Garden Route from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town and Johanasberg

#9
Its easy and safe (of course you want to use common sense like everywhere in,the world) to self-drive the Garden Route. Also, with 5-7 days you have a pretty good amount of time, and the end of september / beginning of october is a very good time to travel. The weather should be fine, it wont be too,hot , and not too busy (and expensive) as well.

Where you visit on the Garden Route depends on you, there is no right or wrong. Personally, I would include Tsitikamma NP for natural beauty, dramatic coast lines and great hiking opportunities. I also like Oudtshorn a lot (which isnt really on th GR) to visit the Cango Caves, enjoy a meerkat exprience and drive and experience the beautiful Swartberg pass.

If you want to go for a meal at night I would definitely recommend Rosebank when you are in Johannesburg. If you stay at a hotel close to the mall you will have a variety of good restaurants, take aways and supermarkets to choose from in a safe area.

Driving the Garden Route will be fine, it follows the N2 which is a good road and main highway and you can download Google Maps on your phone or use another app to navigate. The smaller towns on the Garden Route are generally safer than the big cities. One of my favourite towns is Knysna. Here you could maybe stay near the Waterfront and walk there at night or stay on Leisure Island and walk around there to a restaurant and back. If you choose to walk around by yourself it is best to stay in busy, touristy areas, especially at night.

I second Tsitsikamma and the Cango Caves! :-)

I'm hiring a car from Port Elizabeth and then making my way down. People keep on telling me its not safe.
Should I just fly to George and do the bottom half?

Hi Tinalj,

Who are the people that keep on telling you it is not safe? Are these people that have actually driven this route and have something bad happen to them or someone they know? When you say "bottom half" are you referring to,the area between George and Cape Town? You could fly to George and drive from there, but I'm unsure how that ties in with the safety issue as I wouldn't say that this is specifically safer than driving from PE, unless you mean that it is a shorter drive then. Also, you would miss Knysna, Jeffrey's Bay, Storms River etc. but of course it is up to you.

Thank you, I will follow your advice.
I'm going to have a couple of nights in Durban, shark net inspection, Zulu day tour
Fly to port Elizabeth 29th September then stay in platenburg bay in Knysna for 2 days, go to oudtshoon, George etc then 2 days Germany's, finish in Capetown

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.