Whenever anyone asks my proposal connected wherever to spell for their honeymoon, I consistently urge 1 spot, South Africa.
The rainbow nation, arsenic it’s often referred to, has it all. From vibrant cities and sexy beaches to untamed wilderness and agrarian beauty, a honeymoon successful South Africa offers not lone adventure, but bucket database experiences, which are champion experienced with the 1 you clasp dearest to you.
No substance what you are looking for, South Africa is an idyllic mounting for a honeymoon. Experience sunrise successful the bush, “Sundowners” (South Africa’s mentation of Happy Hour) successful vino country, oregon spell connected a safari followed by a nighttime astatine an over-the-top luxury lodge, determination is nary uncertainty that a travel to South Africa aft a wedding is simply a memorable one.
The hard portion is choosing wherever to spell successful South Africa for your honeymoon! So, to assistance you out, we’ve prepared the eventual honeymoon itinerary for South Africa, truthful you tin program your imagination travel arsenic a recently joined couple.
The Ultimate Honeymoon successful South Africa Itinerary
South Africa is simply a immense and divers country, truthful if you’re lone capable to let a mates of weeks, I urge spending the bulk of your honeymoon successful and astir Cape Town and the Eastern Cape, arsenic good arsenic including a travel to Kruger National Park for a safari.
Stop 1: Cape Town and The Cape Peninsula
Cape Town is 1 of the South Africa’s astir beauteous cities. It’s unsocial due to the fact that though it’s a large metropolitan city, it’s besides overflowing with earthy quality and wildlife.
Where other successful the satellite tin you spot mountains and beaches close adjacent to each other? Not galore places outpouring to mind.
I urge you walk astatine slightest 3 days successful Cape Town, taking successful the stunning landscapes successful and astir Table Mountain National Park, and walk immoderate clip visiting the museums and attractions.
I highly urge taking a cooking people unneurotic successful Bo-Kaap (famous for each the rainbow-colored buildings). Do a people with Faldela Tolker, who invites you into her location and teaches you not conscionable however to cook, but besides astir the country’s history.
Hike to the apical of Table Mountain and respect the sweeping views (or instrumentality a cablegram car to prevention clip and energy), oregon hike the easier Lion’s Head hike for unthinkable views of Camps Bay and the Atlantic Seaboard.
Walk on the promenade from V&A Waterfront aft a bully repast astatine Karibu, South Africa’s instrumentality connected good eating wherever you tin devour springbok, ostrich, kudu, and different large crippled animals.
The city’s astir exclusive restaurant, The Test Kitchen is astir intolerable to snag a preservation truthful reserve a array arsenic acold successful beforehand arsenic you can. Trust me, you privation to acquisition its thoughtfully prepared tasting paper expertly paired with astonishing South African wine.
You’ll besides emotion Bistro Bizerca and Cape Grace if you’re looking for romance. And beryllium definite to popular by Charly’s Bakery for trade coffees and the astir photogenic desserts you’ve ever seen.
For a trendy and lively formation vibe successful Cape Town, sojourn Camp’s Bay wherever you’ll find plentifulness of waterfront restaurants and bars with unthinkable nightlife.
And you indispensable enactment astatine The Marly, a sleek and modern boutique hotel. To get disconnected the beaten path, wherever you tin unwind and unbend with conscionable the 2 of you, spell to Hout Bay, a sleepy, romanticist getaway little than an hr from Cape Town.
Tintswalo Atlantic conscionable mightiness beryllium the astir romanticist edifice I’ve ever stayed successful – heavy soaking tubs, waterfront rooms and a romanticist edifice to boot!
While successful Cape Town, beryllium definite to caput to Robben Island to spot wherever Nelson Mandela was held arsenic a governmental captive for astir 20 years. You’ll larn astir the acquisition archetypal manus from guides who are erstwhile inmates.
Hire a car and research the Cape Peninsula area. Don’t miss a accidental to sojourn the Cape of Good Hope, wherever 2 oceans (the Indian and Atlantic) meet.
If you’re adventurous, publication onto a Great White shark cage diving experience, oregon a whale watching cruise.
Soak successful the panoramic views astatine Cape Point and of course, accidental hullo to the African penguin colony astatine Boulders Beach.
Stop 2: The Garden Route
While you person a car, travel connected from Boulder’s Beach towards the Garden Route, a scenic roadworthy travel that extends from Cape Town to Gqeberha, formerly known arsenic Port Elizabeth.
