Overview
#Garden Route The narrow coastal belt on South Africa's south coast, stretching from the Tsitsikamma Forest in the east ±200 km to Mossel Bay in the west, is generally known as the Garden Route. It is bordered to the inland side by the Outeniqua, Kammanassie and Tsitsikamma Mountains. It is called the Garden Route because of the region's beautiful vegetation and mountainous scenery, making for a breathtaking coastal experience.
The Garden Route is a tourism paradise combining excellent infrastructure with scenic natural attractions. The N2 Highway (coastal road) provides easy access to most Garden Route towns and villages and to the scenic rugged coastline. Long stretches of the coastline are only accessible via hiking trails or mountain bike tracks making it a paradise for adventure and nature lovers.
The Garden route has much to offer the tourist interested in beauty, nature, culture and relaxation. If you are willing, able and have time to wander off the main tourist routes a treasure trove of unspoiled nature awaits you. The Garden Route gets very busy during South African holidays, especially during the summer holiday in December.
Tours that visit Garden Route
popular
Scheduled tours
16 Day HIghlights of South Africa Northbound
On this tour you journey through the most popular areas of South Africa, following the most-travelled, tried and tested route for first time visitors to the country. The tour provides a mix of cities, countryside, historical sites, scenic drives, nature, wildlife, culture and people.
from R20,910
popular
Scheduled tours
16Day Highlights of South Africa Southbound
On this tour you journey through the most popular areas of South Africa, following the most-travelled, tried and tested route for first time visitors to the country. The tour provides a mix of cities, countryside, historical sites, scenic drives, nature, wildlife, culture and people.
from R20,910
popular
Scheduled tours
3 Days Cape Town to Port Elizabeth Tour
Experience beautiful scenery with constantly changing views of mountains, valleys and gorges as you travel along the popular Route 62 and the lush Garden Route.
from R6,845
popular
Scheduled tours
3 Days Port Elizabeth to Cape Town
Experience constantly changing scenic views of mountain passes, valleys, coastal towns and small villages as you travel along the lush Garden Route and the popular Route 62 .
from R6,845
popular
Scheduled tours
Garden Route and Route 62
On this scheduled tour you travel from Port Elizabeth through the Tsitsikamma Forest, and visit Storm's River Mouth. You travel along the Garden Route, enjoy a sunset oyster cruise and an ocean safari. You visit an ostrich farm in the Klein Karoo, interact with elephants, do a tour of the Cango Caves and travel along the scenic Route 62 to Cape Town.
from R9,980
Scheduled tours
4 Days Route 62 and Garden Route
This 4 day tour takes you through the dramatically changing scenery of the popular Route 62 and the Garden Route. You will experience ostriches up close, spend time with elephants, tour the Cango Caves, do a sunset cruise on the Knysna Lagoon, do an ocean safari on the Plettenberg Bay in search of dolphins, seals and whales, visit the Tsitsikamma Forest and Storm's River Mouth.
from R9,980
Scheduled tours
The Cape Discovery
On this scheduled guided tour you experience the scenic beauty of Route 62, you visit the iconic Cango Caves and interact with ostriches. Your route takes you along the Garden Route. At Knysna you enjoy a Sunset Knysna Oyster Cruise. You visit the museum complex at Mossel Bay, post a postcard at the famous Post Office Tree. Enjoy game viewing in an open safari vehicle on the lookout for the big five. Do cheetah tracking and visit the southernmost point of the African continent. Return to Cape Town via a wonderfully scenic coastal drive.
from R12,065
Things to see
Town
Knysna
##Knysna The town of Knysna is at the heart of the popular Garden Route. There are a host of activities to engage in and attractions to explore. In our opinion the top ones are exploring the surrounding forests and embarking on an excursion to the Featherbed Nature Reserve.
8 tours visit here
Town
Plettenberg Bay
##Plettenberg Bay Plettenberg Bay is situated on the shore of an impressive bay similarly named. The town is located ±33 km east of Knysna on South Africa's Garden Route. The Portuguese explorers who first set eyes on the bay named it "Bahia Formosa" - the "Beautiful Bay".
3 tours visit here
Game or nature reserve
Storm’s River Mouth
##Storm’s River Mouth Storms River Mouth is the main camp within the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park. This section comprises a coastal stretch of roughly 5 Km wide. It includes the Tsitsikamma rain forest that drops down to the rugged coastline with a marine conservation region of approximately 80 km.
6 tours visit here
Gallery
