Essence of South Africa
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Experience Overview
Bush, beach and two vibrant cities – capture the essence of South Africa on this culmination of a Cape Town to Kruger experience, including Johannesburg, the 'City of Gold'. Then, the power and beauty of Africa’s wilderness is revealed as you take in the thrill of Victoria Falls and visit Chobe National Park, Botswana’s home of the elephants.
Highlights
Dining Summary
- 7 Dinner (D)
- 12 Breakfast (B)
- 1 Be My Guest (BMG)
- 5 Lunch (L)
Be My Guest
- Hermanus: Join a local Hermanus business owner for a traditional braai (barbecue) and some of his homemade wine against a clifftop backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean.
Iconic Experience
- Cape Town: Spend the day discovering the wonderful views of Table Mountain.
- Cape Town: Take in the landmarks of Cape Town during a city tour with your Travel Director. See the Company Gardens, Bo-Kaap and the Castle of Good Hope.
- Cape Peninsula: Discover the incredible views of the Twelve Apostles.
- Cape Town: Spend the day surrounded by penguins on Boulders Beach.
- Franschhoek: Visit Rickety Bridge Winery in Franschhoek for a tasting of the Foundation Stone range, inspired by the forebears of the Shona tribe. Sampling a rosé, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinotage, you’ll learn how these wines are produced as you compare styles from crisp and aromatic to a fuller red.
- Hoedspruit: Have your camera ready to capture the beautiful scenery and fascinating wildlife on your Reserve Tour with a Shangaan tracker-guide.
- Learn to track animals on an African bush walk with a Local Specialist. You’ll uncover the secrets of medicinal plants, identify animals from just their tracks and spot birds, insects and small animals in their natural habitat. This is your chance to connect with nature like never before and leave with stories – and skills –that will stay with you forever.
- Karongwe Portfolio: Spend the day marveling at Africa's iconic wildlife on your Karongwe Private Reserve Visit.
- Johannesburg: Learn about South Africa's turbulent past on an interactive Johannesburg and Soweto Freedom tour.
- Johannesburg: Spend the day seeing the iconic sight of Mandela's house on your Johannesburg City Tour.
- Victoria Falls: Experience the beauty of Africa's islands on your Zambezi River Cruise.
- Victoria Falls: Admire the cascading waters at Victoria Falls.
- Chobe National Park: Have the experience of a lifetime as you explore Botswana's Chobe National Park.
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®
- Hoedspruit: Meet the Shangaan people and learn about their way of life through music, dance and daily traditions. Watch a performance celebrating the heritage of the San, Shona, Venda, Tswana, Zulu and Shangaan communities. Try your hand at grinding maize or building huts, and learn how architecture, agriculture and family customs shape daily life, before sharing a traditional meal with the community. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
Must-see Highlights
- Explore Cape Town, Johannesburg, Victoria Falls and Chobe National Park
- Visit Table Mountain, Bo-Kaap, Cape of Good Hope, Franschhoek, Hermanus, the Karongwe Private Game Reserve, the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, and Chobe National Park
- View the Castle of Good Hope, Boulder's Beach penguin colony, Mandela's House in Soweto, and Victoria Falls
Trafalgar Difference
- Hoedspruit: Your stay in Karongwe Private Game Reserve contributes to the area's environmental sustainability and community development.
Trip Details
Product Code: 35362
Tour Type: Group Tour
Accommodation: Deluxe
Transport: Private
Guide Language: English
Travel Styles:
Explorer, Budget
Tour Operator:
Trafalgar (CA)
Supplier Code: 380.2165B
Starts: Cape Town, South Africa
Finishes: Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe), Zimbabwe
Duration: 13 days
Departures: Guaranteed
Physical Rating:
Easy
Includes
Whats Included
- All transport and transfers shown
- An expert Travel Director and professional Driver
- Cherry-picked hotels and safari lodges, all tried and trusted
- All porterage and restaurant gratuities
- All hotel tips, charges and local taxes
- Breakfast daily and up to half of your evening meals
- Air-conditioned coach or Quantum bus
- Must-see sightseeing
- Optional Experiences and free time
- On occasion, hotels of similar standard and location may be utilized.
