See the best of South Africa’s scenic Garden Route—with visits to Addo Elephant National Park, Wilderness, Jeffreys Bay, and Oudtshoorn—during this 5-day trip from Cape Town. Join your expert guide on hikes through lush forests and canoe rides through picture-perfect water. Visit nature reserves to see some of Africa’s endangered species. Kick back and soak in the sun on soft, sandy beaches. This tour offers the perfect mix of guided and self-directed activities.

5-day tour of South Africa's Garden Route from Cape Town
See magnificent landscapes while hiking in Tsitsikamma National Park and canoeing in Wilderness
Walk to lookout points around the Knysna Heads for great photo ops
Swim, surf, or stroll along the famous beaches in Jeffreys Bay
Get close to elephants, big cats, and more at Addo Elephant National Park
Check out a working ostrich farm
Try extra activities (own expense) such as bungee jumping, a 4x4 game drive, and ziplining

What's Included

Hotel pickup + Guided transfers with English-speaking tour guide
Game drive tour of Addo Elephant National Park in tour van
Route 62 Wine Tasting
Ostrich Farm Visit + Cango Caves Exploring tickets
Wilderness Canoeing
Tsitsikamma National Park entry ticket
Accommodation & bedding
Knysna Heads visit
A portion of your trip fee is donated to help fund 2Cchange non-profit local charity projects
Breakfast (4)

Meals & drinks not mentioned in tour description. There is time to buy and enjoy meals on tour.
Optional Elephant Observation Nature Walk (about R600)
Optional Waterfall Zipline (about R550) or Bungy jump (about R1400)

Meeting And Pickup

Pickup points

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Start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

Opening hours

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Pickup details

If your accommodation is not listed, please inform us.

What To Expect

Day 1

Cape Town - Route 62 - Oudtshoorn

4 Stops

Garden Route (Tsitsikamma, Knysna, Wilderness) National Park

4 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Ashton Winery

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Buffelsdrift Game Lodge - Activities

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Oudtshoorn

Admission Ticket Free

Accommodation: Overnight Oudtshoorn: Saver Uthando Backpackers, 3* Comfort 88 Baron van Reede guest house, 4* Deluxe Buffelsdrift Lodge

Meals: Not included

Day 2

Oudtshoorn - Addo

3 Stops

Cango Ostrich Show Farm

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

The Cango Caves

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Addo

Admission Ticket Free

Accommodation: Overnight Addo: Saver Avoca Cabins or 3* Comfort Gerald's Gift guest house or 4* Deluxe Addo Wildlife Lodge

Meals: Breakfast

Day 3

Addo Elephant National Park - Jeffreys Bay

2 Stops

Addo Elephant National Park

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Jeffreys Bay

4 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Accommodation: Overnight Jeffreys Bay: Saver Island Vibe Backpacker or 3* Comfort Sea Whisper or 4* Deluxe On The Beach guest house

Meals: Breakfast

Day 4

Tsitsikamma - Knysna - Wilderness

5 Stops

Bloukrans Bridge

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Tsitsikamma National Park

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Garden Route (Tsitsikamma, Knysna, Wilderness) National Park

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Knysna Heads

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Myoli Beach

Admission Ticket Free

Accommodation: Overnight Wilderness: Saver Pili Pili Backpackers or 3* Comfort Fairy Knowe or 4* Deluxe Dolphin Dunes guest house

Meals: Breakfast

Day 5

Botlierskop or Mossel Bay - N2

2 Stops

Kaaiman's River

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Botlierskop Private Game Reserve

2 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included

Accommodation: Not included

Meals: Breakfast

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Minimum age is 8 years
Children between 8 and 17 must be accompanied by an adult and book in private rooms
Children under 18 years of age are not allowed to book in Dorm room packages
According to availability at time of booking, accommodation will be in the mentioned hotel or in one of a similar standard and star rating in a similar area. Sedgefield accommodation will occasionally be sold out and then your accommodation will be in nearby town of Wilderness or Knysna
It is recommended that you bring: comfortable walking shoes, sunscreen, sun hat, jacket for cooler evenings, beach towel and swimming costume
The exact itinerary is subject to change and may, on occasions, run in reverse order
Wheelchair accessible

