A long, lazy stretch of mountain-backed coastline, the Garden Route begins a few hours’ drive from Cape Town. It’s an area of great natural beauty: forested hills tumble down to sandy beaches punctuated by slow rivers and glassy lagoons. The ocean is warm enough to swim in and the climate usually sunny, warm and dry.
Combined with Cape Town, the Garden Route is the perfect vacation destination. You can even drive it yourself in a hire car. The region has excellent roads and a friendly, unhurried attitude and since the Garden Route ends where the private game reserves of the Eastern Cape begin, you can finish your holiday with a malaria-free Big 5 safari.
There’s as much or as little as you want to do on a Garden Route holiday. There are health spas and sizzling summer beaches but also shady forest walks, mountain bike trails and river cruises too. You can meet amiable elephants at a sanctuary or tee off on a world-class golf course. There’s shark-cage diving, sailing, hiking and local culture to fit in as well as white-knuckle adventures ranging from high-speed boats to bungee jumping.
The Garden Route has accommodation for every requirement and budget: family-run guesthouses, clean-lined beach villas and grand country houses on private estates. Ask us about the ones best suited for your needs – some accommodations are very intimate and suitable for couples and honeymooners while others have sprawling lawns, swimming pools and child minders for the quintessential family holiday. Many accommodations are ideal and appealing to independent-minded self-drivers.
Speak to us about organising your Garden Route holiday. We can combine it with Cape Town and a Big 5 safari in the Eastern Cape, tailoring an itinerary with accommodation to your specifications. We can also make any necessary activity bookings.
The Garden Route’s year-round temperate climate means this is a destination made for the great outdoors. Unlike Cape Town however, there may be rain at any time of year on the Garden Route but it rarely lasts long and most days are dry, warm and sunny.
Temperatures are highest in summer (November to April) but be warned that the area gets very busy over the Christmas school holidays. For a beach holiday without the crowds, visit the Garden Route between February and April. Winter (June to August) temperatures aren’t especially low – they rarely fall below 16°C – and visitors at this time of year are often treated to long sunny spells.
Note that there is a seasonal aspect to some of the Garden Route’s attractions: whale watching season is from July to October (peaking in September) and the 10-day, event-studded Knysna Festival takes place in July.
Ranging from boutique guest houses and country lodges to self-catering cottages and private villas, Garden Route accommodation guarantees something to suit any type of traveller – honeymooners, families, groups of friends and self-drivers. There are even luxurious suites set on private golf courses and polo estates, ensuring complete exclusivity.
The majority of Garden Route accommodations are set in the area’s two most popular seaside towns: Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. You have the choice between staying in the town itself or at a more discreet distance – something we’d recommend during the Garden Route’s busy summer season. Accommodation is of a high standard with excellent cuisine and a long list of things to see and do.
Browse our recommended Garden Route accommodation below or simply contact us for advice on which accommodation is best for your needs and budget.
Luxurious, family-owned boutique retreat nestled in a tranquil indigenous forest above Knysna, South Africa. Perched atop Kanonkop Hill, it offers sweeping views of the Knysna Lagoon, the iconic Heads, and the Indian Ocean.
Recognized with awards such as "Prime Location Hotel in South Africa" by Haute Grandeur, Head Over Hills is ideal for romantic getaways, honeymoons, or tranquil escapes. Its proximity to attractions like Pezula Golf Club and Coney Glen Beach makes it a perfect base for exploring the Garden Route.
Luxurious Safari Lodge located in a malaria-free Reserve, and perched along the banks of the Great Fish River. Guests can enjoy twice-daily game drives, nature walks and big game walking experience (tracking white rhino, black rhino, elephant and buffalo on foot, accompanied by an armed specialist ranger and tracker team.
A Garden Route tour is a natural combination with Cape Town but it’s also easy to combine with the Cape Winelands and Whale Coast – you can even do it yourself in a hire car. The roads are excellent and there’s a wide range of accommodation throughout the region. And if you’d like to add on some big game viewing, then a Garden Route safari is a straightforward solution: malaria-free, Big 5 game viewing in a variety of private reserves at the eastern end of the Garden Route.
To combine a Garden Route tour with South Africa’s top safari destination – the Kruger and Sabi Sands – we’d recommend a tour that flies to Johannesburg and then onto the Kruger. With airports at both end of the Garden Route – Cape Town and Port Elizabeth – this is easy to organise.
Browse our recommended tours below, each including a Garden Route holiday in its itinerary. Alternatively, simply contact us for a tailor-made tour based on your needs and budget.
Our team of destination experts will design a holiday to meet your budget and interests. Let’s start planning your tailor-made African safari today!
A Garden Route holiday is usually enjoyed as part of a bigger itinerary. Situated between Cape Town and the game reserves of the Eastern Cape, the Garden Route fits nicely into a combination of the three destinations, giving you an unbeatable mix of mountains, beaches, wildlife and all the attractions of Africa’s favourite city. You can self-drive the entire route either way, fly from point to point, or join a tour. And thanks to South Africa’s impressive transport infrastructure, you can also add on a safari in the Kruger National Park.