- Flight from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls
Price
Price per person: (Double Occupancy) CAD $9415 ($724 /day)
Itinerary
South Africa’s ‘Mother City’ and her iconic Table Mountain extend a warm welcome as you embark on a small group journey that will reveal the highlights of South Africa. Spend the day delving into Cape Town’s cosmopolitan surrounds before joining your fellow travelers and Travel Director for a dinner.
Accommodation: Southern Sun The Cullinan
Meals: Dinner
This morning, you'll encounter Table Mountain first-hand, ascending via aerial cableway to its vast flat top – a rocky wonderland of rich Cape fynbos and curious dassies (hyraxes). Peer over the bustling City Bowl and Atlantic Seaboard, keeping a keen eye out for the landmarks your Travel Director will show you during this morning's city tour, including the Company Gardens, Bo-Kaap and District Six Museum. The rest of the day is yours to explore Cape Town at leisure. Ramble up Bree Street to sample the city’s vibrant coffee culture or take a stroll along the Sea Point promenade with fellow outdoor enthusiasts. Consider joining our Optional Experience to explore the infamous Robben Island, with your guide revealing its turbulent past and the cell where Nelson Mandela spent the majority of his prison term.
Accommodation: Southern Sun The Cullinan
Meals: Breakfast
Circumnavigate the Cape Peninsula, from trendy Camps Bay to Cape Point and back. With the crashing waves of the Atlantic to your right, the rocky 12 Apostles to your left, wind your way along one of the world’s most magnificent coastal roads towards the outcrop that is Africa’s most extreme south-western tip. Say a quiet hello to the shy penguins of Boulders Beach, admire the Cape of Good Hope and travel through charming coastal towns along the way.
Accommodation: Southern Sun The Cullinan
Meals: Breakfast
Venture to the town of Franschhoek and discover during your orientation why it is proclaimed as one of the most beautiful wine valleys in the world. Enjoy a wine tasting at Rickety Bridge Winery, sampling a selection of local wines from the estate. Then, travel on to the coastal town of Hermanus for your Be My Guest experience. Meet local business owner Stefan, who will treat you to a delicious traditional braai (barbecue) featuring delicacies such as boerewors, pap and melktert. Over a glass of his homemade wine, he’ll share stories of his life in South Africa’s whale watching capital. Return to Cape Town via a scenic driving route, arriving in the late afternoon. Enjoy your evening at leisure.
Accommodation: Southern Sun The Cullinan
Meals: Breakfast, Be My Guest
This morning, bid farewell to your Cape Town Travel Director and the Mother City before flying to Hoedspruit. Here, a private game reserve near Kruger National Park and your Safari Local Specialist for this next adventure await. Begin your time in the South African bushveld with a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience at a Shangaan village, learning about their traditions, customs and way of life. Later, settle into Shiduli Private Game Lodge, a Stays with Stories accommodation and your home in the bush for the next three nights.
Accommodation: Shiduli Private Game Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Your adventure begins with an early morning game drive through Karongwe Private Reserve with a Local Specialist game ranger and a Shangaan tracker-guide. As the sun rises, the bush come alive with the sights and sounds of awakening birds and insects. This creates the perfect backdrop for your search for the Big Five. After lunch, join a local ranger for a hands-on bush walk, where you’ll learn how to track animals and uncover the hidden stories of the African bush, followed by an afternoon game drive.
Accommodation: Shiduli Private Game Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today, enjoy another full day of game drives through Karongwe Private Reserve. Continue exploring the dense brush with your Local Specialist for incredible encounters with Africa’s iconic wildlife. End the day with a traditional sundowner drink overlooking the Game Reserve, keeping an eye out for wildlife emerging from their cover of darkness.
