Garden Route Knysna

The Garden Route

The Garden Route is a stunning 300km stretch between Mossel Bay and Storms River. I’ll say here but I repeat it in every post: everything is beautiful, everything is cute. You absolutely must do the Garden Route if you’re planning to visit South Africa.

How long should you spend on the Garden Route?

I’d recommend 9 nights (including a safari) though, of course, you can extend it further. If you were heading to Kruger or another area for a safari then you may just need 6 or 7 nights.

Read my Easy Garden Route road trip itinerary for all the deets. This is the exact adventure I did with my siblings and it took us 2 months to plan!

It’ll be hard choosing where to spend the night during your road trip! Every town looks cute and everything is beautiful.

Top destinations include:

Garden Route Hikes and Activities

Driving the Garden Route

While you could spend each night in a new town, this can get tiring. Depending on how much time you dedicate to the Garden Route, you can add an extra night to certain destinations.

You can easily self-drive the Garden Route. The highway is typically smooth, with the occasional pothole here and there. Most of your destinations will not require a 4X4 car. I drove the route in a Toyota Yaris.

Rent a car from Cape Town to start this journey. Check booking.com and other sites to see if you can get a deal on a car. I rented from Europcar at the airport after I landed.

Read up on all my driving tips in South Africa so you know what to expect.

South African Blogger Resources

South Africa has so many incredible bloggers! Check out their info for a South African perspective on this route.