Start or end your Garden Route holiday with a Maleria Free Safari in the Eastern Cape.
Cape Town and Port Elizabeth make up the gateways to the Garden Route, making the Garden Route an easily accessable destination. With a world class road network and the countries lowest crime statistics, the Garden Route is a popular self-drive destination for foreign and local holiday-makers alike.
Pick an airline and chances are it goes to Joburg – Africa’s commercial hub – and Cape Town receives direct flights from major cities in Europe, America and the Far East. Domestic flights are highly competitive and you can fly between Joburg, Cape Town, George and Port Elizabeth. But don’t fret about the details, drop us a line -
contact us - and we’ll organise everything for you.
Read more about getting to the Garden Route below...
Airports
Most people fly into Cape Town Airport or to Johannesburg Airport – and from here there are daily flights to and from Port Elizabeth.
Self Drive
The most exciting and flexible way to appreciate the Garden Route is by hiring a car. This affords you the ability to explore the area at your own pace as well as stopping off at more out of the way places. The roads are extremely well signposted and an excellent cellphone network means that your never that far away from a helping hand! Some guests choose to drive one direction and fly back the opposite direction.
Length of Time
As a self drive destination there are many routes to choose from many of which depend on how much time you have! We are often asked on our ideal length of trip, here are our standard responses on the matter!
Two Weeks or more When guests have as much as two weeks we usually recommend starting out on Route 62 and joining the Coastal Route at George. From here we recommend a few nights in Knysna and Plettenberg before visiting a game reserve in the Eastern Cape Area. On your return to Cape Town we’d then recommend a trip along the Whale Route back to Cape Town.
One Week or more If your time is limited to a week we’d recommend a drive along the Coastal Route with a day trip to Oudtshoorn. From here you can venture to Eastern Cape for a safari. To save on time we’d probably recommend flying back to Cape Town or to your next destination.
Three to Four Nights If your calendar over allows three or four nights on the Garden Route then we’d probably recommend a guided tour. Our guided tours take the stress out of driving and allow you to see a lot of things in a short distance. (We also like to think that they give you a taster for your next trip!)
Less than 2 nights You require 3 or 4 days to explore the Garden Route. If you’ve only got 2 nights then our consultants will rather suggest a 2 night stay in Hermanus or perhaps some time in the Winelands. The Garden Route needs to be enjoyed at leisure and the long distances mean that a whistle stop tour is no fun.
