Please note the tour price reflected on the brochure is subject to change. Due to seasonality, and taxes prices of the tour are subject to change without due notice. Please consult with the operator directly for the recent price.
Garden Route Adventure
Premier
Overview
Highlights (Bullets)
- Search for gentle giants on a game drive through Addo Elephant National Park.
- Rise early with your small group to watch wild meerkats wake and warm in the morning sun, before continuing to vibrant Cape Town.
- As you tour the Wild Coast, stop by South Africa’s Xhosa community for an afternoon spent with a local guide, learning about enduring customs and cultures in this tribal group.
- Visit Cape Town's Boulder's Beach to watch the resident African Penguins waddle across the sandy shore that's framed by ancient granite boulders.
- By travelling on this trip, you’ll directly support our Intrepid Foundation partner, Helping Rhinos. Donations support their all-female ranger program in South Africa, which specialises in fighting wildlife crimes and protecting rhinos, and other critically endangered animals, from poachers.
Short Description
Follow the coastal trail to Cape Town on an adventurous 14-day adventure along the Garden Route and Wild Coast of South Africa. Hit up all the region’s hotspots – elephant spotting in Addo Elephant National Park, hiking in the Lesotho Highlands, meeting local Xhosa communities in Cintsa, wildlife viewing in Tsitsikamma national park, and two fun-filled nights in Cape Town. Get a sprinkling of safaris thrown in with penguins, creating a whole South African smorgasbord.
Age Requirement
15-99Itinerary
Day 1 Durban
Sawubona! Welcome to South Africa. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm this evening. If you arrive early, why not get out and explore Durban – teeming with golden, sandy beaches. Check out uMhlanga Lighthouse, a beautiful lighthouse on the lovely uMhlanga coastline. For dinner, perhaps grab your group and head to Florida Road for traditional Bunny Chow or some fresh seafood – your group leader will be able to recommend their favourite spots.
Day 2 Drakensberg
Leave Durban and travel inland towards the majestic Drakensberg mountain range this morning. Stop along the way at the Nelson Mandela Capture Site and learn about the history of this great man. Continue the journey to Drakensberg mountain chain. Your accommodation here is in twin rooms with an ensuite at a unique backpacker lodge in Drakensberg. After you’ve settled in, enjoy a drink with your travel group in the thatched-loft lounge room. You’ll also be able to check out the onsite pool, jacuzzi, barbeque and fire pit.
Day 3 Drakensberg
Today you'll enjoy a refreshing hike through an amazing array of flora and fauna. Drakensberg is Southern Africa's highest range – sitting at 3482 metres – and forms part of the border between South Africa and Lesotho. The range is often referred to locally as the Barrier of Spears or the Dragon Mountains. Today there are sure to be some amazing views and excellent photo opportunities.
Day 4 Lesotho Highlands
Leaving Drakensberg behind, head into the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. Nestled like a small island in the middle of South Africa, Lesotho is commonly known as the 'Kingdom in the Sky' and has beautiful mountain ranges and endless hiking trails. Generally, the border crossing into Lesotho is quite smooth, but you may experience some delays, depending on the time of year. Drive past the Golden Gate Highlands National Park which is famous for its extraordinary sandstone rock formations. The park is also home to elands, zebras, mongooses and hundreds of bird species – keep your eyes peeled along the way.
Day 5 Lesotho Highlands
Today you’ll have a variety of hikes to choose from. The Lesotho Highlands offer excellent hiking for all levels of fitness and skill, so depending on your experience, you should be able to choose one that allows you to get the most out of these stunning landscapes.
Day 6 Wild Coast/Cintsa
Head to the stunning Wild Coast of South Africa and the charming little coastal town of Cintsa. Cintsa and its surrounding region are home to Xhosa communities, whose lifestyle is deeply rooted in tribal traditions and customs. Arriving in the late afternoon, you'll have time to relax and freshen up before dinner.
Day 7 Wild Coast/Cintsa
Today you can enjoy some free time to explore the town, relax on the stunning beaches or book one of the many optional activities on offer. You might like to go hiking or mountain biking in the hinterland, hire a canoe to explore the Cintsa River or book in for a surfing lesson! Be sure to check in with your group leader to get their recommendations.
Day 8 Addo Elephant National Park
Today you'll travel on to Addo Elephant National Park which was created in 1931 to protect the region's eleven remaining elephants. A true success story in conservation - today there are over 450 elephants in the park, as well as Cape buffalo, black rhinos, all kinds of antelopes and even the unique flightless dung beetle. On arrival, you'll take an afternoon game drive with your group and try to spot some of these resident creatures, among others, from your truck.
