South Africa is such a beautiful country and the Garden Route is one of my absolute favourite places to visit, therefore exploring this beautiful area in South Africa is a must!
The South African coastline has a vast variety of things to do and provides you with different sceneries, whether you want to explore the beach, mountains, forests, or deserts, you will be sorted.
It stretches from Mossel Bay in the Western Cape to Storms River in the Eastern Cape, with a total distance of 300km. You can either stay in one location and drive to all the attractions every day (I would suggest staying in Wilderness or Knysna as this is more central) or you can make a road trip and start in Mossel Bay and travel to Storms River (or vice versa).
What you need to know
Language: South Africa has 11 official languages, but you’ll mostly hear South Africans speak English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa.
Currency: The currency in South Africa is called Rand ®.
Credit cards and ATMs: Most attractions on the Garden Route do have card facilities available, however, it always helps to carry some cash with you just in case.
When to visit the Garden Route
It is best to travel the Garden Route during spring and summer, which is from September to February. The days are warm and long, although evenings might still get chilly so make sure to pack some layers. The rainy season is also during their summer time (December to February), however, when it does rain, it doesn’t rain for long.
If you want to do some whale watching, then you can visit the area from July to October (although Hermanus is more famous for whale watching, you’ll still see some whale action)
Getting around
You have a few options for getting to the Garden Route:
You can either fly to George Airport and then rent a car and make your way to Mossel Bay, which is about half an hour’s drive (41km).
OR you can travel from Cape Town, which is a 4-hour drive from Mossel Bay. This is the option that I would highly recommend as you can stop at other tourist attractions (like in Cape Agulhas – where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet).
You can also drive from Johannesburg (OR Tambo) airport. This is a much longer route and will take you about 12 and a half hours to complete (1,234 km). But here you will be able to travel through the beautiful Karoo.
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I would recommend having a car when doing this trip. There’s not much public transport in this area and this way you can do all the activities at your own pace. You also don’t need a 4×4 vehicle for this trip as all the roads on this route are tar roads and they are well maintained.
Where to stay
When deciding where to stay, you have two options: you can either stay in one area and travel back and forth (we did this and it worked pretty well) or you can check into different accommodations along the route.
As I’ve mentioned, we stayed in one location and we’ve found that staying in Wilderness worked out pretty great. There are a lot of awesome accommodations to check out. Other great locations are Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. These are all central.
However, if I could do it all over again, I would rather stay a night or two in each area, this way you have a lot more time to do some exploring.
Recommended Stays
MOSSEL BAY
WILDERNESS
Guest House / Lodge / Hotel:
- Pearl Moon Boutique – BOOK HERE
- Moontide Riverside Lodge – BOOK HERE
- Whales Way Ocean Retreat – BOOK HERE
- Villa Sol – BOOK HERE
- Mes Amis Beach Guest House – BOOK HERE
- Cinnamon Boutique Guest House – BOOK HERE
- Amber Light Wilderness Beach Cottage – BOOK HERE
- Serenity Ocean Lodge – BOOK HERE
- Boardwalk Lodge – BOOK HERE
- Fairy Knowe Hotel – BOOK HERE
- Tequila Moon – BOOK HERE
- Dune Beach House – BOOK HERE
- MGM Wilderness – BOOK HERE
- Beach Villa Wilderness – BOOK HERE
- Interlaken Guest House – BOOK HERE
Self Catering:
PLETTENBERG BAY
Guest House / Lodge / Hotel:
- Ocean Watch Guesthouse – BOOK HERE
- Milkwood Manor on Sea – BOOK HERE
- Barrington’s – BOOK HERE
- Sky Villa Boutique Hotel – BOOK HERE
- The Robberg Beach Lodge – BOOK HERE
- Belle Vue Ridge B&B – BOOK HERE
- Christiana Lodge – BOOK HERE
- Emily Moon River Lodge – BOOK HERE
- The Plettenberg Hotel – BOOK HERE
Self-Catering:
KNYSNA
SEDGEFIELD
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