Accommodation
A very high overall standard & incredible variety of accommodation is available:

S – Standard (Generally 3 Star rating by Tourism Grading Council of South Africa)
L – Luxury (Generally 4 Star rating)
E – Exclusive (5 Star rating)

Overview
Starting in the west at Swellendam and ending at Humansdorp just before Port Elizabeth, the Garden Route is located in the southern part of the Western Cape coastline.  The most interesting portion of the Garden Route is between Mossel Bay and the Storms River Mouth in the Tsitsikamma National Park.

 Named the Garden Route because of the beauty of the flora, some of the largest indigenous tracts of forest are found along this route featuring particularly the Giant Yellowwood trees. The coastline combines unspoilt white sandy beaches, lagoons, dunes, and steep rocky cliffs.  Dolphins are often spotted not far from the shore, and the whale watching is spectacular at the right time of year.  The climate is mild and pleasant, the hospitality is warm, the pace of life is leisurely, the infrastructure well established, and the area is safe.  The many towns that line this route each have features and a special charm of their own.  There are too many towns to mention each individually here, so we have just picked out a few highlights.

Highlights

Cape St Francis is attractive to so many for its natural beauty and simple rustic quality. Fishing here is excellent because the peninsulas at Seal and Shark Points jut far out into the channel and are separated by three kilometres of superb surf-fishing beach. There are also popular dive-spots and many interesting wrecks in the area, whilst the St Francis Lighthouse is well worth a visit, being a national monument. Also outstanding surfing and wonderful terrain for walkers and mountain bikers alike.

Nearby St Francis Bay and Jeffreys Bay have distinctive architectural styles and colourful surf shops and restaurants respectively. Jeffreys Bay is also renowned as a mecca for surfers.

George is situated inland and is the capital city and business centre of the Garden route – although it is more famous for the exceptionally high standard of its golf course with three of South Africa’s “Top Ten Courses” being located in George.  Victoria Bay is a charming bay described by many as “The Gem of the Garden Route”. 

The tourist capital of the Garden Route Knysna (like Cape Town) also boasts a waterfront.  Besides its natural beauty Knysna is a cultural town in which three main festivals take place annually: the Knysna Timber Fair, held during the Easter holidays, celebrates Knysna’s forests and its vibrant timber industry; the Knysna Oyster Festival is a celebration of leisure, sport and outdoor adventure; and the Nederburg Arts Festival celebrates the artists and performers who make up Knysna’s rich and diverse cultures.

Mossel Bay, a popular seaside town, is the landing place of Bartholomew Diaz, the first European, in 1488, and also where the famous “post office tree” can be found. 

The inland town of Oudtshoorn is famous for its Ostrich Farms.  Situated only 30 kilometres from Oudtshoorn are the Cango Caves, which house some of the largest stalagmite formations in the world.

Plettenberg Bay (and The Crags)

To give you and idea of what you can do between Plett and the Tsitsikamma National Park - a stretch of about 60km:

Robberg Nature & Marine Reserve is a spectacular place with wonderful walks, Nelson's Cave where the Khoi San once lived, and it's also a geological and historical gem. 

There are so many charted walks in the area like the Salt River Walk, Kalander Kloof walk, Groot Rivier walk, there's the Garden of Eden and Krantzhoek scenic spot - to name a few. 

The Arts and Craft Route is brilliant: amongst others there's Curiosity, The Heath, Old Nick's Arts & Crafts Village, Porcupine Raku pottery. 

Hog Hollow has a walk through its private nature reserve up to Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary.  There's Buffalo Hills Game drives (not the big five) and the Mampoer Distillery, Qolweni Theatre group and the cultural tours of the townships, Keurbooms River ferries, cycling trails, motorised glider flights around the bay, aerial flights around the bay and also day flights to Shamwari Game Reserve and Addo Elephant Park.

Golf courses: Plettenberg Bay Country Club (18 holes) Goose Valley and Turtle Creek (18 holes) & the Mashie course (9 holes).

There's bunji jumping - the highest in the world at 216 metres; dolphin tours, whale watching, snorkelling, scuba diving, blackwater tubing, abseiling, canoeing, tree tops canopy tours, heritage trails, woodcutter trails, the elephant park, kayaking, polo (in season only), ... the list is endless!

Sedgefield draws visitors to the banks of the Swartvlei estuary renowned for its birding and being the largest natural inland saltwater lake in South Africa. Other attractions in the area include Groenvlei for bass fishing; horseback trails, hiking trails through indigenous forest and breathtaking coastline. The Goukamma Nature Reserve begins here and there is excellent surfing and spearfishing to be had at Gericke’s Point.

The Tsitsikamma National Park has stretches of indigenous forests with giant yellowwood trees, sensational beaches, waterfalls, lakes, mountain, rivers, steams, deep gorges, a rugged Fynbos and a rich animal and bird life. 

Wilderness with its vast tracts of waterways and lagoons is home to many water birds as well as the iridescent Knysna Loerie. 

How to get there

By Air - There is an airport at Plettenberg Bay, which has a direct flight from Johannesburg every day.  There are also airlines like Civair who fly from Cape Town to Plett three times a week; and there are also the charter companies which are very popular, which fly to Plett every day too.  So accessibility is very good. 

By Road or Rail - Through the “gateway cities” of Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Rovos Rail and the Blue Train stop off in Knysna too.