South Africa for solo travellers

Arrive in Johannesburg, where you will be met and transferred to the four-star Indaba Hotel in a prosperous suburb north of the city.

On the way to our hotel, we take the opportunity to visit the Apartheid Museum, a truly fascinating exhibition charting the apartheid years and the struggle against it, culminating in the first democratic elections. It is a superbly presented walk through contemporary history using original material, riveting eyewitness accounts, photographs and film. The rest the afternoon is at leisure.

This evening we will enjoy a lovely welcome dinner that includes some local specialities, where you have the chance of meeting and getting to know your dedicated tour manager, as well as the like-minded solo travellers of the group.

After breakfast this morning, we follow the wonderfully scenic Panorama Route to Kruger National Park. One of the most stunning drives in the world, we follow the rim of Blyde River Canyon – a gorge over 600 metres deep, where intricate rock formations created by centuries of erosion separate temperate grasslands from dusty savannahs.

We continue to our three-star superior hotel, Hippo Hollow Country Estate, set in a lush forest on the edge of the park, where we will stay for the next three nights.

Our early morning venture into the Kruger National Park will be rewarded with a most spectacular safari experience. Expert rangers will take us around in specially adapted four-wheel-drive vehicles to the best spots for catching a glimpse of the amazing wildlife that call this place home – elephants, cheetahs, leopards, warthogs, zebras, and numerous more species.

Make sure you have your camera on hand to seize the very moment when these magnificent creatures make their wonderful appearance.

This is a day at leisure for anyone who just wants to take it easy by one of the pools at the hotel or do some hippo-spotting from the lovely lawn overlooking the river.

Alternatively, you could try river rafting (subject to weather conditions), as well as sunset safaris or night safaris where you can experience the unique thrill of an open 4x4 vehicle game drive by spotlight.

Today we leave Kruger on our way to the battlefields of Zululand. After breakfast we’ll drive south, entering the small but scenically beautiful country of Eswatini.

As the road climbs past the interestingly named Piggs Peak, we descend through lush green fields and rolling hills interspersed with small farms and drive through the country’s small capital, Mbabane, passing the parliament house and royal palace en route. We cross back into South Africa in the afternoon and enter KwaZulu-Natal province, staying at the simple three-star Battlefields Lodge for two nights on bed-and-breakfast basis.

After breakfast we visit the battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift. Brilliantly dramatised in the films Zulu Dawn and Zulu, these two battles, just a day apart, became a defining moment for the British Empire. In 1879 at Isandlwana, a depleted force of 1,300 were surprised and outmanoeuvred by a 20,000-strong Zulu army armed with cowhide shields and spears. Only a handful survived.

The next day just 9 miles away, about 140 British soldiers, some wounded, held off 4,000 Zulus for over 10 hours at Rorke’s Drift, an action earning 11 Victoria Crosses, the largest number ever awarded in a single engagement. Isandlwana, particularly, remains a haunting and lonely place, with mass graves marked by simple white stones. Our specialist Zulu guide will really make those desperate encounters come alive. After an included lunch we return to our hotel.

After breakfast we return to Johannesburg airport, flying to George in the Western Cape and at the heart of the gorgeous Garden Route. We take the short drive to the coastal town of Mossel Bay and our hotel, the charming three-star superior Diaz Hotel and Resort with breakfast. The comfortable rooms all boast excellent sea views.

Dinner at a local restaurant is included this evening.

For 2024 departures

We will depart our hotel in the morning and drive to Knysna where we take a ferry across the lagoon to the Featherbed Nature Reserve site which we explore by 4x4 vehicle. We stop at some magnificent viewpoints whilst our guide describes the area’s fauna, flora, history and shipwrecks, followed by an easy downhill guided walk and delicious buffet lunch under the canopy of the milkwood trees (note: due to weather conditions over the winter period, departures between May and Aug will have lunch at a restaurant in Knysna). After taking the ferry back to Knysna, you will have some free time to explore this small town, with its numerous art galleries, craft shops and the Knysna Quays marina shopping complex.

This morning we take the long scenic drive to the Cape’s beautiful Winelands. We drive via Hermanus – during July to November is the best time for on-shore whale-watching. These gentle giants move in seemingly permanent slow motion and are a truly amazing sight as they playfully cavort in the water.

We arrive in the Winelands by late afternoon, staying two nights on bed-and-breakfast at the excellent four-star Pearl Valley Hotel, which is a real find.

Today we tour the awesomely beautiful Winelands. Set in a valley backed by majestic mountains, rows of manicured vines and orchards stretch into a distance studded by lime-washed, often thatched, 300-year-old wineries built in the unique Cape Dutch style, seemingly mirroring the undulations of the surrounding countryside.

Our first stop is elegant Stellenbosch, established 300 years ago and home of South Africa’s most prestigious university. Period buildings and historic streets reinforce the town’s dignified atmosphere. We have time to explore this delightful town before enjoying a fascinating cellar tour and tasting at the Neethlingshof Wine Estate. After that, we visit the small town of Franschoek, set at the head of a valley.

Tonight, we’ll enjoy an included typical South African BBQ or Cape Malay buffet dinner at our hotel.

This morning we visit the amazing Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, located just outside Cape Town and set against the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. These incredible gardens are some of the best in South Africa, with numerous and fascinating endemic flora and orchid varieties.

We soon arrive in Cape Town and our hotel, the four-star Southern Sun Waterfront Hotel, staying three nights on bed-and-breakfast. It is located right in the centre of this bustling city within walking distance of the V&A waterfront.

The afternoon is spent at leisure when you can start to explore this beautiful city.

This morning, we visit Cape Point and the legendary Cape of Good Hope, firstly driving past pristine beaches to the picturesque fishing harbour of Hout Bay.

We continue along the breathtakingly scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive, full of rugged seascapes, to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, then on to Cape Point itself. We see the confluence of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean currents and the treacherous promontory of rocks and swells, the scourge of mariners for centuries.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we visit Boulders Beach and its penguin colony before returning to the city.

Cape Town, featuring British, Dutch and Cape Malay influences, is simply one of the world’s most naturally beautiful cities with so much to offer the visitor! You could do some bargain shopping at the Waterfront, followed by a sumptuous seafood lunch. Or maybe go people-watching at fashionable Camps Bay.

Obviously, no visit to Cape Town is complete without taking a revolving cable car ride to the top of iconic Table Mountain which has announced the city to generations of seafarers. The views are fabulous.

You should also visit Robben Island (weather permitting and based on availability), where Nelson Mandela spent most of his 27-year incarceration, and whose visitors since its opening have included Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Gates and even Nelson Mandela himself. Perhaps though, simply wander where your feet take you, or relax a little, taking afternoon tea in beautiful colonial splendour at the Mount Nelson hotel – the choice is yours.

Depending on your travel date and airline schedule, your flight home will either be via Johannesburg with an aircraft change or a direct flight from Cape Town.