Budget
Budget
Nice
Fancy
Accomodation
(per night)
$10-20
$30-40
$80-200
Food
(per meal)
$2-3
$5-8
$10-20
Activities
$6 scooter /day
$2-5 temples
/waterfalls
South Africa is one of those countries that has everything you could wish for in a travel destination. You’ve got a perfect mix of everything, from busy cities to natural parks filled with the most amazing wild animals to beautiful beaches to relax at. It’s got a rich history and lots of different cultures, making it perfect for anyone who loves exploring nature and learning new things.
Johannesburg
Johannesburg will be the starting point of your trip. It’s not considered to be South Africa’s nicest or safest city, but as a first stop on the itinerary its absolutely fine. If you do have some time and energy after your flight, we would recommend doing a bike tour through Soweto, one of the townships of Johannesburg, and also visiting the Apartheid museum.
We didn’t include it in this itinerary (too much to see, too little time!) but if you have more time or if you’re just a safari lover, you might want to visit Welgevonden game reserve, about 3 hours north of Johannesburg. We stayed at Mindoro for a week and had an incredible experience!
Graskop (panorama route)
In South Africa, there are 2 main drives famous for spectacular views: the garden route in the south and the panorama route in the north. The panorama route is not that long, but definitely worth checking out! It’s basically a number of cool spots to check out with a nice and scenic drive in between. These are the spots you shouldn’t miss:
3 rondavels
Bourkes luck potholes
(graskop gorge)
Gods window
Wonderview
Lisbon falls
The pinnacle
As it is a bit of a drive from Johannesburg, you’ll want to stay in Graskop for at least 1 or 2 days. It’s a small, quiet town, but perfectly located close to all the spots you want to visit!
Krugerpark
It’s time for the real fun to begin: safaris! For us the game drives were the absolute highlight of our trip to South Africa. The anticipation, never knowing what you’ll encounter, the thrill when you spot the animals in the wild, it’s really something else. There’s nothing like seeing a lion or leopard after spending a long time looking for them!
Kruger park is the biggest and most popular national park in the country. There are paved roads, lots of cars and safari vehicles and it is huge. It being a busy park might make you believe you won’t see many animals, but it actually is the opposite. Because there are many cars, some animals have gotten used to them. For instance, you’ll have the highest chance of spotting a leopard here compared to anywhere else in South Africa!
Self drives
You can do self drives here, so try to spot wildlife from the comfort of your own car! When you enter the park you’ll be given a map and you can go anywhere you like (just be aware that the dirt roads can get very muddy after rain, so you have to be careful with anything that’s not 4×4).
I thought we would never be able to see many animals by ourselves, but we actually saw so many animals, including the only 2 leopards we saw in our whole trip in SA!
Staying in Kruger park
You can visit the park for a day, but you’ll get the best experience when you stay inside the park! Go on early morning or afternoon game drives and learn all sorts of things about the park and the wildlife from an experienced guide. Self drives are nice, but a game drive with an actual guide, in an open safari vehicle, is next level!
Greater kruger/kruger
You may have seen the distinction being made between Kruger and Greater Kruger park. Kruger park is actually a big national park, owned and maintained by the government and is accessible to everyone. Greater Kruger is a series of private game reserves, but without fences. So, the wildlife can roam freely through the whole park! The difference is that its much less busy, as only the guests who stay there can access this area. The area is pretty big, I believe about as big as the Kruger park itself and they say it’s the best place to spot the elusive leopard!
St. Lucia
After all the excitement that Krugerpark brings, it’s time for a bit of a drive southwards. The fastest way is actually right through Eswatini, formerly known as Zwaziland. Driving through the country is pretty easy, you just have to make a quick stop at immigration, get a stamp and be on your way (best to look up the rules and requirements for your situation just in case). If you have the time, you can also decide to spend a night here! But from what we’ve heard it’s not super spectacular. From the Malelane gate at the bottom of the Kruger park, it’s about a 6,5 hour drive.
Saint Lucia is a relatively small and quiet town on the South African coast, but if you’re up for it there’s lots to do!
Hippos & Crocs
St. Lucia is known for something remarkable: it’s quite common for hippos to be roaming the streets at night! It’s located right on the river, where the hippos are hanging out during the day, and at night they come out looking for grass to eat. Hippos can be really aggressive and dangerous though, so be careful when walking around at night.
Whether you bump into them in the streets or not, one of the most fun things to do in St. Lucia is going on a hippo & croc boat tour! The last one starts around 4 and ends around sunset, which we really liked. There are a few different companies and options to choose from but if you have the option to choose, go with a smaller boat. That way you’ll be able to get a much better look at the hippos!
iSimangaliso
Right next to St. Lucia you’ve got the wetlands park iSimangaliso, which is nice for a little self-drive and a bit of hiking. It’s home to 4 out of the big 5 (no lions) and for us it was the first time we saw rhinos in the wild! Additionally, there are some beautiful beaches inside the park, such as Jabula beach, Mission rocks and Cape Vidal.
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi
In case you are not yet tired of spotting wildlife, about an hour frm St. Lucia you’ll find Hluhluwe-Imfolozi. It’s actually 2 parks, Hluhluwe and Imfolozi, devided by a road that runs through it! You can spot the whole big 5 here if you’re lucky, but it’s a really nice park to explore either way.
Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
Ggeberha, or Port Elizabeth as it used to be called, is the perfect place to start the next part of your trip. It’s a pleasant city with a large port and has a number of nice beaches.
The last National park on our itinerary is Addo Elephant park, known for it’s many (you don’t say) Elephants! They definitely weren’t lying, we saw tons of them! Big herds with tiny babies, young bulls fighting, elephants bathing in mud, you name it. It’s not just elephants though, the park is home to the big five and is a nice park to drive through.
The garden route
The drive from Port Elizabeth to Cape town, the garden route, is regarded the most beautiful drive of South Africa. It’s about 300km long, but there is so much to see and do that you need 5-6 days to fully enjoy everything this area has to offer. The best way to go about it is to pick 2 or 3 places to stay and visit the surrounding spots from there.
Stellenbosch
Whether you are a wine lover or not, a little stop in the wine region Stellenbosch or Franshoek is an absolute treat. Beautiful scenery, cute little villages full of picturesque colonial buildings and the fanciest wine estates. If you want to treat yourself, pick a nice estate and stay there for a night or two. But whether you’re staying or not, definitely do a wine tasting and tour!
Cape town
And then, after weeks of adventure and driving hundreds (or even thousands?) of kilometers, you’ll arrive in many people’s favorite city in the world: Cape town. I can’t really put a finger on what makes it such a nice city, but it feels very pleasant, modern and offers a ton of things to see and do in and around the city!
Take a cable cart up the famous Table Mountain, hike up to Lion’s head, drive the beautiful route down to Cape point, pay a visit to Robben island or watch the sunset at Camps bay. And one of my absolute favorites: drive down to Simon’s town to see the penguins!
Hi! We're Sara & Arjen!
In 2018 we quit our jobs and decided to travel around the world. 5 Years later we’re still at it and now we’re sharing our experiences and tips with you!
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