Our 3-week South Africa itinerary explores the beauty of Cape Town, hikes stunning coastal paths, encounters the big 5 and uncovers the story of apartheid.
South Africa is a large country with many great places to visit. Cape Town is framed by mountains dropping into the sea and houses funky restaurants that fuse European and African flavours.
The hiking trails on the Garden Route wind their way around coastal peninsulas framed in lush green surroundings, which dissipate as you make your way into Little Karoo, a semi-arid landscape with a thriving food scene and some of the best wines in the country.
But it was Kruger National Park – one of the best, and cheapest, safari parks in the world – that really made us swoon.
And beneath this magnificent landscape, the recent story of apartheid, and its ongoing legacy, still shapes the discourse in many townships and the way they live.
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IN THIS GUIDE
3-WEEK SOUTH AFRICA ITINERARY
5 DAYS / CAPE TOWN
4 DAYS / HERMANUS & THE GARDEN ROUTE
3 DAYS / LITTLE KAROO & WINELANDS
2 DAYS / BLYDE RIVER
5 DAYS / KRUGER
2 DAYS / JOHANNESBURG
DAY 1 – 5 / CAPE TOWN
Our 3-week South Africa Itinerary begins in Cape Town. You can find all the details for this part of the trip in our Cape Town itinerary, including a very memorable day visiting Langa township.
On the final night instead of staying in Camps Bay, stay in Kalk Bay, making the drive on day 6 shorter.
DAY 6 / KALK BAY TO HERMANUS
Spend the morning pottering around the coffee shops and boutiques of bohemian Kalk Bay. Next, jump in the car and drive to Hermanus. Ignore Google Maps and take the ocean road past Gordon’s Bay and Betty’s Bay. This is a beautiful 2-hour drive along the sea that, from June to December, is home to Southern Right Whales.
Hermanus is beautifully perched on the cliffs overlooking the sea. For lunch drop down to Bientang’s Cave Restaurant and Wine Bar for superbly fresh fish and chips literally meters from the spray of crashing waves.
In the afternoon walk some of the coastal path that runs for about 10km from New Harbour to Grotto beach, while staring out at the ocean looking for blowholes and dorsal fins. End with sunset, parked on a bench, overlooking the sea.
Stay – House on Westcliff, Hermanus
Travel – 2 hours: Kalk Bay to Hermanus
DAY 7 / THE GARDEN ROUTE
This morning join the Walker Bay Adventure for their whale spotting kayak tour. They are the only company permitted to provide kayaking tours in the area. If the whales don’t perform for you (and they did not for us), dolphins, seals, a variety of birdlife are compensation enough. The view over the coast help as well.
After the tour, head along the Garden Route to Plettenberg Bay. Contrary to what you may have heard, this part of the Garden Route is a busy motorway tucked back from the coast. It’s best to get it done as quickly as possible.
If you fancy a break on the 5-hour drive stop for a coffee, sandwiches and cake at the funky Blue Shed Coffee Roastery in Mossel Bay. It serves great coffee in a rustic industrial old shed surrounded by burnt out tractors and cars.
In Plettenburg, stay at Milkwood Manor on Lookout beach. The hotel and beach were almost destroyed when the river that runs to the sea changed course a few years ago. It is a fascinating story, explained by pictures lined along the hotel’s walls.
Stay – Milkwood Manor, Plettenberg Bay
Travel – 4 hours, 50 minutes: Hermanus to Plettenberg
DAY 8 / ROBBERG PENINSULAR
This morning head for the Robberg Peninsular Walk, a spectacular cliff top walk that rates highly on our list of top day hikes around the world. From the nature reserve follow the signs which take you clockwise on a beautiful path that hugs the cliff tops.
The hike takes about 4 hours and towards the end, you will arrive at an untouched beach with large rolling sand dunes and pristine water. It’s the perfect way to cool off.
After the walk, drive back to Plettenberg and have lunch at the Lookout Deck. The food is average but the views of dolphins playing in the waves makes up for it. Spend the rest of the afternoon lazing on the beach.
Stay – Milkwood Manor, Plettenberg Bay
Travel – 30 minutes: Plettenberg to Robberg Peninsula return
DAY 9 / TSITSIKAMMA NATIONAL PARK
This morning, head to Monkeyland a free-roaming, multi-species primate sanctuary that rescues previously caged primates who would not make it in the wild. It’s an impressive operation and great fun photographing monkeys metres from you. After Monkeyland potter round the Birds of Eden, an aviary home to over 220 species of predominantly African birds.
