The Garden Route

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
8
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
2
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
6
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
6
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
6
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
6
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
65 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
228th/454
Top 50%
continent
Africa
country
South Africa
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$120 ($200-$550 in 2024 prices)
Time of year visited
November
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Beaches Driving Forests
All Tags
Cliffs Hiking Mountains Sand dune
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐

Summary

 

The Garden Route isn’t a single destination, but a stretch of coastline best experienced as a slow road trip.  Before we visited, we were a bit surprised that all we got in terms of descriptions from people was “beautiful . . . lovely spots . . . beautiful . . . must go . . . er, beautiful” rather than specifics.

But now we’ve visited, we kind of get.  It is, indeed, just sort of beautiful.  There isn’t really a centre or so much of a recognised “must do” activity.  Instead, it’s “just” picture perfect towns, glorious beaches, cracking hikes and very pleasant views whilst driving along the main road.

 

Basically, yes, beautiful.  Not necessary high Wow Factor – which is where the nearby wows of A week in Cape Town ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and South Africa’s Winelands ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ excel – but super pretty, relaxing and a great road trip.

 

The Garden Route - The Robberg Hiking Trail Circuit (next to Plettenberg Bay). Insane views of Plettenberg Bay, a gorgeous set of beaches within the peninsular itself and dramatic peaks throughout

Table of Contents

Our Highlights of the Garden Route

The Garden Route - #1 The Robberg Hiking Trail Circuit (next to Plettenberg Bay). Insane views of Plettenberg Bay, a gorgeous set of beaches within the peninsular itself and dramatic peaks throughout

#1 The Robberg Hiking Trail Circuit (next to Plettenberg Bay). Insane views of Plettenberg Bay, a gorgeous set of beaches within the peninsular itself and dramatic peaks throughout

The Garden Route - #2 Finding a pretty spot and just chilling taking in the views. Plettenberg Bay / Leisure Island the best - this photo is Solon Crescent in Plettenberg

#2 Finding a pretty spot and just chilling taking in the views. Plettenberg Bay / Leisure Island the best - this photo is Solon Crescent in Plettenberg

The Garden Route - #4 But also giant long wind-swept ones for those long walks until you've had your fill of the wind

#3 Finding secluded beaches just about everywhere along the Garden Route

The Garden Route - #5 Various cute farm shops all along the main route. Typically full of tat, but occasionally some nice pieces

#4 Various cute farm shops all along the main route. Typically full of tat, but occasionally some nice pieces

The Garden Route - #6 Salt River Hiking Trail Circuit (next to Nature's Valley) - nice combo of beach walk, forest, hidden inlet and dramatic cliffs.  Nice to finish back at the starting point for lunch / dinner at Blue Rocks Cafe

#5 Salt River Hiking Trail Circuit (next to Nature's Valley) - nice combo of beach walk, forest, hidden inlet and dramatic cliffs.  Nice to finish back at the starting point for lunch / dinner at Blue Rocks Cafe

The Garden Route - #7 The Drive - the straight dive only takes 2.5 hours or so, but you're constantly stopping for some of the wow views

#6 The Drive - the straight dive only takes 2.5 hours or so, but you're constantly stopping for some of the wow views

The Garden Route - #8 Drinks end of the day and usually with a nice view to go with

#7 Drinks end of the day and usually with a nice view to go with

The Garden Route - #9 Half Collared Kingfisher Trail (within Wilderness National Park) - very nice "there-and-back" walk that takes you through the forest on a combination of valley floor and raised boardwalks, bit of fun using the pulleys to cross the river and ends with a dramatic waterfall

#8 Half Collared Kingfisher Trail (within Wilderness National Park) - very nice "there-and-back" walk that takes you through the forest on a combination of valley floor and raised boardwalks, bit of fun using the pulleys to cross the river and ends with a dramatic waterfall

The Garden Route - #10 Leisure Island - its just a really beautifully laid out island of gorgeous homes within a superb picturesque setting. The photo is rubbish, but definitely worth the visit

#9 Leisure Island - its just a really beautifully laid out island of gorgeous homes within a superb picturesque setting. The photo is rubbish, but definitely worth the visit

The Garden Route - #11 Seeing (and smelling) the seal colony on the route around the Robberg Hiking Trail Circuit

#10 Seeing (and smelling) the seal colony on the route around the Robberg Hiking Trail Circuit

Where to stay on the Garden Route

 

The Garden Route stretches from Mossel Bay in the west to Storms River in the east.  Only 300km / 185miles, but quite a range of landscapes.

