Our 14 day South African Adventure: Johannesburg, Safari, Cape Town and Winelands

We were picked up at our hotel by Lucy (we had the same amazing guide for 3 days) in the reception area departed on a full-day tour of the Winelands.

Day 1:  Our day started with a tour of the Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden which is not to be missed! We then visited Waterford Estate and Boschendal and enjoyed an amazing wine tasting and lunch at Babylonstoren. You can actually stay there too! It’s a huge, sprawling property that includes a spa. These wineries are in the Stellenbosch area of the Western Cape.

Day 2:  We started our morning with a stop by the Cape Town City and Farm Market. Y’all, I’ve never seen such beautiful, large organic produce. It also had beautiful antiques, baked goods, coffee stands and so much more. The day included wine tasting visits to Constantia Glen and Buitenverwachting. We had wine tasting and lunch at The Bistro, which is located at Klein Constantia winery. All were exceptional! These wineries are in the Constantia area of the Western Cape. I worked with my friend Tracy Rathbun in Dallas to get South African vineyard/winery recommendations. After all, she’s a restaurateur and knows her food and wines (Shinsei, Dea and Lovers Seafood & Market). Her suggestions did not disappoint. Heads up: You do need reservations for all of the wine tastings and lunches in the winelands. Plan ahead!

There are endless excellent restaurants in Cape Town. We did not make advance dining reservations because we always had a late lunch and wine tasting. You might want to check out FYN, Pier, The Silo Hotel Rooftop, Harbour House and Waterside.

Travel Tip: You can break this portion of the trip down and spend time in a Cape Town hotel as well as a hotel in the winelands. There are lots of beautiful luxury lodging locations in the winelands. We decided to day trip it and stay in one hotel for the end of our trip.

On our final morning, our driver picked us up at the Victoria & Alfred Hotel and took us to Cape Town International Airport. This was about a 30 minute drive.  Abercrombie & Kent VIP treatment continued with escorted service to get our bags checked in and through passport control. Our flight route on the return was Cape Town to Doha, Qatar with a 2 hour layover. We then connected on to Dallas – all on Qatar Airways again while enjoying the QSuite on the long-haul flight. We were so glad we invested in these business class tickets because after traveling through South Africa, we were exhausted – in a good way.

There is just something magical about Africa that stays with you like no other destination. It’s pure, unguarded and you see nature at work. The circle of life – like it should be. We feel like it took 14 days including the travel time to get it all in. This itinerary was perfect and we wouldn’t change a thing.

We can’t wait to go back to Africa! Where should we go next? Leave us a comment.

xoxo – Tanya and Pete

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