South Africa itinerary, day by day

From Cape Town and the Stellenbosch vineyards along the Garden Route to a safari in Kruger: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 5, 7 or 14 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: August to March

Le Cap · Photo Marlin Clark / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

South Africa in 5 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · ≈ 470 km

1Cape Town

Days 1-2

A city between two oceans under Table Mountain, with the Cape of Good Hope an hour and a half down the peninsula.

🎟️ Worth booking

Table Mountain by cable carHalf day · from €30
The floor of the car turns as it climbs, so everyone gets the view. Go early: the cloud locals call the tablecloth arrives without warning.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cape of Good Hope and the penguinsFull day · from €55
The drive down the peninsula, the old lighthouse at Cape Point, and the African penguin colony on Boulders Beach.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The painted houses of Bo-Kaap · The V&A Waterfront · Camps Bay beach · Signal Hill

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Long Street Backpackers (€25 a night) · Mid-range: Gorgeous George (€180 a night) · Luxury: The Silo Hotel (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Reverie Social Table ↗ ★ 4.9 · 269 reviews
La Colombe Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 2605 reviews · €€€€
Belly of the beast ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1197 reviews
PIER Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 650 reviews · €€€€
Bo-Vine Wine & Grill House Camps Bay ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1510 reviews

Photo Brendan Ruhli / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h · 420 km

2The Garden Route

Days 3-5

Three hundred kilometres of coast between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth: lagoons, old growth forest and beaches with nobody on them.

🎟️ Worth booking

Bungee jump at BloukransHalf day · from €90
216 metres off a road bridge over the gorge, the highest commercial bridge jump anywhere.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Walking safari and the canopyHalf day · from €45
Tsitsikamma on foot and then from above, on the walkways strung through the treetops.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Wilderness beaches · Knysna and its lagoon · The Tsitsikamma forests · The coastal viewpoints

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Island Vibe Knysna (€28 a night) · Mid-range: Turbine Hotel Knysna (€155 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Serendipity Country House & Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 364 reviews
Tsala Treetop Lodge ↗ ★ 4.8 · 280 reviews
Karoozin Village ↗ ★ 4.8 · 240 reviews
101 Meade Street Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.7 · 2186 reviews · €€
Nostalgie Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1870 reviews · €€

Photo Jean van der Meulen / Pexels

South Africa in 7 days

3 stops · 18 things to do · ≈ 470 km

1Cape Town

Days 1-2

A city between two oceans under Table Mountain, with the Cape of Good Hope an hour and a half down the peninsula.

🎟️ Worth booking

Table Mountain by cable carHalf day · from €30
The floor of the car turns as it climbs, so everyone gets the view. Go early: the cloud locals call the tablecloth arrives without warning.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cape of Good Hope and the penguinsFull day · from €55
The drive down the peninsula, the old lighthouse at Cape Point, and the African penguin colony on Boulders Beach.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The painted houses of Bo-Kaap · The V&A Waterfront · Camps Bay beach · Signal Hill

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Long Street Backpackers (€25 a night) · Mid-range: Gorgeous George (€180 a night) · Luxury: The Silo Hotel (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Brendan Ruhli / Pexels

🚗 Car · 1h · 50 km

2The Winelands: Stellenbosch

Day 3

Estates planted by Huguenot refugees from the 1680s, white Cape Dutch gables, and the reds that made the country's name.

🎟️ Worth booking

The wine tramFull day · from €55
A hop-on tram and bus loop around the Franschhoek estates, which settles the question of who drives.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Food and wine pairingHalf day · from €40
Small plates matched glass by glass on one estate, usually three or four courses long.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Cape vineyards · Cape Dutch architecture · Franschhoek · The estate gardens

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Stumble Inn (€26 a night) · Mid-range: Lanzerac Hotel (€200 a night) · Luxury: Clouds Estate (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

MERTIA ↗ ★ 4.9 · 316 reviews
The Table at De Meye ↗ ★ 4.8 · 543 reviews · €€
De Vier Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 288 reviews
The Fat Butcher ↗ ★ 4.7 · 3764 reviews · €€€
Rust en Vrede Wine Estate ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1145 reviews

Photo Nikita / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h · 420 km

3The Garden Route

Days 4-7

Three hundred kilometres of coast between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth: lagoons, old growth forest and beaches with nobody on them.

