South Africa offers two very different holidays that happen to share a passport stamp. In the north-east, Kruger and its neighbours mean dawn game drives, elephants and the hope of a leopard. In the south-west, the Garden Route and Cape Town mean coastline, vineyards, penguins and Table Mountain. They are a flight apart, so the first decision is simple: one, the other, or both.
This guide is for anyone comparing escorted tours of South Africa. We line up every tour on our South Africa tours page, from a five-day Cape Town break to three weeks with camping and Lesotho, plus safari-and-beach holidays and journeys on to Victoria Falls and Namibia.
The quick answer
- If you want Kruger in a week from one base, pick the Essential Kruger Safari.
- If you want the Garden Route and Cape Town, pick Cape Town & the Garden Route.
- If you want both with flights included, pick Kruger Safari & the Garden Route with Flights.
- If you want a safari then a beach, pick the Luxury Safari & Mauritius Beach Holiday.
- If you have teenagers, pick the Family Safari with Teenagers.
Every South Africa tour compared
| Tour | Days | Price from | Physical rating | Group size | Flights included | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kruger and the north-east | ||||||
| Essential Kruger Safari: Five Nights at Hazyview – 7 Days | 7 | £2,272 pp | Low | Max 16 | No | Kruger from one comfortable base |
| South Africa & Eswatini: Drakensberg, Zululand & Kruger – 10 Days | 10 | £1,530 pp | Medium | Max 16 | No | Drakensberg, Zululand and Kruger |
| Southern Africa Safari: Kruger, Zululand & Mozambique Coast – 11 Days | 11 | £2,521 pp | Low | Max 15 | No | Kruger plus the Mozambique coast |
| Kruger & Coast: Johannesburg to Durban Camping Safari – 9 Days | 9 | £1,015 pp | Medium | Max 22 | No | Camping, Kruger to Durban |
| Zimbabwe & South Africa Safari: Hwange, Matobo & Kruger – 9 Days | 9 | £3,555 pp | Medium | Max 13 | No | Zimbabwe’s parks and Kruger |
| The Garden Route and the Cape | ||||||
| Cape Town & the Garden Route: Addo to Table Mountain – 12 Days | 12 | £1,677 pp | Low | Max 16 | No | Addo to Table Mountain |
| South Africa’s Garden Route: Cape Town to Addo – 12 Days | 12 | £2,230 pp | Medium | Max 18 | No | Cape Town to Addo via Route 62 |
| Cape Town & the Winelands – 5 Days | 5 | £743 pp | Low | Max 6 | No | Five days, groups of up to six |
| Luxury South Africa: Winelands & Wild Shores – 9 Days | 9 | £4,716 pp | Low | Max 16 | No | Boutique hotels, no safari |
| Cycling the Cape & Winelands – 12 Days | 12 | £2,329 pp | Medium | Max 14 | No | Regular cyclists |
| Wild South Africa with Flights – 16 Days | 16 | £4,499 pp incl. flights | Low | Not stated | Yes | Flights, Addo and Hluhluwe |
| Both | ||||||
| Kruger, Eswatini & the Garden Route – 21 Days | 21 | £4,195 pp | Medium | Max 16 | No | Three weeks, small group |
| Kruger Safari & the Garden Route with Flights – 15 Days | 15 | £4,031 pp incl. flights | Medium | Not stated | Yes | Flights, tented lodge near Kruger |
| Sensational South Africa with Flights & Home Pick-Up – 14 Days | 14 | £4,395 pp incl. flights | Low | Not stated | Yes | Flights and a home chauffeur |
| Cape Town, the Garden Route & Big Five Safari with Flights – 12 Days | 12 | £3,455 pp incl. flights | Low | Max 45 | Yes | Flights, private reserve safari |
| Solo South Africa: Kruger to Cape Town with Flights – 16 Days | 16 | £5,149 pp incl. flights | Low | Max 24 | Yes | Solo travellers |
| South Africa with Rovos Rail & Flights – 19 Days | 19 | £6,509 pp incl. flights | Low | Max 48 | Yes | The battlefields and Rovos Rail |
