Guided journey
Route 62 to the Kruger.
Two journeys in one: the Cape, the whale coast, the quiet Karoo road and the vineyards, then a flight across South Africa to three nights of dawn and dusk drives in the greater Kruger.
Ask about this journey or write to enquiries@vdoafrica.com
- days
- 10
- nights
- 9
- stops
- 4
As set out in VDO’s own journey outline of 6 October 2026.
At a glance.
- Style
- Guided, with a private English speaking guide on touring days
- Where
- Cape Town, Whale Coast, Klein Karoo, Cape Winelands and Kruger
- When to go
- September and October balance everything: whales at Hermanus, spring in the Cape, and the dry season in the Kruger, when game is easiest to find. April and May are also good, without the whales.
- Suits
- A first journey through South Africa for travellers who want the Cape and a full safari, with something off the main road in between.
What it is remembered for
- The whale coast at Hermanus on the way to Route 62.
- A night under Karoo stars in Montagu, with the hot springs before dinner.
- Three nights of dawn and dusk game drives in the greater Kruger.
The route.
4 stops, in order.
- Cape TownCity. 3 nights.
- MontaguKaroo. 2 nights.
- Cape WinelandsWinelands. 1 night.
- Greater KrugerSafari. 3 nights.
Day by day.
Breakfast is daily from the first morning. Other meals are included only where a day shows them. Travel times are approximate.
-
Day1 Arrive Cape TownCape Town.
Travel: private transfer from the airport, about 25 minutes.
Morning. Your driver is waiting at arrivals with your name. No queues, no shuttle. Table Mountain fills the windscreen for most of the way in.
Afternoon. Check in and settle. If the flight was long, do nothing. The pool is there for exactly this.
Evening. A welcome dinner with your guide, who talks you through the days ahead and asks what you care about most, so the plan can bend to it.
- Included
- Private airport transfer.
- Welcome dinner.
- Worth knowing
- An early night. Tomorrow starts on the mountain.
- Stay
- A boutique hotel in Cape Town: a garden villa with a spa in the leafy southern suburbs, or a hotel on or beside the Sea Point promenade.
- Meals
- Dinner.
-
Day2 Table Mountain and the cityCape Town.
Travel: short drives in the city with your private guide.
Morning. Up the mountain by cableway while the air is still. From the top you see the whole peninsula you will drive tomorrow. If cloud or wind closes the summit, your guide swaps the day around: the mountain goes when the mountain is clear.
Afternoon. Down into the city. The painted houses and cobbled lanes of the Bo-Kaap, the Company’s Garden, and the stories that tie them together. Then free time at the V&A Waterfront.
Evening. At leisure. Your guide books a table if you want one.
- Included
- Table Mountain cableway ticket.
- Private guide and vehicle for the day.
- Worth knowing
- Kirstenbosch gardens if you would rather have trees than streets.
- The cableway closes for about two weeks of maintenance each winter, usually from late July. On those dates the view comes from Signal Hill instead.
- Stay
- As day 1.
- Meals
- Breakfast.
-
Day3 The Cape PeninsulaCape Town.
Travel: a full day loop of about 150 kilometres, with many stops.
Morning. Along the Atlantic coast and over Chapman’s Peak, one of the great coastal roads anywhere. On to the Cape of Good Hope reserve and the lighthouse at Cape Point, where the cliffs drop into open ocean.
Afternoon. Lunch in a working harbour town, then the African penguins at Boulders, a few steps from the sand. Home by the False Bay coast.
Evening. At leisure.
- Included
- Private guide and vehicle.
- Entrance fees for the Cape of Good Hope reserve and the penguin colony.
- Optional
- Lunch in the harbour (your guide knows where the fish is freshest).
- Worth knowing
- Bring a jacket. The Point is windy on the calmest day.
- Stay
- As day 1.
- Meals
- Breakfast.
-
Day4 The whale coast, then inland to Route 62Cape Town to Montagu, by way of Hermanus.
Travel: about four and a half hours in two halves, with Hermanus in the middle.
Morning. Out along False Bay and onto Clarence Drive, cut into the cliff above the water. By late morning you are in Hermanus, on the cliff path above Walker Bay. From June to November southern right whales come in to calve, and the rocks are the place to watch for them. A sighting is likely in September and October and never certain. Outside those months there are no whales, and the coast is still worth the road.
Afternoon. Lunch by the old harbour, then inland across the wheat fields of the Overberg and over the hills to the Breede River. The road squeezes through the rock gateway of Cogmanskloof and you are in Montagu, on Route 62.
Evening. Dinner at the hotel. Then look up: the Karoo starts here and the night sky is properly dark.
- Included
- Private guide and vehicle.
- Dinner at the hotel.
- Stay
- A country hotel in the village of Montagu.
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner.
-
Day5 Route 62 and the Klein KarooMontagu and Barrydale.
Travel: about 45 minutes each way to Barrydale.
Morning. Montagu on foot first: Long Street and its whitewashed gables, orchards at the edge of the village, mountains folded in orange rock on every side. Then east on Route 62, the long quiet road through the Klein Karoo, to Barrydale.
Afternoon. Lunch in Barrydale, where the farm stalls and roadside kitchens are an institution, and a short drive into the Tradouw Pass, cut through the mountains in the 1870s. Back in Montagu there are hot mineral springs to soak in before dinner.
