Top Ten Attractions in Garden Route
Go on Safari
No visit to South Africa would be complete without going on safari and South Africa’s Garden Route is the perfect place for you to don your explorer's hat and set off in search of those lions, leopards and elephants. Whether you are looking for top-class luxury or fancy roughing it a bit in the African Bush, the Garden Route has a range of safaris to choose from and even better is that they are all in a malaria-free zone! Imagining enjoying breakfast watching elephants and giraffe in the distance or spotting lions lazing in the sun from the comfort of your 4x4 game vehicle? Imagine no more: come and enjoy all a malaria-free garden Route safari has to offer!
Take a Traditional Township Tour
A must on any visit to South Africa’s Garden Route has to be a township tour. South Africa is a land of contrasts and many visitors to the Garden Route region often find it hard to believe they are in an African country as luxury and western conveniences are on hand at every turn. However, step behind the outward facade and a very different experience awaits anyone wishing to explore this diverse region. Townships are where the vast majority of South Africans live and they are vibrant, interesting and exciting places, where you can experience a true taste of South African culture. A visit to a township is a truly eye opening, sometimes sad yet often up-lifting experience. Although extreme poverty, unemployment and terrible living conditions are prevalent, you will be amazed at the strong sense of community, the genuine friendliness and sense of sharing that envelope the people of the township.
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Go on a Whale and Dolphin Watching Safari
One of the main attractions of South Africa’s Garden Route surely has to be the large number of whales and dolphins that can be found splashing around in the beautiful warm waters of the Indian Ocean. A highlight of any trip to the stunning Garden Route region is to take a boat trip to watch these magnificent creatures in their natural surroundings.
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Explore The Cango Caves
Just 28km from Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo lie the truly breathtaking Cango Caves. Nestled at the foothills of the beautiful Swartberg range, the Cango Caves are a series of immense limestone caverns that open into vast halls of towering stalagmite formations. The Cango Caves are filled with mysterious and striking dripstone formations and are open for exciting exploration of this strange and beautiful subterranean world. The caves which took millions of years to form certainly must be considered one of the world’s great natural wonders. Not all the caves are open to visitors, however a good 1km long section is open for exciting exploration of this strange and beautiful subterranean world.
Tee Off at a Top Golf Resort
Golf and the Garden Route – need we say more? South Africa’s Garden Route has some of the best and most striking golf courses in the world. Whether you are a budding Tiger Woods or just someone who enjoys the odd round with a stunning mountain and ocean backdrop, we have just the golf course for you!
Visit The Addo Elephant National Park
No visit to the Eastern Cape would be complete without a trip to the Addo Elephant National Park. Deep within the shadows of the dense bush of the Sundays River area of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, Addo Elephant National Park is a great place to embark on that safari trip of life time and spot a wide range of African wildlife. A trip to Addo Elephant National Park is most definitely a highlight of any trip to the Eastern Cape and whether you spend only one day here or decide to take advantage of some of the many accommodation options, you are bound to spot a great selection of African animals, including Africa’s grey leviathan, the elephant.
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Cage Dive with a Great White Shark
One reason many travellers venture to South Africa’s Garden Route and Eastern Cape region is to experience the thrill of getting into the water with one of nature’s most fearsome creatures: The Great White Shark. With its rows of razor sharp teeth and imposing size the Great White Shark is one of the largest predators to swim our oceans and the Garden Route’s town of Mossel Bay is the perfect place from which to take a trip to see these magnificent and awe-inspiring creatures and to get that adrenaline pumping.
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Hit the beach
Enjoy a great day out at one of the Garden Route's many excellent beaches. With hundreds of kilometers of coast line and some of the most stunning beaches in the world, visitors to South Africa's Garden Route are bound to find the perfect Garden Route beach. Whether you just fancy a gentle stroll along the sand, a refreshing swim or to ride some waves on your surf board, the Garden Route offers it all. Most beaches have toilet and shower facilities and in Garden Route towns such as Jeffrey's Bay you will find surf boards for hire. Knysna and Plettenberg Bay have some lovely swimming beaches and Port Elizabeth offers a wide selection from sandy beaches to rugged rocky beaches where kids can examine the rock pools to see what they can find. A visit to a Garden Route beach makes for a great day out!
Brave the Highest Bungee Jump in the World
Along South Africa’s Garden Route near the Tsitsikamma Forest Village, some 40km east of Plettenberg Bay along the N2 Highway you will find the world’s highest single span arch bridge. The spectacular Bloukrans bridge sits at over 200m above the raging Bloukrans river and commands some pretty impressive views over the valley below. So surely there can be no better way to enjoy these spectacular views than to throw yourself off the top of the bridge into the rushing torrent of the Bloukrans river below.
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Go Ape at Monkeyland
Located just a short distance from the beautiful Plettenberg Bay is Monkeyland, the world’s first multi-specie free roaming primate sanctuary. Monkeyland opened its doors in 1998 and this unique primate sanctuary is currently the top eco-tourism attraction on the Garden Route. Monkeyland’s aim is to rehabilitate and free previously caged primates and the sanctuary caters for several species of primates who are free to move about the forest and go about their monkey business!