| Kruger, Lesotho & the Cape Overland – 22 Days | 22 | £2,270 pp | Medium | Max 22 | No | Overland camping with Lesotho |
| Safari and beach | ||||||
| Luxury Safari & Mauritius Beach Holiday, Flights Included – 15 Days | 15 | £5,669 pp incl. flights | Low | Max 24 | Yes | All-inclusive camp and Mauritius |
| South Africa Safari & Mauritius Beach with Flights – 15 Days | 15 | £4,819 pp incl. flights | Low | Not stated | Yes | Waterberg lodge and Mauritius |
| Kruger Safari & Mozambique Beach with Flights – 13 Days | 13 | £4,018 pp incl. flights | Low | Not stated | Yes | Kruger and a Mozambique beach |
| Kruger Safari & Mozambique Beach with Flights – 13 Days | 13 | On request | Not stated | Max 45 | Yes | Kruger and Mozambique, dates on request |
| Families, walkers and overlanders | ||||||
| South Africa Family Safari with Teenagers – 12 Days | 12 | £1,895 pp | Medium | Max 16 | No | Families with teenagers |
| Family South Africa Safari & Beach Adventure – 13 Days | 13 | £2,295 pp | Low | Max 20 | No | Families with children aged 7+ |
| South Africa Walking & Wildlife: Kruger to the Drakensberg – 15 Days | 15 | £2,496 pp | Medium | Max 12 | No | Walking safaris and the Drakensberg |
| Garden Route & Lesotho Overland: Durban to Cape Town – 14 Days | 14 | £1,215 pp | Medium | Max 22 | No | Overland via Lesotho |
| Beyond South Africa | ||||||
| Amazing Southern Africa: Cape Town to Victoria Falls – 23 Days | 23 | £5,752 pp | Medium | Max 13 | No | Cape Town to Victoria Falls |
| Namibia Discovery: Cape Town to Etosha Overland – 14 Days | 14 | £2,254 pp | Not stated | Max 13 | No | Cape Town to Etosha |
| Luxury Southern Africa Safari: Kruger to the Okavango – 14 Days | 14 | £5,992 pp | Medium | Max 12 | No | Luxury, Kruger to the Okavango |
| Luxury Kenya & Southern Africa: Maasai Mara to Chobe – 15 Days | 15 | £11,187 pp | Medium | Max 12 | No | Luxury, Kenya and Southern Africa |
| Victoria Falls to Cape Town: Hwange, Winelands & Cape – 14 Days | 14 | £5,372 pp incl. flights | Low | Not stated | Yes | Victoria Falls to the Cape, flights |
| Essential Botswana: Okavango, Chobe & Victoria Falls – 9 Days | 9 | £795 pp | Medium | Max 22 | No | 18 to 35s, Botswana camping |
Prices are per person, twin share, live from our tour pages (updated October 2026). The lowest price can apply to a later departure, so check the dates you want on each tour page.
Ask us which South Africa tour fits →
Kruger and the north-east (set your alarm)
Kruger from one base
Essential Kruger Safari: Five Nights at Hazyview – 7 Days
- 7 days
- From £2,272 per person
- Max 16 people
- Johannesburg, South Africa to Hazyview, South Africa
- Physical rating: low
- Flights not included
- Departures in March, May, June, July, August, September, October, November
Seven days with five nights at a boutique hotel in Hazyview, the Perry’s Bridge Hollow or similar, so there is no packing and unpacking. You head straight out on a game drive, spend a full day in Kruger, walk through the bush with expert trackers and explore the canyons and waterfalls of the Panorama Route. Breakfast and dinner are included daily. South Africa & Eswatini (10 days) adds the Drakensberg, Zululand’s rhinos and Eswatini’s beehive huts.
Suits: travellers who want a short, comfortable safari. The honest drawback: it does not include the Cape.
Three more trips centre on the north-east. Southern Africa Safari (11 days) adds iSimangaliso, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi and dolphins in Mozambique. Kruger & Coast (9 days) is a camping safari to Durban. Zimbabwe & South Africa Safari (9 days) combines Hwange, rhino tracking in Matobo, Mapungubwe and Kruger.
