Day 1. Arrive in Cape Town. Met at airport and transferred to your hotel.
Check-in at hotel. Time to relax and freshen-up.
CAPE TOWN has a rich multi-cultural history because of its position as a stopping point for ships plying their trade between the east and the west. Today it is a meeting place for Africa and the rest of the world, which gives it its own particular vibrancy.
Dinner – included at the Harvey’s Restaurant at the hotel.
Overnight: Winchester Mansions Hotel – Seapoint (DB&B)
OPTIONAL: ½ Day tours: Robben Island
Township & Heritage Tours
Day 2. Cape Town City tour: Hop-On – Hop-Off bus.
The diverse cultural heritage and rich historic past are evident when one visits the various national museums and sights such as the Castle Good Hope dating back to the Dutch East Indies Company, Robben Island, the South African Cultural History Museum, the District Six Museum and the unique Gold of Africa Museum located in the historic Martin Melck House.
At your own pace you can stop off and visit the Waterfront, the Aquarium, St George’s Cathedral and the South African Museum, Table Mountain, Camps Bay and Seapoint along the Atlantic Coast.
Dinner – at leisure to enjoy great innovative local cuisine or one of the many restaurants at the Waterfront or in the city.
Overnight: Winchester Mansions Hotel (B&B)
Day 3. CAPE TOWN
Full day Peninsula escorted scheduled tour.
A ride around the Cape Peninsula sets the tone for a touring holiday of spectacular proportions. The playgrounds of the rich and famous at Clifton and Camps Bay are passed through on the way to the Chapman’s Peak and Hout Bay. Cutting into the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, the road makes for one of the most magnificent drives in the world. Cross over Red Hill and make your way through the historic navel town of Simon’s Town before moving onto the wild and rocky promontory of Cape Point where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans are supposed to meet. Head out of the reserve clinging to the coastline, before turning inland through the thick forests of Constantia Neck to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and the city.
Overnight: Winchester Mansions Hotel (B&B)
Day 4. CAPE TOWN – PAARL – FRANSCHHOEK – STELLENBOSCH
The scenic town of Paarl, only a 40-minute drive outside Cape Town is at the foot of the second-largest granite outcrop in the world. Paarl proudly bears the title of the third-oldest town in South Africa. Standing tall on Paarl Mountain and celebrating the birth of Afrikaans is the Afrikaans Language Monument. Just outside Paarl is Drakenstein Prison, where Nelson Mandela spent his last years of captivity and started his walk to freedom.
Franschhoek, a tranquil village, twenty minutes from Stellenbosch, is known for its French Huguenot Heritage, fine wines and award-winning restaurants.
After breakfast transfer to Stellenbosch via Paarl & Franschhoek. Visit some the
local premier wineries and estates en route such as:
La Motte wines have won a host of international awards and are highly sought-after. Their fine wines, including some exceptional reds, can be sampled in the stylish tasting room. Visit the museum and art Gallery. The largest room in the museum is dedicated to the life and art of one of South Africa’s greatest masters, Jacob Hendrik Pierneef. A selection of works by other South African artists can also be seen
Enjoy some Huguenot legacy at L’Ormarin one of the prettiest wine etstates in the whole of the winelands. The Franschhoek Motor Museum on the estate houses one of the biggest collections of vintage cars in the world. L’Ormarin is also known for its horses but especially its wines, notably also a range of Italian varieties.
Plaisir de Merle, taste the wine and experience the biodiversity as this estate – a member of the Biodiversity in Wine Initiative. Its 500 ha of conserved land encompasses endangered Boland Granite Fynbos, Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos and a variety of vegetation
Lunch at a local restaurant or wine estate (own account)
Tokara sits on the hill overlooking Stellenbosch, the Cape Flats and Table Mountain. Powerful reds and delicate whites dominate an exciting range of wines, and an olive-oil plant nearby adds to the atmosphere of the area. End the day in the company of a real garagiste at Camberley and experience the real hospitality of a Cape wine maker.
Dinner – included at the hotel
Overnight: Devon Valley Hotel 4* (DB&B)
Day 5: STELLENBOSCH
STELLENBOSCH, the second oldest town in South Africa after Cape Town was established in 1679 by Simon Van der Stel, the Governor of the Dutch East India company. The pretty university town is now the heart of the Premier Wine Route in South Africa. Well-preserved historical houses and oak trees line the streets. Four of these houses today form the comprehensive Stellenbosch Museum. Its university of more than 16 000 students gives the town a vibrant and youthful atmosphere.
After breakfast enjoy the ‘Devon Valley Detour’ which includes:
- Start with an ice cold Method Cap Classic & fresh fruit on a friend’s working farm, on the farm’s highest point, overlooking all of Stellenbosch mountains and False Bay;
- We then enjoy a wine tasting on the Stellenboschkloof road;
- Historical walking tour through Stellenbosch;
- Typical South African Braai in the nature, – If not a braai, something very South African = A beautiful oxtail pot, snoek on the coals, etc.
- One more wine tasting in the Banhoek Valley.
- Dinner – at leisure to experience one of the many award-winning restaurants in Stellenbosch.
- Overnight: Devon Valley Hotel 4* BB
Day 6. DEPARTURE DAY / OPTIONAL EXTENSION
After breakfast time at leisure in before the departure to the airport.
Depart Cape Town
- END OF ARRANGEMENTS –
COST: ZAR 13,800 per person*
* based on minimum 2 people sharing accommodation.
Cost includes:
- Accommodation in 4* hotels and guesthouses
- Full buffet breakfasts daily
- Two 3-course dinners: one in Cape Town and one in Stellenbosch.
- Transfers and tours as per itinerary
- Entrance fees as per itinerary
Cost excludes:
- Meals other than stated
- All drinks and refreshments
- Items of a personal nature such as laundry, ‘phone calls etc
- Tips for drivers and guides
OPTIONAL EXTENSIONS:
- Scheduled Garden Route tours
- Scheduled day tours from Cape Town to Hermanus on the Whale Coast.
- Self-drive along the scenic Cape Country Routes from Cape Town, Route 62, the Garden Route to Knysna or Port Elizabeth
OPTIONAL UPGRADE – PRIVATE WINE TOUR as per suggested sample itinerary.
STELLENBOSCH: Your first visit will be to a small family estate – Kanonkop with their famous wines. Call in at Muratie, the wine farm that belonged to a slave girl, and taste wines amongst the cobwebs, also an excellent Port amongst the champion reds. In the same area is Uitkyk (Lookout). See an 18th century homestead designed as a town house for Cape Town, but as a result of specific circumstances was built in the country. Taste some excellent wines, white and red, and even try one of the best brandies in the country, if available. Drive slowly through historic Stellenbosch and visit the winery of Neil Ellis, arguably the best Sauvignon Blanc producer in the winelands.
Lunch at a local restaurant or wine estate (own account)
After lunch visit the small family owned estate of Middelvlei, do a cellar tour, meet the owner, and taste some of the best reds in the valley. Middelvlei is also known for its collection of animals and birds: a wallaby couple, hundreds of birds, Swiss goats, huge mountain tortoises, an a tame crow to mention a few.
Visit Rustenberg, Cape Dutch style of architecture and the most photographed homestead in Stellenbosch. Taste prize-winning wines and walk through a famous English Country garden.
