Highlights of South Africa

Fly overnight from London to Cape Town.

Transfer to the 3-star Protea Hotel Breakwater Lodge for a three-night stay, well placed for strolls to the vibrant Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Get a first glimpse of cosmopolitan Cape Town with a guided walk through Company Gardens and the cobbled streets and colourful houses of hillside Bo-Kaap; and, weather permitting, see the spread of the city on an optional tour by cable car to the top of Table Mountain for spectacular panoramic views (bookable locally). Afternoon check-in at the hotel, and later join your guide for an orientation walk through the V&A Waterfront. Special African dinner.
(D)

Full-day tour to Cape Point, following the Atlantic Seaboard to fabulous views from the harbour village of Hout Bay; the super-scenic 9km stretch of Chapmans Peak Drive, its 114 bends weaving between the Atlantic and the Western Mountains; and through the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve to the sheer cliffs of Cape Point, where the Flying Dutchman funicular climbs to the foot of the steps for the Old Lighthouse Looking Point and panoramic views.
(B)

Choose your activities on a free day in Cape Town, perhaps to stroll the Seaboard and sample the city’s soul-food, seafood, and superb eateries; or join an optional tour (weather permitting) to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27years imprisonment, and which now describes its museum as a symbol of ‘the triumph of the human spirit over adversity and injustice’ (pre-bookable).
(B)

Travel by road to the Cape Winelands, spending time in Stellenbosch, the centre of the South African wine industry, for a guided walk of the town and a visit to the Village Museum of period houses, depicting its 18th–19th -century Dutch colonial origins; followed by a wine tasting on a nearby estate, continue to the small town of Franschhoek, the ‘French corner’ of the Western Cape, taking its name, and inheriting its winemaking wisdom, from the 17th century settlers. Enjoy an afternoon at the ‘Wine Tram’ tour, a hop-on, hop-off journey through some of the country’s finest vineyards and fabulous scenery. Overnight at the 4-star Le Franschhoek Hotel & Spa.
(B)

Early morning transfer to Cape Town airport for a 2-hour flight to Johannesburg, and an overnight stay at the 3-star Garden Court Sandton City. On arrival, a half-day tour takes you to Soweto for a tour and lunch at a traditional ‘shebeen’ tavern, followed by viewing the Hector Pietersen Memorial of the 1976 uprising, named for its first casualty, a 12-year-old boy; and a visit to Nelson Mandela’s House, his humble home until 1962, and now a museum with memorabilia of his life. Check-in at the hotel in the late afternoon and join your guide for a walk through nearby Nelson Mandela Square. 
(B, L)

Travel by road (6hrs approx.) to world-famous Kruger National Park, for three nights at the Nkambeni Safari Camp, offering an authentic African bush experience. An afternoon game drive, in an open 4x4 vehicle, is your introduction to South Africa’s first national park.
(B, D)

One of the largest game reserves on the continent, its reputation goes before it, but nothing prepares you for a first Kruger experience, where habitats range from mountains and cliffs to bush and tropical forest. Spend a fabulous full day on safari in the park, home to hundreds of species of birds, reptiles, and mammals, including all of Africa’s Big Five.
(B, D)

Take a morning and afternoon game drive, and enjoy a relaxing interlude at the camp’s pool and bar areas, which overlook a waterhole where wildlife visits are frequent.
(B, D)

Scenic drive through the aptly named Panorama Route, focused on the Blyde River Canyon, the third-largest canyon on Earth; stopping at a waterfall cascade; seeing breathtaking views from God’s Window, high on the Drakensberg escarpment; and visiting Bourke’s Luck Potholes, a geological wonder and ‘Giants Kettle’ effect of eroded cliffs and swirling eddies, where two rivers collide, the Blyde (‘Joy’) and the Treur (‘Sorrow’). Continue to Johannesburg airport for the return direct flight to London.
(B)

Arrival in London.