Zebras in the African savanna

Ultimate Ten-Day South Africa Itinerary

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist

Countries Visited

South Africa

Places Visited

Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, Johannesburg

Suggested Duration

10 Days

From Cape Town to Kruger and then to Mandela’s history, this is the ultimate tour of South Africa’s premier highlights. You will stand on Table Mountain, sink your senses into the Winelands, discover vibrant cities and old-world towns, and enjoy the best safari that this country has to offer. This will be a comfortable, ten-day vacation of unique African experiences, including penguins, Pinotage, Soweto, Robben Island, the Big Five, nighttime game drives, and landscapes beyond your imagination.

Customizable Itinerary

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Trip Highlights

  • Experience the wilderness with a beautiful Big Five safari in the Sabi Sands
  • Connect with Mandela’s heritage when you visit Robben Island and the vibrant township of Soweto
  • Explore Cape Town and spend three days in Africa’s most magnificent city
  • Discover the bucolic atmosphere of the Cape Winelands, where the relaxation is as good as the wine
  • Stand on top of Table Mountain and dip your toes into the white sands of Camps Bay
  • Uncover elusive safari scenes on an inspirational nighttime game drive
  • Marvel at African penguins as they waddle across Boulders Beach during a private tour of Cape Point
  • Transfer back in time to the 17th and 18th centuries with visits to the old, whitewashed towns of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek
  • Delight in a dinner out in the bush, watch elephants as they drink from a swimming pool, and encounter more than 50 different mammal species

Detailed Description

South Africa is packed with unique scenes and memories: a cloth of clouds rolls dramatically across Table Mountain, penguins waddle across the white sand of Boulders Beach, and lions prowl on the Kruger savannah. This is a country where wild natural wonders will meet a gregarious and colorful culture and where raw African nature can be combined with contemporary travel comfort. There are many reasons why South Africa is the most visited nation on the African continent, and many of these will be experienced on your handcrafted, ten-day tour from a luxurious safari lodge to Cape Town and wine farms.

This best of itinerary showcases the country’s most iconic destinations, and it follows a relatively well-trodden route that provides superb transport connections. Over these ten days, you will hardly lose any travel time, and you can stay relaxed and comfortably experience the full range of highlights. Following a well-traveled route does not necessarily mean encountering large crowds. This South Africa vacation is all about the details, and you will safari in a private, unfenced reserve, where access to an enormous landscape is limited to just 24 guests at a time. From Cape Town to the Winelands and Johannesburg, you will have fully private tours, so it will be easy to sidestep groups and uncover some of the country’s secrets.

You will initially fly into Cape Town and have three nights in the Mother City beneath the magnificent frame of Table Mountain. On your first day, you can explore slowly, and your private guide will introduce you to the neighborhoods, markets, streets, beaches, and whatever else you would like to discover. Day two incorporates the two most iconic attractions with a cable car ride that will take you to the summit of Table Mountain before receiving a dose of history on Robben Island. Penguins are just one of the attractions that you can see while you travel down the coast to the Southwestern tip of Africa on day three. Three nights in Cape Town also means a stunning selection of restaurants to try along with lazy hours on the white sands of Camps Bay and Clifton.

A road transfer to Stellenbosch will only take you an hour on day four. Here, you will settle into a gorgeous wine farm and a standalone suite that gazes across the vines. Your wine tasting will be relaxed, and there are hundreds of vineyards that cater to different tastes. Your private guide will tailor days four and five to your tastes and preferences, and this can be different styles of wine from Pinotage to heavy red blends, or it can be the food because the Cape Winelands is South Africa’s food capital. With two days, you will also have the opportunity to visit the country’s oldest towns of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.

After a 45-minute drive to Cape Town’s international airport, you will fly directly to the Sabi Sands on day six. This is South Africa’s premier safari destination, and you will have three days with the Big Five and so much more. First, you will escape into the space and privacy of the Sabi Sands. Then, you will admire the views and feel the atmosphere of an untouched wilderness before exploring with private game drives, nighttime game drives, and short game walks. This is an unfenced world where the giants roam free, so you may also watch them drink from a swimming pool and encounter them during your bush dining experience.

Following your safari, you will fly to Johannesburg and swap wild landscapes for a rich cultural experience. There will be time to visit the excellent Apartheid Museum before a cycling tour of Soweto, which is the vibrant township where Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu lived. You will be staying at Mandela’s former city retreat, which has been converted into a five-star boutique guesthouse. It is just one example of the handpicked accommodations that are featured throughout your ten-day adventure. You will then depart from O.R. Tambo International Airport and return home after a complete South African experience.

Interested in learning more by seeing some of our travelers’ South Africa vacation tour reviews? Click here for more.

Starting Price

$5,195 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

  • Accommodations
  • In-country transportation
  • Some or all activities and tours
  • Expert trip planning
  • 24x7 support during your trip

Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.

Reviews of Zicasso's Referral Service

4.94 stars based on 1033 reviews.

South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia Luxury Vacation Review: Victoria...
"We will recommend Zicasso’s travel agent to everyone and...

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"Overall, I was extremely happy with our tour operators....

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South Africa, Zimbabwe Luxury Vacation Review: Cape Town,...
"It was great to use Zicasso and immediately be put in contact...

Reviewed By Debbie W.

South Africa Luxury Birhtday Trip Review: Cape Town, Franschhoek,...
"Neil from the travel agency was amazing to work with!!"

Reviewed By Kathleen S.

South Africa Luxury Travel Review: Cape Town, Cape of Good...
"Our family recently returned from a wondrous trip to South...

Reviewed By Jennie R.

South Africa, Zimbabwe Luxury Family Vacation Review: Cape...
"This trip far exceeded all expectations and gave us memories...

Reviewed By Kandace B.

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