You’re driving through famous Kruger National Park when you spy two giraffes nibbling on high branches, their elongated necks forming a perfect “V.” Just after taking an amazing photo, an elephant appears out of the bush, lumbering slowly behind your vehicle, making for another perfect photo. And it’s just a matter of time before you spot lions, zebras, vultures, cheetahs, and more—all part of the South Africa experience.
Visiting Kruger is just one of the highlights of the Spectacular South Africa trip from Collette, which offers an itinerary of culturally immersive experiences that maximize all of the richness that South Africa has to offer. In addition to Kruger, you’ll also sip wine at a vineyard in the Cape Winelands region and travel the lush Garden Route.
Photo Credit: Collette
The Company
Creating value-driven, comprehensive itineraries that go deep into what makes a place special that is what Collette, the oldest guided tour company in North America, has been doing for more than a century. With an eye on value, Collette crafts its inclusive tour vacations down to the smallest detail, so you can simply pack a suitcase and go. With everything arranged in advance, you can focus on the experience itself—an authentic tour of a destination that also saves you time and money. The Spectacular South Africa trip was designed to showcase some of South Africa’s most renowned landscapes and wildlife, along with getting to know its history and culture by visiting its communities, both large and small, and the people who live there.
Photo Credit: Collette
The Tour
Begin your 13-day adventure in Johannesburg, where you’ll visit the Apartheid museum, take a guided tour of Soweto, join locals for lunch at a Shebeen (or house tavern), and experience Liliesleaf, the former center of the liberation movement. You’ll stay at the modern, centrally located DaVinci Hotel and Suites (which, like all of the properties on this tour, is four-star or above). Next, you’ll take a leisurely, scenic drive through the spectacular Northern Drakensberg Mountain Range, which includes passing through Blyde River Canyon, one of Africa’s greatest natural wonders and one of the largest canyons on earth. On a clear day, you can stand at the edge and see Mozambique. Then you’ll attend a Boma-style dinner—a traditional African meal that includes plenty of barbecued meat, along with dancing, drumming, and storytelling. (Before the trip’s over, you’ll learn to play these drums—called djembe drums—yourself.)
Not far away is the largest game reserve in South Africa, Kruger National Park, where you’ll search for elephant, buffalo, lions, leopards, and rhinos—the Big Five—as you drive through this lush landscape in an open-air safari vehicle. You’ll even enjoy a picnic lunch in the wild.
Next, you’ll travel to the resort town of Knysna in the heart of the Garden Route. Here you’ll discover a different kind of wildlife at Featherbed Nature Reserve, where you’ll have the chance to discover the region’s breathtaking flora and fauna on a nature walk through an ancient forest and a cruise through a lagoon. While in Knysna, you’ll also spend a day learning about the diversity of the community by visiting a local school, where the efforts of the Collette Foundation are helping to combat the challenges of educating the region’s children.
Photo Credit: Collette
You’ll then head to beautiful Cape Town and the final days of your trip. Drive up Signal Hill, pass through the Malay Quarter, and stop at the Milnerton Lighthouse. Head up to the gorgeous winelands region for a wine tasting and lunch overlook the vineyards in the charming town of Franschhoek. Then finish your trip enjoying the coastal scenery and charming towns that populate the Cape Peninsula. You’ll check out the penguins at Boulders Beach and take a thrilling cable-car ride up more than 3,000 feet to enjoy the amazing views from the top of iconic Table Mountain.
Explore all the other amazing South African tours you can take with Collette and book your adventure now!
