Discover South Africa's Garden Route

Experience South Africa’s iconic adventure route with the people who know every twist, turn and hidden gem

The Garden Route, the greatest road trip in South Africa, deserves an adventure to match. So, join this activity-packed itinerary for a showcase of its greatest experiences, handpicked by the local experts. You’ll discover the wonders of Cape Town and the glorious Cape Peninsula, ride the wine tram to legendary wine estates, marvel at mischievous meerkats, cruise the beautiful Knysna waterfront and hike through the dramatic landscapes of Tsitsikamma National Park. It ends with an unforgettable safari through the African bush, spotting beasts big and small with the help of an expert ranger.

Sustainability and Impact

As a certified B Corp, we’re on a mission to improve our social and environmental impact across all our adventures.

We do this through our innovative Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan.

This ‘nature positive’ approach is designed to help nature and communities thrive in harmony through practical solutions, such as reducing carbon and waste on our trips, supporting conservation projects through the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation, and rewilding 100 square metres for every Exodus traveller.

Is this trip for you?

This trip is graded Activity Level 1 (Easy). For more information on our trip gradings, visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip, please contact us.

Walks: This is primarily a vehicle-based adventure, although we can take walks in Tsitsikamma National Park, Meiringspoort Waterfall, Hermanus and the Cape Peninsula. These are generally along good paths and boardwalks and take about one to two hours.

Drive times: These can vary but the maximum amount of driving in one day is approximately five hours with stops throughout. On most days, we are on the road for less than three hours (not including stops or game drives).

Legal note: All group members joining this tour are asked to sign an indemnity form at the start of the trip. It’s a requirement of the South African Tourism Service Association, of which our local supplier is a member. As a client of Exodus Travels Ltd, your rights under the Package Travel Regulations (1992) are unaffected, and Exodus remains liable for the actions of our sub-contractors.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as not suitable for full wheelchair users, but it may be suitable for other persons of reduced mobility. Please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.

Vaccinations and Health

South Africa

There are no required vaccinations. However, recommended vaccinations include hepatitis A, tetanus, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis B, rabies and tuberculosis. You will also need a yellow fever vaccination certificate if you’re arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission or transiting for more than 12 hours through a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

Malaria prophylaxis is essential if travelling in the greater Kruger area; seek advice from your doctor or travel clinic about which tablets to take. The rest of South Africa, including the Garden Route, has a low risk of malaria.

Dengue fever, a tropical viral disease spread by daytime biting mosquitoes, is also a known risk in places visited. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available, so we recommend taking the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Visa

South Africa

Travellers from the UK, US and most (though not all) EU states normally do not need a visa to enter South Africa. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/africa/south-africa
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/south-africa
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/south-africa/entry-requirements
• USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/SouthAfrica.html

Please note, all travellers to South Africa who require a visa need at least two consecutive blank pages in their passport (ie a left- and right-hand page) to enable an entry visa to be issued.

Additionally, any child under 18 travelling to South Africa needs to be in possession of an unabridged birth certificate with the names of both parents. If a child under 18 is only travelling with one parent, they will also have to have an affidavit, no less than three months old, from the absent parent confirming the child can travel with the other parent; a court order granting full legal guardianship of the child; or a death certificate of the deceased parent.

Food & Drink

Food on this trip is very similar to the kind of food you are used to at home, though there may be the opportunity to try local meats such as ostrich, kudu or eland. Vegetarians and vegans can be well catered for – please inform us before departure of any special dietary requests so our local team can be well prepared.

Weather

Summer is from October to April and the average daytime temperature is 25C-30C (77F-86F). The average night-time temperature is 10C-20C (50F-68F). Winter is from May to September and average temperatures are colder. In general, however, the Cape Town climate is quite mild. Summer is typically dry and warm, but the southeasterly wind can blow up to 43mph (70kph) at least a few times a month. This helps to cool things but can be a little unpleasant if one is walking in exposed areas. Most of the rainfall is in winter but it is frontal rain off the Atlantic. Therefore, it can rain solidly for two days, and in between there will be warm, sunny days. It is fairly common to experience tabletop clouds on the higher mountains. Our programme is flexible enough to accommodate any major changes in weather and still make it enjoyable.