Garden Route options for November - Knysna to Cape Town :)

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rachelt01
rachelt01

Hi everyone

I and a friend (two girls in our 30s) are in South Africa at the end of November.

From 4th Nov, we have a hire car and will be travelling between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.

We have 5 days to do this and would like to end this with a day in either Stellenbosch or Franschhoek before we finish our holiday with 4 days in Cape Town. (We will already have been in Joburg, Victoria Falls and a safari in Kruger.)

So the rough itinerary we're working to is:

  • 4th Nov:
    land at Port Eliz airport, collect hire car and drive to Knysna

  • Stay 3 nights until 7th Nov

  • 7th Nov:
    EITHER, stay somewhere en route to Stellenbosch/Franschhoek
    OR make our way there directly to stay 2 nights

The two questions I have are:

(1) Should we / do we need to break up the journey with a night somewhere between Knysna and S/F, or do the final journey in one go?

(2)Should we head along the coast to L'Agulhas, Hermanus etc before heading to S/F, or should we follow the R62 instead? (or is a combination of the two possible??)
I've seen both recommended for different reasons and I guess it depends what you're into, but any tips to help make a decision would be gratefully received!

Thanks in advance for your help - I've got a bit lost in all the detail out there and not sure what to do!

Edited by rachelt01
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nathalie2
nathalie2

There is no right or wrong - ask 100 people what they would do with 5 days between P.E. and Cape Town, and you will probably get 100 different ideas.

1) You can do the almost 500km drive in one day, and you can break it up.
2) Both routes have their advantages

Myself, I would try to add an extra night, and with 5 nights, I would go for: P.E. - Tsitsikamma (1 night) - Knysna (2 nights) - Oudtshoorn (2 nights) - Stellenbosch.

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ghalied
ghalied

I've zig zagged my way along that route so many times and yet I still find new places every time. So like Nathalie says there's plenty of ideas. My favourite places are Tsitsikamma, Wilderness, Greyton and Vic Bay. So agree +1 for a stopover in Tsitsikamma. Since you've already set aside days for Stellenbosch/Franschoek - I'd stay in Hermanus or Agulhas and then cut across to Franschoek via the R321.

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kulkite
kulkite

traveing South Africa from 28th Oct..to 28th November....looking for travel buddies....for short or whole month
renting car in JNB...Kruger....other safaris...then the whole circle...around the cape..etc....flexible..open...& looking for someone to share expanses...safety....fun...I am in my 60s....but love to travel around the world...young at heart...retired aerospace engineer...from California....born in India

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