Some optional activities on this tour require a moderate level of fitness
Upgrade accommodation fees cannot be refunded if cancelled less than 8 days before the tour departure date
The tour operator already pre-booked space at all optional activities for the group and you can simply decide on the first day of the tour if you'll partake. Optional activities can only be paid on the tour directly to the supplier. Bungy jump optional activity waiting time can vary from 1 to 2 hours and is subject to group size and how busy it is during the time visited. Optional activities are subject to weather conditions and cannot be guaranteed
Personal comprehensive travel insurance is excluded and recommended
Some meals and drinks are not included on most tours; giving the ideal opportunity to experience typical South African meals (or your own preference) at local restaurants, shops or eating spots. Do check your tour's specific included and excluded section to verify the included meals for your tour package. You'll have free time scheduled daily to buy and enjoy meals. – Breakfast is mostly enjoyed at the accommodation's breakfast room/restaurant in the morning. Bed & Breakfast multi-day packages include breakfast for each overnight stay. – Lunch will be en-route with limited time & limited options to choose from. – Dinner-time during multi-day tours is scheduled in free-time after each day’s tour schedule. You can dine out at leisure; or book meals with your guide at the overnight accommodation that day. Your guide can recommend the best local restaurants, or most backpackers even have communal kitchens to prepare your own food - should you wish to buy the ingredients after the tour to prepare your own meals.
The bush/game drive vehicle used are an especially adopted open-roof converted jeep or truck.
Most travellers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 7 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 7 full days before the experience’s start time.
Any changes made less than 6 full days before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
For a 50% refund, you must cancel 3–6 full days before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 2 full days before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 2 full days before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Traveller Tips

Sitting in the van was a bit rough, especially on the addo park game drive, but it was worth it to get up early as there seemed to be a lot of animals in the morning.

There is a lot of driving each day (at least 4 hours in the van daily).

Reviews

5.0

170 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 170 reviews

Not much of a vacation…

Munachiso_O, Apr 2023

Firstly, the experience was highly scheduled and did not feel like a vacation… we saw great things but I wish our tour guide was more flexible. Speaking of our tour guide… Paul was very insensitive to the demographic he was traveling with. He made my (black) friends and I so uncomfortable with his reflections on apartheid (that no one asked for). He said quote “Nelson Mandela was my sworn enemy.” He made it clear that he appreciated and benefitted off apartheid and the oppression of human beings. He would also seem very unsure at times, my friend and I were moved to a hotel by ourselves for one night. We found out about this change in the van… as we were pulling up to this ‘guest house’. He greatly dampened our experience, and brought down my rating for sure.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Dear Munachiso_O, thanks for taking time to review your experience on this scheduled small group tour taken in March. We take these aspects mentioned in your feedback extremely seriously and will get back in contact with you soon after our initial investigation with the guide too, who has been guiding tours for us often over the past years. Our sincere apologies that your experience did not live up to your or our high expectations of the tour. We hope to offer you more detailed feedback very soon.

Adventure in small group

marc_H, Jan 2023

If you’re looking for a real adventure with plenty of activities (optional), breathtaking view, an expert and friendly guide, click on this roundtrip. Excellent choice. Good value for money.

Brilliant experience with a brilliant guide

Jayne_J, Jan 2023

The itinerary was excellent and well planned out with a variety of options. Pick up and drop off were easily arranged and the accommodation was good throughout. I think I would if repeated splash out on the deluxe accommodation as they looked amazing. The driving was a lot as there was so much to see and do ....if im honest this was a slight negative but just a personal thing. What made the tour was our guide Neville. What a great guide and a great guy. He looked after us like we were family he was knowledge and enthusiastic and nothing was too much trouble for him he worked so hard for us if I could rate him higher than 5 I would. Overall a brilliant experience

Best guided tour I have ever been on

Jan_A, Dec 2022

This must have been the best guided tour I have ever been on. Our Guide, Uriel, had exceptional knowledge about everything around the places we visited and beyond and organized everything perfectly. It felt more like traveling with a friend than someone who is getting paid for it after the first few hours into the trip already. If you travel solo or with friends I strongly recommend the dorm option as you will meet a lot of nice people along the way and have a lot of social activity in the evenings.

Modi, our guide has made this tour beyond fantastic!!!

Jie_Y, Apr 2022

Overall tour routing is professionally and well designed. Especially if you have a compact schedule for Cape Town, then this tour surely gives you highlight of everything in Cape Town. In terms of the places we’ve visited, Aston winery and the Ostrich farm can probably have a better alternative. They are not great. What makes this trip exceptional is really our guide and driver Modi, he single handedly changed all our experience!!! When the Addo National park tour guide ruined our experience by talking too much and showing nothing, Modi drove us in the park for 3hrs and managed to find four to five families of Elephants!! He’s always so caring and well organised in coordinating trips and different people’s preferences in optional activities. We are so fortunate to have him as our guide!!!!

