Cape Town, the Garden Route & Big Five Safari for Solo Travellers

Fly from the UK, via Johannesburg, to Cape Town.

Arriving in Cape Town, this morning, you'll meet your tour manager and enjoy an orientation tour of Cape Town en route to your hotel for the first three nights. Rest and relax, get to know your surroundings, and this evening, join fellow guests for a Welcome Dinner at a restaurant in the heart of the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, the hub of the city’s shopping, entertaining and dining experiences.

Enjoy a fascinating, full-day included tour of one of Africa’s most scenic stretches of coastline, including Cape Point, where the Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean, and – weather-permitting – travel via the breathtakingly scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive, one of the world’s most thrilling coastal roads.

Return to the city via Kirstenbosch, famous for its Botanical Gardens, and crown a wonderful day with an unforgettable ascent of Table Mountain in a rotating cable car, which offers a 360 degree panorama as it climbs to the 1000-metre high summit.

Later, why not spend a second evening on the colourful Waterfront?

Today you're free to rest, relax and enjoy the city. You might wander through the historic Bo-Kaap district of Dutch colonial houses, stroll through the horticultural paradise of The Company’s Gardens, catch a catamaran to infamous Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned (early booking recommended), or perhaps head to Camps Bay's white-sand beach and café-lined promenade.

Enjoy a last evening in Cape Town, perhaps checking out one of the city’s increasing number of trendy restaurants.

Bidding farewell to Cape Town, today you'll cross the Western Cape by coach, passing vineyards and rugged peaks, to the Aquila Private Game Reserve and Spa. Here, following lunch and the opportunity to freshen up, you’ll enjoy the first of a series of game drives through the reserve in the company of an experienced ranger guide. Founded in 1999, the reserve has reintroduced the Big Five (lions, rhino, elephants, leopards and buffalo) to the Western Cape, and you can expect to see these beautiful creatures in natural surroundings. This evening, before dinner, perhaps enjoy a sun-downer sitting by the authentic Boma (camp) fire.

A second day at the reserve includes opportunities to enjoy included morning and afternoon game
drives, to rest and relax in the hotel (perhaps by the pool) or even to take advantage of the hotel's spa. This evening, enjoy a second chance to gather around the Boma, or meet new-found friends in the bar before dinner.

After a last chance to enjoy an early game drive and a leisurely breakfast, re-board the coach to make the stunningly scenic journey along historic Route 62 into wine-producing Robertson Valley. Break your journey at the beautiful Van Loveren wine estate, where you'll have an opportunity to taste some of the family-run vineyard’s popular vintages in a cool, shaded garden.

This afternoon, continue to the historic town of Montagu, famed for its hot springs, and check in to the Art Deco hotel to rest and relax. This evening, dine in the hotel, or perhaps head into the pleasant Victorian town centre.

This morning you’ll visit the world-renowned Cango Caves, with their vast caverns of stalactites and stalagmites, formed over millions of years. This afternoon, you’ll enjoy a breathtakingly scenic drive toward the Swartberg Mountain Pass before a wonderful day ends with a typical South African Braai (barbecue) at the famous Kobus se Gat restaurant, and you spend the first of two nights in Oudtshoorn, the Ostrich Capital of the World, in the heart of the Little Karoo plain.

This morning, you’ll head toward the famously scenic Garden Route and Knysna. Set on a languid lagoon, against a backdrop of wooded hills, Knysna is a town of Victorian and Georgian houses that brims with character and relaxed style. An included tour, here, features a cruise to the Featherbed Nature Reserve, across the lagoon. Enjoy an included lunch in the shade of milkwood trees before making the return journey to Oudtshoorn, where you will enjoy a visit to a fascinating ostrich farm.

The world’s strangest, largest and often most valuable bird has been farmed here for 130 years, first for its plumage – Edwardian farmers built handsome Feather Palaces with the proceeds – and more recently for its high-protein, low-cholesterol meat.

You'll return to the hotel to relax at the end of a hugely enjoyable day.

Head south once more, to the coastal town of Hermanus, famed as a whale-watching centre from July to November, and a year-round seaside resort offering stunning views out across Atlantic waters. Enjoy an included whale-watching (October departures) or dolphin-spotting cruise (all other departures), and soak up the relaxed atmosphere of the town, perhaps visiting the Whale Museum and the colourful country market. This evening, sit down with fellow guests for a farewell dinner, no doubt spent reliving the pleasures of the last few days.

Bid farewell to Hermanus, and head west along the scenic coast. Pause at Stony Point for a glimpse of its penguin colony, before continuing towards the Western Cape for your last visit, to community-owned Macassar Pottery. You'll then head back to Cape Town International Airport to check in for your flight back to the UK, via Johannesburg.

You'll land back home this morning, at the end of a wonderful solo travellers' holiday in South Africa.