South Africa

Self-drive / Family / Walking / Romance / General Tours
Horse Safaris / Camping Tours / Victoria Falls extension

Mellow Cape

This popular self-drive tour begins in Cape Town. It meanders through the Winelands and the Overberg, a region of rolling countryside, fruit farms and pretty country villages, and then on to the Little Karoo and Garden Route. A couple of nights at one of the Eastern cape private game reserves can be added easily.

Meals Bed & Breakfast
Accommodation Mix of Premier and Luxury
Departure Dates On request
Transport Group B rental car with unlimited kilometres. Upgrades to larger vehicles easily arranged.
Price Includes Meals and accommodation as shown in text, Group B car rental
Price Excludes International flights, visas, items of a personal nature, meals not specified
Minimum Number 2
Climate Mediterranean in the Cape (winter rains, hot dry summers), summer showers on Garden Route
Best time to go All year round but especially October/November through to May
Health Requirements None - sunblock essential
Combines well with Eastern Cape Safari or Coast and Karoo self-drive

Day 1 : Arrive Cape Town, 3 nights, Commodore Hotel, Cape Town, Bed & Breakfast
On arrival at Cape Town Airport you collect your rental car and drive to the Radisson Hotel for a three-night stay. Cape Town is Southern Africa's oldest city and its most scenic. From your base here, close to the Waterfront, you will be able to explore both the city centre and further afield. Take time to walk or take the cable car up Table Mountain, visit the charming Malay quarter and the wonderful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Take a boat trip from the harbour, or just relax on the beach. The Commodore is a five star hotel in the V&A Waterfront. The alternative, the Radisson, is a five star hotel right on the water's edge about ten minutes walk to the Waterfont.

Day 4 : 2 nights, Franschhoek Country Manor/Klein Oliphantshoek, Franschhoek, Bed & Breakfast
Only a short distance from Cape Town lies the Winelands region, an area of exquisite beauty with rocky mountains overlooking green vineyards; oak avenues leading to elegant Cape Dutch wine estates and some of the most charming towns and villages in South Africa. The main pleasure of this region is the enjoyment of the good life: appreciating the wine and the superb architecture, enjoying long, lazy meals in one of the many excellent restaurants, browsing in the craft shops and galleries or taking scenic drives or walks in the surrounding mountains. Spend two nights at Franschhoek Country Manor or Klein Oliphantshoek Lodge, surrounded by vineyards. Bedrooms are stylishly furnished with antiques and period pieces.

Day 6 : 2 nights, Auberge Burgundy, Hermanus, Bed & Breakfast
Today you drive over the mountains to the cosmopolitan former fishing village of Hermanus, which boasts some of the finest land-based whale-watching in the world from August to November, as well as spectacular mountain scenery and lovely sandy beaches for swimming and surfing. You may like to go for a nature walk in the mountains, try your luck at some whale-watching along the coastal paths or explore the numerous craft shops in the village. Auberge Burgundy is a provencal style 'auberge' in the middle of picturesque Hermanus.

Day 8 : 2 nights, La Plume Guest Farm, Oudtshoorn, Bed & Breakfast
Continue to the semi-desert rugged region of the Little Karoo via the spectacular Outeniqua Mountain pass. In the Victorian era, when ostrich feathers were the height of fashion in Europe, the ostrich boom centred on Oudtshoorn creating "feather barons' who built grandiose mansions here. Sample the excellent wines of the Little Karoo over lunch at a working ostrich farm or visit the Cango Caves, a spectacular series of limestone caverns, some of the most extensive in the world. The elegant La Plume Guest Farm is a carefully restored Victorian homestead with lovely views over the valley.

Day 10 : 3 nights, Hog Hollow or Mallard River Lodge, Plettenberg Bay, Bed & Breakfast
Head to the Garden Route for 3 nights. Plettenberg Bay is a resort town with a stunning location overlooking the beautiful Walker Bay. It is still known for its superb beaches, watersports and also Robberg Nature Reserve on the peninsula. This charming timber country lodge with twelve individually decorated rooms has superb views over the indigenous forest and mountains. Each room has a private wooden deck, fitted with its own hammock, en suite bathroom and cosy fireplace. Known for its excellent and creative cuisine, this is essentially a rural retreat for lovers of good food, walking and scenery. Mallard River Lodge is the alternative lodge.

Day 13 : 1 night, La Provence, Port Elizabeth, Bed & Breakfast
Travel through the Tsitsikmma to PE, La Provence is a classic mediterranean-styled villa about 15 minutes from the city centre in a lovely country setting. All six well-appointed rooms are en suite and a welcoming pool and tennis court is on offer in the large flowing gardens. As well as visiting the nearby secluded Sardinia Bay beach and the Oceanarium, you might like to take in the Cape Recife nature reserve at the headland, a good place for nature walks, birding and beach-combing.

Day 14 : Depart Port Elizabeth
Drive to Port Elizabeth Airport to drop off your rental car and board your onward flight.

Price per person sharing: May 1- Aug. 31, 2006 = 10250rand, Sept. 1-30 = 10720 rand, Oct. 1- 31 = 11850 rand,