16 Day South Africa Self Drive
Help Me PlanBig Five Country and the Cape, Joined by One Flight
Book this itinerary for a wide-ranging South Africa self-drive that combines the Panorama Route region, multiple safari zones in and around Kruger and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, an Eswatini stopover, the Garden Route, the Overberg, and time in Cape Town, with a domestic flight helping connect KwaZulu-Natal and the southern coast.
Tour Overview
One domestic flight, from Durban to George, splits this route into two drives. The first starts in Johannesburg with a night on the Mpumalanga escarpment, then two nights at Satara and two at Skukuza in Kruger. A night at Reilly’s Rock in Eswatini’s Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary breaks the road to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi in Zululand. With a second car you continue along the Garden Route and through the Overberg to Cape Town.
Travel Pace & Connections
Five bases in the first eight nights make the opening week the busiest, and you cross the border between South Africa and Eswatini twice. Border posts keep fixed hours, so check them before setting out from Kruger. After the flight the pace eases, with three-night stays at either end of the Cape leg.
Ideal For
With a little over two weeks, you can fit more than one kind of safari into a single drive. Kruger’s network of roads, rhino in the steep hills of Zululand and the gentler wildlife of Mlilwane come first, with the forests and beaches of the coast to follow.
- 1 Night Mpumalanga
- 2 Nights Central Kruger Park
- 2 Nights Southern Kruger Park
- 1 Night Eswatini (Swaziland)
- 2 Nights Zululand
- 3 Nights Garden Route
- 1 Night Overberg
- 3 Nights Cape Town
Price Per Person Sharing From:
USD 3,252 - 5,064The price can be reduced by substituting accommodations
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South Africa Self-Drive Tour Itinerary: 16 Day South Africa Self Drive
Day 1-16: Arrival / Itinerary
Highlights
- Track Big Five wildlife across Kruger and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi
- Enjoy Garden Route forests, beaches, and scenic coastal drives
- Finish with Cape Town landmarks and waterfront experiences
On arrival, you will be met by an African Sky representative, who will assist you with collecting your rental car and answer any questions before your self-drive journey begins.
Your first stop is Mpumalanga, and after that you will be heading to the world-famous Kruger National Park, where you will enjoy four nights and five days on safari, exploring two distinct park areas at your leisure.
On the R532 between Graskop and Sabie you pass Mac Mac Falls, and from Sabie the old Lydenburg road leads to the Bridal Veil, Lone Creek and Horseshoe falls. None of these is included, but all fit easily around the escarpment night. In Kruger, Satara sits on open plains in the center of the park, and Skukuza is on the riverbank further south.
Kruger is home to about 147 mammal species, the Big Five among them, making it a wildlife lover's paradise. Your safari experience extends to the historic Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, with a night spent en route in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The reserve also bears the Big Five and an exceptionally high concentration of rhinos.
In Eswatini, Mlilwane became the kingdom’s first protected area in 1961, when the Reilly family farm in the Ezulwini Valley was set aside for wildlife. The sanctuary covers about 4,600 hectares between Mbabane and Manzini, and Reilly’s Rock is a hilltop lodge about 3 km north of the main rest camp.
Hluhluwe-iMfolozi was proclaimed in 1895, one of the oldest game reserves in Africa. In the 1950s and 1960s, Operation Rhino, led by Ian Player, moved hundreds of rhino from here to restock other reserves. Hilltop Camp, where the first visitor camp was built in 1934, is in the hilly northern Hluhluwe section, where forest and grassland share the slopes.
Following your last safari experience at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, you will drop off your rental vehicle at King Shaka International Airport in Durban and board a flight for George on the Garden Route, where you will acquire a second rental vehicle. Discover the activity-rich Garden Route at your leisure, from the primordial forests of Tsitsikamma to the fine sandy beaches of Plettenberg Bay.
Your route to Cape Town will make a stop in Swellendam, where Gaikou Lodge stands on a private estate in the foothills of the Langeberg. Founded in 1745, Swellendam is often called South Africa’s third-oldest town, and Bontebok National Park lies just outside it. Your self-drive adventure ends in the Mother City, with her wealth of outdoor adventures, award-winning eateries, and captivating historical intrigue.
Included
- 1 Night Angels View Hotel
- 2 Nights Satara
- 2 Nights Skukuza
- 1 Night Reilly's Rock Hilltop Lodge
- 2 Nights Hilltop
- 3 Nights Knysna Hollow Boutique Hotel
- 1 Night Gaikou Lodge
- 3 Nights The Portswood Hotel
- Toyota Fortuner 4X2 or Similar: Europcar (GROUP I)
- Durban to George
- None
- All Activities Included in the Itinerary, Unless Stated as Optional
- All Entrance Fees to Places Mentioned in the Itinerary, Unless Stated as Optional
- Tourism Levy
- All Applicable Taxes
- Park Fees, where Applicable
Excluded
- International Airfare (To and From South Africa)
- Personal and Medical Insurance
- Drinks
- Gratuities
16 Day South Africa Self Drive
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