South Africa
The whole country in eighteen days, with four major safaris and Lesotho by 4x4
South Africa
The most complete tour: Cape Town and the Winelands, the Garden Route via Mossel Bay, Knysna lagoon and Tsitsikamma park, Addo Elephant Park, Nelson Mandela's Xhosa homeland, the Drakensberg and Lesotho via Sani Pass, Durban, St Lucia lagoon, Hluhluwe-Umfolozi, a day in Eswatini's Happy Valley, Kruger by 4x4, the Blyde River and Soweto. Groups of 6 to 20 by minibus, almost full board. Extensions to Victoria Falls (21 days, from €5,389 per person) and Chobe Park (22 days, from €6,199).
When
May to Oct
Price
From 3 669€ excl. flights
(based on 2 people sharing)
How long
15 nights
Ideal length
Days 1-4
Three nights in Cape Town: the city, the Winelands, then the Cape of Good Hope and Table Mountain.
Day 1
Flight to Cape Town
Flight with stopover(s) to Cape Town. Dinner and night on board.
Day 2
A tour of Cape Town
Welcome by your French-speaking guide and, depending on arrival time, a panoramic tour: the City Bowl, the Company's Garden, the Castle of Good Hope (outside) and the Waterfront.
Day 3
Kirstenbosch and the Winelands
A guided visit to Kirstenbosch botanical garden, then the Winelands: Stellenbosch and its village museum, a tasting and lunch on a Franschhoek estate.
Day 4
The Cape of Good Hope and Table Mountain
A day on the peninsula: the beaches of Sea Point, Clifton and Camps Bay, the Boulders Beach penguins, Cape of Good Hope national park and Cape Point, a fish lunch facing the ocean. Back in Cape Town, a cable car ride up Table Mountain.
Days 5-7
The south coast, from Mossel Bay to Port Elizabeth: Knysna lagoon, the forests of Tsitsikamma and the elephants of Addo.
Day 5
Mossel Bay – Knysna
Set off along the Garden Route. In Mossel Bay, the post office tree and the caravel of Bartolomeu Dias, the first European to explore the bay in 1488. Arrive in Knysna, an artists' village on its lagoon.
Day 6
Knysna lagoon – Tsitsikamma – Port Elizabeth
A cruise on Knysna lagoon to the Knysna Heads, with oysters and sparkling wine on board. A guided walk in Tsitsikamma National Park and its suspension bridges, then arrive in Port Elizabeth.
Day 7
Addo Elephant Park – East London
A morning safari in Addo Elephant National Park, now the third-largest park in the country. Drive along the coast to East London, on the Buffalo River.
Days 8-10
Nelson Mandela's homeland, then the Drakensberg mountains and the kingdom of Lesotho.
Day 8
Mthatha – the Drakensberg
Cross the Mthatha region, Xhosa territory and Nelson Mandela's home region, then drive to the southern Drakensberg and Sani Pass, at the foot of Lesotho.
Day 9
Lesotho by 4x4
By 4x4 on the highlands of Lesotho, with scenery like the Tibetan plateau. Through the Sani Pass border post and up to the Sani Top Chalet, which only a 4x4 can reach. Lesotho is the only country in the world lying entirely above 1,400 m.
Day 10
Howick and the Valley of 1,000 Hills – Durban
Drive to Durban, stopping at the Nelson Mandela monument at Howick and the Valley of 1,000 Hills. Lunch in Durban and a city tour, including the Indian market.
Days 11-13
St Lucia lagoon, Hluhluwe-Umfolozi reserve, then a day in Eswatini's Happy Valley.
Day 11
St Lucia – Hluhluwe
A flat-bottomed boat safari on the St Lucia estuary: hippos, Nile crocodiles and fish eagles. Lunch, then drive to the Hluhluwe area.
Day 12
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi – Eswatini
A 4x4 safari with rangers in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi reserve, created in 1897, whose two parks are joined by a wildlife corridor. Drive to Eswatini, the 'Switzerland of Africa'.
Day 13
A day in Eswatini – Hazyview
A day with an Eswati in traditional dress, who introduces you to local customs: a walk through the Happy Valley, among pineapples and sugar cane, and meeting the people of a village. Drive to Hazyview.
Days 14-18
A full day's 4x4 safari in Kruger, the Panorama Route, then Johannesburg.
Day 14
A full day in Kruger Park
A whole day's 4x4 safari in Kruger National Park, the richest reserve on the continent, looking for the Big Five. Picnic in the park.
Day 15
The Panorama Route – Waterval Boven
The Blyde River Canyon, 600 to 800 m deep: the Bourke's Luck potholes and the Three Rondavels. Lunch, then a visit to the mining village of Pilgrim's Rest, born of the 1873 gold rush.
Day 16
Johannesburg and the Apartheid Museum
Drive to Gauteng and Johannesburg. Visit the Apartheid Museum, then a dinner of bush meats.
Day 17
Soweto – flight home
Lunch in a shebeen and a tour of Soweto with a guide who lives there: Nobel Street and Nelson Mandela's house (outside). Transfer to Johannesburg airport and flight home.
Day 18
Arrival in France
Arrival in France during the day.
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