The Garden Route is only one of the Western Cape’s many top attractions, and it is by far, like all of them, extremely popular. Many tourists make their stays in the beautiful and charming towns of this region and explore the stunning natural scenery for which the Garden Route is famous. Anyone enjoying accommodation here or even just a visit for a day can discover unspoilt beaches, hiking trails with breathtaking views, amazing nature reserves and more. Exciting events take place here, too, making this a region that’s remarkably rich.

Since we mentioned accommodation, it should come as no surprise to you that holidayapartments.co.za offers a wide variety of vacation units throughout the Garden Route. You could book a stay in one of our lovely holiday homes and apartments, each with exceptional styling, furnishing and designs. Some have just the right locations, offering outstanding views of the surrounding landscape. While each one has something special to offer you, all of them are close enough to some of the attractions of the region. Click here to search through our collection of Garden Route accommodation.

But to give you an idea of what you can do in the Garden Route, check out this list of 10 of the most famous attractions and activities in the region, each one coming highly recommended.

Swartberg Pass

Between Oudtshoorn and Prince Albert

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easily accessible by car from the town of Oudtshoorn, the Swartberg Pass is a historically rich route through the Swartberg Mountains. The result of the work of Thomas Bain with the help of around 250 convicts between 1883 to 1886, the pass has stood the test of time and today offers visitors a challenging path through the mountains with the exquisite reward of panoramic views, including sights of the lush local vegetation, especially fynbos, and occasionally even of the animal life here, such as black eagles and klipspringers.

Knysna Heads

Knysna

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Knysna Heads are a pair of sea cliffs separating the ocean from the Knysna Lagoon. These are the definite landmarks of the town and guarantee stunning views of the ocean and inland. The Eastern Head is easily accessible via car and offers views that will take your breath away, with sights over the Knysna Lagoon and estuary, the channel, the Indian Ocean as well as the Outeniqua Mountains. The Western Head is only accessible from the waters, with a ferry taking you across. It is part of the Featherbed Nature Reserve. On a daily basis, travellers can join 4-hour excursions to the nature reserve, which depart from the Knysna Waterfront.

Cango Wildlife Ranch

Oudtshoorn

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is an attraction that is perfect for the entire family of animal lovers. The Cango Wildlife Ranch’s mission is to preserve the animal life of this region and achieve this by offering visitors the chance to interact with some of these residents of the Garden Route.  You could visit the Valley of Ancients, with giant flying foxes (megabats), colourful birdlife, antelopes, stunning cichlids, red river hogs, giant monitor lizards, crocodiles and more. Cheetahland takes you on a tour across a catwalk, with enclosures below featuring white lions, African leopards, white snow tigers and cheetahs. For the cheetahs, visitors even have the chance to get up close and personal with them. Lemur Falls will give you the amazing opportunity to discover 3 unique species of lemur, including beautiful black and white ruffs, charming ringtails and curious brown lemurs. The Kuranda Forest and Wallaby Walkabout treat the kids to the chance to feed the animals and meet the vibrant and noisy lorikeets. Kids additionally can check out the Petting Farmyard, jet water-park, jumping castle and jungle gyms. The Kidzone here caters to children of all ages.

Storms River Suspension Bridge

Tsitsikamma National Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most popular attractions of the Tsitsikamma region, the Storms River Suspension Bridge is a 77-metre suspension bridge across the Storms River Mouth. A pathway leads through the Tsitsikamma forest towards the bridge, covering over 900 metres of the forest. Birds will join you as you make your way to the bridge, with plenty of places along the way to have a seat and rest and enjoy the surrounding views, which include lush vegetation and the gorgeous coast. The bridge takes visitors to a pebble beach, before taking a steep incline towards a vantage point offering a view over the coast. A circular route that takes one over 2 smaller suspension bridges is available before the ascent, allowing visitors to make their way back, without having to deal with the ascent.

Buffalo Bay

Knysna

Buffalo Bay is a small town in the Goukamma Nature Reserve, just a short drive away from Knysna and offering plenty of attractions to keep visitors engaged. With an excellent climate, holiday seekers can indulge in a stunning 14-kilometre stretch of white beach, next to a coastal forest.  The location offers one of the most exceptional and safest swimming beaches throughout the Garden Route.  Popular activities here include boating, fishing, surfing and sunbathing. From July to October, there is even the opportunity to enjoy sights of dolphins among the waves.

Wilderness National Park

Wilderness

 

 

 

 

 

 

Situated in the heart of the Garden Route, between the towns of George and Knysna, the Wilderness National Park is rich with lakes, rivers, estuaries and beaches, with the backdrop including luscious forests as well as magnificent mountains. Nature trails will lead you through these beautiful forests and along calm rivers, where you can discover the colourful Knysna lourie or one of five unique kingfisher species. In both the forests and the lakes and rivers, you can admire a wide array of lovely bird species. During the spring, flowers flourish throughout the park, enhancing its already outstanding beauty.

Gerickes Point

Sedgefield

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Gerickes Point, you can discover the highest fossil dunes in South Africa. A 4-kilometre hike leads to the point, where you can get overwhelming views of the ocean, which is the place to be during the whale season, with the mothers visiting the region with their young. Additionally, the point is home to a school of humpbacked dolphins. During the low tide , visitors can enjoy time at the tidal pools and discover the small sea creatures that hide under the waters during high tide. Larger pools are available out here as well, providing that extra bit of depth, making them ideal for swimming and snorkelling.

Karusa Vineyards

Oudtshoorn

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nestled in the serene village of Schoemanshoek, the Karusa Vineyards are en-route to the famous Cango Caves in Oudtshoorn. Highly regarded for its Cap Classique and Mediterranean-styled wines, the winery is a family-operated managed Southern Cape Premium Wine producer and Craft Brewery. An intimate and rustically styled facility serves as the tasting venue while lunches are served outdoors, the perfect setting with a stunning backdrop of the amazing Swartberg Mountains. Indulge in these top quality wines with the complementing and delicious meals, all made with the freshest ingredients. You will not have to book beforehand for both the wine tasting and the lunch.

Otter Trail

Tsitsikamma National Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leading through the Tsitsikamma forest and along the Garden Route’s coastline, the Otter Trail is a popular spot for the serious kind of hiker seeking an adventure. It’s where the Tsitsikamma forest meets the Indian Ocean. While it’s not the most difficult hike in South Africa, it does require you to be considerably fit. This 5-day hike is 42 kilometres long, taking travellers on cliff tops along the shoreline, never higher than 150 metres above the sea, and down to sea level when crossing the rivers. Take note that you’ll need to find out the dates and times of high and low tides, since river crossings are nearly impossible and quite dangers during high tide. The Otter Trail is so famous that you would be wise to make a reservation at least a year in advance. Additionally, there is severe limiting of the number of hikers on the route for the purpose of controlling the impact of the visitors on the environment.

Dolphin Point

Wilderness

 

 

 

 

 

 

Situated on a rocky outcrop, on the edge of the area of Wilderness, on the coast and close to the mouth of the Kaaimans River, the appropriately named Dolphin Point provides visitors with the perfect location to spot dolphins playing among the waves, as well as southern right whales and other species of whale. When you’re done for the day admiring and taking pictures of these picturesque scenes, a collection of restaurants is available nearby, close to the coast, in the town of Wilderness.

These attractions, as enticing as they are, are just a small reflection of what you can discover in the Garden Route. You can surely see now why booking accommodation here is a superb idea, so get in touch with us and start making your holiday plans for a memorable vacation stay in this appealing region of the Western Cape; the Garden Route.