Next, head up to Tsitsikamma National Park and join a kayak tour up the mouth of Storms River. It is an excellent way to head up the narrow gorge and get an impression of the power and swell of the sea.
After the kayaking, hike the Waterfall Trail – the start of the 43 km Otter Trail. The walk takes you along rugged coastline to a spectacular waterfall where, if brave enough, you can take a very refreshing swim. It’s around 3 hours return, the path is clearly marked, and relatively easy, although there is some light scrambling over rocks for part of the way.
Stay – Milkwood Manor, Plettenberg Bay
Travel – 2 hours: Plettenberg – Monkeyland – Tsitsikamma – Plettenberg
DAY 10 / LITTLE KAROO
This morning continue your 3-week South Africa itinerary by heading inland to Prince Albert in the semi-arid Little Karoo.
To fuel up for the journey grab breakfast or a coffee at East Head Café, an afro-retro chic hang-out with beautiful interiors and even better views over the ocean.
Next head north, exchanging the cool, forested mountains for dry open plains, tumbleweed and flouring succulents. At Oudtshoorn stop off for lunch at Jemima’s, then have a quick coffee at Bean’s About Coffee.
Drive on to Prince Albert, via the magnificent Swartberg Pass, a windy gravel road that zigzags its way through red rock canyons. Keep an eye out for the children ready to greet you on the side of the road, your first sign that, despite appearances, the Karoo is not devoid of life.
Prince Albert is a vibrant desert community full of art, innovative restaurants and quirky shops. We stayed at the Dennehof Karoo Guesthouse and had dinner at the Gallery Café, both of which we highly recommend.
Stay – Dennehof Karoo Guesthouse, Prince Albert
Travel – 3 hours, 45 minutes: Plettenberg to Prince Albert via Swartberg Pass (R328)
DAY 11 / WINELANDS
Begin today by driving 3 hours, 45 minute to Delaire Graff Estate for lunch. It has very impressive grounds, equally impressive views over the neighbouring wineries and food that is a tasty blend of local produce with an Asian influence.
After lunch, slowly meander the roads to Franschhoek stopping off at whichever wineries take your fancy. We enjoyed tasting in Tokara’s fabulous modern tasting hall and Boschendal’s relaxing garden.
Stay in Franschhoek a cute town in the centre of the Winelands to the east of Cape Town and the perfect place to settle down for a couple of days sampling the best food and wine South Africa has to offer.
Stay – Roundhouse Guest House, Franschhoek
Travel – 3 hours, 45 minutes: Prince Albert to Delaire; another 30 minutes back to Franschhoek.
DAY 12 / FRANSCHHOEK
Franschhoek has a Wine Tram that meanders around many of the wine farms in the area. Pick one of 8 routes and hop on and hop off at wine farms of your choice throughout the day. If you start at before 10 am you can get to about 6 wine farms.
It’s an excellent way to let someone else take the strain as you eat and drink your way around the area. By the mid-afternoon, the wine tram is a hubbub of chatter and before long, you will have made a number of friends for life, even if you can’t remember their names.
Stay – Roundhouse Guest House, Franschhoek
Travel – None
DAY 13 / FRANSCHHOEK TO GRASKOP
Today we head east on our 3-week South Africa itinerary. Drive to Cape Town International Airport and fly to Johannesburg. Pick up your hire car at the airport and drive to Graskop (4 hours).
With waiting times at the airport, queueing up for your hire car, then driving for 4 hours, there’s not much else you will achieve today. Unfortunately, the drive to Graskop is not that interesting, so best to just get it out of the way.
Stay – Laguna Lodge, Graskop
Travel – 5 hours: Franschhoek – Cape Town Airport, then Johannesburg Airport to Graskop.
DAY 14 / BLYDE RIVER CANYON
Wake up fresh and spritely to explore the Blyde River Canyon, a 25km long, 750m deep canyon which makes it into the record books and the third largest canyon on earth. If you’re out in the morning, you’ll probably be treated to beautiful views as the mist and clouds cling to the canyon creating very atmospheric photographs. Make your way from Graskop along the R532 stopping at God’s Window, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and Three Rondavels, all of which provide beautiful viewpoints of the canyon.
