, provide a magical subterranean journey through massive caverns and fascinating limestone formations. This is also the home to the Ostrich. In Outshoorn you can visit an ostrich farm, cheetah and crocodile farm and the Cango Caves. The Riempies Estate lies secluded in a rustic farm-like setting on the outskirts of Outshoorn. Riempies offers visitors a country sanctuary for total tranquility. This charming well-appointed hotel with its thatched Rondavels and traditional Cape Dutch style rooms offers luxury accommodation including air-conditioning. The restaurant has a superb reputation for service and style, offering Cape Dutch style country food like bobotie, bredie and game dishes.
Day 12 Plettenberg Bay: Hunters Country Lodge (B)
After breakfast, continue your journey on the Garden Route. The Garden Route is a region of infinite diversity and contrast from golden beaches, rocky shorelines, mysterious forests, breathtaking mountains and vast open plains, all united by an overriding theme of natural beauty. The secret and undiscovered garden of South Africa’s Cape is blessed with a mild climate that provides year-round opportunities for the visitor to enjoy the unique attractions of the region and to participate in a variety of leisure activities from watersports and hiking to whale-spotting and exploring historical sites. Some of the major areas on the Garden Route are Tsitsikamma Forest, Plettenberg Bay, Kynsna, Wilderness, George and Outshoorn. Nestling in the heart of the Garden Route between Tsitsikamma Mountains and the Indian Ocean is Hunter’s idyllic retreat. Experience gracious living in elegant, antique furnished thatched garden suites. Each has an open fireplace, private patio and is surrounded by beautiful gardens and rolling lawns that overlook the magnificent indigenous forest. Excellent cuisine is enjoyed in the intimate, candlelit dining rooms after relaxing in the charming ambiance of the lounge with its open hearth and library. Visit the wine cellar and spend time in the cozy Cellar pub. Breakfasts are served on the sun-drenched breakfast room or outdoor patio. On the estate, walk scenic forest trails, bird watch or simply relax beside the pool. For bathing and boating enthusiasts, the beach is 10 minutes away. For the energetic, many sports and forest walks are easily accessible. This unique, award winning hotel is a blend of superb ambiance, cuisine, service and hospitality denoted by its four star silver South African Tourism classification.
Day 13 Plettenberg Bay: Hunters Country Lodge (B)
You will have a full day at leisure to explore the area. There are few places where nature paints a landscape of such exquisite beauty as it does around Plettenberg Bay. Plettenberg Bay is the jewel in the Garden Route’s trove of scenic treasures, and the unhurried days allow travelers the time to discover every facet of the area’s unique and beautiful character. There is something for everyone: for the naturalist it is a paradise of bird-life, marine and forest-life and botanical gifts. For the historian there are museums and landmarks. For the sports person there is a smorgasbord of sporting activities.
Day 14 Departure (B)
After breakfast and a morning at leisure, drive through the Tsitsikamma forest to Port Elizabeth. Drop off the car at the airport for your flight to Johannesburg and connecting South African Airways Flight to JFK.
Day 15 Arrive into the USA
Rates for the South Africa Self-Drive - Semi Customized
Land, per person double occupancy
| 01 Jan '07 - 15 Apr '07 | $3,830 |
|---|---|
| 01 Apr '07 - 30 Apr '07 | $3,700 |
| 01 May '07 - 31 Aug '07 | $3,515 |
| 01 Sep '07 - 15 Sep '07 | $3,690 |
| 16 Sep '07 - 30 Sep '07 | $3,845 |
| Single Supplement | $390 - $780 |
Land and Air from New York, per person double occupancy
| 01 Jan '07 - 08 Jan '07 | $5,515 |
|---|---|
| 09 Jan '07 - 31 Mar '07 | $5,090 |
| 01 Apr '07 - 30 Apr '07 | $5,525 |
| 16 Apr '07 - 30 Apr '07 | $5,385 |
| 01 May '07 - 31 May '07 | $5,100 |
| 01 Jun '07 - 20 Aug '07 | $5,375 |
| 21 Aug '07 - 31 Aug '07 | $5,100 |
| 01 Sep '07 - 15 Sep '07 | $5,375 |
| 16 Sep '07 - 30 Sep '07 | $5,530 |
Price Includes:
- Accommodation for 12 nights.
- Meals as mentioned
- Transfers
- All mentioned tours
- Alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages at Honeyguide (except premium alcohol & champagne)
- Laundry at Honeyguide
- FLIGHTS: Honeyguide – Nelspruit
- Game drives and park entry fees
- Automatic Rental Car for 10 days (included collision damage waiver, theft/loss waiver/ personal accident insurance, windscreen damage, tire/rim/hubcap damage, unlimited mileage)
- Travel Protection Plan ($20,000 Emergency Assistance, $20,000 Accidental death & dismemberment; $500 Medical Expenses; $1,000 Baggage & travel documents; $400 Baggage delay; $500 Travel delay - $100 per day maximum; TRAVEL GUARD Assistance)
Price Excludes:
- Alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages in Johannesburg, Mpumalanga, Cape Town, Cape Winelands & Garden Route
- Gratuities
- Items of a personal nature
- Laundry in Johannesburg, Mpumalanga, Cape Town, Cape Winelands & Garden Route
- THE LAND ONLY PRICE EXCLUDES FLIGHTS FROM NELSPRUIT TO CAPE TOWN, PORT ELIZABETH TO JOHANNESBURG
- Airline Taxes
- R1,231 Fuel deposit (approx. $170), R25 contract fee (approx. $5) & R136 additional driver fee (approx. $208) and R493 accident claim handling fee (approx $75) to be paid for directly, R178 traffic administration fee per fine (approx $27)