One of the few things I knew about South Africa’s vacation destinations before moving here was an area called the Garden Route. Nested between mountains and the Indian ocean coast of South Africa, this stretch of 800km is home to some of the most breathtaking and diverse landscapes, beaches, forests, lagoons, game reserves, and overall greenery giving it its name. According to the Guiness book of world records, it has the second mildest climate after Hawaii. Year round, it ranges from 10-30 degrees. I had been planning this trip for awhile and what a trip it was!

Great decision I could have made doing this trip in the South African summer. Enjoy my recounts of the trip!

In addition, for those looking to visit South Africa for longer but plan to visit the Garden Route,. Trip Summary The Garden Route The Garden Route is simply the area along the coast between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. We landed in Port Elizabeth, rented a car, and drove all the way to Cape Town via the scenic N2 highway.

Having a GPS is absolutely necessary and it saved us everywhere we went. A combination of GPS + Google Maps is the best choice as a GPS won’t know where a hotel or restaurant is. The airports all over South Africa sell pay as you go sim cards and Vodacom is what I recommend for this part of the country as there are plenty of remote areas and Vodacom has the biggest cellular network. COUNTRIES VISITED South Africa MY TRIP DATES Dec 22, 2013 – Jan 1, 2014 TRIP HIGHLIGHTS Addo Elephant Park, Plettenberg Bay, Bloukrans, Oudtshoorn, Beaches, Hermanus, Cape Town TRIP STYLE Road Trip TRIP COST ~30,000R for two TRIP START AND END Port Elizabeth –>Cape Town. Windows 2000 Oem Iso here. Our Garden Route Roadtrip map. Point A is where we started in Port Elizabeth.

A complete Map Route and Map Routing facility for South Africa. A complete South African traveler's portal. Including detailed map search and map routing, and a.

For the full Google Maps, Roadtrip, aka rent a car The Garden Route is located solely in South Africa. This is a proper developed country and the roads are proper roads (unlike the dirt roads of Tanzania). There are tours done by all the major operators like Nomad, Acacia, AfricaTravelCo, etc. That do overland tours through the Garden Route but I don’t see the need unless you’re traveling on your own and want some company.

I did this trip with my girlfriend who flew in from America and this is the ultimate road trip in South Africa! There is SO much to see on this stretch of land that you may miss it if you’re following someone else’s agenda. The roads are perfect, the signs are clearly labeled and helpful, everyone speaks English, and the weather’s great. As long as you have some good company, music, and a good sense of adventure, this is the trip for you. All the big car rental companies are located at the Port Elizabeth airport. Picking up from PE, and dropping it off in Cape Town is not a problem at all. Plan, but be Spontaneous Like any trip done in Africa, a well thought out itinerary is a good thing to have.

However, the Garden Route is a very developed part of Africa. Many of the towns on this stretch of land are very western and you would need to think twice to remember you’re in Africa. The coast is primarily Afrikaans speaking but everyone in South Africa speaks English as well. DO make a plan for this trip, and have some semblance of an agenda. Depending on how much time you have for this trip, be spontaneous as well. There are so many little stops along the road, whether it is a game farm, wine estate, beach, hike, biltong, etc, you want to soak in as much as you can.