The 10 5-Day Experiences in South Africa That Earn Their Price

1.5 Day Garden Route and Addo Safari – Best of South Africa Small Group Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 291 reviews · from $575Our pick

Travel from Cape Town through Route 62, Oudtshoorn, Addo, Jeffreys Bay, Tsitsikamma, Knysna, and Wilderness with a local guide. Expect long drives, four breakfasts, shared accommodation options, an Addo game drive, wine tasting, Cango Caves, and optional bungy jumping, surfing, horse riding, and ziplining.

“Maudi was a great tour guide! The tour and sites were amazing. Maudi was very engaging, kept the tour on track and made us all feel like a family. Highly recommended tour!”

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2.5-Day Best of Garden Route and Addo Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 221 reviews · 5 days · from $675

Join a small group of up to 13 people for a fast-moving five-day trip from Cape Town along Route 62 and the Garden Route. You will visit the Cango Caves, Addo Elephant National Park, Tsitsikamma, Knysna, and Botlierskop Reserve, with guides such as Isaac, Uriel, Paul, or Denver leading the way.

“the tour was at a good pace. there was so much to see and do in a short time. thanks for a great adventure!”

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3.5-Day Garden Route & Addo Adventure from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 116 reviews · from $641

Travel from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth in a small group of up to 12, with guides such as Wendy, Christine, Gareth, and Terri. Expect penguins at Stony Point, Route 62 wine, canoeing and hiking in Wilderness, Tsitsikamma, four dinners, and an Addo game drive.

“This is the best way to see South Africa, aside from the big game drives. We experienced penguins whale watching, bike ride along the Ocean, canoeing, hiking, national parks, beautiful accommodations, fantastic meals, and above all the most gracious host in Jaco. We would highly, highly recommend taking this tour with Earthstompers. It was an absolute highlight. 10 out of 10! Thank you.”

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4.5 Day Garden Route Tour and Addo Elephant National Park

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 74 reviews · from $782

Travel from Cape Town to Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Tsitsikamma, Addo, and Hermanus in a group of up to 13. You get four nights’ lodging, breakfasts, dinners, park visits, two game drives, and an air-conditioned vehicle, with guides such as Benjamin and Von leading the way.

“We had the most amazing 4 night trip away! Everything was amazing and our tour guide, Benji, was brilliant - he made our tour what it was! Such a cool, fun, kind, friendly and knowledgable gentleman - a real top guy! Thanks for making our trip so epic!!”

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5.Garden Route and Addo Elephant National Park: 5-Day Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 23 reviews · 5 days · from $793

Travel with an English-speaking guide such as Mark or Christine from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth in a group of up to 12. Expect penguins, wine tasting, an ostrich farm, canoeing, hikes, Tsitsikamma National Park, and a 2 to 3-hour Addo safari, with optional whale watching and bungee jumping.

“Heel erg genoten van alle ingrediënten van deze reis. Christine was onze gids, een heel energieke en vriendelijke, gezellige dame! Veel afwisseling in de reis, en op elke plek goede tips. De hostels waren super, we hadden 1 persoonskamers, kan in Europa als hotelkamers doorgaan. Heerlijk gegeten ook in alle hostels. Fijne groep van 10 personen uit 4 continenten! Qua organisatie en communicatie vooraf ook dikke 10! De avond voor de tour startte onze gids een app groep. Daardoor was de communicatie bij het ophalen ook erg goed. Kortom: een aanrader!! Zou zo weer meegaan!!”

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6.5-Day Garden Route & Addo Elephant Park Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 22 reviews · 5 days · from $931

Travel from Cape Town to Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Tsitsikamma, Addo, and a private game lodge in a small group of up to 11. Guides such as Chris, Vaughan, Mawande, and Ben have led the route. Expect long drives, shared or private rooms, two safari drives, and several optional extras.

“It really was an amazing experience. Everything was perfectly planned out, we saw a lot of things and had a lot of fun. The most amazing out of all the things we did in my vieuw was the adoo elephant park. We saw a wide variety of animals in the wild, bufallo's, a lot of different antilopes, baboons, ..., but also an enormous amount of elephants enjoying themselves in the mudpools. This was truly a sight never to forget. On top of this the other activities, the ostrich farm, the kangoo caves, the monkey reserve, the game lodge, where also in its way super nice ! The only location i…”

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7.5-Day Classic Kruger National Park Safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 10 reviews

Spend five days between Tremisana Game Lodge, Balule Big 5 Reserve, and Kruger National Park. You’ll join sunset and sunrise drives, a ranger-led bush walk, two full Kruger days, and a bush barbecue. Luke and Marc are among the guides praised for sharp animal spotting and clear explanations.

“Todo el personal de Viva Safaris y de Tremisana Lodge fueron excelentes. Hicieron todo lo posible para que viéramos todos los animales, incluidos los del Big Five, explicaron los horarios y actividades a la perfección y la comida fue exquisita.”

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8.5 Day Kruger Glamping Budget Adventure

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews

Travel from OR Tambo to a private camp near Kruger for two full safari days, a private-reserve drive, and the Panorama Route. Duan and his team handle the guiding, meals, and transfers. Expect comfortable tents, early starts, campfire dinners, and a real bush setting.

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9.Kruger National Park – 5 Day Safari Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 4 reviews · 5 days · from $1,171

Join a small English-speaking group of up to 16 for two full-day Kruger safaris, a private-reserve sunset drive, Blyde River Canyon cruise, Moholoholo tour, and bush walk. Lloyd and David prepare included breakfasts and dinners at the camp, with pickup from Johannesburg or Hoedspruit.

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10.Kruger National Park 5-Day Luxury Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 3 reviews · from $1,498

Spend five days between Tremisana Game Lodge, Katekani Tented Lodge, and Kruger National Park. You’ll take sunset and night drives, walk with an armed ranger, visit Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre, and see Blyde River Canyon before returning to Johannesburg.

“Part of this safari was definitely NOT a luxurious variant. The first lodge was pure disaster (Tremisana Game Lodge). Safari at that lodge was substandard as we were squeezed into the cars so it was almost impossible to photograph (4 people in each seat). The next lodge (Katekani Tented Lodge) was very good with good food and good transport. The worst was the transport from and to Johannesburg. You say it is travel in style but it was carried out in cramped cars and I ended up in the back seat without the possibility to recline the seat. When the person in front of me reclined his seat it was…”

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