Multi-day trip

From Cape Town: 5-Day Best of Garden Route & Addo Safari

4.8 / 5

66 reviews

Activity provider: Hotspots2c Tours
Multi-day trip

From Cape Town: 5-Day Best of Garden Route & Addo Safari

Activity provider: Hotspots2c Tours

From US$ 557.23 per person

Certified

Discover South African wildlife in some of the country's best national parks, traveling along the Garden Route. In this untamed paradise on the southeastern coast you can set your sense of adventure free at beaches, on safari, on ziplines and lots more.

About this activity

Free cancellation
Cancel up to 2 days in advance for a full refund
Covid-19 precautions
Special health and safety measures are in place. Check your activity voucher once you book for full details.
Duration 5 days
Check availability to see starting times.
Live tour guide
English
Pickup included
Any location within a 10-km radius of Cape Town city center and from Stellenbosch
Small group
Limited to 13 participants

Experience

Itinerary
120 hours
  • Cape Town

  • Stellenbosch

  • Oudtshoorn

  • Cango Caves (guided tour)

  • Addo

  • Addo Elephant National Park (game drive)

  • Jeffreys Bay

  • Tsitsikamma National Park

  • Knysna Lagoon

  • Sedgefield

  • Wilderness National Park (kayaking)

  • Botlierskop Private Game Reserve (game drive)

    • Optional
    • Extra fee
  • Mossel Bay

    • Optional
  • Stellenbosch

  • Cape Town

Meeting point
Main stop
Other stop
Highlights
  • Go on safari to see most of the Big Five at Addo Elephant National Park
  • Zipline through the luscious Tsitsikamma forest
  • Hike over suspension bridges with views of a secret beach
  • Paddle through the staggering scenery and abundant birdlife
  • Jump from the highest commercial bridge bungy
Full description

Day 1: Route 62 (travel about 400 km)

Start with a morning pickup from Cape Town and Stellenbosch. Travel along Route 62, the longest wine route in the world, with a wine-tasting stop (non-alcoholic tasting available too) before reaching Oudtshoorn by late afternoon.

For a close encounter with Mother Nature, opt in to join elephant guides on an Elephant Observation Nature Walk (at extra cost) and follow 3 lovable rescued elephants in their natural Cango Valley bush veld habitat.

Overnight at Uthando Backpackers (dorm or saver package) or 88 van Rheede Guesthouse (3* comfort package) or Buffelsdrift Lodge (4* deluxe package).

Day 2: Oudtshoorn (travel about 400 km excluding safari drives)

Visit a working ostrich farm and see the largest flightless birds in the world. Next, head to the mountains to go deep underground in the illuminated wonder world of the Cango Caves, exploring vast halls filled with ancient stalactites before traveling onward to the Addo region.

Overnight at Avaco Cabins (dorm or saver package) or Gerald's Gift (comfort package) or Addo Wildlife lodge (deluxe package).

Day 3: Addo, Jeffreys Bay (travel about 200 km)

An early morning start allows the best option to spot wildlife as the bush awakes in Addo Elephant National Park, the 3rd largest national park in South Africa.

Join the park's optional 4x4 game drive or simply take the included 2-hour safari bus drive. Along with. your guide, search for some of the big five, which includes elephants, buffalos, lions, leopards, and rhinos.

Spend your afternoon relaxing with free time at Jeffreys Bay's Beach. Choose between surfing, beach horseback riding, or sand boarding (all optional at an extra cost).

Overnight at Island Vibe (dorm or saver package) or Sea Whisper (3* comfort package) or On The Beach Lodge (4* deluxe package).

Day 4: Tsitsikamma, Sedgefield (travel about 250 km)

Experience the highest bungy jump bridge in the world, Waterfall Zipline over waterfalls in the nearby Tsitsikamma forest for even more optional adventure (at extra cost) or spend more time in Tsitsikamma National Park. Take a short walk to the suspension bridges before a photo stop at Knysna's lagoon en route to Sedgefield.

Overnight at Pili Pili Beach Cabanas (dorm or saver) Fairy Knowe (3* comfort) or Dolphin Dunes (4* deluxe).

