Advice on 3w road trip itinerary

Hi!

Myself and a friend of mine (late 20ies) plan a 3 weeks road trip in South Africa including Lesotho and Swaziland from mid March to beginning of April. We already have an idea of the stops but now would like to maybe hear some feedback about our itinerary and possible tips.

So here it comes:

Day 1-2 Fly into Johannesburg and spend two days there
Day 3-5 Rent a car and drive to Drakensberge. Maybe Golden Gate NP, Royal Natal NP, do some hiking
Day 6 Spend some more time in Lesotho
Day 7-8 Drive to Durban and spend two days at the beach
Day 9-13 Drive to Imfolozi/St Lucia/iSimangaliso Wetland Park area and spend some time in those parks
Day 14-15 Drive to Mlilwane Swaziland
Day 16-19 Drive to Krüger NP
Day 20 Drive Panorama Route, stop maybe in Nelspruit
Day 21-23 Drive back to Johannesburg, Fly home on the last day

Now my questions:
- Do you think this plan could work?
- What would you add/remove/do differently?
- We like to hike, any suggestions here?
- Of course we would like to see some animals and do some game drives. Do you think the parks listed are ok or would you suggest others?
- We will rent a car. How are the roads in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland? Will we need a 4x4 for this?
- Which roads on this tour are nice to drive on? Scenic routes?
- Looking at the stops we have, is it easy to get accommodation there or will you need to book in advance?
- Do you have any other idea what could be interesting for us to see/do?
- Any other tips about road trips in this region?

Thanks!

your itinerary sounds good. what strikes me though is that you are not planning to go to cape town. unless you have been to cape town before, i would seriously consider going there for 4 days (which would obviously mean that you would have to cut out time in other places). cape town is not only a vibrant city with great restaurants and plenty to do and see, it also has amazing & beautiful surroundigs, and plenty of good hiking opportunities.

a couple of comments:
- for wildlife, krüger np is the best place in south africa (and one of the best in the world imo). i would definitely book accommodation now for your time in krüger, as the restcamps are very popular and excellent value for money. you can find a lot of info (and book) on the sanparks website. www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger. besides self-driving around krüger, i would also book 2 or 3 guided game-drives and or walks.
- hluhluwe/imfolozi is also great for animals, and quite different in matter of landscape to krüger. i would also book the restcamp ahead if you want to stay within the park.
- 3 days for doing the panorama route and driving back to krüger (i'm not counting day 23) is one day more than needed imo (unless you want to include hikes and / or maybe whitewater rafting, or trout fishing)
- i'm not sure i would spend two days in durban (especially if your main reason to go there is spending time at the beach). if you want to spend 2 relaxing days on the sea, i would rather stay in a place around durban, like the greefire dolphin coast www.drifters.co.za/drifters-lodges/greenfire-lodge-dolphin-coast

Thank you very much for your reply!
- Cape Twon: Well, Cape Town is not in there because my friend already visited it and the garden route. And I for myself don’t mind to visit with a second trip. Just adding Cape Town for the sake of it seems a little too much, as it is quite far away from the rest we want to visit. So we thought better spend some more quality time in the North East than drive from Cape Town to Durban.
- Krüger: We plan to enter in the south and exit at around Phalaborwa. Since it is such a huge national park with all different eco systems within, can you suggest some game drives / regions for us to get the best experience and some variety?
- Panorama Route: No, I meant to say we plan 2 days for this (day 20 for the first leg and day 21 for the second, then spend the rest in Johannesburg). But I now already learned that it may be better to spend the night in Graskop or Dullstroom. For the drive itself: Kruger to Graskop, Sabie and via Long Tom Pass to Lydenburg and onto Dullstroom before getting back on the N4. You like that option too?
- Durban: so you say that Durban itself is not worth a stop? Or just not for some beach time? Or we split and spend 1 day in Durban and 1 day at Dolphin Coast?

your most welcome.
- cape town - okay, that makes sense
- krüger np - with 4 days there, i would probably stay 2 nights in a camp in the southern part of krüger, and one night further up. the southern part (roughly up to skukuza) is the best for animals (obviously you can see animals in the whole np, but in the southern part the "concentration" is higher). i dont like moving accommodation every night, thats why i would stay the first 2 nights in the same restcamp. lower sabie is a great choice (if available). and on day 2 in krüger, drive around the southern part of krüger to return to overnight in lower sabie. apart from self-driving during the day to see wildlife, you could do a guided bush walk, a guided game-drive or a guided game-drive with a braai (bbq) www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/camps/lower_sabie/tourism/activities.php. for the 3 night in krüger, satara would be a good choice
- panorama route - yes, 2 days are good for this. the first part of the trip is the more interesting one imo. so i would probably stay overnight in graskop
- durban - durban is definitely worth a stop. i thought that you wanted to spend 2 days relaxing on the beach (and not doing much more than that), and for me, doing so in a small place (like the dolphin coast) is more relaxed than in a big city like durban. however, if you want to visit a vibrant city with great indian food, a good atmosphere, no really "must see" places (again, my opinion), and with the added bonus that it is on the ocean, go for 2 days in durban

I would have at least four nights in Kruger, and a bit less at Imfolozi/St Lucia/iSimangaliso Wetland Park area. You should book Kruger as soon as possible. Lower Sabie is a good choice, but there probably won't be that much left at this point, but if you check every day someone might cancel their stay. Skukuza is good location wise, but it's HUGE so you feel like you're in a small town. Crocodile Bridge is also a lovely camp, much smaller, but no restaurant. You will probably see more animals in the southern part, but there will also be more people around. With four nights you can split your stay between one of the southern camps and maybe Satara?

Why not get a flight from Nelspruit back to Johannesburg so you have more time there? It's a 50 minute flight and not too expensive. If you're going to drive back you won't need three days, but if you're going to spend the night somewhere Dullstroom is actually a very nice place to stay.

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