The Garden Route and the Cape (no safari jeep required)
Addo to Table Mountain
Cape Town & the Garden Route: Addo to Table Mountain – 12 Days
- 12 days
- From £1,677 per person
- Max 16 people
- Port Elizabeth, South Africa to Cape Town, South Africa
- Physical rating: low
- Flights not included
- Departures in January, February, March, April, September, October, November, December
Twelve days west from Port Elizabeth in a group of four to 16: game drives among the elephants of Addo, forest trails and suspension bridges in Tsitsikamma, Knysna Heads, the Cango Caves, a free day for whale watching in season at Hermanus, a sommelier-led wine tour in Stellenbosch, and two days on Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula and the penguins of Simon’s Town. South Africa’s Garden Route (12 days) runs the other way, from Cape Town and the Winelands along Route 62 to Addo.
Suits: travellers who want coast and wine rather than a long safari. The honest drawback: there is no Kruger, and few meals are included.
For shorter or more specialist trips, Cape Town & the Winelands (5 days) keeps groups to six, Luxury South Africa: Winelands & Wild Shores (9 days) uses boutique hotels from Cape Town to Hermanus, Cycling the Cape & Winelands (12 days) rides the Winelands passes, the Karoo and Cape Agulhas, and Wild South Africa with Flights (16 days) adds Addo and Hluhluwe, though not Kruger.
Both: Kruger and the Cape
With flights from the UK
Kruger Safari & the Garden Route with Flights – 15 Days
- 15 days
- From £4,031 per person incl. flights
- Starts and ends in United Kingdom
- Physical rating: medium
- Flights included
- Departures in January, February, March, April, May, June, September, October, November
Fifteen days with a tented lodge near Kruger and a full-day game drive, then a flight to Cape Town, the Winelands, Arniston, Cape Agulhas, Knysna, Tsitsikamma, the Cango Caves and Cape Town, in four- and five-star hotels. Sensational South Africa (14 days) adds a home chauffeur, Pretoria and Pilgrim’s Rest, and Cape Town, the Garden Route & Big Five Safari (12 days) does its game drives in a private reserve on the Garden Route instead of Kruger. Solo South Africa (16 days) is designed for people travelling on their own.
Suits: first-timers who want both halves of the country. The honest drawback: these are tour-director groups, not small groups, and the safari portion is short.
Three weeks in a small group
Kruger, Eswatini & the Garden Route – 21 Days
- 21 days
- From £4,195 per person
- Max 16 people
- Johannesburg, South Africa to Addo, South Africa
- Physical rating: medium
- Flights not included
- Departures in March, May, June, July, August, September, October, November
Twenty-one days with up to 16: a guided hike in the Drakensberg, Rorke’s Drift, rhinos in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, beehive huts in Eswatini, Kruger and the Panorama Route, then a flight to Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Hermanus and the Garden Route. You stay in eco camps, lodges, beehive huts, guesthouses and forest chalets. South Africa with Rovos Rail (19 days) covers Kruger, the battlefields, the Garden Route and Cape Town before a journey on Rovos Rail, with all meals and drinks on the train, and Kruger, Lesotho & the Cape Overland (22 days) camps most of the way.
Suits: travellers with time who want variety. The honest drawback: early starts and long drives, and simple accommodation in places.
Safari and beach
Safari then Mauritius
Luxury Safari & Mauritius Beach Holiday, Flights Included – 15 Days
- 15 days
- From £5,669 per person incl. flights
- Max 24 people
- Starts and ends in London, United Kingdom
- Physical rating: low
- Flights included
- Departures in March, April, May, June, July, September, October, November
Fifteen days with flights from London: five all-inclusive nights at a five-star tented camp in the Mabula Game Reserve, with a tour leader and wildlife specialist, then seven nights at a five-star beachfront resort in Mauritius, both all-inclusive. South Africa Safari & Mauritius Beach (15 days) has a week at a five-star Waterberg lodge and five nights in Mauritius. For Mozambique, Kruger Safari & Mozambique Beach (13 days) has six nights at a Kruger safari camp and three on the beach.
Suits: anyone who wants to finish with a week of doing nothing. The honest drawback: these are not Kruger safaris, except the Mozambique trip, and you stay in one or two places.
