Classic South Africa Tour
Classic South Africa Tour

South Africa boasts some of the most diverse and spectacular landscapes and wildlife in the world. Venture into its wild heart in search of the Big Five at Kruger National Park. Visit Swaziland and the battlefield at Rorke's Drift, fly to Port Elizabeth to follow the Garden Route to Knysna, and complete your travels with a tour of the Winelands District and the chance to explore Cape Town.

South Africa Holiday Highlights
  • Discover regional traditions at the Lesedi Cultural Village
  • Visit the Apartheid Museum
  • Spend a night in a game lodge
  • Enjoy a sunset drive, bush walk and full day's game drive in Kruger National Park
  • Discover stunning scenery on the Panorama Route, including God's Window
  • Visit tiny Swaziland and the eZulwini Valley
  • Learn the true stories of the battles at Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift from an expert historian
  • Follow the beautiful Garden Route to Knysna
  • Visit an ostrich farm
  • Stay in the heart of the Cape Winelands District
  • Enjoy a wine-tasting tour
  • Spend three days in delightful Cape Town
Classic South Africa Tour Itinerary

Day One: Fly to Johannesburg

Fly to Johannesburg, meet your Tour Manager and transfer to Lesedi Cultural Village. You'll spend two nights here in traditional surroundings, staying at the heart of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. Enjoy a light meal and your first night under African skies.

Day Two: Visit Liliesleaf Farm and Johannesburg's Apartheid Museum

Discover the history behind today's democratic South Africa as we visit The 28-acre farmstead at Liliesleaf - once the underground headquarters of the ANC and Umkhonto we Sizwe - and Johannesburg's Apartheid Museum.
This evening, enjoy the hospitality of your Lesedi hosts, who will introduce their cultures, welcome you into their homes and perform traditional music and dances.

Day Three: Kruger National Park and a braai dinner

After an early breakfast we'll head to Kruger National Park, Africa's oldest wildlife conservation area. Here you'll spend the night under canvas at the newly refurbished Shalati Kruger Lodge. Take your first game drive, into Manyeleti Private Game Reserve, as the sun sets and (weather permitting) enjoy a bush braai dinner beneath the star-filled sky.

Day Four: Spot the Big Five in Kruger National Park

Start you day with a guided bush walk and bush breakfast, then head into Kruger National Park. The reserve is the natural habitat of some of the world's most recognisable wildlife, and with luck you'll encounter impala, wildebeest, giraffe and zebra - as well as the Big Five (lions, rhinos, elephants, leopards and buffalo) on a game drive in an open-top vehicle.
After the drive you'll leave the Park and head to your next hotel, where dinner will be waiting.

Day Five: Pilgrim's Rest

Today we'll follow Mpumalanga's Panorama Route to the gold-rush town of Pilgrim's Rest and the mountain passes overlooking the vastness of Blyde River Canyon. Take in the enormous view from God's Window on the Drakensberg escarpment, the towering grass-covered peaks of the Three Rondavels and the colourful water-worn rock formations of Bourke's Luck Potholes, before returning to your hotel for dinner.

Day Six: Cross the border into Swaziland

A British Protectorate until 1968, Swaziland's culture still mixes colonial ideas with its strong tribal traditions. Cross the border and spend a day visiting cultural centres and craft shops before crossing back into South Africa and through the northern valleys of Kwazulu-Natal on your way to your next hotel.

Day Seven: Zulu battlefields and Rorke's Drift

Discover the true stories of the Zulu wars, as you explore the battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift in the company of a specialist guide. This fascinating day includes lunch, and you'll return to the hotel in time for dinner.

Day Eight: Fly to Port Elizabeth

You'll have an early start this morning as we return to Johannesburg airport and fly south to Port Elizabeth. You'll be transferred to your hotel by coach and then have the evening free to explore this popular beach resort, which still retains traces of its Victorian colonial past and boasts a vibrant and varied dining scene.

Day Nine: Travel along the Garden Route to Knysna

This morning you'll follow the Garden Route to Knysna, a town of Victorian and Georgian houses on the wooded banks of a beautiful lagoon. Take the ferry to Featherbed Nature Reserve, home to some 200 species of fish as well as a particularly rare species of seahorse, and take a drive through the natural beauty of Western Head to have lunch in the shade of milkwood trees.

Day 10: See ostriches in Oudtshoorn

Sunny Oudtshoorn has been christened the Ostrich Capital of the World. The world's strangest, largest and often most valuable bird has been farmed here for 130 years. First for its plumage and now for its high-protein, low-cholesterol meat - samples of which will be offered at lunchtime. 
Later, enjoy another relaxing evening in Knysna.

Day 11: See the whales in Hermanus

Head west along the Garden Route to sleepy Mossel Bay and on to Hermanus. Between July and November, the waters here teem with whales and you'll have the chance to see them from the shore before turning inland into the Cape Winelands to spend the night at a lodge looking out across Cape vineyards to the Stellenbosch mountains.