Day 5: Wilderness (travel about 450 km excluding safari drives)

Take to the water for a leisurely canoeing session to a secret waterfall along the rivers of the wilderness region.

On the journey back to Cape Town, spot wildlife on a 4x4 Botlierskop game drive (at extra cost) or relax at Mossel Bay's Diaz Beach after walking to the Cape St Blaize lighthouse.

Your adventure ends with an evening drop-off at your Cape Town or Stellenbosch accommodation.

Includes
  • Pickup and drop-off at your accommodation (within a 10-kilometer radius of Cape Town and from Stellenbosch)
  • Friendly local qualified tour guide
  • Transportation in minivan with air-con
  • Accommodation for 4 nights (as per option selected) Upgrades are available directly with the supplier
  • 4 breakfasts
  • Cango Caves adventure tour
  • Ostrich farm tour
  • Entrance to Addo National Park
  • Entrance to Tsitsikamma National Park
  • Game drive in Addo National Park by tour bus (about 2 hours)
  • Wilderness canoeing
  • Route 62 wine tasting
  • A portion of your trip fee is donated to help fund local community projects that the 2Cchange non-profit organisation support
  • Meals and drinks not mentioned can be purchased on tour. There is time daily to enjoy meals at local eating spots on tour
  • Optional activities can be booked and paid for on tour:
  • Optional Elephant Observation Nature Bush Walk ±R600
  • Optional Bungy Jump ±R1450
  • Optional Waterfall Zipline ±R500
  • Optional 4x4 Game Reserve Safari ±R500
  • Optional Surf lessons ±R250 or Sandboarding ±R250 or Beach Horse Ride ±R500
  • Personal travel insurance

Select participants and date

Participants

Date

Important information

What to bring

  • Comfortable shoes
  • Windbreaker
  • Sun hat
  • Towel

Know before you go

  • Please note, the tour itinerary can run in reverse or a different order to ensure the optimal experience as per the season.
  • In Peak season (Dec 10th-Jan 10th) you may stay for 2 nights in Jeffreys bay and not in Addo
  • Optional activities are weather dependent, and can be booked and paid for on the tour
  • Pickup time is usually about 06:00 to 07:00. A check-in email will be sent confirming the exact pick-up time a day before the tour departs.
  • Prices of optional activities are subject to change and are seasonal
  • Accommodation may change to a similar star grading option if the preferred options listed are not available. Accommodation can only be confirmed after the tour is paid.
  • Double and twin rooms require a minimum and maximum of 2 customers per room
  • Leopards are nocturnal hunters, evasive, and not contained by fences so it's unlikely to see them during these game drives, especially rare in the mountainous and dense vegetation regions of the Western Cape and Garden Route.
Customer reviews

Overall rating

4.8 /5

based on 66 reviews

Review summary

  • Guide
    5/5
  • Transportation
    4.9/5
  • Service
    4.7/5
  • Organization
    4.5/5

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Star rating:

Great tour. Communication for initial pickup was good and on time, from there our guide TK looked after everything. Backpackers accommodations were a good standard overall (varied from basic to really nice). Activities were brilliant and scenery throughout the tour was fab. Tour guide TK added a lot of knowledge and was keen to share South African history and culture with the group as well as learn about our countries current affairs, culture and history.

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March 28, 2023

Great experience! Guide was awesome, van was comfortable. Did the reverse order starting with the wine tasting and finishing with the kayaking and 4-wheel safari. The wine tasting was lovely, we saw so many elephants in Addo, I loved the kayaking and the short hike to the suspension bridge. Lots of driving which is to be expected in order to cover part of the Garden Route but our guide arranged for comforts stops which made it a great experience. I went solo but had such a great time and our group was wonderful. Would definitely recommend!

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March 28, 2023

The trip was amazing. Everyone was so freindly and kind. The accomodations were so well picked - we were not expecting such beautiful, spacious and clean venues as a backpacker. It was a real treat! Denver our guide was the best guide in the world. He is an amazing person. He made sure to give us the trip we would never forget. Without him the experience would not have been the same! As he would say: "This is Africa..;)"

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March 28, 2023

Product ID: 26820