Accommodation: Shiduli Private Game Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
This morning, have your camera ready for the last of your game drives. Bid farewell to your Safari Local Specialist before your flight to Johannesburg. Meet your Johannesburg Travel Director and check into your hotel in the heart of Sandton, ideally located for exploring the nearby restaurants and shopping during your free evening.
Accommodation: The Maslow
Meals: Breakfast
Unlock the secrets of the 'City of Gold' on a full-day tour. Dive Into Culture during a visit to the Constitutional Hill, the Mandela House Museum and Regina Mundi Church, which chronicles South Africa's tumultuous Apartheid years.
Accommodation: The Maslow
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Welcome to Zimbabwe. After bidding farewell to your Johannesburg Travel Director, you’ll meet your Trafalgar representative on arrival at Victoria Falls Airport and transfer to your accommodation. Buckle up for an exhilarating small-group encounter with Victoria Falls, an untamed natural wonder that has captured the imagination of explorers and adventurers since David Livingstone declared it the most wonderful sight he had seen in Africa. Board a cruise on one of Africa’s mightiest rivers, navigating past islands of basking crocodile and hippo pods lazing in the waning African sun, before returning to your lodge for dinner.
Accommodation: Victoria Falls Safari Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Join a Local Specialist on a guided tour of the world's largest waterfall. Admire the powerful curtain of water from various vantage points in Zimbabwe – feel the fine spray and hear the thunderous roar as water crashes over a hundred meters into a swirling mass in the gorge below. Spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure with the sound of the 'Smoke that Thunders' never far from your ears. Tonight, you may choose to join an Optional Experience Boma dinner and interactive drum show.
Accommodation: Victoria Falls Safari Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Cross the Botswana border for a day-trip into Chobe National Park, where large herds of African elephants roam. Board your Chobe River cruise, watching herds of elephants and buffalo come to the edge of the river to drink. See the flash of a kingfisher hovering over the water to catch its next meal, then enjoy an included lunch at Chobe Safari Lodge on the banks of the mighty Chobe River. Later, return to Victoria Falls Safari Lodge for your last night in Zimbabwe.
Accommodation: Victoria Falls Safari Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Bid farewell to the 'Smoke that Thunders' and return to Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls Airport for your onward journey.
Meals: Breakfast
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Tour Operator
Trafalgar (CA)
Family owned and run since 1920, The Travel Corporation (TTC) is the world leader in immersive travel experiences across an extensive range of travel categories. Each year TTC's 40 award winning hospitality and travel brands connect over 1 million happy travellers to the world. We give you access to the 12 DMC’s behind these brands, so you can build your business by capitalizing on the extensive experience, local expertise, and financial assurance of TTC. LOCAL EXPERTISE The world leaders in travel for over 100 years, we offer unparalleled local expertise with a global footprint. Our 12 DMCs, led by experienced in-destination teams, deliver experience rich travel solutions in more than 80 countries. Additionally, our market based teams are on hand to support across our 40 offices worldwide
In Business Since 1931
Reviews
Joan Freesh - Traveled, November 2024
South African Experience. It proved difficult to reach Trafalgar when needed to find out where to meet guide in Cape Town. Didn’t receive an email. Educational pertaining to history of South Africa. Interesting government. Tribal history. Experiencing African animals in a preserve as they wander through the area.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 12/20/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, September 2024
A Really Great Tour. The guides, scouts, and trackers were all excellent. They took very good care of us. The itinerary for this trip was a great. We experienced the bulk of the must see South African sites in a reasonable amount of time without being rushed. The entire journey was relaxed and enjoyable.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/23/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, August 2024
Our best vacation ever! All of our tour guides were knowledgeable and did a great job. They looked out for all our needs and adjusted when asked.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 09/25/2024
Bobbie Howard - Traveled, August 2024
Enjoyable! Trafalgar's service on this trip was excellent except for the animals. Over all the accommodations was excellent. The Safari would have been better if the lodge had a better source and plan to see and engage with the animals. I was looking forward to seeing some elephants up close.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 09/27/2024
