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5-Day Garden Route Tour – Port Elizabeth to/from Cape Town

Knysna Heads boat trip
Price From : ZAR 34070.00 (Per Person Sharing) Currency Converter

Price is based on per person sharing and private tour with our knowledgeable guide. It can be also be done from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.

Overview

In this tour, let our experienced guide take you along the Garden Route, a land of mountain and seascapes of rare beauty, with a uniquely rich tapestry of trees, flowers, numerous lakes, and their estuaries.

There is the Tsitsikamma indigenous forest, a cruise across Knysna’s picturesque tidal lagoon to the imposing “Heads” and fascinating Nature Reserve. Then, across the sweeping vistas of the Outeniqua Pass to see the unique Cango Caves, one of the largest, publicly accessible cave systems on earth. Its array of Stalactites and Stalagmites create the atmosphere of an immense underground cathedral. Mossel Bay, with its sweep of white, sandy beaches, will fascinate you with its history, museums, and landmarks of 15th and 16th-century Portuguese mariners, and it’s Stone Age heritage which is now thought to be of our species’ earliest traces. At the end of this, fully escorted, scenic tour, you too will agree that the Garden Route is a destination of unsurpassed beauty.

Prices:

2023: ZAR34 070.00 per person sharing, ZAR55 655.00 for a solo traveller, and ZAR16 733.00 per child aged 3 to 12 years old sharing with at least one adult, 0-2.99 years free of charge

Itinerary for This Tour

Day 1

Our guide will collect you for the start of your tour at the Airport or if already in Port Elizabeth (PE) at your hotel and we will take you on a tour of some of Port Elizabeth’s more famous landmarks (lunch included).

Stay that night at the Courtyard Hotel on one of PE’s most prestigious beach fronts called Humewood.

Accommodation Courtyard Hotel, Lunch, Bed and Breakfast,

Day 2

The Garden Route tour proper starts today as we depart for the Tsitsikamma National Park in the heart of it. This national park’s lush, temperate forest, and “fynbos” (a whole unique plant kingdom) reaches out for 5kms to the sea’s edge. Its rocky coastline is washed by the warm Indian Ocean breakers and visited by playful dolphins, seals, and the huge Southern Right and Humpback whales often come close inshore to calf. We will stop to look at some points of interest such as Storm’s River mouth, arriving in time for lunch. In the afternoon, we will visit the “Big Tree”, the biggest Yellow Wood in the Tsitsikamma Forest at over 60 metres tall. Eventually, by early evening we will arrive to stay at the Whalesong Hotel and Hydro in Plettenberg Bay.

Accommodation The Whalesong Hotel and Hydro, Lunch, Bed, and Breakfast

Day 3

In the morning, after breakfast, we will leave for Knysna, a tourist and boating Mecca, and regarded as the centre of the Garden Route. On our way, we will stop at the Bloukrans Bridge, a relatively recent and monumental addition to the world’s river gorge bridges. This is the highest river gorge bridge in the southern hemisphere, and the largest single-span bridge of its kind in the world, and also where the highest commercial bungee jumps in the world occur. For those not suffering from vertigo, there is a steel caged walk that goes right across the gorge.

 

We will stop at the Knysna Waterfront, for lunch, after which we will take a small boat across the lagoon to the Featherbed private nature reserve, situated at the famous Knysna Heads. We will have a short guided walk or ride (depending on your preference) in the reserve. In the early evening, we will arrive at the Diaz Beach Hotel, in its beautiful setting on one of South Africa’s favourite beaches.

Accommodation Diaz Beach Hotel and Resort, Lunch, Bed and Breakfast

Day 4

Crossing the 800 metres (2600 ft) high Outeniqua Pass surrounded by even higher soaring peaks, we will reach the Klein Karoo and the town of Oudtshoorn. We will head for the Cango Caves, in the Swartberg Mountains, a natural wonder, with its gigantic stalagmites and stalactites.

