Overview
Kids of any ages will enjoy this two week trip through some of South Africa’s best spots. After all, who doesn’t enjoy sensational views from the top of Table Mountain, sunset snacks on Signal Hill, hikes along the stunning coastline on the Garden Route and game drives through national parks teeming with wildlife?
This 13 day adventure across South Africa’s southern coast will take you from the stunning city of Cape Town along the Garden Route to Addo; the third largest game reserve in South Africa and home to the Big Five. On the way you’ll get the opportunity to go penguin-spotting on Boulders Beach, find your own favourite spots in Cape Town, head underground into the Cango Caves in the Klein Karoo, jump aboard a dolphin cruise in Plettenberg Bay, explore the incredible Tsisikama National Park and maybe even fit some beach time in!
All with the comfort and safety of your own private driver-guide, handpicked and family-friendly accommodation and a bunch of little gems that we think you’ll love such as a cooking class to perfect those Cape Malay classics. And, if there’s anything missing or something you’d want to add or change, this itinerary can be fully tailored to make it your dream family adventure to South Africa.
What's Included?
- Airport Transfers & Local Transport
- Expert Local Driver-Guide
- 12 Nights' Accommodation
- 12 Breakfasts, 1 Lunches & 5 Dinners
- Park Fees, Entrance Fees & Permits
- Cooking classes, day trips, game-drives & more!
- International Flights
- Travel Insurance
- Soft Drinks, Alcohol or Drinking Water
- Tips for Guides
- Personal Equipment & Clothing
- Souvenirs
Trip Highlights
Cooking Up a Storm: You’ll visit the colourful neighbourhood of Bo-Kaap and learn how to cook some local treats so that you’ll continue to taste the best of South Africa long after getting home!
Family Time in Cape Town: There’s plenty of activities to enjoy in this jaw-droppingly beautiful city but we’ve built-in a bunch of free time to give you the opportunity to find your family’s favourite spots. Perhaps the beaches of Camp’s Bay or the restaurants along Kloof St.
Explore the Garden Route: From the Cango Caves to the coastline of Tsisikama, the Garden Route provides a never-ending variety of activities to keep kids (and adults) of all ages busy!
Addo National Park: A great spot for some child-friendly game drives. Home of the Big Five and huge herds of elephants. Malaria-free and a brilliant end to this incredible trip.
Daily Itinerary
Welcome to one of the world's most stunning cities and your home for the next few days at the start of your family adventure around South Africa! We'll be waiting for you at the airport when you arrive and after getting settled into your city centre accommodation we'll take you to Signal Hill for a drink and some snacks. The views of the city are amazing and it's a great way to get your bearings of Cape Town which sprawls for miles in almost every direction. Meals Included: None
It's iconic, enormous and looms large over the city so we're going to get you up Table Mountain first thing! Don't worry - we're not going to make you climb it (unless you want) but will be taking the cable car to the top and back. After admiring the views (as long as the table cloth isn't on) you'll head back down to the city centre for lunch in Bo Kaap - one of the most colourful neighbourhoods in the world. Cape Malay classics will be on the menu but here's the twist - you'll be cooking it! After you hands-on cooking class you'll have the afternoon free to explore or relax. Meals Included: Breakfast & Lunch
It's a full day of exploring today and there's plenty to see as you head down the peninsula towards the Cape of Good Hope. You'll be able to spot seals on a cruise from Hout Bay, share Boulders Beach with its penguin inhabitants, check out the suburb of Kalk Bay, lookout for sharks on the hills above Muizenberg and dodge the baboons on your way in to the Cape of Good Hope. It's a great day out before returning back to Cape Town via the stunning Chapman's Peak Drive. Meals Included: Breakfast
Today is entirely at your leisure! We thought you might need a break after a couple of jam-packed days. If you'd like recommendations then we've got plenty... The V&A Waterfront is a source of endless amusements for children (and adults) of all ages. For families wanting to stay active then there's a long list of hikes to choose from whether you'd like to head back up Table Mountain or zip up Lion's Head. There's a bunch of beaches to take your pick from if you're wanting to take advantage of the sun, sea and sand. Or, we can point you in the direction of the best meals in town. Meals Included: Breakfast
And that's a wrap on your time in Cape Town. Like 99.9% of people who've been here, we're pretty sure you'll be planning your next trip already! However there's still plenty of highlights to come and we'll be driving you out along the Garden Route over the next few days. To start, it'll be Oudtshoorn - a town in the Klein Karoo and famous for the ostriches that'll be hard to miss! Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner
You'll do a bit of exploring this morning as we take you out to the Cango Caves. They're the biggest cave system in Africa and whilst there's a few narrow passageways that we wouldn't fancy our chances of squeezing through, exploring the tunnels and chambers is great fun. The afternoon's is all yours to relax or check out the surrounding area. Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner
