Ultimate South Africa Whale-Watching Special Departure

What's Included

• Return flights from Heathrow with British Airways or South African Airways
• 15 nights in 3 and 4-star hotels plus 2 nights in flight
• 24 meals: 15 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 7 dinners
• Travelsphere Tour Manager and Local Guide
• Overseas transfers and other transportation
• Porterage​

• Cape Town tour and Table Mountain
• Cape Peninsula, Cape Point, Boulders Beach and Botanical Gardens 
• Winelands cellar tour and tasting
• The Drostdy Museum in Swellendam
• The Cango Caves and an ostrich farm
• Drive along the Garden Route
• Featherbed Nature Reserve
• Storms River Mouth in Tsitsikamma National Park 
• Discover charming Port Elizabeth
• The Zulu battlefields
• Game drive in Kruger National Park
• Drive along the scenic Panorama Route
• Graskop Gorge Lift and forest walk
• A 'braai' dinner under the stars

Not Included

Itinerary

• Day 1 UK/Cape Town
• ​Depart on your scheduled overnight flight to Cape Town.
• Day 2 Cape Town
• ​You'll arrive in Cape Town this morning, where your sightseeing starts en route to your hotel. You'll see many of the city's highlights and if the weather is on our side, there's the chance to take the cable car up Table Mountain. You'll stay in Cape Town for three nights.
• Day 3 Cape Peninsula
• ​You'll spend the day exploring the Cape Peninsula. If weather conditions are favourable, your adventure heads along Chapman's Peak, one of the most spectacular coastal drives in the world, finally reaching Cape Nature Reserve and Cape Point. You return to Cape Town via Boulders Beach where you will see its famous penguin colony. Your journey continues through Simon's Town, Fish Hoek and Muizenberg. Finally you'll call at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens​.
• Day 4 Cape Town
• Explore Cape Town at your own pace today, or why not join an optional excursion to Khayelitsha, the largest black township in Cape Town. En route you'll visit Bo-Kapp Malay Quarter and drive through District Six, a former residential area whose inhabitants were forcibly removed during the era of apartheid. Your tour includes a visit to the Philani Empowerment centre and the opportunity to experience daily life within this spirited community.
• Day 5 Stellenbosch
• ​Stellenbosch nestles in the centre of the Western Cape winelands. Today you'll head here for a tour of the city and the winelands surrounding it. Wine-tastings and a cellar tour are also included.
• Day 6 Hermanus
• ​Hermanus, your destination today is known as one of the best places for land based whale watching in the world. At this time of year, southern right whales stay in the bay close to the shore and can be seen from the network of cliff paths. For the chance to witness these mesmerising creatures in their own habitat, we'll head out on a whale-watching cruise if weather conditions allow. This afternoon is free for you to explore the town at your own pace and we have arranged an overnight stay here.
• Day 7 Oudtshoorn
• ​Enjoy a relaxing drive to the town of Swellendam. One of the oldest towns in South Africa, it boasts stunning architecture and a fascinating museum, which you will visit today. Your journey continues to Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo, stopping to take in the stunning views from Huisrivier Pass en route​.
• Day 8 Knysna
• ​Oudtshoorn is the 'ostrich capital of the world', and home to the world's largest population of this unique flightless bird. You will have the chance to see these fascinating creatures up close at the Safari Ostrich Farm, before visiting the Cango Caves. Located in a limestone ridge alongside the stunning Swatberg Mountains, this magnificent cave system is more than 20 million years old. Continue to Knysna where you stay for two nights​.
• Day 9 Knysna
• The quaint town of Knysna lies at the heart of the Garden Route and is surrounded by ancient forests. It's a delightful place with plenty of craft shops, boutiques and cafés and after a leisurely start today, Today we will visit the Featherbed Nature Reserve with a cruise across Knysna Lagoon, a walk through the forest, past the ancient sea caves, and a buffet lunch at the lagoon edge restaurant. ​
• Day 10 Port Elizabeth
• ​Your journey to Port Elizabeth via Plettenberg Bay includes a stop at Storms River Mouth in Tsitsikamma National Park.
• Day 11 Battlefields
• ​Enjoy a tour of Port Elizabeth, one of the largest cities in South Africa. You'll then head to the airport for your flight to Durban. On arrival, travel into a very different territory from the one you have experienced in the previous few days as you approach the heart of the Zulu kingdom, the KwaZulu-Natal battlefields. You'll stay in the area for two nights.
• Day 12 Battlefields
• ​Join a guided tour that takes in the battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift. Stand at the very spot where the 1879 Battle of Isandlwana and subsequent conflict at Rorke's Drift took place.​
• Day 13 Kruger
• ​No visit to South Africa would be complete without experiencing Kruger National Park. Today's journey to the park is long but it is certainly worth it. On the way, you will experience the many different landscapes of the country. Your lodge-style hotel, where you will stay for the next two nights, sits on the banks of the Sabie River​.
• Day 14 Kruger
• ​Wake up to the incredible sights and sounds of nature with an optional early-morning game drive. An optional game drive is also offered in the afternoon, or you can choose a full-day game drive. Alternatively, you could spend time at leisure, perhaps lazing by the pool.
• Day 15 Kruger
• This morning we'll take in the sights on a game drive, which also includes a breakfast picnic. This afternoon is yours to do as you please. You could relax and enjoy the facilities at the lodge, or head out on an optional game drive and continue your search for wildlife.
• Day 16 Kruger & Panorama Route
• Start your day with a drive along the breathtaking Panorama Route, which winds its way through some of South Africa's most beautiful scenery. The rainforest at God's Window, Bourke's Luck Potholes and the Three Rondavels, are some of the highlights. We're also going to take an unforgettable journey on the Graskop Gorge Lift, which travels 51 metres down the face of the gorge and into the forest below. Here, a trail of wooden walkways and suspension bridges carves its way through the forest and interactive exhibits tell us more about the flora and fauna. Tonight, if the weather is on our side, you'll experience a braai, a traditional barbecue under the stars.
• Day 17 Kruger/UK
• ​Today we will transfer you to Johannesburg for your early evening flight to the UK.​
• Day 18 UK
• ​You'll arrive in the UK today​.

