Darcie

Hi everyone,
We are going to SA for 3 weeks in November, and we're looking for some help with the middle part of our itinerary. Here's how it looks so far:
Arrive J'burg from North America
2 nights between J'burg and Nelspruit
4 nights Elephant Plains
7 nights free - to include Garden Route
3 nights Franschhoek
6 nights CT

So, my question... how to best spend the 7 nights? We are planning a minimum of 4 nights on the Garden Route , but don't know whether to spend the entire 7 nights on this route.. or whether to spend an extra night or two around the Panorama Route... or spend 2 nights in the Battlefields area.. or spend 3 nights in KZN.. e.g at St Lucia.... or....?

We're trying to balance our itinerary -- seeing lots, but at not too frenetic a pace.

We are a fit couple, frequent travellers, more urban than hikers, we like history, B&Bs, sunshine.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts,
Darcie

Darcie

... or Victoria falls...?

HariS

You have 16 days between Cape Town, Garden route and wine country ..... you mention you like to do outdoors stuff, how about a week's walking safari in Zambia or safari in Botswana. Allocate the remaining time for CT, Garden route etc etc.,....

annhig

hi, Darcie,

you could easily fill 7 nights in the garden route, IMO. we were there for 3 nights, and hardly scratched the surface.

things to do :
whale watching at Plettenberg Bay,
boat trip to the featherbed nature reserve at Knysna,
canopy walking in the Tsitsikamma forest,
the bird, monkey and elephant sanctuaries near Plett.
exploring nature's valley and Storms River [site of the world's highest bungy jump].

you could also think about spending some time NORTH of CPT - we were in SA in July so it was too early, but the flowers of Namaqualand are supposed to be wonderful, and the coast up that way is certainly high on my "to do" list.

we stayed a for three nights near Plett at a hotel called "Hog Hollow" and another 2 nights just east of hermanus at Grootbos. If you have a look at my trip report, you'll see what we thought.

finally, you couldn't do wrong if you spent some more time in CPT itself.

regards, ann

Mohammed

I also have 3 nights free between Kruger and CT was contemplating how the spend this time.

1. Tour Panaroma route?
2. Drive/tour down to Durban
3. Suncity and Pilanesburg?
4. Vic falls?

We are a family and my wife and two children aged 13 and 11 will be with me. Any advice appriciated.

amolkarnik

Mohammed - You havent mentioned how you propose to get from Kruger to CT.

If you're flying via JNB, spending the 3 days either near CT or JNB is the best option. The Panorama route would be my own preference, but thats because I wouldn't enjoy Sun City. Around CT, I suppose you already the Winelands or Garden Route on your plan.

Alternatively, you could consider flying to CT from Durban and using your time to drive down towards Umfolozi-Hlulhuwe or St Lucia for a couple of days, before dropping the car off at Durban and flying to CT. However, its worth rememebering that the drive to either destination is around 7-8 hours. Its a nice drive though.

Darcie

Thank you everyone for your suggestions... there are so many good choices! I'm leaning toward having the additional nights in/around the Garden Route, but not quite decided.

I'm interested in the driving times from Nelspruit to Drakensberg (e.g. Cathedral Peak), or Nelspruit to St. Lucia, or Nelspruit to Durban.

Can anyone help?

Thanks again,
Darcie

amolkarnik

Darcie - Nelspruit to St Lucia is around 525 km. Allow around 7 hours at reasonable driving speeds. Add another 2-2.5 hours to get to Durban. I cant be sure about Drakensberg, but given its location, I'd say around 5-5.5 hours.

Mohammed

Hi "amolkarnik",

Thanks for your reply of 5th Sep addressed to me on this post which I only happned to see today. (Still haven't mastered the art of this forum...) Much appreciate your comments and tips. I still haven't finalised the 3 days between Kruger and CT. I hope to fly to CT from Kruger KMIA but alternatively, spending the 3 nights touring and driving to Durban and flying to CT from Durban is an option I am considering. Definitely dropped Suncity - not our cuppa tea. Alternatively I could just stay somewhere near Kruger like Hoedspruit where I was considering the Zuleika Country House and tour the region from this base.

Thanks again and sorry for my delayed response.

Mohammed