10 Days Johannesburg to Durban.
Highlights Include: Award winning restaurants, Soweto, Maropeng, Cape Town, Robben Island, Winelands Tour, Umhlanga, and Shakaland.
Specially customized for private small groups of 6 to 16 guests.
South Africa Food, Wine & Culture
DAY 1 ARRIVE JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA: Welcome to South Africa! On arrival into O.R. Tambo International Airport you will clear immigration formalities and collect your luggage. Outside the arrival hall you will be met by your tour manager and shortly afterwards will be transferred to your hotel in the metropolitan area of Sandton Johannesburg, your home for a 3-night stay. Time at leisure to unpack and freshen up before your Welcome Dinner.
Dinner will be a celebration of South Africa’s flair & deep routed culture, by cooking on open flames. This, combined with the unique and interesting flavors of Southern Africa, surrounded by the growing art and food hub, that is Rosebank. (D)
DAY 2 APARTHEID & SOWETO: Enjoy breakfast in your hotel. From Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital to the humble little house in Orlando West where Nelson Mandela was raised, experience a slice of authentic history relating to the world’s most famous former prisoner. Visit the Hector Pieterson Memorial, built in remembrance of the people who died on 16 June 1976.
After a stop for lunch at a multi-award winning restaurant based in Dobsonville Soweto, we proceed to the Apartheid Museum. A glimpse of the rise and fall of apartheid in South Africa. Later, return to your hotel and enjoy your evening at leisure. (B/L)
DAY 3 MAROPENG: After an early breakfast, start your day by visiting The Maropeng Visitor Centre, approximately 1 hour from Johannesburg. An award-winning, world-class exhibition, focusing on the development of humans and our ancestors over the past few million years. Continue onto the Sterkfontein Caves site, which is now home to a top restaurant, offering easy access to the caves with modern walkways and a boardwalk past the excavation site where globally acclaimed fossils have been discovered. Later, return to your hotel where you have some time at leisure. This evening, dinner will be hosted at Mad Giants Brewery, “set up in a rejuvenated industrial precinct with fine dining and finer brewing!” Enjoy a pint at the award-winning bar, take a brewery tour with one of their brewers and end with a scrumptious meal at Urbanologi, a highly acclaimed Urban Garde restaurant. (B/D)
DAY 4 CAPE TOWN: After breakfast, depart from your hotel and transfer to the airport for your flight to Cape Town. On arrival, transfer to your hotel in the Mother City, situated in the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Precinct, your home for a 4-night stay. Enjoy brunch within the historical and somewhat magical Company’s Gardens. Thereafter embark on a City Tour including the SA Museum, District Six, and the Castle of Cape Town. End the day with a walking tour of the Bo Kaap area, immerse yourself in the Cape Malay culture and participate in making dinner with Faldela Tolker – host of “Cooking with Love”, a Cape Malay cooking class. Fall in-love with the flavors and aromas that trademark the authentic Cape Malay dining experience. Afterwards, return to your hotel. (B/L/D)
DAY 5 TABLE MOUNTAIN & ROBBEN ISLAND: After breakfast, your guide will escort you on a full day Robben Island and Table Mountain Tour with lunch. Board the Robben Island Ferry and enjoy breath-taking views of Cape Town, the V&A Waterfront, and much more. Sail to an island filled with history, and once you reach Robben Island, enjoy a guided tour including the prison cell that held Nelson Mandela captive for many years. Lunch is at Harbour House V&A Waterfront, it offers fine dining in a gorgeous setting. Glass walls allows you to enjoy the vibe of the Waterfront while you feast on world-class cuisine. The setting is elegant and simple, with the perfect backdrop of the Cape Town harbor. Then visit Table Mountain, where you will take a cable car trip to the top! Return to your hotel. (B/L)
DAY 6 WINELANDS: Today, absorb the beauty of South Africa’s wine industry. Enjoy a wine tasting in Stellenbosch with its canal-lined avenues, giant oak trees and beautifully preserved historic buildings. For chocolates and more chocolates, visit a local Chocolatier!
Enjoy a final wine tasting and a cellar tour followed by dinner. Chefs Warehouse at Maison will be your host, situated in the picturesque foodie town of Franschhoek, over the Helshoogte Pass. The town dates back to the 17th century. Return to your hotel for overnight. (B/D)
DAY 7 CAPE TOWN AT LEISURE: Enjoy breakfast followed by a full day at leisure. We can arrange optional excursions such as – Cape Peninsula Tour including a visit to a local penguin colony, Shark Cage Diving, Hermanus and Whale Tours, Safari Day Tours, Zip-lining, quad bikes and outdoor activities, and Hot Air Ballooning.
This evening, enjoy dinner in Africa Café – armed with creative flair and abundant passion – one of the first African-styled restaurants established in South Africa. Dishes includes, Traditional Vetkoek (Magwinya), Kenyan Channa Fish, Malawi Mbatata Sim-Sim Balls, and Mozambican Chicken Wings. (B/D)
DAY 8 CAPE TOWN TO UMHLANGA: After breakfast, depart from Cape Town and board your flight for Durban. On arrival into Durban, enjoy a City and Market Tour.
