South Africa

South Africa in a Small Group: Cape Town, Safaris and a Private Kruger Reserve

Sixteen travellers at most, four 4x4 safaris and a night in a private reserve

South Africa

South Africa in a Small Group: Cape Town, Safaris and a Private Kruger Reserve

The same outline as the great classic, from Cape Town to Johannesburg, but in a small group (5 to 16 travellers), on full board and with more 4x4 safaris: a private concession in Zulu country, Hlane reserve in Eswatini, and two drives in Kruger Park, with a night in a lodge in a private reserve. In Cape Town, the programme adds Kirstenbosch botanical garden and the Winelands, tasting and lunch included. Extensions to Victoria Falls (16 days, from €5,179 per person) and Chobe Park (17 days, from €6,019).

When

May to Oct

Price

From 3 489€ excl. flights

(based on 2 people sharing)

How long

10 nights

Ideal length

Cape Town and the Winelands

Days 1-5

Four nights in Cape Town: the city, Robben Island, the peninsula, then Kirstenbosch and the estates of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.

Day 1

Flight to Cape Town

Flight with stopover(s) to Cape Town. Dinner and night on board.

Day 2

Cape Town and Signal Hill

Welcome by your French-speaking guide and, depending on arrival time, a city tour: the City Bowl, the Bo-Kaap quarter, the Castle of Good Hope (outside) and the Waterfront. Late in the day, up to Signal Hill.

Day 3

Robben Island and the Waterfront

A guided visit to Robben Island, weather permitting: the quarry, the bunkers and the high-security prison where Nelson Mandela spent eighteen years, including his cell. Lunch on the Waterfront and free time on the old docks.

Day 4

The Cape Peninsula

A day on the peninsula: the beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay, a boat trip to the seal colony on Duiker Island, Chapman's Peak drive cut into the cliff, the penguins of Boulders Beach in Simon's Town, a fish lunch facing the ocean, then the Cape of Good Hope reserve.

Day 5

Kirstenbosch and the Winelands

Visit Kirstenbosch botanical garden, the first in the world devoted to a country's native flora. Then the Winelands: Stellenbosch, the 'Cape Dutch' town, a tasting and lunch on an estate, and Franschhoek with the Huguenot museum and memorial.

1 / 5

Zulu country and Eswatini

Days 6-8

Two 4x4 safaris in two days: a private concession near Hluhluwe, then Hlane reserve and its black rhinos.

Day 6

Flight to Durban – St Lucia – Hluhluwe

Fly to Durban (2 hrs) and drive to St Lucia, on the Indian Ocean, for a boat safari on the lagoon. Check in at a lodge in Zulu country.

Day 7

Safari in a private concession – Eswatini

A 4x4 safari with a ranger on the tracks of a private concession, close to the animals. Drive to the kingdom of Eswatini and cross the border.

Day 8

Safari in Hlane – Mpumalanga

A 4x4 safari in Hlane, one of the largest concentrations of black rhino in southern Africa, with white rhino, elephants, giraffes and buffalo too. Lunch with a choir and Eswati dancing, then drive to Mpumalanga, a region of mountains and forests.

1 / 3

The Blyde River and Kruger

Days 9-11

The Blyde River Canyon, then a night in a lodge in a private Kruger reserve, with two 4x4 safaris.

Day 9

The Blyde River Canyon

A day on the Panorama Route along the Blyde River Canyon, one of the largest green canyons in the world: the Bourke's Luck potholes, carved by water in the ochre rock, then the viewpoints over the cliffs and the valley.

Day 10

Private Kruger reserve: afternoon safari

Drive to Kruger Park and check in at a lodge in a private reserve. In the afternoon, a 4x4 safari with a ranger in the national park, two million hectares created in 1898, looking for the Big Five.

Day 11

Second safari – Pretoria – Johannesburg

A second 4x4 safari in Kruger in the morning, then drive to Pretoria for a panoramic tour and a guided visit to the Voortrekker Monument. Dinner of bush meats in Johannesburg.

1 / 4

Johannesburg

Days 12-13

A last day devoted to the country's 20th-century history.

Day 12

The Apartheid Museum – flight home

A guided visit to the Apartheid Museum and its 22 exhibitions, then lunch in a shebeen, a former illegal bar. Transfer to the airport and flight home.