THE GARDEN ROUTE
“A serendipitous combination of world-class beaches, iridescent lagoons and indigenous forests interspersed with welcoming towns, and a simple, scenic, ocean-hugging highway guarantees the Garden Route inclusion in every roundup of ultimate four-wheeled adventures.”
There isn’t a better way to sum up the garden route than describe by National Geographic. Our journey started in Cape Town and finished in Port Elizabeth. We visited some of the most beautiful places we have ever seen and when you throw in the abundance of wildlife and adventures it makes it one of the best road trips of our lives.
We will show you our favourite spots and activities whilst touring the garden routes.
The Garden Route has many varieties of route but typically your road trip will start in Cape Town and finish in Port Elizabeth. We had 4 weeks to drive from Cape Town to PE and then back to Cape Town before our flight back to England.
We will list our favourite places, activities and sights that we think you should check out. If you want to find out more about what to do in Cape Town then click here.
THE GARDEN ROUTE GUIDE
Cape Town - Our starting location. Check out our Cape Town guide here.
Hermanus - Land and boat based whale watching.
Cape Agulhas - Where the two Oceans meet and the most southernly point of Africa. In our opinion there isn’t much to do except get your photo next to the two oceans sign. Its a been there done it kinda place but still worth the drive if you have the time.
Swellendam - 3rd oldest town in South Africa. Beautiful cape Dutch architecture and great location to stop off and break up the driving.
Mossel Bay - official start of the garden route, Santos beach,
Oudtshoorn- A detour from the main tourist route north is the town of Oudtshoorn. It is well worth the stay here to explore the famous Cango Caves.
Knysna - A beautiful south African town on the coast. Many guides will tell you there are no beaches but there are fantastic open beaches if you drive a couple of miles. A fantastic place to base your garden route travels from. Or spend a few extra nights to explore the local area before moving on. Knysna elephant park and jungle.
Plettenberg Bay - a short drive from Knysna and perfectly located to explore the Tsitsikamma national park
Port Elizabeth - Port Elizabeth is our final destination along this route. We stayed in PE for the easy access to Addo Elephant National Park, This is a real highlight and a great way to end a fantastic trip along the Garden Route.
George - If driving all the way back to Cape Town we suggest leaving George as your destination to break up the long drive and stay here a night or two. The Seven Passes road to Knysna winds through the Outeniqua Mountains and is a must see.
Alternative to self drives. There are many tour operators and even bus services such as The Baz Bus www.bazbus.com. The Baz Bus is a hop on hop off service along the route.