You'll follow the Garden Route a bit further today as you aim for the town of Plettenberg Bay, or more commonly referred to as Plett. It's a scenic drive and you'll arrive in Plett in the early afternoon in order to hop aboard a dolphin cruise. It's a great way to get another perspective of the coast you've been driving along as well as getting up close to a variety of marine life. You've got three nights at your hotel so you'll have the chance to settle in and get comfortable! Meals Included: Breakfast
Tsisikama National Park is the first thing on the agenda today. It's one of the highlights of any trip along the Garden Route. With dramatic coastal scenery, dense forests, rivers and reefs, it's got a bit of everything. You might struggle with pronouncing Tsisikama at first but the meaning will be clear - it's a Khoi word meaning 'place of adbundant water'. Take your time here to enjoy a walk and a spot of lunch before heading to a couple of wildlife sanctuaries in the afternoon to see birds and primates aplenty. Meals Included: Breakfast
You've got a clear schedule today so feel free to do whatever you please! Your guide will be around to help you get to where you'd like to go and of course to make recommendations of where to go, what do do and things to eat! There are more wildlife sanctuaries in the area, plenty of walks and of course some stunning coastline so the choice is yours! Meals Included: Breakfast
This morning you'll set off to Addo National Park - the third largest in South Africa and home to the Big Five. It's malaria free and a brilliant spot to come on a wildlife experience with kids of all ages. You'll arrive in time to get settled in before an afternoon game drive. Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner
Today you'll have a full day game drive in the National Park. Elephants are plentiful and you'll have opportunity to spot the rest of the Big Five (rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard). The wildlife viewing is good year round. The drier weather in the winter (June to September) means animals will often congregate in smaller areas but the weather can be a bit chilly! Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner
Your final full day and you're free to explore however and wherever you want! There's plenty at the hotel to keep everyone occupied whilst you might decide on more game drives or another wildlife experience in the area as there's lots to choose from. Whatever you decide, your driver will be there to make sure you're able to get around safely. Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner
And we're afraid that's it! Your two weeks in South Africa is all over. We'll take you to the airport at Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) where there's both international and domestic connections. We'd suggest looking at open-jaw tickets (we can help with that) to get the best travel times and flight options. Meals Included: Breakfast
Where We'll Stay
We’ve carefully selected a range of accommodation for your family trip to South Africa. You’ll always have comfortable, safe and family-friendly spots.
In Cape Town you’ll stay in a well-located and characterful local guesthouses that will provide a great base from which to explore.
Heading along the coast and onto the Garden Route you’ll either be in country manors or sea-view hotels.
And you’ll finish off your trip near Addo National Park – famous for the elephant population – in a mountain inn with world-beating hospitality!
Like the sound of this trip, have a question or want to check something before you book? Maybe even have a great idea to customise this itinerary? Get in touch and start your adventure!
Interactive Route Map
Check out the interactive map of this trip below. You can simply zoom in and have a look at the route.
Or, if you’re wanting to get a feel for the route or to dive into the daily details then click on any of the steps and you’ll be redirected to our Polarsteps page.
What is Polarsteps?
We’ve loaded all of our itineraries onto Polarsteps. It’s an app that can help you plan, track and relive your travels. We’ve used it to display our trips in all their glory but anyone can easily create on-the-go mementos of their adventures.
Carbon Emissions
This trip emits approximately 744 kg of carbon per person. This includes emissions from transport, accommodation, food, activities, and the operations behind the scenes to run the trip.
What does this mean?
This is roughly equivalent to driving a typical petrol car about 2,475 miles.
It’s similar to the carbon emissions from heating an average UK home with a gas boiler for about 31 days during winter.
Our Approach
We are committed to offering eco-conscious travel experiences. By participating in this itinerary, you support local communities, contribute to sustainable tourism initiatives, and help preserve Vietnam’s cultural and natural heritage. This carbon estimate helps you understand your travel footprint and consider ways to offset it responsibly.
More Information
What's the fitness level required for this trip?
We grade all of our trips to try and make it easy to understand the fitness levels required. These are broad guidelines however so you’re welcome to chat to us about any specific concerns you might have.
You’ll find more information about these levels here and you can find the difficulty rating for this specific trip at the top of the page.
Is travel insurance mandatory?
Yes, it is. We run adventurous trips and it’s mandatory that you have suitable travel insurance in place to cover overseas medical treatment as well as evacuation or repatriation.
