Self-drive
Routes through South Africa
Driving routes worth taking slowly, each one a string of towns with places to stay that give something back to the landscape around them. Open a route to see its stops, the stays along it and what the country does between them, or take any of them into the planner and change every night.
Birding routes
Built around hosts who carry the BirdLife Affiliated badge, so a share of every booking goes back to BirdLife South Africa. Tell your host what you are hoping to see and they will point you at the morning's best spot.
Cape birding route
Cape Town to Calitzdorp
520 km · 5 to 8 days · 4 stops
Fynbos endemics, a pelagic trip and Karoo specials, from Cape Town over the mountains to Swellendam, Montagu and the Klein Karoo.
BirdLife escarpment
Wakkerstroom to Magoebaskloof
780 km · 6 to 9 days · 4 stops
Wakkerstroom grasslands, Dullstroom highlands, Lowveld raptors and the Magoebaskloof mist-belt, built from BirdLife affiliated stays.
Zululand birding
Hluhluwe to Manguzi
260 km · 4 to 7 days · 3 stops
Sand forest, wetlands and Big Five reserves, from Hluhluwe up to the Kosi lakes, with BirdLife affiliated stays along the way.
Coastal routes
Garden Route
Mossel Bay to Plettenberg Bay
200 km · 3 to 7 days · 4 stops
South Africa's classic coastal road trip, with beaches, lagoons and indigenous forest along the Cape's southern coast.
Surf and conservation coast
Mossel Bay to St Francis Bay
430 km · 5 to 9 days · 5 stops
Mossel Bay to St Francis: points and beach breaks, whales in winter, marine reserves and the hosts who fund them.
Whale Coast
Pringle Bay to Gansbaai
100 km · 2 to 4 days · 4 stops
A 100km stretch from Pringle Bay to Gansbaai, with land-based whale watching, fynbos cliffs and small fishing villages.
Wine and food routes
Route 62
Cape Town to Calitzdorp
480 km · 3 to 7 days · 8 stops
The wine half of Route 62: Cape Town to Calitzdorp through wine valleys, mountain passes and the Klein Karoo.
Cape Winelands Route
Stellenbosch to Somerset West
120 km · 2 to 5 days · 4 stops
Premier wine tourism circuit through Stellenbosch, Franschhoek & Paarl. 200+ estates, world-class restaurants, Cape Dutch heritage.
Gravel, MTB, 4x4 and surf routes
Karoo gravel loop
Montagu to Prince Albert
420 km · 4 to 7 days · 5 stops
Montagu to Prince Albert on dirt: the Ouberg, the R62 back roads, the Swartberg Pass and hosts who ride.
Drakensberg MTB
Clarens to Underberg
480 km · 5 to 8 days · 4 stops
Clarens to the Sani foothills: sandstone singletrack, Northern Berg farm trails, the Midlands trail parks and Underberg.
Karoo to Richtersveld 4x4
Laingsburg to Springbok
1100 km · 7 to 10 days · 3 stops
Laingsburg to the Richtersveld: Tankwa gravel, Namaqualand and a mountain desert that is 4x4 only, camp by camp.
Nature and wildlife routes
Culture and heritage routes
Owl Route
Graaff-Reinet to Nieu Bethesda
50 km · 2 to 3 days · 2 stops
Karoo art and soul: Graaff-Reinet's Cape Dutch streets and Helen Martins' Owl House at Nieu Bethesda.
Mohair Route
Aberdeen to Willowmore
300 km · 3 to 5 days · 5 stops
Through Karoo Angora-goat country: Aberdeen, Graaff-Reinet, Jansenville and Willowmore.
Cherry Route
Clarens to Fouriesburg
60 km · 2 to 4 days · 2 stops
Free State sandstone country: Clarens galleries and Fouriesburg cherry farms in the Maluti foothills.