10-Day Highlights of South Africa and Victoria Falls

Welcome to South Africa!

Arrive in captivating Cape Town, where you are met and transferred to your hotel. Overnight there for the next three nights. Some standard hotels we use in our quotes include The Commodore, the Portswood, and the Victoria & Alfred Hotel.

No matter where you stay, please make time to wander the bustling Victoria & Alfred waterfront (most of the luxury hotels we book are right there, making access as simple as walking out your door). The popular seaside walkways are lined with refurbished historical buildings, museums, boutiques, craft markets, hotels, bars and cinemas. Dine at world-class restaurants with superb views of the buzzing harbor and Table Mountain. The Two Oceans Aquarium is also located here and tours of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, depart from the Waterfront daily.

If time allows, we'd recommend a fourth night in Cape Town, allowing for 3 full days to explore as you wish.

Meals included: n/a
Luxury Accommodations: Portswood or similar

Enjoy a full day celebrating the grape, visiting the exceptional winelands region, and appreciating its heavenly scenery. The area is rich with history, and travelers can't help but feel it as you move through the region to experience a wine cellar tour and tasting, where you'll learn all about the process of winemaking, from grape to goblet. Visit the exquisite little town of Franschhoek, pass by the impressive Huguenot Monument, and in a town with a reputation for gourmet fare, where else could you choose to enjoy lunch (lunch cost is not included so you can decide from an open menu). Wind your way to the heady heights of the Helshoogte Mountain Pass to meet the charming university town of Stellenbosch on the other side. Stroll through this little town, absorbing the quaintness, and sneaking into the odd shop or two (on Sundays not all galleries and shops are open). Enjoy a wine tasting at two different wine estates where you'll be able to purchase your favorite wine to take back home.

Note: our standard tours are shared and generally open for up to around 8 travelers. Alternatively, we can quote private tours on request. 

Meals included: Breakfast
Luxury Accommodations: Portswood or similar

South Africa's southern peninsula has some of the most magnificent Atlantic coastlines in the world. Experience the stunning beauty of the region with a full day of activities, including a scenic coastal drive in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, a visit to the charming fishing village of Hout Bay, and sighting the rare Jackass Penguins at Boulders Beach. If time allows, we will then travel to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens for a short walking tour of these beautiful gardens.

Meals included: Breakfast
Luxury Accommodations: Portswood or similar

Today, you'll be met at your hotel and transferred to the airport in time for your flight to Johannesburg. Here connect with the flight to Kruger's Mpumalanga International Airport. Here you are met and transferred to your Sabi Sands safari lodge. There are a nice variety of mid-range to elite luxury lodges in the game reserve. What we recommend for any given traveler is fine-tuned to your budget range, comfort needs, and availability.

You are met and driven to your safari lodge, where you'll be greeted, eat lunch and enjoy a brief orientation and tour of the lodge. After a brief rest and then high tea, enjoy your first game drive in this revered home of the Big 5.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Mid-Range Accommodations: Inyati Game Lodge or similar

Enjoy the full palette of activities and stunning variety of big game in the area today. Travelers typically enjoy an early morning game drive, then a long, relaxed sietsa around the lodge in the heat of mid-day, then another game drive in the afternoon into evening, which routinely turns into a night game drive. At night, following dinner, a fire is lit and guests of the camp often linger around the campfire and enjoy a glass of wine and conversation below the star-studded skies. 

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Mid-Range Accommodations: Inyati Game Lodge or similar

Experience another day in this wildlife paradise, with big cat viewing rivaling anywhere in Africa.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Mid-Range Accommodations: Inyati Game Lodge or similar

After your morning game viewing activity, you will return to the lodge for breakfast, before being transferred to the airport for your flight to Johannesburg.

Overnight at the Peermont Mondior at O.R. Tambo Airport on a bed & breakfast basis (hotel upgrades including centrally-located city hotels like the Fire and Ice or the Saxon are available on request).

*** Alternatively, there is a direct flight once a day from Sabi Sands to Livingstone, Zambia. So it is possible to cut this trip back one day and eliminate the overnight, tonight, in Johannesburg. From Livingstone, we can easily arrange a transfer over the river to Victoria Falls or you can enjoy the Victoria Falls element of the trip in Livingstone itself.

Meals included: Breakfast
Luxury Accommodations: Peermont Mondior or similar

Take an easy airport shuttle to O.R. Tambo and connect with your flight to Victoria Falls or Livingstone. Arrive, meet and greet, and transfer to your hotel. Overnight two nights on a B&B basis.

Victoria Falls is an original natural wonder of the world and arguably the most impressive waterfall in the world. No trip to southern Africa is complete without a stay here, it's simply a world-class sight to see.

Depending on your arrival time, you may have time to explore the local town, visit the National Park to view the falls, or enjoy the Zambezi sunset cruise tonight (our default inclusion, but you can change this around). If you visit the National Park this afternoon, that frees up Day 9 for other excursions, such as rafting the Zambezi (Class V, water levels permitting), canoeing on the upper Zambezi, a visit to the Devil's Pool, or relaxation. 

Meals included: Breakfast
Mid-Range Accommodations: Victoria Falls Safari Lodge or similar

This morning, enjoy a guided daytime tour of Victoria Falls. The afternoon is free to relax or book an optional tour. 

Easily one of the world’s most stunning waterfalls, Victoria Falls – also known as “the smoke that thunders” – unleashes huge columns of spray as the mighty Zambezi’s water (as much as 1 ½ billion cubic feet of water per second in the rainy season) spills over across a Basaltic chasm that is ½ mile wide and over 350 feet high. The views of it from either Victoria Falls or Livingstone, Zambia are comparable, though some travelers take the time to view it from both sides.

Meals included: Breakfast
Mid-Range Accommodations: Victoria Falls Safari Lodge or similar

Today, transfer to the airport in time for your flight home or extend your stay. You have many options to extend. For example, extend for a day of class 5 rafting on the Zambezi River or extend with a safari experience to northern Zimbabwe (such Hwange National Park) or over to Chobe in Botswana. 

Meals included: Breakfast