Just a few minutes north of Three Rondavels, locate Forever Resort and pay the small fee to do some of the local walks around the canyon. You can walk up to the plateau (yellow leopard trail); down to the valley bottom to pools and waterfalls; or wind your way in and out of the jungle that clings to the canyon walls (blue grouse trail).
Stay – Laguna Lodge, Graskop
Travel – 2 hours: Loop around Blyde River Canyon
DAY 15 – 16 / KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
If you’ve never been on safari before, it’s hard to explain the sense of excitement you feel when you drive into the park and spot your first animal. There are so many African safari animals to see that we recommend two days self-driving in Kruger (one of the great safari parks in the world) and two days being guided around Sabi Sands, a private game reserve bordering Kruger to the west.
Leaving Graskop, enter Kruger through Orpen Gate, paying your fees and picking up a map. Kruger is huge with a large network of self-drive roads. But owing to its size you cannot hope to cover it all in a couple of days, so you need to pick where you want to go to give you the best chance of seeing the type of animals you want to see.
We recommend staying one night at Satara Rest Camp and the other at Olifants Rest Camp, 2 hours away. The first offers excellent cat viewing and the latter is better for hippos and crocodiles with fine views over the valley below.
Read our tips for a great self-driving Kruger experience.
KRUGER EXPLORER APP
Looking to get the most out of your Kruger experience? Our friends at Kruger Explorer have developed a beautiful app with detailed information on a huge selection of species found in the park. With over 70 routes and beautiful maps, it’s a handy companion to your self-drive safari. Download the app here.
Stay – Olifants Rest Camp & Satara Rest Camp, Kruger National
Travel – 1 hour, 15 minutes: Graskop to Orpen Gate and then hours driving around the park.
DAY 17 – 18 / SABI SANDS
Spend the morning slowly making your way to Orpen gate, to exit Kruger and head to Nkorho lodge in Sabi Sands Game Reserve. Nkorho is 5-star luxury game viewing, but it comes at a price, a price that we were happy to pay.
The day begins with a wake-up call and coffee at 5:00, before a 3-hour guided game drive. After breakfast, there is time to laze by the pool and watch giraffe and elephants gather around the watering hole a hundred meters away.
Lunch can be followed by your choice of a swim, or a snooze, or some reading, before the evening game drive explores more of the reserve. Dinner is waiting for your return and is spent communally chatting to the rangers about what you saw. The day ends around the campfire staring up at the stars.
Stay – Nkorho Bush Lodge, Sabi Sands National Park
Travel – 1 hour 45 minutes: Satara to Nkorho
DAY 19 / DRIVE TO JOHANNESBURG
Today leave Nkorho and make your way to Johannesburg via Dullstroom. At an altitude of 2100m above sea level, it has the honour of being the highest village in South Africa, and is a conveniently located stop for lunch. It’s a very cute town with lots of good food options. We ate at the humbly named Art of Food and it was, deliciously arty.
Despite its size, Johannesburg is a relatively easy city to drive through. We stayed in Melville, the cool, bohemian side of town. With a large student population, it’s home to a number of funky bars and cafe and a selection of decent restaurants nearby.
Stay – Motel Mi Pi Chi, Melville, Johannesburg
Travel – Guided morning drive then 6 hours, 30 minutes: Kruger to Johannesburg.
DAY 20 / JOHANNESBURG
This morning, take a cycling tour through Soweto with Soweto Backpackers and understand more about the history of the township and the famous uprising. The knowledgeable guides explain how the struggle against apartheid played out in this important area and introduces you to welcoming locals.
After the tour, take a walk around the Hector Pieterson museum, which commemorates the role the countries children took in the struggle against apartheid. In particular, the tragic protests of 1976 which saw many people shot by police while protesting against the substandard education in black schools.
In the afternoon, visit the Apartheid Museum near the centre of Johannesburg, an excellent museum telling the story of the rise and fall of apartheid across 22 exhibition areas. Using a variety of audio-visual mediums, it’s both chilling and inspiring to hear first-hand accounts of the struggle towards democracy. Allow plenty of time to see everything.
Stay – Motel Mi Pi Chi, Melville, Johannesburg
Travel – 1 hour, 10 minutes to Soweto, Apartheid Museum and back.