Once in a lifetime tour

Jeffrey_Alla, Mar 2020

Maudi was a great tour guide! The tour and sites were amazing. Maudi was very engaging, kept the tour on track and made us all feel like a family. Highly recommended tour!

Response from Host, Aug 2020

Once in a lifetime, unforgettable tour with an amazing guide, Maudi! Wow, thank you for sharing your kind words about our wonderful guide. we truly appreciate it. Thank you for recommending our 5 day Garden Route and Addo tour. See South Africa differently, Team Hotspots2c.

Fun activities

Kathryn_H, Feb 2020

Guide was awesome, very knowledgable about history, animals and plant life. The activites were very fun! We did the optional bungee jump, elephant walk and 4x4 game drive. We also did the adventure tour for the cango caves which is included in the booking. There is an easier route you can choose if you don't do the adventure. The hotels were clean (we chose 3-star), breakfasts were good. There is a lot of driving each day (at least 4 hours in the van daily). We had a lot of fun overall!

Response from Host, Aug 2020

Fun and unforgettable memories! Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We are overjoyed to hear you enjoyed all the activities and the had a pleasant stay in your Ways2stay 3* Guesthouse package. We hope to welcome you back on your next Hotspots2c Adventure. See South Africa differently Team Hotspots2c

5 day garden route

Diane_R, Feb 2020

Trip was pretty much as advertised. Issac was a very good guide and I enjoyed his droll sense of humour. Sitting in the van was a bit rough, especially on the addo park game drive, but it was worth it to get up early as there seemed to be a lot of animals in the morning. The elephant walk was also a highlight.

Response from Host, Feb 2020

Addo adventures, on the ever so popular 5-day Garden Route and Addo tour. Wonderful, thank you for your feedback, we are thrilled to know you enjoyed your tour experience with Isaac as your guide and have the memorable elephant experience. We hope to welcome you back soon. See South Africa differently, Team Hotspots2c

So nice!

Indy_M, Jan 2020

Excellent choice of 4 star hotels. Isaac was a great guide, he was very helpful, friendly and funny. The activities were so much fun. We loved it so much! Thanks

Response from Host, Feb 2020

Wonderful 5 Stars! Mr. Isaac will be so delighted to have such great feedback about your 5-day Garden Route and Addo tour. We love hearing about your experience. We hope to welcome you back on your next unforgettable adventure. See South Africa differently Team Hotspots2c.

Garden Route Tour January 2020

David_H, Jan 2020

A comprehensive trip along the coast to Jeffrey’s Bay and back to Cape Town along Route 62 but attempting to squeeze too many activities in the allotted time. 3-star accommodation was excellent throughout as was our tour driver.

Response from Host, Jan 2020

Cape to J'Bay coast - what an exciting adventure! A week may seem like enough time, however the Garden Route is packed with so many amazing activities.. you can easily spend days more exploring this region. This tour aims to ensure you can see as much possible by providing many options to choose from and we do stop approximately every 90minutes to rest and enjoy the views or another activity for a balance journey. Thank you for your excellent review about the accommodation and our wonderful tour guide. We hope to welcome you back soon to see even more of the Garden Route! From team Hotspots2c.

Excellent tour

Chonglun_F, Jan 2020

Excellent tour and excellent tour guide (T.K.). We really enjoyed the 5-day garden route with Addo NP tour.

A rare experience!

MGraceMARIA, Aug 2019

Nev (SIYABOLELA) was an excellent tour guide. Very informative and organized. He never get tired talking and telling stories even when most in the group are already asleep! We're not bored but only exhausted on the days activities. Hahaha! This tour will showcase scenic spots of Cape Town aside from 4x4 gaming drives where you will see wild boars, buffalo, elephants, spring bucks, kudus, wildebeest, giraffes, zebras and more. There are a lot of activities that you can participate. You will learn about Ostrich too and many more. I could have given this tour 5 stars but Island Vibe Backpackers accommodation fails to please us. Their double decks are worst - anyone sleeping below will bump his head even when sitting. Their showers and faucet bulbs were also grounded!!! Yes, Jeffreys Bay is nice but I think they need to change their accommodation here. For Backpackers Paradise - it's thumbs up! Superb! Afrovibe Backpackers is also good!