This is the perfect archetypal roadworthy travel arsenic a mates arsenic it follows a agelong of roadworthy on South Africa’s southeastern coast, giving you opportunities to presumption whales frocking successful the water (between June and October) adjacent to enactment betwixt Hermanus and Plettenberg Bay.
The thrust takes astatine slightest a fewer days, possibly adjacent a week if you are blessed with time, but determination are fantabulous stops on the mode successful immoderate astonishing towns and quality reserves.
You’ll find secluded bays, stunning flora and fauna, and tons of wildlife (specifically baboons).
Some notable stops are Sedgefield, Mossel Bay, George, Wilderness, Knysna, Bloukrans Bridge to bungee leap the world’s tallest span bungee, Natures Valley, and Tsitsikamma National Park.
Stop 3: The Cape Winelands
The Cape Winelands are lone astir an hr distant from Cape Town, and you tin easy chopped successful to them whilst roadworthy tripping The Garden Route.
I highly urge that honeymooners instrumentality astatine slightest a mates of days to unwind and unbend successful this stunning portion of the country.
There are respective gorgeous regions filled with galore of the world’s astir beauteous hotels. I urge visiting some Franshhoek, a quaint portion with tons of family-owned vineyards and French influences, and besides the adjacent Stellenbosch, the astir fashionable and lively region.
It tin beryllium overwhelming knowing which wineries and vineyards to visit, truthful I highly urge a sojourn to Môreson, La Petite Ferme, and Haute Cabrière vineyards.
A large budget-friendly and amusive mode to get astir the vineyards is to bash the The Franschhoek Wine Tram, a hop-on/hop-off tram that volition instrumentality you to assorted vino vineyards.
You besides tin rent bikes and thrust betwixt vineyards if you’re hoping for an progressive day.
La Residence, voted by Conde Nast Traveler arsenic the champion edifice successful the world, is simply a stunning masterpiece arsenic you tin imagine. If you person much modern tastes, you’ll bask Delaire Graff Hotel.
Check retired The Tasting Room successful Le Quartier Francais, another stunning hotel. You’ll beryllium wowed by a unsocial eating experience, nary menus and plentifulness of amusive surprises.
Stop 4: Addo Elephant Park
At the extremity of the Garden Route, you volition find yourself successful Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Before you instrumentality your rental car and determination connected to the adjacent halt connected this South African honeymoon, caput to Addo Elephant Park – a quality parkland known for having, well, elephants.
And tons of them!
You’re successful South Africa, truthful 1 safari is not enough! At Addo, you tin aforesaid thrust successful the park, allowing for a cheaper and much relaxed safari honeymoon experience.
The elephants thin to hover astir the northbound of the park, wherever it’s unfastened grassland with tons of h2o holes to portion in, but determination is besides immoderate bushy areas successful the southbound of the parkland wherever you tin spot zebras, warthogs, kudu and impala.
There are besides lions successful the park, though they are rather elusive. You mightiness find you person amended wildlife viewing erstwhile you get to Kruger National Park, location to the large five.
Stop 5: Johannesburg
No travel to South Africa is implicit without learning astir its radical and knowing the history. The spot to bash that is Johannesburg.
Full warning, JoBurg isn’t the benignant of spot you privation to bent astir successful excessively long. It’s not the safest city, and travellers should debar walking astir (especially astatine night) and get Uber to each of your destinations.
However, it’s besides the spot to spell to larn astir South Africa’s past. The Apartheid Museum is excellent. It’s good curated and tells the communicative of Apartheid times successful vivid detail.
You tin besides bash a circuit of the Townships (the surviving areas created for non-whites during the apartheid) specified arsenic of Soweto, wherever Nelson Mandela grew up.
However, bash truthful astatine your ain risk. These are mediocre areas and transgression is rampant. It’s besides wherever existent radical live, and seeing poorness for the involvement of poorness is not ethical practice.
As good arsenic this, galore tours permission visitors feeling similar outsiders and astir adjacent intruders, barging into someone’s home, truthful beryllium cautious which circuit institution you pick.
I urge Uthando South Africa, which promotes liable tourism. Uthando introduces visitors to residents who enactment connected assemblage improvement projects.
You’ll larn astir the fantastic enactment going connected to rebuild communities and each circuit fees spell straight to payment the projects you sojourn and the radical you meet.
Stop 6: Kruger National Park Safari
Even the slightest outdoorsy idiosyncratic volition consciousness successful interaction with quality successful Africa.
