Tailor Made Holidays in The Garden Route, South Africa: Introduction

The Garden Route is one area of South Africa that most people have heard of, even if they are not sure what it is! It is a stretch of coastline, perhaps 300 kilometres long, which is one of the most scenic areas of the country. Its beauty and accessibility have led to some development, but there are still miles of white-sand beaches, glassy lagoons crossed by low bridges, hillsides covered in vast indigenous forests laced with a network of The Garden Route footpaths, and pretty towns that are hugely popular with South Africans and visitors alike.

To get around you have the choice of the N2 highway, which allows you to quickly cover the length of the Garden Route, or a network of beautiful back roads through the forests and over picturesque mountain streams. Knysna is in the centre of the region, lying on the shore of an attractive lagoon, or you may prefer to base yourself in Wilderness, on top of a sand dune with uninterrupted views of the ocean, or it may be that Plettenberg Bay is more to your taste, perched on a cliff over a sweeping bay populated with iconic surfing dolphins. Activities range from ocean safaris to journeys on picturesque steam trains and visits to wildlife sanctuaries or eco-ventures.

Close to both the Karoo and the Eastern Cape game reserves, the Garden Route is the hub for many people’s trips to South Africa.

Selected Highlights

Our specialists have travelled the length and breadth of the country to research the best places to stay and things to do. Here they list a few of their favourite “unmissables”. Click here for more highlights

Birds of Eden and MonkeyLand

On the Garden route you will find Birds of Eden. The sanctuary is located outside of Plettenberg Bay and the two hectare dome is built over a large...  [more]

Featherbed Cruise in Knysna

Knysna means the Place of people. Although Knysna is known for its cosmopolitan community it is also a place where nature is to be found wherever you...  [more]

Knysna Forest

Plenty of stories have been written about the Knysna forest and it holds an abundance of history. The Knysna forest was once a long time ago home to...  [more]