GETTING AROUND SOUTH AFRICA
To do this itinerary, fly into Cape Town, hire a car to explore the Western Cape, take an internal flight to Johannesburg, then hire another car for Kruger. Fly home from Johannesburg.
All roads on the itinerary can be driven in a normal 2WD car, but you may want a higher clearance vehicle at Johannesburg, for slightly better game viewing in Kruger. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you could consider cycling South Africa to really experience what this amazing country has to offer.
We use rentalcars.com for booking hire cars. They compare prices from all major car rental companies.
How to use this map / Click on the top left of the map to display the list of locations, then click on the locations to display further information. Click on the top right corner of the map to open a larger version in a new tab or the star to save to your Google Maps.
BEST TIME TO GO TO SOUTH AFRICA
Cape Town can be visited all year, but it is best to avoid the wet colder months of July and August. For spending time on the beaches and hiking along the Garden Route then the summer months of December to March delivers better temperatures but bigger crowds.
Whales come to Hermanus from June to December and the best game viewing time in Kruger is from May to October. We chose to go in November, and with the rains coming late to Kruger that year, had a great time.
For more comprehensive information when to travel, read our best time to visit South Africa article.
BOOKING YOUR 3-WEEK SOUTH AFRICA ITINERARY
Most travellers will not need an entry visa for South Africa. The list of countries whose citizens are exempt can be found here.
We strongly advise booking accommodation in advance, especially for Kruger and Sabi Sands that can get booked up a long time in advance.
For all our tips on spotting game and having an incredible experience at Kruger, see our post here.
Book Robben Island Tour, Siviwe Township tour and Table Mountain Cableway at least a week before arriving in Cape Town. Book Walker Bay Adventures kayaking in Hermanus and Soweto Cycling Tour in Johannesburg at least a couple of days ahead.
Want to know what to take with you to prepare for everything this incredible destination has to offer, have a look at this complete packing list for South Africa.
WHERE NEXT?
As one of our favourite places to visit for winter sun, great hiking and incredible wildlife opportunities, we’ve been to South Africa several times. Here’s some more reading you might find useful.
TRAVEL TIPS
How to design your own South Africa itinerary
DRAKENSBERG REGION
10 reasons to visit the magnificent Drakensberg Mountains
Hiking to the stunning Tugela Falls
Hiking to the top of the Tugela Gorge
WILDLIFE
27 incredible African safari animals and where to see them
10 tips for seeing the most animals on a self-drive Kruger safari
A BIG THANK YOU
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Paul & Mark
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Wow what a trip! Amazing pictures and fabulous itinerary. Love the pictures of the gorgeous leopards and pride of lions. We returned from a similar trip a few weeks ago so it’s great to read your story.
Cool. Yes I love seeing the leopards and lions as well, such interesting creatures.
Wow, your pictures are amazing! I’m planning a similar trip next spring and this was really useful. Thank you for sharing
Cool, Daniel – you’ll love South Africa.
This is a fantastic itinerary. I pinned it for my future reference. The pictures are stunning. you’re so lucky to see the huge pride of lions
Thanks very much, glad you found it useful. Yes, the lions were very cool.
This has always been part of my bucket list and will discuss with my husband if we can do it next year. Appreciate your very detailed post and rates. They are very helpful. Bookmarked your post for future reference
You are welcome Clarice. Hope you get the chance to go. Good luck.
THis is such a well prepared guide. Loved the trails descriptions, maps and all the tips. It’s super useful for new commers, and who knows maybe I will be one of them
Thanks Anita. Hope you get the chance to go.
This is an excellent and detailed itinerary for South Africa. I only went to Jo’berg and the outer suburbs, but would love to return and see more of the places on this list. I especially love little Karoo, it looks so breathtaking.
Yes we were very surprised by how pretty Little Karoo and Swartberg were. It came as a surprise as we did not know much about it.
I would like to commend you on share this detailed itinerary. I haven’t been to this part of the world and it is nice to read your article and tips! Gorgeous photos and I bet you have so many memorable experiences. Which is your best moments?
We had a truly great evening drive in Sabi Sands, where we saw two leopards mating, before wild dogs appeared over the hill and we followed them as they hunted. We were truly very lucky and it was a great experience. That was the highlight. For a more sedate pace, swimming in the sea after walking around the Robber peninsula was another top moment.