Day 9 Garden Route / Tsitsikamma National Park
Wake early and enjoy another game drive in Addo Elephant National Park in an overland vehicle. Afterwards, begin your journey along the Garden Route, the first stop being Tsitsikamma National Park. Steep ancient forests meet the breakers of the Indian Ocean at this park, protecting both land and sea. It's a spectacular place for walking and viewing wildlife. Your group leader will take you to a local activity centre where a range of activities will be on offer, some of which you may like to book for your free day tomorrow.
Day 10 Tsitsikamma National Park
With another day in Tsitsikamma, you’ll have more time to explore this magnificent national park. Cape clawless otters, dolphins, tortoises and southern right whales (depending on the season) are all visitors here, along with baboons, monkeys and a heap of birdlife. See how many of them you can spot on a range of hiking trails, including those to the Stormsriver Mouth and waterfalls.
Day 11 Garden Route / Oudtshoorn
Head out across the arid Karoo region bound for Oudtshoorn. You'll stop at Knysna on the way to stretch your legs and explore this hamlet with a gorgeous lagoon. Travel on to the Cango Caves, where you’ll have time to explore the weird and wonderful rock formations – one is ‘Cleopatra's Needle’, standing at 29 feet high and at least 150,000 years old. Your local guide will give you all the ins-and-outs of their formation and history. Continue on to Oudtshoorn, known as the ostrich capital of the world. At the turn of the 20th century, it was full of 'feather barons' that grew rich from the popularity of ostrich feathers.
Day 12 Cape Town
Rise and shine very early this morning to spend some time with wild meerkats, part of the so-called 'Shy 5'. Head to their burrow, pull up a chair and sip coffee while the sun comes up and the meerkats climb out into the sunshine. You’ll have time to watch these habituated wild animals, which are never fed or handled by humans, go about their daily routine of foraging and frolicking. Then it's on to Cape Town, the beachside city you'll call home for the next two nights. Your accommodation is in twin rooms with an ensuite, located cool Kloof street, an area famous for beautiful views of Table Mountain, hip restaurants and bars, and historical buildings.
Day 13 Cape Town
Today, you'll visit Boulder's Beach to watch the resident penguins waddle across this beautiful beach framed by ancient granite boulders. The rest of the day is yours to explore Cape Town however you wish. With sweeping views across the city and the ocean below, you might like to make your way to the top of Table Mountain. Whether you choose to chill out and enjoy the city's famous cable car to reach the top or strap on your walking shoes and get hiking - we'll leave it up to you. Otherwise, take your time simply exploring this beachside city, perhaps sipping local wines and dining by the oceanfront.
Day 14 Cape Town
Your South African adventure comes to an end after breakfast today. There's no accommodation provided for tonight, but this can be arranged – please enquire at the time of booking this trip.
Availability
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4,356 Intrepid Travel Travel Reviews & Ratings
Garden Route Adventure
Emma and Alf were very professional, the
Alfred and Emma made this a great
Company Reviews
Beware of intrepids Lack of Ethics
We were told by Intrepid we needed to cancel two weeks before our trip started. That would have made sense in normal times, but this was not normal times whatsoever. There hadn’t been an earthquake in decades We were trying to get answers from intrepid, before deciding what to do.
We called and chatted multiple times and begged to have the trip rescheduled. Each customer service person said no and there was no opportunity to speak to a supervisor. It was a dead issue with intrepid.
Intrepid was totally nonnegotiable for allowing us to delay the trip. As far as they were concerned, the September 25 trip would depart with modifications. I asked what the modifications were. They couldn’t tell me. We spent thousands of dollars and no one knew what the modifications were but we were supposed to be willing to travel …really? I have been vocal on their Facebook page. No response from intrepid. Yes they had to ensure travelers in Morocco are safe, but they also should have had the manpower to address our concerns with the trip scheduled in two weeks
When we did cancel, they immediately posted openings on their website for the September 25 departure at a $200 discount so they kept our money, wouldn’t allow us to postpone the trip and aimed to sell our slot. Double dipping if you asked me,
I then read on intrepid‘s Facebook page that other people scheduled to take tours to Morocco around the same time as us got their trips rescheduled I was truly upset for company. The prices itself on its ethics, not treating each customer with the same rules is well unethical. I sent an email to the CEO in Australia and the general manager in North America. I saved in chat and emails with their customer service people I had evidence of our request to reschedule.
