Cape Winelands & the Garden Route

If you can be tempted to leave Cape Town, two very enchanting destinations await, Cape Winelands and the beautiful Garden Route. These two captivating regions are best explored on a self-drive holiday.

Both are steeped in history and provide endless opportunities to enjoy genuine South African warmth and hospitality. We strongly recommend that you rent a car so that you can explore these regions at a leisurely pace and make the most of the many premium hotels and lodges that reward travellers who have made the journey this far.

The Cape Winelands are a collection of small, charming villages-  the most notable being Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Paarl – and wine-producing estates around an hour inland from Cape Town. Nestled at the base of mountains, this picturesque region was first cultivated in the late 17th century by French and Dutch colonial settlers, whose cultures have left their mark especially on the architecture and cuisine of the area.

The Garden Route is one of the world’s most scenic stretches of road, tracing over 200km of coastline from Mossel Bay in the Western Cape to Storms River on the Eastern Cape. In between are an array of cute coastal hamlets such as Hermanus and George, world-class golf courses, peaceful vineyards and an array of bird-rich reserves protecting indigenous forests and native fynbos vegetation. Go diving with great white sharks, spot southern right whales in the bay in winter or visit an ostrich farm – the possibilities are endless.