Help on the garden route

[hilda]

I am planning my trip from Dubai to SA in december, and planning to drive from capetown to hermanus and then on to mossel bay, do a day trip to oudtshoorn, and fly from george to jo'berg. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best routes i can take in terms of scenery, and also the easiest as i donot want to get lost!). Are places easy to find and the roads ok? How long would it take me to drive to oudtshoorn from mossel bay?
Also, how long will it take me to drive from joberg to sun city?Again, is it easy to find my way there?
i would really appreciate any tips and suggestions anybody has to offer!
Also, when I a in cape town, how do I go about taking the cable car to tablemountain, and go to robben island, the botanical gardens and winelands etc? Do I need to make an advance booking or can I just get there myself? can i find cabs to take me or do I need to hire a car and drive myself? Are there tour agencies that will give you a guided tour or take you to these places, and is that more expensive. Would appreciate some help on this one as well please!

[oliver]

Hi Hilda,

let me start by saying you have chosen a great route to take when down here. Around December the Garden Route is one of the best places to visit - beautiful scenery, warm ocean and some great spots to check out.

As far as routes are concerned, I have always taken the N2 which carries directly along the Garden Route. This will take you directly from Hermanus to Mossel Bay - it is the coastal route and given that the N2 is a main highway I would recommend taking it.

Oudsthoorn is slightly inland from the coast - I have attached a map to give you a clear idea of how everything is connected. You can view the South African travel distance calculator to see that Oudsthoorn is 95km away from Mossel Bay. By the way when you are in Oudsthoorn you should definitely take the time to head 25km North and check out the Cango Caves.

Be sure to take a drive through the Wildernis, Knysna and possibly Plettenberg Bay - some of the most beautiful towns South Africa has to offer.

Sun City is about 2 hours outside of Johannesburg - I haven't done this myself but do know that Sun City is in the Pilanesberg.

When in Cape Town I would recommend hiring a car, public transport is not fantastic and it will be easier to have the freedom to go whereever you want - a lot of the public transport has very fixed routes and it will be hard to see destinations like the wine routes.

You will not need to make advance bookings for many of the activities you mentioned - you can arrive without booking. You can see many of the activities you talked about listed here with more information on how to go about doing them
43 Cape Town Activities

Hope everything above helps - let me know if you need to know any more!

Hi oliver, thank you very much for your suggestions!I am not sure if I will have the time to see Knysa and Plettenberg Bay though!if you or ahyone else has any more suggestions and advice for a first time traveller to SA and for these destinations, please feel free to dispense!

[oliver]

There are some great activities in the Garden Route - in a similar vein to the Cape Town list you can click the link below to see them
Activites in the Garden Route

Of specific note is the Outeniqua Steam Train which takes you on a scenic route through many of the top spots in the Garden Route. The train arrives and departs at Knysna - I know you said you may not have time, but it really is a great activtiy. The advantage is that you can experience the ride without having to concentrate on the road ahead.

In reply to your original post, there are many tour guides which will guide through many spots in both the Garden Route and Cape Town. It will definitely be more expensive than checking out places for yourself but you will probably get taken to more. Personally I like the freedom of exploring myself - I find the concept of tours too structured.