Garden Route

Garden Route Trips & Tours

Garden Route

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Joanna - Travel Consultant
Johnny - Travel Consultant
Eve - Travel Consultant
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4.9/5 (911 reviews)

Travel and Leisure Worlds Best Awards for number 1 tour operator in the world 2024 and number 2 tour operator in the world 2025
We're one of the World's Best Tour Operators!
Voted No.1 in 2024 and No.2 in 2025 by Travel+Leisure
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Garden Route Trips & Tours

A fabulous coastal drive that has South Africa’s highlights all neatly wrapped up.
Imagine the best beaches in the world, and combine this with the Scottish Highlands (on a sunny day), throw in a smattering of French Riviera chic and finish up with some of Africa's most iconic wildlife and you have South Africa’s Garden Route. Stretching almost 300 kilometres from Mossel Bay in the west to Plett in the east, the lush coastline is a compilation of the country’s highlights. And it doesn’t end with the scenery. Activities are as varied as the lush topography – explore hiking trails in Wilderness, whizz through the forest canopy in Tsitsikamma, spot lions in Gondwana and drink cocktails in Plett … and that’s just the beginning.
Trips

Garden Route Trips & Tours

Start with a recommended trip or create one from scratch

The Garden Route and a spot of safari in South Africa
South Africa

The Garden Route and a spot of safari in South Africa

11 nights from $6.2K per person

A self-drive Garden Route expedition
South Africa

A self-drive Garden Route expedition

9 nights from $3.3K per person

Alternative Garden Route
South Africa

Alternative Garden Route

12 nights from $4.1K per person

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Our Experts

Want to chat?

Get advice and suggestions to make this your perfect trip.

or call us on: +1 (646) 542 0667

Joanna

Joanna Rigby-Jones

Africa & South America Travel Specialist

Jonty

Jonty Medcalf

Africa and Antarctica Travel Specialist

Annie

Annie Irankunda

Africa Travel Specialist

Places to Visit

Where to go in Garden Route

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Knysna

Knysna

Garden Route

Holiday with a capital H in the gem of the Garden Route
Plettenberg Bay

Plettenberg Bay

Garden Route

Live the famous Plett lifestyle in the St Tropez of South Africa
Oudtshoorn

Oudtshoorn

Garden Route

A pretty, settlement-era outpost deep in the heart of the Klein Karoo
Why you'll love it

Why you'll love it

If you can’t decide what you want out of your South Africa holiday, head for the Garden Route to experience a little bit of everything the country has to offer, all rolled in to one easy-to-manage (and pretty damn beautiful) package.
Off the beaten track

Off the beaten track

It might not be totally off the beaten track, but we highly recommend spending an extra day in the pretty town of Knysna to snorkel with the endangered Knysna seahorses. Endemic to South Africa, the teeny-tiny creatures have survived for over 40 million years – quite the experience!
Something to think about

Something to think about

The main towns and attractions of the Garden Route are, of course, worth the fuss, but they are becoming increasingly busy. Take the plunge and head off the well-trodden path to make the most of your trip. You never know, you might stumble across a hidden gem or two or three…
Best time to visit

When to go on a Garden Route Trip

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Reviews

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Based on 333 Feefo Reviews for South Africa

Guest
June 2026
14 nights in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana
see previous description
Awesome safari and South African trip.
Guest
Awesome safari and South African trip.
June 2026
25 nights in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe
Our trip went without a hitch! Couldn't be happier with the organization of the whole thing. Of course, Meg was fantastic. She gave us so much information up front and spent the time with us to help us figure out what would be best for us and what we really would want to do since it was our first time. I can't say enough about how much we appreciated that as well as how accessible and responsive she was for questions. I think having someone who has been to all the places and really knows how it will be is so helpful to people who have not done a safari before. I definitely would recommend to friends and family to use Timbuktu.
The perfect South African/Botswana African safari
DAVID ZEBROWSKI
The perfect South African/Botswana African safari
June 2026
15 nights in South Africa, Botswana and Mauritius
I really enjoyed working with Jenna and Nadine on planning our perfect African safari. Jenna chose the two most perfect camps for our stay. Both are super detail oriented and nothing fell through the cracks. It was great having them, knowing I can rely on both of them to ensure the trip went smoothly and we had the best experience possible. I will absolutely use Timbuktu when planning my next safari vacation.
S. Africa / Tanzania vacation
Boris P
S. Africa / Tanzania vacation
May 2026
18 nights in South Africa and Tanzania
Thanks a lot to Jonty for his professionalism, patience, and assistance in helping us to build a wonderful itinerary for our upcoming South Africa and Tanzania vacation. We truly appreciate all the time and effort that has gone into planning this special trip and are very excited for the adventure ahead.
Have planned four trips though Timbuktu and each one was wonderful!
Guest
Have planned four trips though Timbuktu and each one was wonderful!
May 2026
7 nights in South Africa and Mozambique
They have planned my last four trips with them to perfection. They always listen to what you want to see and do on each trip and how much you want to spend. They are simply the best!
South Africa/Zambia/Seychelles
Guest
South Africa/Zambia/Seychelles
April 2026
12 nights in South Africa, Zambia and Seychelles
We planned a multi country vacation with several flights, lots of different hotels and many activities. Timbuktu took a lot of the stress off of me by helping me Figure out exactly what I wanted to do on this trip and helping me get it all scheduled. At every stop we were well taken care of and we had exactly what we needed. We felt safe and taken care of the entire trip.

Why travel with Timbuktu?

We design tailor-made journeys for travellers who want more than a holiday, from first-time safaris, gorilla treks and multi-generational family adventures to once-in-a-lifetime honeymoons - and everything in between. And here's why so many choose us to plan them.

Tailor-Made Since 2014

Tailor-Made Since 2014

We've been crafting one-of-a-kind journeys since 2014 — over 2,500 trips across 40+ countries, each one built from scratch around your interests and dreams.

Specialists Who've Been There

Specialists Who've Been There

Our team only recommends places they've slept in, eaten in, and happily keep going back to. Condé Nast Traveler named 11 of them Top Travel Specialists in 2026, and Travel+Leisure made three A-List Advisors.

The World's No 1 Tour Operator

The World's No 1 Tour Operator

Travel+Leisure's readers voted us the World's No.1 Tour Operator in 2024 and No.2 in 2025 — the travel industry's biggest readers' award, judged by people who actually travel.

Every Trip Makes A Difference

Every Trip Makes A Difference

$50 from every booking goes to female empowerment, tech education, and conservation projects across the countries we love. We have donated $78,000 so far – and it's going up!

Collaboration Is Key

Collaboration Is Key

Your travel specialist is with you the whole way, dreaming up the trip, building the itinerary, checking you in, and answering the 2am question from the other side of the world..

Loved By Our Guests

Loved By Our Guests

We are rated 4.9 out of 5 from 911 verified Feefo reviews. And these are the words of people who actually went, not us talking about ourselves.

As Seen in

11 Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialists 2026

Condé Nast Traveler

No. 1 & No. 2 Tour Operator in Travel + Leisure's Best Awards 2024 & 2025

Travel + Leisure

Best Booking Platform in Women's Health Travel Awards 2025

Women's Health magazine

Travel Specialist voted as Latin America A-List Travel Advisor 2025

Condé Nast Traveler A-List Awards

"Timbuktu can take relatively complex and slightly amorphous travel plans and transform them into a well-organized, perfectly tailored trip."

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