There aren’t many countries where you can get up close to lions, penguins, and meerkats, hike through verdant mountains, surf on wild beaches, relax at wineries, and enjoy gourmet feasts all in one trip. South Africa is a stunning, diverse, and affordable country that’s best explored on a road trip.
South Africa isn’t the cheapest place to travel, but for a developed country it’s excellent value. Car hire is inexpensive so a road trip is the best way to explore. We spent just over a month driving from Johannesburg to Cape Town via Kruger National Park, the Drakenberg Mountains, the Wild Coast and the Garden Route. Our trip included safaris, mountain hikes, horse riding, wild beaches, stunning national parks, impressive caves, and delicious wine tasting.
Our South Africa road trip was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken. We drove from Johannesburg to Cape Town in just over a month stopping to see the Big 5 on safari in Kruger, hike lush green mountains in the Drakensberg, walk along the dramatic Wild Coast, and explore the beaches and parks of the Garden Route. We learnt about South Africa’s turbulent history, met its diverse people, sampled the country’s excellent wine, and ended in one of our new favourite cities, Cape Town.
Oudtshoorn is often included on South Africa’s Garden Route drive from Cape Town and it’s definitely worth taking the detour inland. It’s only a short drive from the coast but the scenery of the Klein Karoo semi-desert is dramatically different. It’s hotter and drier but not at all lifeless—the wide open plains dotted with thorny bushes and backed by orange, red and chocolate mountains are starkly beautiful.
We have mixed feelings about Coffee Bay. It was both our least favourite and most memorable destination on our South Africa road trip and I wish we had given it more of a chance (we left after one night despite paying for two nights accommodation).
