drgough

Hi Fodorites! I am planning a trip to South Africa during mid-December. Need help with itinerary. I will have 12 full days to explore. I want to explore Cape Town, wine country, beaches and a safari in Sabi Sands.

Can anyone help suggest an itinerary on places to see/stay and beaches? I am also looking for recommended length of stays for the locations.

Thanks in advance!

DarrenHumphrys

Howzit and Good day drgough,

It's great to see that you're heading out to the Rainbow Nation later this year. The following itinerary is similar to what you are looking for, and was compiled/guided by me for a couple who visited here in November last year:
Day 1: "Amkela" and welcome to Cape Town
Day 2: "History & Heroes" city walk and Robben Island visit
Day 3: Cape Peninsula & the Cape of Good Hope
Day 4: Cape Winelands "Eco-Encounter"
Day 5-8: Private Wildlife Reserve, Greater Kruger
Day 9: Johannesburg & "Umoja" theatre show
Day 10: Johannesburg & Soweto encounter
Day 11-13: Umhlanga Rocks beaches
Day 14: "Hambe kahle" and farewell South Africa

We chose the following accommodation, all of which offered small, personable properties with friendly, unpretentious service:
Cape Town - The Charles, www.thecharles.co.za
Greater Kruger: n'Dzuti Safari Camp, www.ndzutisafaricamp.com
Johannesburg: Liz at Lancaster, www.lizatlancaster.co.za
Umhlanga Rocks: Bentley on the Beach, www.beachfront.org.za

The weather was pretty good throughout their November stay, though by December it can start getting a bit sticky in the Kruger bushveld.

Happy planning!
Your fellow traveler,
Darren Humphrys

christabir

Without a general budget, it's hard to give recommendations. I could spend $2,000 - $20,000 per person in 12 nights.

Do you want the beaches of Cape Town or do you prefer the east coast and the Indian Ocean or the surfer Mecca of Jeffrey's Bay? Is one day in the wine lands enough or do you want to spend a few days there?

Here's what I would do, with options:

Fly Cape Town. Three nights. Stay at the Cape Grace or other near the V&A Waterfront. I don't like to stay anywhere less than three nights. Things to do:
Hop-On/Hop-Off bus to get a nice overview and get off when you see something interesting. The street markets were fun and we never would have known about them without the bus
Robben Island - don't miss it. We timed it so we would be coming back to shore at sunset. Absolutely stunning. Weather dependent
Table Mountain - beautiful, also weather dependent
Cape Of Good Hope - beautiful drive and don't miss the penguins
Kirstenbosch Gardens - if you take any interest in flowers at all it's a must. My husband golfed while I gardened.

We did a one day guided wine lands tour. It was plenty for me.

Fly to Sabi Sand. Four nights. Arathusa has a water hole in camp. We loved it there. Affordable. Mid range, try Kirkmans. Expensive (lots of options) Mala Mala is highly recommended. There are many. Sabisand.co.za is a good start. Mala Mala is no longer part of the Sabi Sand marketing group so isn't in the website. Fly through JNB and charter direct to camp airstrip or the reopened Skukuza. Or fly to KMIA and get a road transfer.

Fly Richards Bay. Stay three nights. My favorite little town is St Lucia - there are beaches, hippo/croc safaris, horseback safaris, scuba/snorkel, nice restaurants and so much more. If you prefer all inclusive, try Thonga or Rocktail bay. They are right on the beach and more expensive, but exclusive. You may get lucky with your timing for turtle nesting. iSimangaliso Wetland Park (St Lucia) is spectacular and huge.

I know, that's only ten nights. You might have overnight layovers and I don't know if 12 full days is 11 or 12 nights. If you have an extra night, add it to safari. You can visit cities and beaches anywhere in the world. Nowhere else to see lions, elephants and rhino.

If the beaches of Cape Town are enough for you, add a night or two in CT and SS. Maybe a night in the wine lands.

Whatever you choose, have fun! South Africa is a special place.

Hey Darren - I would love to hear more about nDzuti. It's on my short list of camps I want to visit. It's hard to find anyone who has been there.

diannelovestravel

Hello,

Christabir has some great ideas. I would perhaps add one more night in CT and 1-2 nights more on safari. There's a nice discount available for longer stays with AndBeyond lodges that could help with costs. So you might want to consider AndBeyond's Ngala in the Timbavati and another of their lodges called Kirkmans in the Sabi Sand which would be 2 such options. You could split your stay between the two or just stay at one place.

Arathusa is good as well as Elephant Plains. Both are moderately priced. On the high end, I would look at Sabi Sabi, Londolozi and MalaMala. But honestly, there are many to consider. Knowing your budget would certainly help narrow the scope.

As for Cape Town, budget will dictate your lodging choices as well as your preferred style and location of lodging. You should think about whether you want to be on the V&A waterfront or in a more intimate style boutique hotel set off from the waterfront. On the waterfront, Cape Grace is on the very high end while Victoria and Albert Hotel is more moderately priced. There are numerous boutique style hotels to consider.

Such fun! So exciting!

Best
Dianne
Africa Direct USA

DarrenHumphrys

Hello christabir,

Bruce and Judy (Meeser) of n'Dzuti Safari Camp are legends of the safari world, and are just really nice people with an obvious passion for hosting/guiding visitors to the bush. This flows through to the style of the camp, which is unpretentious and intimate. There's a good interview with them at this post: http://www.getaway.co.za/travel-news...-the-bushveld/

Feel very free to mention my recommendation of them to you, should you manage to visit there one day.
Darren

drgough

Hi all! Thank you so much for your feedback. Below is my itinerary so far. Please let me know your thoughts:

Cape town for 5 nights (first night is just for sleeping). Staying at Cape Grace Hotel.

Fly to Garden Route. Stay at The Plettenberg for 3 nights.

Fly to Sabi Sand. Stay at Leopard Hills for three nights.

Fly Home.

Thoughts??

DarrenHumphrys

Looks to me like you've got it all sorted, drgough. Perhaps try to visit Nature's Valley during your stay on the Garden Route. Well done!
Darren

christabir

Looks like a nice itinerary. My only concern is you are staying in all very high end places and flying from place to place. There is little chance of experiencing S Africa. Also make sure you can get from Port Elizabeth (closest airport to Plettenberg?) to Lion Sands by the afternoon game drive.

I don't know - it just seems a bit impersonal. In mid-December, you could stay waterfront in Cape Town and enjoy the beaches there and then add more time at Lion Sands. Or switch out Plettenberg (Maybe it's that hotel on the cliff that throws me) for the KZN coast, either Uhmlanga Rocks or iSimangaliso.

Darren - thanks for the info. We will get there some day. Good location on the river. Helps with a smaller camp. It feels like I haven't been to a private reserve near Kruger in forever! Can't wait to do it again soon. But Kgalagadi first... I really can't figure out the logistics for Kgalagadi.

drgough

Thanks again for the feedback. I love this forum!
Christabir, I will look into your suggestions.

diannelovestravel

Hi drgough!

Sounds great!

I love Cape Grace. We stayed there in 2003 and one of the staff would sing children's songs to my boys. She spoke Xhosa which has a clicking sound to it. My boys were mesmerized and right before we left, they made sure they said a special goodbye to the "pretty lady with the clicky songs".

You can find the essence of Africa no matter where you go or where you stay. It will warm your heart and stir your soul.

Enjoy!
Dianne
Africa Direct USA