Day 12: Tour the winelands of the Western Cape

Today's tour of the Winelands will take you through a rolling landscape of vineyards and villages. Explore Stellenbosch, Franschhoek (now regarded as the culinary capital of the Western Cape) and Paarl. During the day, there will be winetasting, a cellar tour, and the opportunity to purchase some excellent wines. 
Later we'll head to Cape Town, and check in to our final hotel for a three-night stay.

Day 13: Visit Cape Point and the penguins at Boulder's Beach

Our final day of touring takes us along the Atlantic coast (weather permitting, following the winding cliff-side Tarmac of Chapman's Peak Drive), into the Cape Point Peninsula. See Cape Point, in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, and the colony of jackass penguins at Boulder's Beach. Enjoy lunch overlooking False Bay, and visit magnificent Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden at the eastern foot of Table Mountain. 
Back in Cape Town, this evening, explore the shops, theatres, restaurants and bars of the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.

Day 14: Free day in Cape Town

Today you're free to enjoy Cape Town. Why not join a walking tour through the Dutch colonial houses of the Bo-Kaap district, stroll along the tree-lined paths of The Company's Garden, catch a catamaran to the prison at Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison, or take in the unforgettable views from a rotating cable car as it climbs to the peak of Table Mountain?

Day 15: Overnight flight back to the UK

Make the most of your last morning in Cape Town, then transfer to the airport to board your overnight flight home.

Day 16: Arrive in the UK

Arrive back in the UK at the end of a wonderful South African adventure.

Departure Dates & Prices
     
Edinburgh 11 September 2019 £2799
Edinburgh 25 September 2019  £2859
Edinburgh 09 October 2019 £2859
Edinburgh 13 November 2019 £2859
     
London Heathrow  11 September 2019  £2799
London Heathrow  25 September 2019  £2859
London Heathrow  09 October 2019 £2859
London Heathrow  13 November 2019 £2859
     
Manchester 11 September 2019  £2799
Manchester 25 September 2019  £2859
Manchester 09 October 2019 £2859
Manchester 13 November 2019 £2859

Call 01226 345381 to Book 

Classic South Africa Touring Hotels
Classic South Africa Touring Hotels

The hotels used on our tours will meet the standard of a good, three-star European hotel. Rooms will have private bathrooms, telephones and TV. The vast majority will also have tea- and coffee-making facilities. There will always be a bar or restaurant on site or nearby.

What's does the price include?
  • 14 nights' bed and breakfast accommodation in Lesedi Cultural Village (2 nights), Shalati Kruger Lodge (1), Stille Woning (2), Dundee (2), Port Elizabeth (1), Knysna (2), Stellenbosch (1) and Cape Town (3)
  • Visits to Cape Town, Swaziland, Kruger National Park and the Cape Winelands
  • Return scheduled flights to Johannesburg via Amsterdam (returning from Cape Town)
  • An internal flight from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth
  • Air-conditioned coach travel throughout
  • The services of friendly, experienced Tour Manager

Single rooms are available for a supplement

Contact Us
Further Information

Featherbed Nature Reserve

Recent bush fires mean that we will not be able to visit Featherbed Nature Reserve until mid 2018. The visit will be replaced by a cruise off the shores of the reserve and a visit to Tsitsikamma National Park.

Itinerary changes

Occasionally, for operational reasons, we may have to change the order of the excursions on your holiday. The final day-by-day itinerary will be confirmed on your Final Travel Documents, which you will receive approximately three weeks prior to your departure.

Hotel transfer times

The transfer time from the airport to your hotel is approximately one hour.

Passports and visas

A visa is not required for UK citizens travelling to South Africa, but your passport must be valid for six months beyond the date of entry to the country and have two adjacent blank pages. Special entry rules apply for children under 18 years.

Foreign Office Travel Advice

Visit www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice to find out the latest Foreign And Commonwealth Office travel advice for your holiday destination, as well as information about passports and visas.

Luggage allowance

You are permitted to take one suitcase per person on the aircraft, which should not exceed 23kg.

Special requirements

If you have notified us of any special requirements, please check that they have been noted and acknowledged. This is especially important with any dietary needs you may have.

Disabled access

The majority of our tours involve a certain amount of walking, including a short walk from the coach stop to the town, attraction or venue you're visiting. If you are bringing a wheelchair, please let us know at the time of booking so that appropriate arrangements can be made. In many developing countries access is sometimes not as easy as at home. Should you have walking difficulties, getting around monuments and attractions may be harder and, in some cases, impossible. Should you have any concerns whatsoever please do contact us prior to travel.

Travel vaccinations

Requirements and advice can vary over time, and from person to person, so please contact your GP about eight weeks before your trip to check whether you need any vaccinations or any other preventive measures.

Changes to your hotels

Should circumstances require, we reserve the right to accommodate you in alternative hotels, of a similar standard, nearby. Full details of your hotels will be sent with your Final Travel Documents.

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