Marcia Wren - Traveled, May 2024
Wonderful!! I appreciated being met at the airports. I also liked being driven and the supply of water in the vehicle. The itinerary was great. I really appreciated *Personal information removed by Feefo* and *Personal information removed by Feefo* knowledge of South Africa. They were both attentive and considerate of our needs. I thought safari was great. The accommodations, host and guides.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/23/2024
Kathleen Havers - Traveled, March 2025
Overall, this was an excellent tour. The Cape Town section was great with a wide variety of sites to visit. The lunch at Penguino in Hermanus was delicious and hilarious. The Cullinan Hotel was very good and we appreciated the visit to the District Six museum - an eye opener. However, the transition to Hoedspruit was poor - we were not given our flight times, the flight was delayed for 5 hours, there was no direct communication with Trafalgar. That was redeemed at the Karongwe game reserve - great game viewing (Big 5 + cheetahs in 2 days) with skilled rangers and simple, comfortable accommodation. The food was good except, surprisingly, the meat was tough. The staff there were very courteous and friendly. The brief visit to Johannesburg was very good: the guided tours to the Old Fort Prison and new Constitutional Court and to Regina Mundi church and other sites in Soweto were really great. As former South Africans, we thought this tour gave all of us an excellent, short overview of the Cape, the Bush and Johannesburg. And we appreciated the personalized attention to detail from Trafalgar's guides.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 04/08/2025
D Tompkins - Traveled, May 2024
South Africa adventures & history. I booked my adventure and flight through Trafalgar. I flew in a day early and they changed my airport transfer to accommodate my schedule. There was so much to experience and witness. Robben Island and Soweto will bring history lessons to life as you walk the same path as Nelson Mandela. It was very humbling to stand where Mandela stood. The guided tours through the city provided a glimpse of days gone by as well as today's culture. Five safari's provided an opportunity to witness these magnificent animals in their own environment. The safari lodge was spectacular and the staff made us feel like we were royalty! The hotels were beautiful. Our tour guides were extremely knowledgeable and you could tell they enjoyed sharing it with us. The food was fabulous at the Penguino Guesthouse. The African culture dance was inspirational and educational. I still can't answer the question, what did you enjoy most? Each day and each event was special in its own right. This was truly a trip of a lifetime.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/21/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, May 2024
Well Worth the Cost. I have had two experiences with Trafalgar; one trip to England/Scotland and one to South Africa. I have found the company to stellar in their itineraries and accommodations in the various locations. I would highly recommend Trafalgar to anyone who would like to travel the world and be exposed to the best of destinations and accommodations. This Essence of South Africa tour was absolutely amazing. The itinerary that included the beautiful city of Cape Town and the amazing lodge in the Karongwe Game Reserve was spectacular. Visiting the historical sites of Johannesburg was a wonderful way to end the trip. Each Director and guides were more than professional and went over and above to ensure we had a wonderful time. The only down side which lowered my score to a four was the hotel stay in Johannesburg. The hotel, the Maslow, was less than par. The staff was not accommodating and the hotel itself was definitely not a 4 or 5 star rating. Overall, however, the Essence of Africa tour was well worth the price.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/22/2024
Dia Gary - Traveled, October 2023
It was a great trip! I enjoyed the variety. The resort was amazing. A tour guide needs to go with group for the entire trip.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 11/25/2023
Peter Gale - Traveled, October 2023
It was a great experience The meet & greet was very good.. overall it was very good. A few disappointments. The Johannesburg museums were both shut on the day we went, the lunch we went to we had to pay, which is ok but I would want to somewhere where I can choose what to eat and not have a set meal. The other thing was on our last meal with the guide., we only had so much allowance for drinks. People went above that amount. At the end the guide suggests we split the cost of the bill. This was not fair as some people only had soft drinks and that led to arguments. It would have been better to say at the beginning that everyone is responsible for their own drink.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 11/25/2023