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Excellent, superb, informative and organized.. the best words to hear on trip feedback. Thanks for taking the time to inform us of your tour experience and we want to apologise on behalf of the accommodation in Jbay mentioned. We've raised all your concerns with them and happy to report back that it is resolved. We've been using the same supplier for over 10 years now and this was a once-off issue that has been raised. Super excited to know you loved the rest of the Garden Route and . Addo Adventure with us and thanks for recommending this trip. Keep'on adventuring - from Ferdi & team Hotspots2c

With a multiple day tour, the guide...

Mazlum_K, Mar 2018

With a multiple day tour, the guide made the tour. Our guide, Uriel, from HotSpot2C, certainly made the tour! He was courteous, considerate, and went over and above to make our experience a pleasant and memorable one. All the optional activities were excellent and we thoroughly enjoy our time! Thank you Uriel!

Hands down this was the best tour I...

Rhys S, Nov 2017

Hands down this was the best tour I have ever been on. Isaac the guide was brilliant, a true highlight of the trip. The elephant walk at Buffelsdrift was one of the best activities I have ever done. I opted for the 4 star accommodation which was absolutely stunning (esp. Dover bay guesthouse).

The best of the best, new vehicle...

Rama K, Nov 2017

The best of the best, new vehicle with AC, loved our guide Isaq he was amazing v.informative and cooperative, amazing sceneries and stop points! Schedule exactly as written on the site and the activities were amazing (bunji jumping, ziplining, canoeing, safari..) 4* accommodations were spectacular

We don't usually make organized...

Eduardo Y, Sept 2017

We don't usually make organized tour, but this one was really fantastic! In five days we cover a lot of ground and were able to see much more of South Africa than it would be possible on our own. Xenny, our guide, was fun and at the same time very professional and punctual. The tour was really above our expectations and we will highly recommend it to our friends and relatives.

This trip was first rate in every...

clayton j, Aug 2017

This trip was first rate in every respect. The tour included plenty of activity, as well as spectacular viewing of animals and terrain. Most especially, our guide was as good as any I have ever had. He was knowledgeable, humorous, patient, and very concerned for all members of the party, their comfort, and enjoyment. Across the board I cannot imagine any aspect of this trip that I would have changed. Thank you for a wonderful South Africa experience!

Long drive, but good tour. We...

Irene D, Aug 2017

Long drive, but good tour. We stopped at the most delicious bakery Ou Mel on the way splurge here. Drove through beautiful S. African country and farms. Canoeing was nice. Overnight stays were well organized. At the Tsitsikamma National park the hike was really good, the food at the restaurant was awful. They served us stale,smelly, thawed that's what they said seafood at the beach!,when we returned our plates, and asked for a substitute instead, they gave us one partial plate of calamari!!!! Word to the wise, don't order seafood here or anywhere on this tour. People are really good at their pastries and cheeses, but cannot cook good food, especially fish. Eat at George's taverna in town. Nice place, great food. Skip the expensive Kitchen windows. Saw a lot of Elephants, but no cats. Congo caves was nice.

The 5 day Garden Tour was wonderful...

carol k, July 2017

The 5 day Garden Tour was wonderful. Our multi-national, multi-age tour group meshed well, was relaxed and fun all the way through. The accommodations were excellent with lovely rooms and terrific food. Our phenomenal tour guide, Maudi, was organized, knowledgeable, patient and fun. I feel very fortunate to have had his expertise in the whole process. I can't imagine how the tour could have been managed in a more professional manner. Each experience from observing the animals, viewing such beautiful landscapes and making new friends was terrific. Overall, the trip to South Africa was spectacular.

The trip was amazing and a great way...

Rebecca P, June 2017

The trip was amazing and a great way to see loads of places in a short space of time my friend tells me we would have driven over 2000km on the round trip!. It was all extremely well-organised, including visits to lots of well-known places along the route as well as a few added extras. The guides were very friendly and knowledgeable- it was clear that my particular driver there were 3 minibuses doing the same trip was well-known and well-loved and respected at places we stopped along the way. The minibus was clean and comfortable and our guide was really accommodating of all of us, whether it was supporting dietary requirements, organising drop-offs, stopping for toilet breaks on request, organising meals both those included in the trip and those that were not or efficiently organising the included and additional activities. I would recommend them to anyone who wants a quick, convenient and quite personal way to see parts of South Africa!