Arrival in Cape Town
Arrive in Cape Town and transfer to your hotel on the fashionable V&A Waterfront, your base for the next three nights. The rest of the day is for you to do as you please. Recuperate from the journey in the hotel spa or get your bearings with a sunset cruise that leaves conveniently from the wharf. For ultimate panoramas, consider boarding an optional helicopter flight to soak up Cape Town’s ravishing coastline taking in sights like iconic Table Mountain and the unforgettable peaks of the Twelve Apostles mountain range jutting into the sky. Overnight at Victoria & Alfred Hotel.
Things to do:
The Victoria & Alfred Hotel: stay at the heart of Cape Town's historic waterfront
The Winchester: Cape Town’s grande dame
Explore the Cape Peninsula by sidecar
Soar above the Atlantic Seaboard in a helicopter
The sunset Cape Town cruise
Cape Town
Your prime location makes it easy for you to dip in and out of the V&A Waterfront’s lively scene. There’s always somewhere to eat from elegant fine dining restaurants to the next-level V&A Food Market selling everything from fynbos-infused gin to handmade sushi. This is made all the more appealing with the favourable exchange rate between the pound and the rand. For something more tailored, take an optional culinary trip though the City Bowl sampling the city’s gourmet culture on a sweep of diverse eateries. Work it all off on an optional hike up Table Mountain, a cool three-to-four hour trek and undoubtedly one of the most picturesque. Overnight at Victoria & Alfred Hotel.
Things to do:
The Victoria & Alfred Hotel: stay at the heart of Cape Town's historic waterfront
Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa: views from mountain to sea, sunrise to sunset
Hike mighty Table Mountain
Discover Cape Town’s history through food
My Cape Town: explore with a local
Cape Town
Your last day in the Mother City can be spent on an independent sojourn around its wild white-sand beaches and thrumming creative enclaves. Turn a corner and you may find a cluster of artists’ workshops brushing up against old fishermen’s buildings. Delve into another district and you’ll encounter word-class museums paving the way in global modern art. The optional My Cape Peninsula tour explores the visually striking Cape Point from different angles. Take a funicular ride through the fynbos or cruise in a car along Chapman’s Peak Drive, celebrated for its hypnotic coastal views at every bend. No visit to Cape Town is complete without an optional ferry trip to Robben Island, which leaves suitably from the V&A waterfront. A visit to Nelson Mandela’s prison cell serves as a poignant reminder of the country’s complex political past. Overnight at Victoria & Alfred Hotel.
Things to do:
The Victoria & Alfred Hotel: stay at the heart of Cape Town's historic waterfront
Visit townships and Robben Island on the Walk to Freedom
Cycle through the Constantia Winelands
My Cape Peninsula: coastal views and penguin encounters
Cape Town & The Panorama Route
Transfer to the airport for your flight to Kruger Mpumalanga. On arrival, a driver will take you approximately 1-hour to your hotel on the banks of the tranquil Sabie River. Retreat to the spa to unwind ahead of your day exploring the nearby Blyde River Canyon or limber up on the 18-hole golf course, known for sightings of resident hippos. Overnight at Sabi River Sun Resort.
Things to do:
Relax, reset and rejuvenate at Summerfields Rose Retreat & Spa
The Panorama Route
Your hotel is the launch pad from which to explore some of South Africa’s finest scenery starting at the Blyde River Canyon, one of the largest canyons on earth. The geographical drama unfolds from its thick subtropical forests, their encroaching verdant canopies home to a diversity of wildlife including every primate species known in South Africa. On this spectacular drive, there are almost too many breathtaking moments to take in, like gazing up at heaving waterfalls cascading from nearly 100 metres, and investigating beautiful dolomite rock sculptured from years of elemental erosion. Your expert guide will help you select the highlights while offering the best spots for a panoramic picture. Overnight at Sabi River Sun Resort.
Things to do:
View breathtaking scenery on the Panorama Route
The Panorama Route & Kruger National Park
It’s approximately a 2-hour drive to your next lodge located in the south of the iconic Kruger National Park, and your safari outpost for the next three nights. Enveloped in bushland, your first glimpses of the Kruger will feel like entirely new terrain. An afternoon game drive will give you the lay of the land - a private concession sprawling 6,000 hectares known not only for its superb wildlife sightings but lack of vehicles. The afternoon may offer first glimpses of the Big 5 for which the area is famed and maybe hyena and giraffe, also likely sightings. As dusk falls, remedy the excitement with sundowners back at the lodge where herds of buffalo are often seen wandering through the grounds. Overnight at Jock Safari Lodge.
