Comments for Cape Town, Hermanus, Knysna with a 3 year old

Comments for
Cape Town, Hermanus, Knysna with a 3 year old

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Aug 16, 2010
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Accommodation Hall of Fame for your trip
by: Alison

Hi Nitasha,

Here are our Hall of Fame recommendations for your overnight stops:

Central B and B options for young family

Cape Town
Nine Flowers - ask for a triple room

Table Mountain Lodge

Green Point
Family options - one with sleeper couch, one with 2 bedrooms

Sea Point
Albany House B&B

Stellenbosch
Auberge Rozendal

Hoopenburg

Alvera has a family room

Hermanus
Villa Paradiso and Four Pines on this page

Garden Route Game Lodge

Oudtshoorn
A welcoming family place at 101

Knysna
Children under 4 stay free at the Manor house!

Aug 16, 2010
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Aquila, Botlierskop or Garden Route Game Lodge?
by: Nitasha

Hi Alison,

Since your last email I have done some research and would like your advise on

1) Which do you think is a better option amongst the 3
a) Garden Route Game Lodge
b) Aquila Game Reserve or
c) Botlierskop

2) Please let me know, would we be allowed to take in our 3yr old on the game drive. Other parks, I enquired, most of them were not taking in children below 5 on the game drives. Knowing him, he will not stay back with a baby sitter

3) Just one more question, where on the route should I include Oudtshoorn. Should it be a day trip from Knysna ?

Alison's 4th reply

Garden Route Game Lodge and Botlierskop fit in best with your Cape Town - Hermanus - Garden route itinerary.
Aquila would mean juggling to fit it in as it is not on route.

However, Botlierskop does not take children less than 6 years old at their lodge.

Gareden Route Game Lodge has no age restriction on either the lodge facilities or the game drives.

Is your desire to visit Oudtshoorn just for the ostriches, or are you wanting to go to the Cango Caves as well? If the Caves are not a priority for you, you can visit an ostrich farm in Cape Town...

If you want to include Oudtshoorn, it is about 150km from the Garden Route Game Lodge. You travel to George, then up over the mountains to Oudtshoorn. So you could include it on the way to Knysna, or maybe even better at the end - the last night before you fly out of George could be spent there?
It is 45 min - 1 hour's drive from George airport so fits well.

Aug 16, 2010
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2 hours driving max between overnights...
by: Nitasha

Thanks. Alison,

I have been debating this Shark watching trip for a while, but I think as
you advise it may be a good idea to avoid it.

Perhaps, then it will be a good idea to reduce the Hermanus to a 2 night
trip and then I have 4 nights on my hand.

Also, I was under the impression, that the journey to Kysna is much shorter
(3 hrs), but if its almost 5 hrs, perhaps I better drop it, also then
getting to George on the day of the flight , I think it takes 2 hr plus.

Could you please advise on the remainder of the 4 nights keeping in Mind, I
do not want journeys between locations to be more than 2 hours, also on
21st, I would like to be closet to George , as our flight from George is on
22nd morning.

I definitely want to show my son the ostrich farm etc . But I also don't
want the journey to George on the 22nd to be more than an hour plus, since
we have to catch our flight from there

Thanks for taking out all this time.

Yes please also do advise on the *Hall of Fame* recommendations for
Our overnight stops.

I have yet to freeze my accommodations. We are looking at B & Bs centrally
located

Alison's 3rd reply

As your flight out of George is already booked, it would be a shame not to see the Garden Route and you do have enough time on hand.

The trip from Knysna to George airport will only take you about 1 hour, maybe 70 minutes maximum, not 2 hours.

If you want to see some animals even though you can't get to Addo, why not drive from Hermanus to Garden Route Game Lodge (that will be around 2 hours), overnight there and then drive on to to Knysna (about 2 hours) after that?

For some basic info about Garden Route Game Lodge click here.

This is the most booked safari that people take via my site, I see a regular stream of bookings go through.

Here is a recent review:
Spent 2 nights at GDGL on route to Plettenberg Bay and had a wonderful stay. Stayed in the lodge rooms which was well decorated, with king size bed as well as single and pull out bed for kids if need be. A small fridge and microwave was very handy as well. The bathroom was modern, with twin basins and bath and shower (water pressure seemed a bit low). The toy boxes in the room was a great touch, just one of the many special treats for kids! My 19month old loved the 2 playrounds and the grass area in front of the lodge rooms to simply run freely! This view was echoed by another family with a two year old. Management try to place families in the lodge rooms and adults in the chalets - initially i was a bit taken aback that i was almost forced into the lodge room but in retrospect this was a good decision. I guess this also separates those couples etc that do not want to be disturbed by noisy kids.

I have a couple of Cape town bed and breakfasts on the Hall of Fame, am just collating and will send it through to you.

Aug 16, 2010
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Shark watching with a 3 year old?
by: Nitasha

Many thanks for your inputs and suggestions, I appreciate the same.

Hermanus (3 nights):
I thought day 1 - we would reach Hermanus , take a look around, book the whale viewing boat for the next day and perhaps the shark diving one for the day after.

And therefore 3 nights .

If you could advise , whether both things are doable with our almost 3 yr old, since we are keen to do both.

Or another alternative is to reduce 1 night at Hermanus and perhaps try to
bungle in 1 night at Addo.
Do you have any suggestions and how do we route
Addo in , in case that would be better

Please do advise, where on in the route would it come in. And what time would it take to drive to Addo.

Alison's 2nd reply

The whale boat will be no problem with your son, it is only a couple of hours.

The shark-watching boat is a different story - it's much longer trip (3-4 hours), and sometimes the sea can get pretty rough. Even the adults get sea sick!

There is a lot of activity with up to 20 passengers on board, all changing in and out of wet suits, getting in and out of the cage etc, as
well as the excitement of the shark encounters. It all means wet, slippery decks and a lot of chaos to try and keep an eye on a bored, possibly
nauseous toddler.

I actually phoned one of the reputable operators, Marine Dynamics, and asked them and they said that they would not take a child so young.

You might persuade another operator to accommodate you but I don't think it would be in your best interest from a safety or enjoyment point of view.

As to Addo, you could certainly put it onto the end of your trip, but then plan to leave your car at Port Elizabeth airport and fly back to Jhb from there.

Addo is about 350km and 4 hours drive beyond Knysna.

It is about 30 minutes drive from the P.E. airport.

Warm regards
Alison

P.S. Let me know if you want any of our *Hall of Fame* recommendations for your overnight stops.

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