Cape Family Adventure: Self-Drive - 12 days

This self-drive journey was created especially for families, with the perfect blend of relaxation and activity, including treasure hunts, arts and crafts, and free time in pools and playgrounds.  Experience the very best of the Cape, beginning with the incredibly beautiful city of Cape Town, and enjoy your hotel on the waterfront, with a wellness spa, heated swimming pool, and gym.  Visit Grootbos Private Nature Reserve and enjoy guided nature walks, horseback riding, and excursions out to sea for exciting whale watching.  Drive through the spectacular scenery of the world-famous Garden Route, one of South Africa’s top attractions.  End off your Cape adventure with a Big Five safari, tracking the incredible wildlife at Kwandwe Private Game Reserve.

This adventure starts at Cape Town International Airport and ends at Port Elizabeth Airport

Day 1, 2,3 & 4

Upon your arrival at Cape Town International Airport you will be met by a member from our team who will assist you to Budget Car Rental to collect your rental vehicle.

With Table Mountain – one of the most spiritual places on earth – at its heart and two oceans at its feet, the city of Cape Town, strategically situated at the south-western tip of Africa, has been famed for centuries as the Tavern of the Seas. Vibrant, cosmopolitan and an eclectic mix of old and new, this laid-back city is as much at home with its 17th century castle – whose cannons have never been fired in anger – as it is with its sleek skyscrapers and trendy malls. Home to South Africa’s first mosque, oldest wine farm, a 350-year-old garden and timelessly beautiful beaches, it’s no surprise the legendary Flying Dutchman and his spectral ship have spent eternity sailing the city’s shores.
Meals Included: Breakfast 
Overnight:  Cape Grace Hotel

Accommodation is in a Two Bedroom Suite. Your stay includes breakfast, use of the Hot Spa area: steam room, sauna, rain and body shower, complimentary internet access will be limited to 300 megabytes per room per day or 600 megabytes per suite or penthouse (per 24-hour basis) and can be easily supplemented with extra purchased data bundles if needed, morning tea and coffee with wake-up calls, luxury chauffeur transfers within a 10km radius from 07h00 to 23h00 (subject to availability) and Cape orientation & wine tasting.

Family Time at the Cape Grace Hotel

In-room dining vouchers to the value of ZAR700 for a family night in, with popcorn and DVDs

Complimentary babysitting for 4 hours

Gingerbread man decorating and African story time for the little ones

Complimentary welcome gift for children on arrival

Junior bath time accessories, themed toddler’s bed linen, and dressing gowns and slippers for the children to enjoy while in the hotel

Day 5 & 6

After breakfast, check out and make your way to Hermanus.

If you’ve ever wished you had whales in your back garden, Hermanus is the place for you! Acknowledged as the best land-based whale watching site in the world, the town even has an official whale-crier! Once hunted almost to extinction, these gentle giants loll around within stone’s throw of the rocks, where one can sit and commune with them for hours. Originally called Hermanuspietersfontein after Hermanus Pieters — a teacher and shepherd who used to graze his sheep in the area — the town’s name was shortened in 1902 at the anguished request of the local postmaster! Sir William Hoy, General Manager of SA Railways lived here in the early 1900’s and his refusal to have the peace disturbed by noisy trains is the reason Hermanus has no railway.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight:  Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

Accommodation is in a Garden Lodge Two Bedroom Luxury Suite room. Your stay includes a welcome drink served upon arrival, fresh fruit daily in suite, light lunch, five- course dinner, buffet breakfast, horse riding, guided walks including fynbos nature tours and Milkwood walks, nature, marine & coastal drives with seasonal land-based whale watching, bird watching, maps for self-guided walks and transfers to/from all activities. A wide range of fascinating children’s activities is offered at Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

Kids Kitchen - We cater for their physical well-being with special children's menus as well as refreshments and snacks during the activities.

The Playground - Located next to our horse stables, children can explore their natural surroundings while playing with fluffy bunnies, our domestic pig “Emma” or our ducks.

Treasure Hunts - Specialized guides accompany the children during exciting treasure hunts through the Milkwood Forest, where they will also learn about the amazing web of life linking the Milkwood trees to so many other organisms within the forest.

Day 7 & 8

After breakfast, check out and make your way to Plettenberg Bay.

Most people believe that Cape Town was home to South Africa’s first settlers – when it was, in fact, Plettenberg Bay. Originally named Bahia Formosa (Beautiful Bay) by early Portuguese navigators, the vessel Sao Gonzales was anchored here for two months in 1630 for repairs. A storm wrecked the ship, and the hundred surviving crew members spent several months building two new boats and a tiny wooden chapel from the remains of the wreck. Beautiful Bay suffered a name change in 1778, when Governor Joachim van Plettenberg (clearly not a modest man) was so taken with the area that he named it after himself! Today, Plett is an upmarket resort town and, in spring, home to whales that calve in the shallow waters of the bay.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Overnight:  Kurland

Accommodation is in a Luxury Room with a Loft. Your stay includes breakfast. A wide range of fascinating children’s activities is offered at Kurland:

“Little Guests” have their own playrooms, play-areas and swimming pools, children's dining conservatory, and enjoy private en-suite loft above the parent's main room. These loft rooms have been specifically designed and custom-decorated for fun and enjoyment, which ensures that children are as comfortable and as pampered as their parents.

Day 9, 10 & 11

After breakfast, check out and make your way to Kwandwe Private Game Reserve.

A province of dramatic contrasts, South Africa’s Eastern Cape is home to some of the country’s most varied landscapes. From the arid stretches of the Karoo in the interior to the lush rolling hills of the Transkei, the scenic mountain ranges of the Garden Route and the golden beaches along the coastline, the Eastern Cape is a tourist mecca. Over 800 km of pristine, unspoiled beaches, including the surfer’s paradise of Jeffrey’s Bay, combine with the lush forests of Tsitsikamma, a number of Big Five game reserves and even the country’s only ski resorts to form a region full of intrigue and adventure. It comes as no surprise that an area of such diverse beauty should be the landing place and home of the 1820 British settlers, as well as the birthplace of South Africa’s most famous son, Nelson Mandela.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Kwandwe Melton Manor

Accommodation is in a luxury villa. Your stay includes all meals, soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits and beers, teas and coffees, refreshments on game drives, safari activities, 1 hour nature walks accompanied by experienced armed trackers (subject to availability), laundry service, emergency medical evacuation insurance and transfers between the lodge and airstrip. A wide range of fascinating children’s activities is offered at Kwandwe Melton Manor.

‘Poo safaris’ and spoor tracking with the ranger and tracker

Minnow’s fishing trip with the ranger

Finger painting, making animals from clay, daily treasure hunts o Special game drives outside of normal times where available

Baking, pizza-making competitions

DVDs and popcorn

Chocolate mould making, creature cookie baking

Bedtime stories with milk and cookies.

Day 12

After breakfast depart for Port Elizabeth Airport for your outbound flight.