Families, walkers and overlanders
Families with teenagers
South Africa Family Safari with Teenagers – 12 Days
- 12 days
- From £1,895 per person
- Max 16 people
- Starts and ends in Johannesburg, South Africa
- Physical rating: medium
- Flights not included
- Departures in January, March, April, June, July, August, September, October, December
Twelve days for families with children aged ten and over: a cycle tour of Soweto, camping near Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, Kosi Bay, Eswatini, Kruger, a village homestay and the Blyde River Canyon, by overland truck with open 4×4s for game drives. Most meals are included. The Family Safari & Beach Adventure (13 days) is for children aged seven and over, with Kruger, Eswatini and Indian Ocean beaches.
Suits: active families. The honest drawback: it is participatory camping, so everyone helps around camp.
South Africa Walking & Wildlife (15 days) explores the Blyde River Canyon, Kruger, Eswatini, St Lucia and the Drakensberg on foot, in groups of up to 12. Garden Route & Lesotho Overland (14 days) crosses the Lesotho Highlands and the Wild Coast by overland truck, camping.
Beyond South Africa
Several tours start or end in South Africa. Amazing Southern Africa (23 days) runs from Cape Town via Sossusvlei, Etosha, an Okavango houseboat and Chobe to Victoria Falls with no camping, and Namibia Discovery (14 days) goes from Cape Town to Etosha overland. In comfort, Luxury Southern Africa Safari (14 days) links Kruger with Victoria Falls, Chobe and the Okavango, Luxury Kenya & Southern Africa (15 days) adds the Maasai Mara, and Victoria Falls to Cape Town (14 days) includes flights. For 18 to 35s, Essential Botswana (9 days) camps from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls.
How to choose
By time available. Five to ten days: the Kruger trips or Cape Town & the Winelands. Twelve to 16 days: the Garden Route tours, the tours that combine Kruger and the Cape, or safari and beach. Three weeks: Kruger, Eswatini & the Garden Route, Rovos Rail or the overland camping trips.
By budget. The camping and 18–35s trips and Cape Town & the Winelands are the cheapest. The small-group Kruger and Garden Route tours sit in the middle. The flight-inclusive, safari-and-beach and luxury tours cost the most. Live prices are in the table above.
By fitness. Most tours are rated low or medium, with early starts on safari. Walking & Wildlife and the cycling trip are the most active.
By travel style. Small groups of up to 16 on most land-only tours; tour-director groups on the flight-inclusive tours. Choose camping for value, a lodge base for comfort, or a beach finish for balance.
When to go
Many South Africa tours depart all year or across most months, while the camping overland trips run mainly in November and December. On the Big Five tour with flights, a whale-watching cruise at Hermanus is included on September to November departures. The months for each tour are in its fact panel above.
Before you travel, check the FCDO travel advice for South Africa and any other country on your route.
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose Kruger or the Garden Route?
Kruger for wildlife, the Garden Route for coast, wine and Cape Town. Several tours, such as Kruger Safari & the Garden Route, do both, with a flight in between.
What is the best short safari in South Africa?
The Essential Kruger Safari: seven days with five nights at one boutique hotel near Kruger.
Which South Africa tours include flights?
The tours with ‘with flights’ in their title, the safari-and-beach holidays, Rovos Rail and Solo South Africa. The others are land-only, and we can arrange flights.
Is there a South Africa tour for families?
Yes: the Family Safari with Teenagers (children aged ten and over) and the Family Safari & Beach Adventure (seven and over).
Can I combine a safari with a beach?
Yes, with Mauritius on the Luxury Safari & Mauritius holiday, or Mozambique on Kruger Safari & Mozambique Beach.
Can I add Victoria Falls?
Yes, on Amazing Southern Africa, Luxury Southern Africa Safari and Victoria Falls to Cape Town.
Kruger, the Cape or both?
Tell us what you would like to see and how long you have, and a Travelisto specialist will compare the South Africa tours with you.
Keep planning
- All escorted tours in South Africa
- Escorted tours in Botswana
- Escorted tours in Namibia
- South Africa tours
- Solo escorted tours with flights
- South Africa holidays
Prices are live from our tour pages (updated October 2026). Tour details and dates can change; your specialist will confirm everything before you book.