Things to do:
Celebrate Africa's wildlife and culture at Jock Safari Lodge
Safari activities at Jock Safari Lodge, Kruger’s first private concession
Sleep out under the stars in a treehouse at Tinga Lodge, Lion Sands Game Reserve
MalaMala: A community owned camp with unfiltered wildlife
Kruger National Park
There’s nowhere more synonymous with safari than the Kruger, containing more large mammal species than any other park in South Africa. The quest for the Big 5 continues in the rugged bushveld exclusively traversed by guests of your lodge. This means you’ll hardly see another person in sight as you trail the continent’s greatest icons. See the sought-after wildlife in the throes of the wild, like baboons shrieking from jackalberry trees older than written history, or packs of predatory lion that scatter other animals for miles around – there are 1,700 estimated in the Kruger. Look out for endangered rhino herds, blue wildebeest and perhaps even catch a rare glimpse of the elusive wild dog. Overnight at Jock Safari Lodge.
Things to do:
Celebrate Africa's wildlife and culture at Jock Safari Lodge
Dine in the bush at Tinga Lodge in Lion Sands Game Reserve
Wildlife watching from your private plunge pool at Tinga Lodge, Lion Sands Game Reserve
Kruger National Park
You have another full day to explore the Kruger, binoculars at hand. This time around you may choose to slow the pace down and tune into the smells and sounds of the bush on a walking safari with excellent guides trained to identify animal tracks. Ticking off the wish list of game is all the more exciting when on foot. Perhaps you’ll spot the threatened martial eagle identified by its Dalmatian-like flecked belly, or walk closely by towering giraffe, the tallest creatures in the animal kingdom. On the way back to the lodge, dusk could unveil sightings of nocturnal animals such as owls and bush babies. Somewhere in the distance you can hear the cackle of hyenas rolling in from the savannah. Overnight at Jock Safari Lodge.
Things to do:
Celebrate Africa's wildlife and culture at Jock Safari Lodge
Kruger National Park & Johannesburg
Transfer 2-hours back to the airport for a short flight to Johannesburg. Your hotel is a 5-minute transfer from the airport with all the facilities to help you rejuvenate before your flight tomorrow. If you’re experiencing itchy feet, book the optional Cradle of Humankind tour which takes you around the UNESCO World Heritage Site to explore the origin of our species. Or for a shot of local culture, choose an optional cycling tour through the vibrant Soweto district once home to Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Overnight at Peermont D'oreale Grande.
Things to do:
Discover the spirit of Soweto on two wheels
Discover the beginning of our species at the Cradle of Humankind
Uncover Newtown, Maboneng and the Apartheid Museum with a true local
Johannesburg & Victoria Falls
Transfer back to the airport to catch a flight to Victoria Falls. It’s a 20-minute transfer to your next hotel. Once you get there, you’re a mere stroll to the falls themselves. Revive in the pool or take tea in the wraparound veranda, the best place to watch the levitating plumes of mist and the rumble of cascading water that give this iconic landmark its name, the ‘Smoke that Thunders’. Overnight at Ilala Lodge.
Things to do:
See the spray of Victoria Falls from your terrace at Ilala Lodge
An interlude of African history: The Victoria Falls Hotel
Victoria Falls
Don your waterproofs for a full day exploring Victoria Falls. A walking tour is almost a rite of passage, bringing you face-to-face with the world’s largest sheet of falling water stretching over 1,700 metres and plunging 100 metres into the earth’s crust. It’s a sight that inspired both 19th-century explorer David Livingstone and the locals, 80,000 years ago, who believed in the waterfalls’ godly power. For an adrenaline-inducing perspective, board an optional helicopter for a 12-minute circuit over the falls and up the Zambezi River, or choose the 25-minute ride to take in the sheer magnitude of its rapids and deep set gorges. If you’re looking to explore at a gentler pace, the optional Ra-Ikane river cruise drifts you serenely around Zambezi’s islets to watch wallowing hippos and the prolific birdlife. Overnight at Ilala Lodge.
Things to do:
See the spray of Victoria Falls from your terrace at Ilala Lodge
Face to face with 'The Smoke That Thunders'
Go on safari from your starbed at Victoria Falls River Lodge
Flying high in a helicopter over the Victoria Falls
A taste of authentic home cooking in Victoria Falls
Step back in time on a luxurious sunset Zambezi cruise
Victoria Falls
The day is open for you to explore at your own pace. Adrenaline junkies need look no further than the array of optional heart-pounding adventures like jumping into mid-air over a gorge attached by a harness and careering through the sky on a 415-metre zip line from one edge of the gorge to another. The whirling rapids make for thrilling white-water rafting adventures not to mention the picturesque scenery. While there is plenty to keep you occupied during the day, night-time brings you a chance to see a moonbow, a rare phenomenon should you be lucky enough to visit during a full moon on a clear night. Overnight at Ilala Lodge.
Things to do:
See the spray of Victoria Falls from your terrace at Ilala Lodge
Thrills, spills and heart-pounding adventures at Victoria Falls
Seeing moonbows in the dark at Victoria Falls
A thrilling zip ride through the treetops in Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls & Departure
After breakfast transfer to Victoria Falls airport for your flight to Johannesburg airport. From here you’ll catch your international flight home or continue travelling.
