Comments for Johannesburg to Cape Town via Garden Route, return to Jhb

Comments for
Johannesburg to Cape Town via Garden Route, return to Jhb

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Dec 23, 2009
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You're so welcome!
by: Alison

I hope the three of you have a fantastic time in Cape Town, no matter how you get here :)

Dec 21, 2009
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Johannesburg to Cape Town via Garden Route
by: Aamira

Hi there...

Thanks so much for all your help on organising this trip.
I'm not sure if we are going to do the garden route or not. We might fly halfway and drive halfway or fly straight to CT.

But thanks again for all the trouble and the advice.

Aamira :)

Dec 20, 2009
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Land in George...
by: Alison

Hi Aamira,

Apologies for the long silence - I was out of the 'office' and really hectically busy :(

I relate 100% to not wanting to have Baby cranky for a long car journey...

To be honest, the Garden Route is more 'child' than 'baby' friendly - your little one won't really appreciate the beauty and is a bit small to enjoy seeing elephants up close or going on boat/ferry rides. So that might influence your decision?

I would fly to George, and plan to spend two nights before you get to Cape Town.

Drive from George up to Plett and spend a night there. Near Plett there are all sorts of animal sanctuaries - the Elephant Sanctuary and the Wolf sanctuary would both be good with a baby the age of yours.

The next day drive down towards Cape Town, but plan to stop as it is at least 6 hours straight driving, which is way to much for a little one. I would stop in Swellendam, which is about halfway.

:)

Dec 15, 2009
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Johannesburg to Cape Town via Garden Route
by: Aamira

Hi Allison

We have decided to leave the train. I had another idea in mind. Maybe we can fly to PE or George and hire a car and do the Garden Route and drive to Cape Town. I know I said flying is out of the question. But I realy want to see the Garden Route and get to Cape Town :)
When I showed hubby the time it's going to take to get to Cape Town, we both thought it's out of the question.
We going to have to just take a chance on flying or cancelling the trip. Baby is getting more and more irritable in the car and we don't even get out of JHB when he is already crying.

Can you advise me where to land and hire a car?
PE or George?

Will I have to spend the night somewhere also before Cape Town isn't?
Will Wilderness be ok? Or somewhere else?]

Thanks again!

Dec 10, 2009
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Johannesburg to Cape Town via Garden Route
by: Aamira

Morning Allison

I think we are going to have to do that if we end up taking the car.
I'm still not sure what to do.
But can you please tell me what activities that you are talking about are there to do on Garden route?
And if it is baby-friendly also?

So the route from PE to Knysna is not good?
You suggest that I go through Graaf-reinet instead?

Thanks for all the trouble Allison

Dec 09, 2009
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Maybe spend 2 nights on the journey...
by: Alison

You are so welcome!

The best part of the Garden Route is between George and Plettenberg Bay, and you will have to add even more driving time to see that.

The most direct route from Jhb is via Graaf Reinet and George. To come out near Plett you have to either drive via P.E. - much longer - or take dirt roads into Knysna which can be quite rough.

If you do drive down through the Garden Route, may I suggest you spend 3 days and 2 nights for the journey?

The first day, aim to drive as far as Graaf-Reinet (800+ km), and stay overnight there at Profcon.

The second day drive to George and then take the N2 up to Plett or Knysna and stay the second night there. A lovely place to stay in Knysna is Turning Tides, or Hillview.

On the third day drive down the N2 to Cape Town.

The whole route is very scenic, there are lots of places to stop and do activities along the Garden Route but then you might want to spend a little longer on the journey.

I hope you have a restful trip and enjoy Cape Town when you get here!

Dec 09, 2009
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Johannesburg to Cape Town via Garden Route
by: Aamira

Thanks so much for all the time and effort in helping me plan this trip. Thanks for answering all my questions.

I will chat to hubby tonight and decide on the train. I know the car drive is going to be very very long. If I do take the car, where is halfway that we can stop to sleep the night?

And if we do take the Garden Route, what other things is there to see there?

Dec 09, 2009
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You sleep onboard....
by: Alison

The train is the Shosholoza Meyl. It's a special tourist service with sleeper cars - you don't get off to sleep, you have a sleeping cabin and dinner etc on the move. All the train info is here

The train goes Jhb-CT direct, alas nowhere near the Garden Route.

To drive via the Garden Route will be about 20 hours of driving time. Basically from Jhb to somewhere like Graaf Reinet is >800km, overnight there, then drive another 700km on to Cape Town. That's a very long, tiring car trip with a baby: 2 l-o-n-g days of driving!

The Garden Court De Waal in Cape Town will be a good option for you - a good budget option, but still a quality offering, nice and central.

Dec 09, 2009
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Johannesburg to Cape Town via Garden Route
by: Aamira

Does the train go through garden route?
Does it stop on the way to get off?
Which train is it?

I am also afraid to fly because baby just had an ear infection.

Waterfront is going to be a bit pricey for me i think.
What about other holiday inn or southern sun hotels that are central and near to everything?

Dec 09, 2009
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You will be a week in Cape Town, I see
by: Alison

Oh no, Baby does not have to sit for all that time! That is the whole beauty of the train - he can crawl around and play and it's like being in a mini-B&B/hotel on the move. The train has a sleeping compartment for the three of you and a dining car for your meals.

There's much more freedom than the car, both for Baby and for you and hubby. You can really enjoy the journey as part of the holiday. Friends of mine did it in September and they were so complimentary about the service on the train and how relaxing the journey was.

To be honest, with Baby so small I would leave out the Garden Route at this stage. Even driving direct to Cape Town and spending 2 days/1 night on the way will feel like a lot of driving with a restless little one. We found it took much longer to drive distances with the babies because we needed to stop far more often than when just driving as adults.

So my best advice would be to take the train or, if you're still not comfy with that, fly to Cape Town and then hire a car here.

For accommodation here, you can choose between the Southern Sun Waterfront or Protea Breakwater Lodge. Both are popular, offer quality standards and give you easy access baby-friendly fun at the Waterfront.

If I had to recommend just one of those I would choose the Southern Sun.

I hope that helps! Post again if you need to.

Dec 09, 2009
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Johannesburg to Cape Town via Garden Route
by: Aamira

Hi Allison

I'm actually afraid to use the train now because I think baby will not be able to sit so long. Baby is used to sitting in his car seat when travelling and get irritable after a while. As I don't know how a train ride is going to be, nevermind sitting for 24 hours, I'm a bit scared to chance it. What do you advice on this situation?

The accomodation I am looking for should be self-catering for the 1 night on the way to cape town. The place that we should stop at can be halfway and a famous place like PE, George etc. On the way back from CapeTown, we don't have to use Garden route. Another route will be good to see. Also self-catering accomodation if possible for that 1 night.

In Cape Town, I'd prefer a hotel like Southern Sun or Protea Hotel.

I'm not sure about the route that you are talking about as I've never been that side. Do you possibly have a map of the route and distances between each town?

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