Every Caviar in the Air itinerary is a love letter to the destination. South Africa needed a novel. This country gives you so much (scenery, emotion, flavor) that fitting it into 11 days took five personal trips to get right.
This is the full breakdown of our South Africa Experience: what you'll see, what you'll feel and why every day matters.
What does an 11-day South Africa travel itinerary look like? Three nights in Johannesburg for Soweto and the Apartheid Museum, two on safari in Pilanesberg, three in Cape Town with a helicopter flight and Robben Island, and two in the Stellenbosch winelands. Transfers, the domestic flight, every meal on safari, and the welcome and farewell dinners are handled for you.
Key facts
- Dates: to be announced. Join the waitlist on the trip page. Groups of 2 to 10 travelers.
- Getting there: nonstop to Johannesburg from Atlanta (Delta) or Newark (United), roughly 15 hours. You fly home from Cape Town.
- Entry: U.S. citizens can visit for up to 90 days without a visa.
- Hotels: Four Seasons Westcliff, Shepherd's Tree Game Lodge, the 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa and Lanzerac Wine Estate.
- Caviar trip: the South Africa Experience.
Days 1 to 3: Johannesburg
Photo: Caviar in the Air
You'll arrive at O.R. Tambo International, where someone is waiting with your name on a board. Your transfer takes you up the ridge to the Four Seasons Westcliff, terraced into the hillside with gardens and the whole city below.
Day 1: Settle in, let the flight fall off your shoulders, then meet the group for a welcome dinner at an open-fire grill house.
Day 2: This is the day that asks something of you. A guided morning in Soweto with someone who knows its streets from the inside, a braai lunch in the township, then the Apartheid Museum in the afternoon. I've written about why Soweto is non-negotiable for me. The evening is left open on purpose. Some days you need to sit with.
Day 3: Yours entirely. Spa, pool, shopping, a long lunch, or an optional inner-city walking tour you can add on.
Days 4 and 5: Pilanesberg Safari
Pack for cold dawn drives: what to wear on safari in South Africa has the list. We drive out to Pilanesberg National Park, a malaria-free Big Five reserve set inside an ancient volcanic crater, and your home for two nights at Shepherd's Tree Game Lodge: glass-walled suites, private decks and the savanna right in front of you.
The safari rhythm:
- Afternoon tea on the deck, then your first game drive as the light turns gold
- Before sunrise: an optional early wake-up, hot tea in the dark and out into the reserve
- Breakfast back at camp, comparing camera rolls
- Midday at the pool or on the viewing deck
- Sundowner drive, a drink in your hand and the sky on fire
- Dinner at the lodge, and all your meals here are included
On safari in South Africa, on an earlier Caviar trip. Photo: Caviar in the Air
I've written about what nobody tells you about safari: the feelings, the food, the early wake-ups that become the best part of your day.
Days 6 to 8: Cape Town
Photo: Caviar in the Air
Day 6: A midday flight to Cape Town, then a twelve-minute helicopter flight along the coast over Lion's Head, Clifton, Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles range. You check in at the 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa, mountain on one side and ocean on the other. Dinner is on your own.
Day 7: A guided walk through Bo-Kaap, the historic Cape Malay quarter, then a Cape Malay cooking class. In the afternoon, a private Robben Island tour, ferry included, to the island where Nelson Mandela spent eighteen of his twenty-seven years in prison.
Day 8: A free day. Add the optional full-day Cape Peninsula tour (the Table Mountain cable car, Kirstenbosch, a historic estate cellar, the Boulders Beach penguins, Cape Point and Chapman's Peak) or give the day to the spa and the sea.
Days 9 and 10: Stellenbosch Winelands
Photo: Caviar in the Air
Day 9: A slow morning, then out to the Winelands for a cellar tour and tasting at a working estate. Check in at Lanzerac Wine Estate, with its Cape Dutch gables and oak-shaded terraces, and give the rest of the day to the spa.
Day 10: A free day among the vines, with two optional add-ons worth your attention: a tour tracing South Africa's Black winemakers and the estates they've built, and a long lunch at a chef's private home. In the evening, the farewell wine pairing dinner at the hotel, a wine chosen for each course and a table full of people who were strangers ten days ago.
Day 11: Departure
One last breakfast with the vineyards in front of you, then a private transfer to Cape Town International. Tears optional but likely.
What's Included
- 3 nights at Four Seasons Westcliff, 2 at Shepherd's Tree Game Lodge, 3 at the 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa and 2 at Lanzerac Wine Estate
- Daily breakfast, the welcome dinner, all meals at the safari lodge and the farewell wine pairing dinner
- Guided Soweto tour with braai lunch, and Apartheid Museum entry
- Evening, sunrise and sundowner game drives
- Domestic flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town and a 12-minute coastal helicopter flight
- Bo-Kaap walking tour, Cape Malay cooking class and private Robben Island tour
- Cellar tour and wine tasting in Stellenbosch
- All ground transportation and transfers
International airfare, travel medical insurance, spa treatments, tips and the optional tours are not included.
Join the Waitlist
Join the waitlist on our South Africa trip page and we'll let you know when the dates are set, or schedule a consultation. Still deciding? My South Africa travel guide covers seasons and hotels, and Is South Africa Safe? answers the question everyone asks.
Browse Our South Africa Trip →
Claire B. Soares is a 6X Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist and the founder of Caviar in the Air.
Itinerary
Itinerary
Itinerary