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We have planned the following Itinerary to South Africa, please let me know if this is workable or suggest a better one -- Day 1 -- land in Johannesburg and after a brief rest, take a city tour Day 2 -- Drive to Kruger National Park Day 3 -- Kruger National *(PLEASE SUGGEST IF WE SHOULD HAVE ONE ADDITIONAL DAY AT KNP) Day 4 -- Take flight to Port Elizabeth (halt at PE) Day 5 to day 14 -- Drive through the Garden route *(we hope to do some adventure sports along the way and make halts accordingly, any suggestions in this regard are welcome) Day 15,16,17 -- Cape Town Day 18 -- fly out of Cape Town We can extend this if required by a few more days. If so where should we add? Besides this should we cover Durban too? If covering Durban then we could take a flight to Durban after KNP and then take another flight from there to PE and then drive to Cape Town from there through the garden route. Any other not to miss wildlife parks in any of these places? Thank you for your time, Seetha
Definitely add more time in Kruger. I would stay there for at *least* two full days, preferably three. If you have not done safari before, you will be blown away by it. Also, do use a guide there, because you will see much more that way than you would on your own. I think you can cut some days off your Garden Route drive to do this. Three days in CT is also on the short side given how much there is to do around there, but if that's all the time you have, then it will be OK. I like the eastern side of SA, but in my opinion Durban is not anywhere near as pleasant a place to visit as the other destinations on your list. So I would leave that off. It's not that interesting a city, I've found.
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(Seetha I posted this reply earlier to the question in the WORLD forum) , Take an extra day or two at Kruger National Park. There is so much to see and do. You will not need more than 4 days for Garden Route. Its not a long way. Stop at Knysna Elephant Park (about halfway to CT) (stay overnight at the Lodge) - its an Elephant Sanctuary for orphaned and abused circus elephants, and is incredibly uplifting. Hand feed the elephants, and you sleep in the Boma, VERY close to the elephants. Its wonderful. Skip Durban- its hot, humid and not very appealing. There is LOTS to do in Cape Town- adventure sports included. Also you could climb Table Mountain ( a popular traveller thing to do) and there are some fairly easy climbs (depending on ones energy levels) Plenty of water sports- Hangliding, Hot Air Balloons , Horse-riding- lots of action Then take some relaxation and drive to the mountainous wine country and have a typical delicious South African lunch.(see 300-400 year old Dutch farnhouses).......I have written about this in my CT page. All in all, you don't have to have a really strict itinirary. Just go with the flow. Stop wherever you fancy, you will always find accommodation. But I really stress that a few days in KNP is a must.
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Hi Seetha, before I look at the number of days in each place, have you checked the cost/availability of "Take flight to Port Elizabeth (halt at PE)". Last time I looked, it was horribly expensive, and most people were driving back to JHB and flying from there to PE. In what month is this?
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Thank you all. Yes, Lynne, read your reply earlier too and thank you so much for it. I re posted here, so that I can get some more opinions. Gerald, I would be traveling in the third week of May. I also now found that there is no accommodation available at Kruger in the dates that we had planned!! Need to re work now. Any suggestion in that regard? Thanks again for all your inputs, Seetha
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Good thinking, Gerald. Its probably a better idea to drive back to J;burg and drop the hire car there.
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Which airport is closest to Kruger national park to fly to Port Elizabeth?
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One airport serves the central & northern Krugerpark: eastgateairport.co.za/flight... Another airport serves the southern part of the park (part nearest to Johannesburg): mceglobal.net/TravelPlanning...
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If you cannot get accom inside the park, you can stay outside and take drives inside between sunrise and sunset. There are also nice drives outide the park ("Panorama Route"). Nearby Hazyview is my personal choice. Many smaller parks, with more concentrated game are around there, and guided tours are available. (self-drive can only be done in Kruger, also sunrise to sunset)
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I would spend a minimum of two days at Kruger. As Gerald says, you can stay outside of the park and still have plenty of time each day to see those wonderful animals. Two days on the Garden Route is probably enough but three would be better if you are going to zipline or do other adventure sports on the way. I am not sure you need to stay at the elephant park having just left Kruger. Leave as much time as posssible for Cape Town. There is so much to see and do there. Also, the pace is slower so you will be able to relax a bit. Have an awesome time. Diane
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Diane, the Elephant Park is ON the Garden Route- it really deserves a night stopover. It was one of our highlights on our Garde Route trip. Its totally different to KNP.
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Lynne and I have opposite opinions on the "Elephant Park". I see it as a zoo, or petting farm, passing itself off as a sanctuary. (Yes, I have visited)
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Well Lynne I guess it's different strokes for different folks. Somehow for me, handfeeding elephants is not very African and if it were me, I would rather spend that time in Cape Town.
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Well Gerald, we have to agree to disagree. It IS a sanctuary, not a zoo. We loved our stay there.
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I think whatever Seetha decided, she and her family will have a wonderful time in this awesome country. Enjoy Seetha and come back and tell us what you think..
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Thank you all. I am in the process of finalising my itinerary based on all your advice. I will surely get back to you all. I am sure the elephant sanctuary is good. I have visited something similar in Dubare, Karnataka,India. It was a great experience. Meanwhile ...Have a good weekend ahead,
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