 

 

The Garden Route Map from the Lonely Planet

 

I would recommend staying in either Plettenberg Bay or the water front areas of Knysna- Mossel Bay, George, Knysna itself all looked a bit gash.  What you want is somewhere with a sensational view of the water, easy walking access to some nice restaurants etc. and not to far away for the hikes.  Plettenberg Bay gives you that – we stayed on Solon Crescent, which was perfect with its easy walking to the nearby beach and views- and so does Leisure Island / Thesen Island by Knysna.

 

5 Best Garden Route Hikes

 

If on the Garden Route, you definitely want to do some hiking, even if just short ones.  We did 5 and would prioritise them like this:

 

#1 Robberg Hiking Trail Circuit (next to Plettenberg Bay) – by far the highlight.  Fantastic hike.  Insane views of Plettenberg Bay, beaches within the penninsular itself, dramatic peaks and the seal colony on the north shore.  Really well signposted throughout and they give you a map at the start.  7.7km / 4.8miles, 300m / 1000ft elevation, will take around 4 hours with stops.  All Trails Map for extra detail – Robberg Hiking Trail.

 

South Africa - The Garden Route - Robberg Hiking Trail Circuit start

The cross-over point of the two trails on the Robberg Hiking Trail Circuit

 

One word of warning – its one in one out after a certain point (for hikers and cars) so, if its a nice day, get there early (opens at 7am).  I think we got there 0730am (on a weekday in November) and felt like had the place to ourselves, but when we left at 1115am there was a chunky queue.

 

#2 Salt River Hiking Trail Circuit (next to Nature’s Valley) – nice combo of beach walk, forest, hidden inlet, dramatic cliffs.  3.7km / 2.3miles, 137m / 450ft elevation, will take around 1.5 hours with stops.  Nice end point back at Nature’s Valley for food at Blue Rocks Cafe.

Note – if you’re walking anti-clockwise and after you have reached the Salt Water River Mouth / Mermaid’s Cove, there is uphill walk with a sign before it stating that, because there was a landslide, the route is dangerous. At this point you can either go back or just push on (you cannot walk around the waterline . . . although you could swim the 20m where there is no path if really wanted to).  We pushed on and didn’t see any issues (although the route itself, irrelevant of landslides, follows a cliff face where rocks could indeed fall).

 

#3 Half Collared Kingfisher Trail (within Wilderness National Park) – very nice “there-and-back” walk that takes you through the forest on a combination of valley floor and raised boardwalks, bit of fun using the pulleys to cross the river and ends with a dramatic waterfall.  7.6km / 4.7 miles, 280m / 900ft  elevation, give yourself 2.5-3 hours.  You’ll need to register at the park entrance, pay at the visitor centre and then drive up to the start point – all very well signposted.

 

The Garden Route - pulleys needed for Half Collared Kingfisher Trail

The basic pulleys you use to cross some of the streams on the Half Collared Kingfisher Trail

 

#4 The walk along the beaches of Keurboomsrivier (in Plettenberg Bay) – really simple walk along the sand dunes in the stunning setting.  No entry fees, no faff, parking right by the starts.  You can either walk the south section for 45mins or a longer walk for the northern section (they are separated by the river mouth).  Can finish at somewhere like the Lookout Deck for drinks / food and beautiful views after.

 

#5 Fisherman’s Walk (near Brenton-on-Sea) – a walk that takes you along the cliffs, down the super steep face and along the beach.  2.3km / 1.4 miles,  100m / 330ft, give yourself an hour. Quite steep in parts.

 

South Africa the Garden Route - Fisherman's Walk

One of the steep bits of Fisherman’s Walk on the Garden Route

Fly or drive to get there from Cape Town?

 

Not an obvious one and we ummed and arrr’d over it.  Both are pretty good options, but in the end we went for the drive.

 

Why?  The drive is a long at 5 hours.  But its a nice drive, especially if going inland from the wine region along the R62.  Plus, once you factor in the faff of the airport it is similar(ish) times.  An extra factor – charge for rental car drop off in George vs Cape Town was zero, which shows how many people do the same thing.

Experiences Nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Other Beautiful Coastal Routes

A week in Cape Town
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Driving down the West Coast of Scotland – Glencoe, Oban, Skye and the Harry Potter Bridge
⭐⭐⭐

Rapid 2 week roadtrip around the US West Coast States
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Montenegro Coastline
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Macquarie Harbour Tasmania – fishing, sailing, trains and hiking
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Northumberland Coast (in summer!)
⭐⭐⭐

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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