South Africa Self Drive | Garden Route

Many first time visitors from Europe under estimate distances in South Africa. We recently had somebody wanting to fly from Germany, land at OR Thambo in Johannesburg and do the standard milk run of Kruger Park – Port Elizabeth – Garden Route – Route 62 down to Cape Town and still wanted see all the highlights with time at the beach!, and all this in 10 days… Whaaaaaat?

It was a real issue to try and convince them that “Less is more” Our suggestion to anybody is to let the people who live and work here, help design something where you get to relax, enjoy, and see the highlights and all this within your time frame and budget. For an operator, it’s of utmost importance that our guests are not rushed. At the end of the day, what happens when you get back home and get asked, “How was your South African holiday”

And so we jumped to the idea to plan a twelve day self drive from Port Elizabeth, head down the Garden Route and visit the highlights of Addo Elephant Park, spend some time in the Tsitsikamma Nation Park. Overnight in Plettenberg Bay and hike the Robberg Peninsula to see the seal colony. Then visit Knysna to sea the Knysna Heads before heading over the Outeniqua Mountains and into the Little Karoo. This semi desert region is awe-inspiring with a unique landscape and the Cango Caves to name just one. Driving the length of Route 63 gives you the opportunity to experience the true hospitality of the Little Karoo and its people. Getting to the end of Route 62 you enter the wine and fruit growing region of the Western Cape. You can spend days in the Breede Valley alone. Robertson can be used as a base to work from and do day trips to sample the many wine estate before you head onto Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. Again, two days in Stellenbosch before heading onto Cape Town. 

Oh Cape Town, how majestic you are. The things to do here are endless. Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the Cape of Good Hope to sea the penguins at Boulders beach, Muizenberg and Cape Point. Never mind the picturesque Atlantic Seaboard. The V&A Waterfront alone warrants a day or two to soak up the local flare and vibe. Great restaurants, music and shops. Shew, where do we stop?

We trust that once the Covid-19 pandemic is over and the travel bans are lifted the world will once again travel. We are also sure that guests will choose wisely on how and where to spend their hard earned money. South Africa is well suited for your next vacation. One, because of the exchange rate making a holiday here affordable, and two, because of the friendly and relaxed atmosphere, good fish and awesome wine. We would love to welcome you and your group. Give Cycle Africa a chance to design something special for you. If you would like some inspiration, have a look at our Self Drive Package we put together for somebody who was in the same position as you, undecided until they made contact with us.

Our motto stays the same “Quality not Quantity”