There is thing much romanticist than driving done the bush and witnessing African wildlife successful its earthy situation astatine dawn. Connect with the world portion you enslaved with your recently minted spouse connected an African Safari.
Splurge for a luxury lodge successful a backstage crippled reserve wrong the greater Kruger National Park. I urge you splurge connected 1 of the lodges wrong the park, truthful you tin perceive the lions hunting astatine night, and witnesser the animals aftermath up astatine sunrise.
Spend astatine slightest 2 afloat days, if not three, wrong Kruger going connected plentifulness of crippled drives and safari walks, to truly springiness yourself a accidental of spotting the large 5 (rhinos, elephants, lions, leopards and cape buffalo).
Sabi Sand, Thornybush, and Manyeleti are immoderate of the champion safari lodges wrong Kruger NP.
You’ll usually acquisition person encounters with the animals successful backstage reserves since drivers (as agelong arsenic they’re being respectful) person a small much leeway to spell disconnected the beaten path.
Stop 7: Durban
You whitethorn not person realized, but your honeymoon to South Africa tin besides see a formation vacation!
Durban is fantastic for beaches. Since it connects to the Indian oceans, it has a lukewarm subtropical climate.
Durban has a premix of relaxation, adventure, and unsocial experiences. Head to the Golden Mile, a agelong of beachfront that is cleanable for sunbathing, swimming, and surfing, wherever you tin effort your manus astatine h2o sports similar pitchy skiing and paddleboarding.
Durban is besides location to uShaka Marine World, a ample marine parkland that combines an aquarium, h2o park, and assorted carnal encounters.
To larn much astir the past and culture, the KwaZulu-Natal Museum and the Durban Art Gallery are large places to larn astir South Africa’s heritage.
The metropolis is besides precise multicultural, and due to the fact that of that, it has a wonderfully divers culinary scene, heavy influenced by Indian, Zulu, and assemblage flavors.
This is simply a bully spot to effort South African delicacies specified arsenic bunny chow (a hollowed-out loaf of breadstuff filled with curry) and of course, caller seafood dishes.
Tips For Wedded Bliss successful South Africa
There’s a crushed wherefore South Africa is 1 of the champion honeymoon destinations. It’s not conscionable astir the places you visit, but the radical you conscionable and the experiences you tin have.
Here are our apical tips for making the astir of your South African honeymoon…
- Be definite to effort South African specialties similar biltong and a braai (a unsocial benignant of barbecue) and different section delicacies similar Cape Malay cuisine.
- Stick to the tourer destinations. South Africa has a atrocious estimation erstwhile it comes to safety, but mostly the touristy areas are ok. You whitethorn brushwood the unusual beggar, prime pocket, oregon petty thief, but convulsive transgression is uncommon against tourists.
- Get Uber everyplace oregon thrust yourself. Don’t halt astatine postulation lights successful Johannesburg.
- Book romanticist accommodations. Look for luxurious lodges, boutique hotels, oregon backstage villas with stunning views and personalized services. There are galore resorts and 5 prima hotels offering luxury South Africa honeymoon packages.
- Plan romanticist activities. Consider sunset cruises, couples’ spa treatments, oregon backstage dinners nether the stars for intimate moments.
- Never miss a sunset. This is simply a extremity that we urge you bring into your joined life. Sit retired connected a platform determination with a bully view, ticker the prima spell down, and person conversation. Talk astir the highlights of your day, and sermon your plans ahead.
Best Time To Have A South African Honeymoon
The champion clip to sojourn South Africa is during the Southern Hemisphere’s summertime (November to March) which has lukewarm and adust weather.
This is particularly a bully clip to sojourn for wineries, arsenic the vineyards volition beryllium lush and green.
It’s besides a bully clip for a safari arsenic watering holes are fewer, meaning animals are much apt to stitchery astir them.
However, for whale watching, the autumn is simply a amended clip to sojourn (June – September) arsenic this is erstwhile they commencement their yearly migration towards warmer pastures.
Author Bio – Katie Lara has been blogging and freelance penning for implicit 10 years. She has lent her question expertise arsenic a writer and lensman to outlets similar U.S. News & World Report, The Huffington Post, Fodor’s, Fox News and Forbes. Katie is besides an accomplished question big and has filmed respective bid for About.com. Katie besides blogs arsenic her edgy alter-ego connected Travelingpanties.com giving luxury and honeymoon question advice. When Katie isn’t traveling the satellite you tin find her successful New York City buying oregon basking successful the prima successful Central Park. Keep up with Katie’s adventures connected Twitter, Facebook, Instagram