Accommodation

• • Premier Hotel Cape Town
  • Cape Manor Hotel is situated a few minutes away from the Sea Point promenade and Atlantic Ocean. Many major attractions, including the V&A Waterfront and Table Mountain are within easy reach of the hotel. Hotel''s rooms feature wooden furniture, modern bathrooms, coffee maker and satellite TV. Other hotel amenities include an outdoor swimming pool and a cocktail bar.
• • Stellenbosch Lodge
  • Situated on the outskirts of the charming town of Stellenbosch, this South African hotel embodies the splendid heritage of the Cape. The rugged mountain amphitheater and vineyards create a stunning and dramatic setting for the hotel, the Winelands’ best kept secret. Built in true Cape Vernacular style, the hotel is contemporary and welcoming.
• • Windsor Hotel
  • The Windsor Hotel and Self-Catering Apartments, a 120km drive from Cape Town, is renowned for its unparalleled vantage point to view the whales which breed and feed in Walker Bay from July – November. Independently owned, Hermanus’s oldest hotel has been modernised while retaining the charm and hospitality so cherished by our guests, who return time and again for their homely seaside holiday experience.
• • Protea Hotel by Marriott Oudtshoorn Riempie Estate
  • Standard rooms come with free WiFi, satellite TV, and tea and coffee making facilities. All have en suite bathrooms. Amenities include a restaurant and cocktail bar, a garden with an outdoor pool.
• • Premier Resort The Moorings
  • Premier Resort The Moorings (Knysna) can be found on the banks of the Knysna lagoon, offering private access to the lagoon for hotel guests as well as boat launch and docking facilities at the hotel. The area is serene in its secluded Knysna Heads setting, with spectacular views of indigenous forest and less than 3km from the town’s centre
• • City Lodge Port Elizabeth
  • Every room at this hotel is air conditioned and is fitted with a flat-screen TV. Each room is equipped with a private bathroom equipped with a bath. For your comfort, you will find free toiletries and a hair dryer.
• • Battlefields Country Lodge
  • The 3-star Battlefields Country Lodge is situated in the heart of the well known historic Battlefields in KwaZulu Natal near Dundee.
    
    Hotel facilities include a restaurant and a bar. Bedrooms have private facilities and air-conditioning.
• • Ndhula Lodge
  • Ideally situated in the Mpumalanga Lowveld region of South Africa, the Ndhula Lodge is giving incredible views over the mountains, the bushveld and the surrounding valleys. This stunning view, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, as well as a wonderful array of “plains” game species that graze close by give this place a “Serengeti” type ambience. The name “Ndhula” is the short and modified form of Indlulamithi, which means “Giraffe” in the local Zulu language. When the founder of the Lodge first visited this property, a bunch of Giraffes crossed their way. That was the sign to name the Lodge after this graceful animal.
• • Garden Court Sandton City
  • The stylish 4-star Garden Court Sandton City Hotel is located in the heart of Johannesburg. Bedrooms include private facilities, air-conditioning, tea/coffee making facilities and a TV.

Optional Excursions

• ​Cape Town Township Tour

• Game drives at Kruger National Park

Further Information