Thoughts on Western Cape trip

Hi,

my irlfriend and I are planning a trip to SA over the Christmas period. We have put together an itinerary and wondered if there was any good avice - Does this look a good trip for the time we have? Can you suggest any good places to stay in any of the stops? Or advise of places not to stay! As a treat we are thinking of staying at the phantom forest in Kynsa (v.expensive but recommended). We will be travelling around in a hire car.

Itineray: Cape Town 1 night; Franschoek 1 night; Montagu 1 night; Outdshoorn 1 night; Plettenburg bay 2 nights; Kynsa 2 nights; Arniston 1 night then back to Cape Town for 1 night.

Is there anything amazing I have missed out in this area? I'm not too sure about Outdshoorn but it would otherwise be a very long drive (from Montagu to PB).

All advice/recommendations much appreciated!

Cheers,

James.

You are traveling too much and wont have time to enjoy.Choose 2 destinations and work around that.You could on your way to Oudshoorn drive through Montagu or on your way to Knysna drive through Franchhoek .It all depends what you want to do . Cape Town to Knysna is about 5hrs traveling

I agree with Johan, your trying to do to much in such a short time, unless you like sitting in your car for the entire day?
I visited most places mentioned in your itinerary.
Knysna was far too touristic in my point of view so i'd rather stay there for one night.
Cape town is great, i would personally change Franschoek into Stellenbosch were you really have to go on a wine tour!
Outdshoorn is nice, totally different from the sea side places.
Plettenberg is the same as knysna only a bit better though (a lot of activities in this area...)

Hi,

yes I had the same concern myself re the over travelling - the only thing is there are so many great places to see and I don't want to miss any! Point taken about soending too much time in the car though. If I had to trim my stops down which would you prioritise?

Cheers,

James

I would just drive through Knysna (like the others said, it's very touristy--sort of your typical holiday seaside town) and spend those 2 nights in Cape Town, making it 4 total. There's a lot to see there.

I never heard of Arniston.

You said you're not sure about Oudshoorn, but it really is worth it because it's more Karoo (desert) and less seaside than the rest of the places you're visiting. It has a totally different look and feel.

"Itineray: Cape Town 1 night; Franschoek 1 night; Montagu 1 night; Outdshoorn 1 night; Plettenburg bay 2 nights; Kynsa 2 nights; Arniston 1 night then back to Cape Town for 1 night."

That gives a total of 10 nights, 11 days.
I would also spend more time in Cape Town - 4 nights is probably what you should aim for as a minimum - otherwise you will be missing out on great places in and around the peninsula. One of the things you should do when in the Cape Town area is a wine route tour. This you would do on the day you leave Cape Town, thereby ending up at Franschoek or Stellenbosch. I would then count Franschoek as the 4th of your nights in Cape Town. (Is that contorted logic?). Franschoek is a lovely spot and less than 1/2 hour from Stellenbosch. It does not matter one iota in which you stay as long as you have found yourself some nice accommodation.
I would take the road to Villiersdorp and then take the R43 to Worcester, but that is your choice. From Franschoek it is less than a couple of hours to Montagu and unless you have a reason for staying over there, I would continue to Oudtshoorn (226 kilometres - about 3 hours - on from Montagu) for night 5.
Next day you could visit Highgate Ostrich Farm (have a meal there and ride on an ostrich) and visit the Cango Caves. then drive through to Plettenberg Bay for nights 6 and 7.
On the way back you can stop at George and Knysna and Mossel Bay - I don't hink you will want to spend too much time in any of them. In Knysna you could have a look at the waterfront; in Mossel Bay the Post Office Tree and the Maritime Museum are worth a visit if you have the time. Night 9 in Arniston is a great choice. The Arniston hotel used to be a good hotel and the fisherman's cottages are still suypposed to be very picturesque. Of course you will be visiting the southernmost point of Africa at Cape Agulhas. just around the corner.
Then back to Cape Town for night 10. Travel via Hermanus, stop and look at the penguin colony at Bettie's Bay, drive the coastal route via Gordons Bay and the Strand to meet up with the N2 again.
That's my two-pence worth. Others will have other ideas.
Enjoy

If this is your first visit, Agreeing with some others here I think 2 days in Cape Town (and above all split into 2 visits - start and finish) is very little time to see much, while you plan 4 days in Plettenberg Bay and Knysna area which is very close together. Your itin. could make sense if you have seen Cape Town before and use it more as a gateway to spend time in the forest of the Garden Route and explore some lesser places.