Evening. At leisure. Montagu is known for its muscadel, and a glass after dinner is the local habit.
- Included
- Private guide and vehicle.
- Lunch in Barrydale.
- Entry to the hot springs.
- Worth knowing
- Bring a swimming costume and a warm layer. Karoo days are hot and the nights are not.
- Walk to the springs with your guide by the old path through the kloof, a little over two kilometres, and let the car bring you back.
- Stay
- As day 4.
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch.
-
Day6 The wine valleys, west to StellenboschMontagu to the Winelands.
Travel: about two and a quarter hours, with a stop in the Robertson valley.
Morning. Back through Cogmanskloof and along the Breede River, where the Robertson valley grows wine and roses side by side. A cellar tasting here, away from the crowds.
Afternoon. Over the mountains to Stellenbosch by early afternoon. A walk under the oaks of the old town, the second oldest in the country, and a tasting on the estate where you sleep.
Evening. A last dinner in the Cape, with your guide.
- Included
- Private guide and vehicle.
- A cellar tasting in the Robertson valley.
- A cellar tasting in Stellenbosch.
- Dinner.
- Stay
- A lodge on a working wine estate outside Stellenbosch.
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner.
-
Day7 Fly to the KrugerThe Winelands to the greater Kruger.
Travel: about 35 minutes to Cape Town airport, a direct flight of about two and a half hours, then about one hour by road to the lodge.
Morning. An early start for the airport and the flight north east, from vineyards to bushveld. Direct flights leave Cape Town every morning for the airports around the park.
Afternoon. Met on arrival and driven to the lodge. If your flight lands by early afternoon, your first game drive goes out in the last light, which is when the bush wakes up.
Evening. Dinner at the lodge.
- Included
- Private transfers on both sides.
- Afternoon game drive, flight time allowing.
- Dinner.
- Worth knowing
- This is a malaria area. Speak to your doctor before travel.
- Not included
- The flight.
- Stay
- Your choice of safari style: a lodge on the river at a gate of the Kruger National Park, or a lodge in a private reserve beside the park.
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner.
-
Day8 SafariThe greater Kruger.
Morning. Out before sunrise, coffee in hand. This is the drive that matters: the cats are still moving and the light is gold.
Afternoon. Back for breakfast and the heat of the day. Pool, deck, sleep. The animals rest too. Out again at four.
Evening. Home as the light goes, and dinner under the stars. In a private reserve the drive runs on after dark with a spotlight.
- Included
- Dawn and dusk game drives.
- Stay
- As day 7.
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner.
-
Day9 SafariThe greater Kruger.
Morning. A second dawn. By now you are reading the bush yourself.
Afternoon. At leisure, then the last dusk drive.
Evening. A boma dinner around the fire.
- Included
- Dawn and dusk game drives.
- Boma dinner.
- Stay
- As day 7.
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner.
-
Day10 A last dawn, and departThe greater Kruger.
Travel: about one hour by road to the airport.
Morning. One last drive at first light, then breakfast and goodbye to your ranger.
Afternoon. Flights leave the Kruger airports for Johannesburg, about one hour, and for Cape Town, to meet your flight home.
- Included
- Dawn game drive.
- Private transfer to the airport.
- Worth knowing
- Allow at least three hours in Johannesburg between this flight and an international departure.
- Not included
- The flight.
- Meals
- Breakfast.
Take it whole, or in parts.
This journey is built in parts that follow one another. Take the whole journey, or a run of parts that suits your client.
- Cape Town and the PeninsulaTable Mountain, the city and the full loop of the Cape Peninsula with a private guide. Days 1 to 3.
- The whale coast and Route 62Hermanus for the whales, then inland to two nights in the Karoo village of Montagu. Days 4 to 5.
- The wine valleys to StellenboschThe Robertson valley, the old town of Stellenbosch and a last dinner in the Cape. Day 6.
- Three nights in the KrugerA flight across the country and three nights of dawn and dusk game drives. Days 7 to 10.
Take the whole journey, or any parts that follow one another, starting where you may join and ending where you may leave. If you start in the middle, be at the starting place by the hour we give you. A night before can be added.
What is included.
Included
- Private airport transfers and a private vehicle throughout.
- A private English speaking guide on touring days.
- Hotels and lodges, with breakfast daily and the lunches and dinners named in the plan.
- Entrance and park fees for everything marked included.
Not included
- International and domestic flights, unless a day says otherwise.
- Travel insurance, visas and tips.
- Drinks, and meals not named in the plan.
- Anything marked optional.
- On self drive tours: fuel, tolls and entrance fees paid on the day.
Good to know.
- All of the Big Five roam free in the Kruger, and three nights gives a fair chance of most of them but never a promise. Malaria area: speak to your doctor before travel.
- Stays are described by style and place.
- Travel times are approximate driving or flying times without stops, rounded up.
- Flights are not included unless a day says so. Scheduled flights change by season: the days and times are checked for each journey.
- The Kruger and northern Botswana are malaria areas, and Etosha carries a seasonal risk. Speak to your doctor before travel. The Cape, the Karoo and the Garden Route are free of malaria, and in Windhoek, the Namib and on the Namibian coast the risk is very low.
- Wildlife is wild. Each tour says plainly what its reserve holds, and no sighting is ever promised.
What happens next.
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