South Africa Honeymoon: Kruger Lodge, Garden Route Self-Drive and Cape Town, 10 Nights

A representative meets you as you leave the aircraft at O.R. Tambo and helps you through arrivals, then a private car takes you to your hotel. The afternoon is yours to rest before the start of the honeymoon proper; dinner tonight is at your own choice, and we are happy to recommend a restaurant nearby.

A private drive east onto the Mpumalanga escarpment, with lunch on the way, and viewpoints over the Blyde River Canyon, one of the largest canyons in the world. In the afternoon you descend into the Lowveld to your lodge in the Greater Kruger, where all meals and local drinks are included for your stay.

Wake before dawn for coffee and a morning game drive in an open vehicle with a ranger and tracker, shared with other lodge guests, as the animals return from the night. The heat of the day is for the pool or a spa treatment, and the afternoon drive continues after sunset with a spotlight, before dinner under the stars.

A final early game drive, then a shared transfer to Hoedspruit airport for the flight south to George; depending on the day, it may connect through Johannesburg or Cape Town. At George you collect a compact 4x4 and drive about an hour along the coast to Knysna, set on its lagoon between forest and sea.

Drive inland over one of the Outeniqua passes to Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo for the Cango Caves, an ostrich farm and a wildlife ranch where you can see cheetahs and other animals close up. Return to Knysna in the evening by a different pass for a change of view.

Drive east to the Tsitsikamma forest to walk to the suspension bridge over the Storms River Mouth; the brave can add the bungee jump from the Bloukrans Bridge on the way. Back in Knysna, a sunset sail takes you across the lagoon and out between the Heads towards the Indian Ocean.

The longest drive of the trip, about 500 kilometres west along the N2 to Cape Town, returning the car there. Break it with a beach walk at Wilderness, a coffee in Mossel Bay, or a detour through the Overberg. In the evening you settle into Cape Town, with the mountain behind the city.

A private city tour begins with the cableway up Table Mountain if the weather allows, where a professional photographer spends an hour taking pictures of the two of you with the city and ocean below. In the evening a catamaran sails into Table Bay for sunset, with champagne and the mountain glowing behind.

A full day with your own guide and vehicle around the Peninsula. Drive the cliff road of Chapman’s Peak, watch the penguins at Boulders Beach, and stand on the headlands of Cape Point, near the south-western tip of the continent. Stop wherever you like for lunch by the sea.

A free day to choose your own adventure. Options range from shark-cage diving, tandem skydiving and paragliding off Signal Hill to quad biking on the Atlantis dunes, a wine estate or a day at the spa; we book whichever you choose at extra cost. The evening ends with a farewell dinner overlooking the ocean.

Breakfast at the hotel, then a private car to Cape Town’s airport for the flight home. If your flight is late, we can arrange a late check-out, leaving time for a last walk on the Sea Point promenade.