I finally got a response in two weeks. It was from an underling who didn’t answer my main question, which was why we weren’t offered the option to reschedule like others did. This person gave BS corporate speak about intrepid will apply what they learned to future trips, and thank me for my insight Why didn’t she answer my question and now with the war going on in Israel, Intrepid isn’t allowing future guests to reschedule the trip looks like they just d o what’s best for them in normal and abnormal Times
We had trip insurance but are still out thousands of dollars
Avoid this tour group at all costs
PREMIUM LEVEL check Accomodation reviews.We have just done 3 Intrepid tours.
My review here relates to the Premiun Turkey in depth tour.
Excellent Guide Seda, Excellent driver Mesut and Excellent Itinerary.
Where this trip disappointed us was some of the accommodation was not Premium Infact one would not even meet the Original Tours standard.
We paid considerably more to travel at this level and like others in the group were disappointed all accommodation was not at Premium standard which is what we paid for. Some others were hoping to book Intrepid Premium again but said they would look at other options. It doesn't come near the Peregerine level which we understand Intrepid have purchased and call it Premium.
Update to my 1 star review
Disappointed
I went on a trip with Intrepid from New York to Miami in a majority female group and our tour guide was creepy towards us the whole time taking pictures without consent, often not passing them on to us and even started private messaging members of the group after the trip had ended. I have tried to bring this up with intrepid multiple times through email but have received no response.
Besides this our tour guide also had never been to most of the places we visited so we often ended up being the one guiding him. Also, as a type 1 diabetic, keeping my medication cool and safe is extremely important as I literally depend on it to stay alive. Knowing this, I contacted intrepid ahead of time hoping they’d inform my guide after being assured that the guide would be able to accommodate me and I was in good hands. Upon meeting my guide I found out he didn’t even know what insulin was let alone the appropriate storage conditions. This lack of organisation on Intrepid’s part meant that I had to store my medicine in a cooler underneath piles of unsanitary food bags amongst ice which was melted most of the time risking water logging of said medications.
All in all I did not feel safe while on this tour and honestly think I may have been better off traveling by myself. Clearly more attention is needed in the hiring department.
Details
Flight & Transport Inclusions
All internal ground transport Overland vehicle
Group Size
Small Group - 24 max
Maximum Number of People in Group: 22
Accommodations
Camping (with facilities) (6 nights),Backpackers (4 nights),Basic Huts (shared facilities) (2 nights),Hotel (1 night)
Guides
You will be accompanied by 3 crew members - Group Leader, Cook and Driver. Your Group Leader’s role involves organizing the overall operation and smooth-running of the trip, managing trip logistics, coordinating the tipping kitty (where applicable) and will form work groups to take turns cooking, cleaning and shopping (from time to time your leader may drive as well). Your Group Leader will work towards making the trip as safe and enjoyable as possible for all travellers. Intrepid trips are built around the co–operation and participation of all the group members under the supervision of the group leader. The group leader will show the group how to set up and use the equipment. While not being guides in the traditional sense you can expect them to have a broad general knowledge of the countries visited on the trip, including historical, cultural, religious and social aspects. We also use local guides where we think more specific knowledge will add to the enjoyment of the places we are visiting, especially when tracking and identifying game - we think it's the best of both worlds. Regardless of the country of origin, our Group Leaders are chosen for their leadership skills and are wonderful ambassadors for our company and our beautiful continent and its people. Your Cook is responsible for the cooking and will help to coordinate the work groups for preparing the meals and washing up! Cooks are also responsible for organising food shopping (they are always happy to have you on board) and most importantly, they make sure high hygiene standards are kept at all times while camping. Your Driver’s main responsibility is to get you to your destination safely; they are also responsible for the maintenance of the vehicles along the way. Everyone is expected participate and carry their share of the workload/duties, making camp chores easier. The duties rota system is adopted where all members share in general camp duties – cooking, shopping, washing up etc. If the whole group participates it will be quicker, easier, and more fun. We endeavour to provide the services of an experienced leader and crew; however, situations may arise where your leader is new to a particular region or training other group leaders.
Age Notes :
Min. Age: 15
Max Age: 99
Additional Information
Finish point
- never@home Kloof Street
- 73 Kloof Street, Gardens
- Cape Town
- 8001
- SOUTH AFRICA
Trip ID#:
intrepid-UBOH
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