Just remember also that Christmas is very much national tourism high season, and places like Plet, Knysna and Cape Town are very conjested requiring even more time (in traffic or for example the Table Mountain Cableway - nothing like in the old days of the 1990s with a tiny slow cableway but I am talking of my personal experience 2006 Xmas, it was packed with upcountry visitors). Heading for a slightly more remote forest place might be a relaxed change from that. The Karoo is hot but maybe slightly less tourists.

hm, as everyone else is saying, relax a little bit more and enjoy your time in SA rather than rushing through the WC...

seb

I'm no expert (one visit), but I don't see much of Western Cape in there. Head for the Cedarbergs..........

Plettenberg is/was a major place for university kids to party over Xmas holidays and IMO a place to sit on the beach or hike, I prefer Knysna. Oudtshoorn will be hot as hell and mostly a place to see the caves or ostriches. Don't bother stopping in George. Franscheok is a small town in a pretty valley only an hour or so by freeway from CT. It is a long twisting climb up the mountains going out towards Oudtshoorn. Cape Town is easily worth more of your time than you are allowing. My plan would be 4 or 5 days in CT then east to Stellenbosch and on to Willderness (you can hang-glide), Knysna (see the Heads, lagoon-cruise,kayaks, oysters,fish,local beer,hike). From Knysna you can do a day trip to Oudtshoorn if you want (if the road is fixed from last year flood) which is a very beautiful drive up the mountains. Around Knysna explore Buffalo Bay (easy surf, amazing rocks), Sedgefield, Plett if you want.

... do your homework first! SA is the crime capital of the world!...

"SportsArtist" is a troll and his comments should be ignored. SA is as safe as anywhere provided you exercise reasonable caution.

Aagh! No!! Not an other one!

Either a Troll, or a disaffected ex-pat with a chip on his shoulder.

Thanks for good advice. Can you recomend a good plsce to stay in Cape Town? Maybe somewhere quiet and beautiful rather than a party place.

Cheers.

Or maybe both, Rudi!

As far as places to stay, I stayed at St. Paul's Guesthouse on Bree St.; it's quiet and quaint, set in a nice old bldg next to a church, but beautiful might be a stretch...

PKilfoil?... how long have you been in SA? I gave my advice and if you think I'm wrong, so be it, dude!

From SportsArtist's website:

"I was fortunate to be born with a God given talent in the early sixties, to artistic parents in Pretoria South Africa, never realizing that this talent would one day allow me to realize a childhood dream of travelling to the United State of America.

I arrived in Houston, Texas in 1997 and experienced the very emotional spirit of the red, white, and blue - and knew I was home! Today, I live in Southern California, and love every minute of it! Here I won the Joanita Crothers Award for fine art in 1998.

It is a pleasure to ship my art across the USA and to other parts of the world but, I will never ship my soul beyond the boundaries of my new home the United States of America. God bless America!"

WOW lesliemac, you are smart! lol...

Thanks for the post! There you have it... I DO have first hand experience wrt SA and I've never even 'advertised' it! End of discussion!

Just thought I'd put an end to all the speculation as to whether we were dealing with a "disaffected ex-pat."

Why not just get it out there--where you're coming from?

I actually signed up to find out more about the weather changes in the USA and then stumble upon this 'Africa Branch'... thought I share my opinion. I don't surf the web to warn foreigners not to visit SA... but I feel it's my duty to warn people! (btw. I use to be a cop in SA for 13 years)... unfortunately crime IS out of control in SA!!... and that is sad! Once a beautiful down the drain!

If you need info wrt SA, please do not listen to travel agents!... do your own homework! There are plenty SA discussion forums on the net... ask the regular South African about the present situation and if you still want to visit SA, go ahead! I won't!

OP - This post seems to have gone off track a bit. I also agree with most of the posters. You definitely need at least 4 nights in CT if not more. You asked for recommendations of places to stay. Here is a link to a very nice and reasonably priced guest house I stayed at in Dec.
Bantry Bay Guest house
Whatever you decide you need to do it soon and make bookings soon. Many of the best places will already be full so don't wait.