🎟️ Worth booking

Bungee jump at BloukransHalf day · from €90
216 metres off a road bridge over the gorge, the highest commercial bridge jump anywhere.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Walking safari and the canopyHalf day · from €45
Tsitsikamma on foot and then from above, on the walkways strung through the treetops.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Wilderness beaches · Knysna and its lagoon · The Tsitsikamma forests · The coastal viewpoints

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Island Vibe Knysna (€28 a night) · Mid-range: Turbine Hotel Knysna (€155 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jean van der Meulen / Pexels

South Africa in 14 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · ≈ 470 km

1Cape Town

Days 1-3

A city between two oceans under Table Mountain, with the Cape of Good Hope an hour and a half down the peninsula.

🎟️ Worth booking

Table Mountain by cable carHalf day · from €30
The floor of the car turns as it climbs, so everyone gets the view. Go early: the cloud locals call the tablecloth arrives without warning.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cape of Good Hope and the penguinsFull day · from €55
The drive down the peninsula, the old lighthouse at Cape Point, and the African penguin colony on Boulders Beach.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The painted houses of Bo-Kaap · The V&A Waterfront · Camps Bay beach · Signal Hill

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Long Street Backpackers (€25 a night) · Mid-range: Gorgeous George (€180 a night) · Luxury: The Silo Hotel (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Brendan Ruhli / Pexels

🚗 Car · 1h · 50 km

2The Winelands: Stellenbosch

Days 4-5

Estates planted by Huguenot refugees from the 1680s, white Cape Dutch gables, and the reds that made the country's name.

🎟️ Worth booking

The wine tramFull day · from €55
A hop-on tram and bus loop around the Franschhoek estates, which settles the question of who drives.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Food and wine pairingHalf day · from €40
Small plates matched glass by glass on one estate, usually three or four courses long.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Cape vineyards · Cape Dutch architecture · Franschhoek · The estate gardens

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Stumble Inn (€26 a night) · Mid-range: Lanzerac Hotel (€200 a night) · Luxury: Clouds Estate (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Nikita / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h · 420 km

3The Garden Route

Days 6-9

Three hundred kilometres of coast between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth: lagoons, old growth forest and beaches with nobody on them.

🎟️ Worth booking

Bungee jump at BloukransHalf day · from €90
216 metres off a road bridge over the gorge, the highest commercial bridge jump anywhere.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Walking safari and the canopyHalf day · from €45
Tsitsikamma on foot and then from above, on the walkways strung through the treetops.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Wilderness beaches · Knysna and its lagoon · The Tsitsikamma forests · The coastal viewpoints

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Island Vibe Knysna (€28 a night) · Mid-range: Turbine Hotel Knysna (€155 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jean van der Meulen / Pexels

✈️ Flight + Road · 2h · via Johannesburg

4Kruger safari

Days 10-14

Almost twenty thousand square kilometres, one of the largest reserves in Africa, and all of the Big Five inside it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Game drives by 4x4, morning and eveningFull day · from €120
The two hours after dawn and before dusk, when the animals move and the guide reads the tracks.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Guided night driveEvening · from €55
Spotlights after dark, which is when leopard, hyena and the smaller hunters come out.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Big Five · Sunrise over the bush · The waterholes · Birdwatching

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Tranquil Nest (€50 a night) · Mid-range: Nkambeni Safari Camp (€147 a night) · Luxury: Kruger Gate Hotel (€351 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

The Harvest House ↗ ★ 4.8 · 167 reviews
The Hat & Creek ↗ ★ 4.5 · 1344 reviews · €€
Bushveld Terrace Hotel on Kruger ↗ ★ 4.5 · 944 reviews
Arugula Experience Hoedspruit ↗ ★ 4.5 · 135 reviews
Bushveld Terrace Restaurant on Kruger ↗ ★ 4.4 · 233 reviews

Photo Zhang Thomas / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Braai: the barbecue, and a social institution rather than a meal.
Bobotie: spiced minced meat under a baked egg custard, from the Cape Malay kitchen.
Biltong: air-dried cured meat, eaten by the handful.
Boerewors: a coiled spiced sausage, straight off the braai.
Cape wine: the estates around Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.

⚠️ What to avoid

Do not walk alone at night, and ask locally which streets are fine after dark.
Keep valuables out of sight, and drive with the windows up and the doors locked.
Stay alert at isolated traffic lights late at night, and leave yourself room to pull away.
On safari, do what the rangers say: stay in the vehicle and keep your voice down.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable South Africa guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit South Africa, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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