We can’t recommend which provider you use but the main things we’d encourage you to look out for is that you’re fully covered for the activities you’re taking part in (i.e., covers you up to the altitude you’ll be trekking at) and that it covers cancellation in the event that illness or other circumstances prevent you from travelling.
How do I find out which hotels, meals and activities are included?
Unfortunately we can’t provide an exhaustive list of everything included in the ‘What’s Included’ section of this page as we include a whole bunch of stuff on our trips!
If it’s in the itinerary and we’ve not explicitly said that it’s an optional activity, then yes – it’s almost certainly included. If you’re not sure, please ask.
The meals that are included are all listed on the daily itinerary.
For the accommodation, we’ve got a shortlist of properties that we use. You can get a sense of the types of accommodation we use higher up the page in the ‘Where We’ll Stay’ section. We cannot guarantee any specific properties for your trip as it’s based on availability. If you are wanting to specifically request a property then please get in touch as we’re able to customise our trips.
What are your payment terms and is my booking financially protected?
Yes, absolutely. Here’s a link to where you can read more about how we are an ABTOT member and have an ATOL licence and what this means for your financial protection when booking a trip with us.
Deposits vary from destination to destination and from trip to trip. Generally speaking we require a deposit of 25%. This amount may be higher for certain trips where more services that usual need to be booked and paid for in advance (such as gorilla permits in Rwanda). Deposits are non-refundable.
Balance payments are required up to 70 days prior to travel.
If you need to cancel your booking, the following fees will apply based on the time before your scheduled departure:
- Immediate loss of deposit (25% of total cost) upon cancellation.
- 50% of the total cost if cancelled after the balance is paid and up to 45 days before departure.
- 75% of the total cost if cancelled 30 to 45 days before departure.
- 100% of the total cost if cancelled within 30 days of departure.
These fees compensate for expenses and bookings made on your behalf in anticipation of your trip.
Can I customise this trip in any way?
- adding in extra days or cutting out a day here or there;
- squeezing in other destinations or removing them;
- starting or finishing the trip in a different place;
- staying in a hotel or guesthouse that we don’t list as an option.
What if someone under the minimum age wants to travel?
It might not be an issue. Some destinations such as Rwanda have firm rules in place about how old people should be in order to visit the gorillas. In other destinations it’s more of a guideline.
Please do contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
What information will I receive after I book?
After you book, we’ll get to work confirming that the dates you’ve selected are completely available.
There are extremely rare circumstances that may mean we’re unable to confirm your booking. These circumstances are limited to events beyond our control or not being able to secure the services that you wanted to book.
In the extremely rare event that we’re unable to confirm your booking you will be offered an alternative itinerary or a full refund without any fees. Please do not book any non-changeable travel plans until you receive the confirmation from us. This will be within 72 hours.
A detailed Trip Dossier will then be sent to you after you make your booking. It’ll contain all the information you might need to help you pack and get prepared for your trip, including information on visas, vaccinations, packing and training.
We encourage you to refer to the UK Government’s official travel advisory service when planning your trips. You can find the FCDO advice here.
And when you travel, we work closely with local experts to put together the best itineraries. We’ve worked with them exhaustively to provide safe adventures at great value. They know their destination better than we ever could so you’ll be in good hands! You can read a bit more about why we will only ever have locally-led trips here.
How much should I tip in South Africa?
Tips are not included in any of our trips. They are entirely discretionary but in most cases are expected by the teams that will be looking after you. We know it can be daunting to work out exactly what to give so whilst this guideline hopefully helps, please remember that it’s a completely personal choice and you should feel free to tip more or less based on the quality of service that you receive.
Driver-Guide: $20-30 USD per day
Game Drive Guide: $10-15 USD per day
Again, tipping is not compulsory and please only do so if the service you’ve received warrants it. It’s hugely appreciated and a way for the teams looking after you to supplement their income.
And in general, tipping is common-practice in South Africa. Similar to the UK, it’s standard to leave 10-15% for good service when eating in a restaurant or cafe.
Which airport do I need to fly into and out of for my trip to South Africa?
Our trips to South Africa often start and finish in different locations. Please speak with us if you’re unsure or if you’d like help booking your flights (we are ATOL registered).
Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is the most common arrival point for our trips. Johannesburg OR Tambo (JNB) and Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport (PLZ) are the most common finishing points.
It’s possible to book open-jaw tickets (into one destination and out of another) with airlines. This is often cheaper than trying to book two one-way fares and more time-efficient than adding in domestic flights to return to your starting location.
Book Now
Whether you’d like more information about this itinerary or to customise it to exactly what you want to do, drop us a line and let us know your plans!
Prices are for adults and children above the age of 11. For younger children, please contact us for pricing.