Later, since this is the centre of the ostrich industry in South Africa, we shall have a fascinating visit to an ostrich farm, and if we are brave enough, an ostrich back ride. Back to Mossel Bay for the evening at leisure, perhaps an evening swim.

Accommodation Diaz Beach Hotel and Resort, Lunch, Bed and Breakfast

Day 5

There is much to see and do in Mossel Bay. You are likely to see dolphins and seals crossing inshore at this time of the year and, should fortune smile on you, from the balcony of your hotel. This day is for you to explore the Mossel Bay surrounds at your leisure or just laze on the beach a few metres walk away. You could visit the fine Maritime Museum, which houses a life-sized replica of the Caravel donated by the Portuguese government to the town in which Bartholomew Diaz sailed into Mossel Bay in 1488, watched by the Khoi and the San, the original inhabitants of South Africa. There is also the Shell Museum, the renowned white milkwood tree that served as a post office for passing seafarers during that era, the St Blaise Lighthouse (Diaz made landfall on the feast of St Blaise) and numerous hand-craft stores.

We shall have an early lunch before our departure for Cape Town at 13:00 sharp. Drop off in Cape Town early evening. (hotel can be arranged for you if required).

 

End of Tour.

Tour Notes

Included in Price of this Tour:

  • 4 Nights in 4 Star Hotels/Lodges
  • 4 Breakfasts, and 5 lunches
  • 1 Boat Cruise on the Knysna Lagoon
  • Transport in an air-conditioned vehicle from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, with a qualified guide.
  • Entrance fees to Tsitsikamma National Park
  • Entrance fees to the Cango Caves,
  • Tour at the Ostrich farm,
  • Value Added Tax at 15%, as appropriate

 

Excluded in Price of this Tour:

  • All drinks excluded,
  • All meals not mentioned in the itinerary
  • Flight to and from South Africa is excluded, as well as any local flights
  • All Optional Activities are excluded
  • Travel and Medical Insurance excluded
  • Passport and Visa Fees excluded
  • Gratuities/Tips excluded

 

This tour ends officially at Cape Town Airport or surrounding area. It arrives in Cape Town in the early evening (traffic conditions permitting).  Please work out your arrangements from here with this time in mind. Mmilo Tours will transfer you at no extra cost to your Cape Town based hotel. If you wish to stay on in Cape Town please consult with us at Mmilo Tour for assistance with your Cape Town Tours and Accommodation.

 

Note on Accommodation: All the hotels and lodges are as reflected in this itinerary, but if for reasons beyond the control of Mmilo Tours this is not possible, they will be replaced with establishments of the same star grading.

 

Important: Please read the itinerary carefully noting any optional activities you or some members in your group may want to take part in. You do not have to take part in any of the optional activities if you do not wish to do so.  It helps us in our planning to know if you are interested and number of participants.

These additional optional activities are not costed into this scheduled tour, and if you choose them, you pay the extra amount involved either in advance to Mmilo Tours, or on arrival at the venue. You will be informed accordingly by Mmilo Tours, and they are extra to the basic cost of the tour.

Accommodation for this Tour

Courtyard Port Elizabeth

The 91-room Courtyard Hotel Port Elizabeth offers the best of beach, business and leisure activities.

It is located alongside the Boardwalk Casino and Resort complex and opposite Humewood Beach, eight minutes from the CBD and ten minutes from the airpo

Diaz Hotel and Resort

Diaz Hotel & Resort – Mossel Bay
The Diaz Hotel & Resort welcomes you to the pristine seashore of Mossel Bay’s renowned Diaz Beach, offering you a thrilling and entertaining holiday experience right in the heart of the picturesque and famous Garden Route

Whalesong Hotel and Spa

Whalesong Hotel and Spa is situated in Plettenberg Bay, a popular holiday resort along the Garden Route and, although not located on the beach, offers exquisite views of the bay , mountains and the ocean.

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