Dinner will be a feast – the theme can only be a CURRY! A Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, The Ocean terrace, located inside the elegant Oyster Box Hotel with gorgeous views across the Indian Ocean. They have an impressive curry selection, of at least 11 curries, including meat, fish, and vegetarian options. Using delicate blends of spices and fresh herbs, each curry is a masterpiece in itself. Overnight in Umhlanga. (B/D)
DAY 9 SHAKALAND: Enjoy a full day visit to Shakaland, situated just 160 km north of the city of Durban is a living monument to Zulu culture. It is here that people from all over the world come to experience the lifestyle and rich culture of the Zulu nation. Visit includes beer drinking ceremony, social systems explained, fighting formations, the greeting of the Home, the Sangoma, the Nyanga, bead-work and pottery, beer making and spear throwing. Once you arrive back at your hotel in the afternoon, you will have some time at leisure before dinner at Little Havanna – a contemporary restaurant with a stylish atmosphere, and enjoy an award-winning steak in the Umhlanga Village. (B/D)
DAY 10 UMHLANGA / USA: After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your return flight to the USA. (B)
Optional Safari Extension:
Click on the Safari Extension tab above for complete details on our optional Safari Extension.
Customize to Suit
The above suggested itinerary can be customized to suit; more or less meals, different cities and/or sightseeing based on your clients’ interests. You name it, our expert group specialist professionals will put it together for you. Please call 1-800-818-8455, or simply complete the group request form, and we’ll get back to you with your proposal.
Optional Safari Extension:
Whether you choose the world-renowned Kruger National Park, Sabi Sands Game Reserve known for leopard sightings, or the expansive vistas and scenic landscape of the Eastern Cape, South Africa is the most exciting Big 5 safari destination of our time.
Steeped in legend and history, the iconic Game Reserves located within their borders, invite you to explore its spectacular African wildlife.
End your Food, Wine and Cultural journey with a once-in-a-lifetime South African safari. Exceptional game viewing and equally exceptional accommodation, expect to spot elephants, lion, rhino, cheetah, giraffe, zebra, and a vast variety of antelope as well as other species that can be closely observed in their natural environment.
DAY 1 ARRIVE AT SAFARI LODGE: Transfer to your lodge. Check in, unpack, and unwind. In the afternoon, you will gather in the lodge foyer for a standard safety briefing before departing on your first game drive – an adventure that entails viewing wildlife in their natural habitat in the comfort and safety of a safari vehicle. Return to lodge for dinner – an aromatic fusion of food inspired by Africa’s rich cultural heritage and sourced as locally and sustainably as possible. Each night will be a different dining experience, including bush meals, seated restaurant meals, boma dinners, and also romantic private dinners set up in your suite. The most popular of all is a ‘braai’ – this is a South African term for barbecue, where meat is cooked outside on an open fire or grid. Braais are typically social affairs where everyone is invited to spend time around the fire talking, drinking, and savoring the food as it comes hot off the fire. (D)
DAYS 2 & 3: GAME DRIVES: Awaken to the sounds of the bush. Enjoy a hot chocolate before departing on your morning game drive.
Morning and afternoon game drives explained, i.e.: sunrise and sunset. Doing a game drive over these times gives one a better chance of seeing a range of both nocturnal and daytime animals.
In summer it gets so hot during the day that going on a drive in the middle of the day is not ideal as the animals are usually lying in the shade. Going out early means the animals will still be active including your night time predators which will start settling down for the day. In the afternoons it would be the other way round as the daytime animals will be settling down for the night.
Return to the lodge after your morning game drive and enjoy a hearty breakfast/brunch. The rest of the day is at leisure to enjoy the facilities of the lodge, main areas, take a nap, spa treatment, or a bush walk. Lunch is included. In the mid-afternoon, enjoy your afternoon game drive followed by dinner in one of the breathtaking locations. (B/L/D)
DAY 4: DEPART: After breakfast, check out and transfer to the Airport. (B)
Inclusions
- 10 nights 4- or 5-Star hotels.
- Breakfast daily, except day of arrival
- 3 lunches
- 7 three-course Dinners
- Professional Tour Manager throughout
- Private, luxury, air-conditioned transport for transfers and local sightseeing as outlined in the itinerary
- Sightseeing, special features and scenic highlights as indicated in the itinerary, including admission charges
- Porterage at all airports and hotels
- Portfolio of travel documents
- 24-hour local customer service while traveling in South Africa
Please note: Travel Insurance is compulsory
Private Departures
Please Call 1-800-818-8455 for Group Rates on this Custom Group Journey
This suggested itinerary can be customized to suit; more or less meals, different cities and/or sightseeing based on your clients’ interests. You name it, our expert group specialist professionals will put it together for you. Please call 1-800-818-8455, or simply complete the group request form, and we’ll get back to you with your proposal.
Group Discounts
On custom journeys, discounts vary depending on group requirements. Typically, travel with a group of 20 and the 21st traveler receives a 100% discount* off the land portion of the vacation price. A second traveler receives a 100% discount* off the land on a group of 40 paying passengers.
*Per person prices are land only and based on two people sharing a room. Above dates represent “land start” date. Air: Please note that airfares are not included in the prices above. Journeys Connect can quote you the lowest possible GROUP airfare available on the day that you book. Minimum of 10 seats from same gateway. Less than 10 air seats will require full payment at time of booking. Single Room Supplement: On Request. Triple Room Reduction: On Request. Group discounts cannot be combined with our Triple Room discounts. Not valid on Specialty, Customized Vacations or River Cruises, optional extensions, extra nights, airfares, taxes and fees, flight supplements, or airport transfers. Other restrictions may apply. All passengers’ names must be advised before the discount is applied. *Group discount is on a twin-share basis only.
Contact Journeys Connect
Journeys Connect group and specialty services are available exclusively on a Business-to-Business basis, to travel industry professionals. If you are an individual interested in a Group Journey for 6 or more passengers, please do browse our collection and then contact your preferred Travel Agent and ask them to book through Journeys Connect.
Travel professionals, please call and speak with one of our Group Specialty Professionals:
1-800-818-8455