I suggested South Africa to my fiancé as a potential honeymoon destination, and he didn’t seem particularly interested, so I’ll have to show him your post. I love how much outdoorsy things there are to do there, from chilling on the beach to hiking and kayaking with whales. And how you can do it all for cheap! The wine tram sounds really cool too – I’ve never heard of anything like that before but what a fun activity to do and great way to make new friends!
I think South Africa is the perfect place for a honeymoon. There’s so much to do and see, and they have top-notch restaurants everywhere. You’ll love it. Show him the post and get booking! Let us know if you have any questions.
This is such a lovely itinerary. From mountains to the seas and activities like wildlife spotting, kayaking, hiking…wow! I am sure that even 3 weeks might feel less. I hope that I can get to SA soon for it has been a dream for a while. And if I do, will be taking several tips from here.
Thanks Ami. You could easily spend longer than 3 weeks if you had the time, it’s a big country with so much to do. Glad you found it useful and good luck with the holiday planning!
Shared this article on my FB page as well as I LOVE it! Partially living in South Africa and totally got inspired by some of the locations you describe. Have done similar intineraries like yours but stopped at different spots as well. Thanks for putting together this fantastic article that I will share with our friends visiting us in Cape Town as well 😀
Thanks so much, Marcella, so glad you liked it. You live in a fantastic country, so much to see. We love it as well.
hii please suggest .. we r going in october end.. where should we stay and where should we self drive for big 5….we will be staying for 3 days and 2 nights
Hi Guneet – All our accommodation recommendations are listed under each day in the itinerary. For spotting the Big 5, this article has lots of tips for you: https://anywhereweroam.com/sabi-sands-vs-kruger/
Thank you so much for your detailed itinerary, this has helped me so much. Just a quick question…. I have travelled to Canada, USA and New zealand and planned everything myself, booking all flights and hotels etc… as well as choosing the route. Would you recommend doing the same thing in SA or go through a travel company like trial finders or round the world experts? It felt much easier before to plan things from England but not so sure with SA. Any help appreciated.
Many thanks
Hi Kate – so glad you found it useful. We had absolutely no trouble booking and organising everything ourselves. It was really no different to planning everything for the USA or Canada. Accommodation and car rental were very easy to book online. The only exception might be if you want to get public transport around but that’s not something we did so I’m not sure how easy that would be.
Thanks Paul. I have had a good look and you are right, it is quite easy to do it myself and much cheaper. We would be driving, except in cape town as I don’t think we need a car there? or should we?
I am thinking of 5 days in Cape town and then travel down the garden route for approx 5 days, as we love to walk/hike and want to take in as much of the national parks and walking as possible.
Then 3 days safari – Not sure if we will fly to Kruger or do a safari on the eastern cape.
Thinking of January 2020 so plenty of time to research and get things booked.
Just a quick question, when booking your safari, who did you book this with? I have seen so many different websites that I am not sure what is best? Directly or via a company? Your safari looks amazing, quite expensive but it looks like it was worth it! We want to see Elephants and giraffes so I need to pick wisely.
Hi Kate – No problem.
I think you do need a car in Cape Town actually. Some of the things you want to see are quite spread out, plus there are lots of amazing scenery just outside the city. It would make the experience much better if you had a car. It’s easy enough to drive in and car hire is relatively inexpensive. Our Cape Town Itinerary with all the details is here: https://anywhereweroam.com/5-day-cape-town-itinerary/
Our Kruger safari was amazing. We did it all by self-drive which I would highly recommend as this gives you the flexibility go searching for what you want as long as you want to. Our self-drive info is here: https://anywhereweroam.com/self-drive-kruger-safari/
Having said that, if you have the time and the budget I would also recommend staying in Sabi Sands. They are a private lodge but the benefit here is that you get taken out with a ranger twice a day and they can teach you a lot about the animals, but also take you to some amazing things. We saw leopards mating and a wild dog hunt! Incredible. Two days in Sabi is enough I think. We stayed here :
https://www.booking.com/hotel/za/nkorho-bush-lodge.en.html?aid=1649037&no_rooms=1&group_adults=1
It’s a great resort and they take care of everything for you (twice-daily safari drives and all meals).
Obviously, going to Kruger would require an internal flight, but again, very easy to organise (BA supply their domestic routes) and well worth it.