Arrive Cape Town

Your Southern African adventure begins with arrival in Cape Town and a transfer to the Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel. Known to generations of admirers as "The Nelly," this iconic pink-hued grande dame has sat at the foot of Table Mountain since 1899, and settling into its nine acres of gardens feels less like checking in than coming home. The afternoon is yours to explore the grounds, take a dip in one of the heated pools, and let the journey to get here fall away. This evening, we'll gather for a welcome dinner at the Oasis, the hotel's celebrated restaurant, with Table Mountain rising above us in the last of the day's light.

Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel
Dinner (D)

Cape Town City Tour

After breakfast, we'll set out with a private guide to discover Cape Town: up to the top of Table Mountain for sweeping views across the Cape Peninsula, then into the city's vibrant art gallery scene and its finest shopping districts. For lunch, we'll head to Marble at the V&A Waterfront — one of Cape Town's most talked-about recent openings, where a grand wood-fired grill turns out exceptional steaks, seafood, and vegetables with sweeping views of the harbour and Table Mountain. This evening, we return to the Nelly for dinner at the Red Room, one of Mount Nelson's most elegant settings.

Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel
Breakfast (B), Lunch (L), Dinner (D)

Kirstenbosch, Spa & Art

This morning, we'll visit Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden — one of the great botanical collections in the world, spread across the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. Our guide will lead us through its extraordinary plantings of South African flora, from fynbos to ancient cycads, before we return to the hotel for afternoon tea at the Nelly, a Cape Town institution as beloved as the hotel itself. The afternoon is yours to choose: a treatment at the Librisa Spa, or a visit to The Zeitz Museum. This evening, we'll dine at Kloof Street House — a rambling Victorian house with candlelit rooms and a menu that draws on the best of South African produce. 

Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel
Breakfast (B), Afternoon Tea (AT), Dinner (D)

Cape Peninsula Tour

Today we spend a full day on the Cape Peninsula, one of the most spectacular stretches of coastline in the world. We will wind along Chapman's Peak Drive — a cliff-hugging road cut into the sheer rock face above the Atlantic — before reaching Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, where two oceans meet at the tip of the continent. The afternoon brings one of the trip's most charming encounters: a walk among the African penguin colony at Boulders Beach in Simon's Town, where these majestic and sociable birds nest just metres from the path. Lunch will be at Harbour House in Simon's Town, with views across the bay. The evening is yours to dine at your leisure.

Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel
Breakfast (B), Lunch (L)

Transfer to Franschhoek

After breakfast, we bid farewell to Cape Town and travel into the Winelands, arriving in Franschhoek — the small valley town that has quietly become South Africa's culinary capital. We'll settle into Le Quartier Français, a boutique member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World that sits right on the village's main street, with garden and pool suites arranged around manicured courtyards and mountain views in every direction. Lunch is at your leisure in the village of Franschhoek. The afternoon brings time to explore Franschhoek's charming galleries and boutiques at your own pace, followed by a wine tasting on property, where the Leeu Collection's expert hosts introduce us to some of the Cape Winelands' finest producers. This evening, we'll dine at Épice, the hotel's fine-dining restaurant, for a first taste of Franschhoek's remarkable food scene.

Le Quartier Français
Breakfast (B), Dinner (D)

Horse Riding, Babylonstoren & Leeu Estates

This morning, we'll ride out through the vineyards with the full sweep of the Franschhoek Valley spread out around us. It's one of the most beautiful ways to move through this landscape. After returning to freshen up, we'll make our way to Babylonstoren — one of the oldest Cape Dutch farms in South Africa, set at the foot of the Drakenstein Mountains. We’ll sit down to lunch with wine pairings in the Greenhouse restaurant situated in its  extraordinary eight-acre kitchen garden. After returning to the hotel for a rest, we'll head to Leeu Estates for drinks on the terrace. We'll dine tonight at La Petite Colombe — one of South Africa's most celebrated restaurants and a Franschhoek destination in its own right.

Le Quartier Français
Breakfast (B), Lunch (L), Dinner (D)

Tokara, Delaire Graff & Farewell Winelands Dinner

Today we explore two of the Winelands' most celebrated estates. The morning takes us to Tokara, whose ridge-top position above Stellenbosch produces some of the Cape's most admired wines. We continue to Delaire Graff Estate for a tasting and lunch, where the restaurant matches the drama of its setting — vineyards dropping away toward the valley below. After returning to Franschhoek, the afternoon is yours to rest before we gather for a farewell dinner at Protégé, the hotel's chic show-kitchen restaurant, where a seasonal menu and an exceptional local wine list make for a fitting send-off from South Africa's culinary heartland.

Le Quartier Français
Breakfast (B), Lunch (L), Dinner (D)

Fly to Chobe National Park, Botswana

After breakfast, we transfer to the airport for our flight north to Chobe National Park in Botswana. Arriving at Savute Elephant Lodge, A Belmond Safari, we're met with the stillness of the African bush — twelve luxury tents raised on wooden stilts above the banks of the Savute Channel, a watercourse that has flowed and vanished on no predictable schedule for centuries, setting the stage for some of the best wildlife viewing on the continent. We'll settle in, then gather for sundowners as the day's heat eases and the animals begin moving toward water. Dinner follows under the stars.

Savute Elephant Lodge, A Belmond Safari
Breakfast (B), Dinner (D)

Game Drives & Rock Paintings

We rise before dawn for our first morning game drive into Chobe National Park, one of Africa's most productive wildlife corridors. Vast elephant herds move through Savute year-round, and the open terrain makes for exceptional sightings of big cats, wild dogs, and an extraordinary range of birds. After returning to camp for lunch, we'll make our way out to the Gubatsa Hills to visit ancient rock paintings left by the San Bushmen more than 2,000 years ago — a quietly extraordinary detour into the deep history of this landscape. This evening brings another game drive, then we'll gather around the boma: dinner under the open sky, with firelight and African rhythms to mark our first full day in the bush.

Savute Elephant Lodge, A Belmond Safari
Breakfast (B), Lunch (L), Dinner (D)

Game Drives & Farewell Safari Dinner

Another full day in the Chobe wilderness — morning and afternoon game drives with our expert guides, with time at midday to rest, swim, or spend time at the spa tent. No two drives in Savute are quite alike: the channel's shifting character and the density of game here mean each outing brings something new. Tonight, we'll gather for our farewell safari dinner, raising a glass to the bush and to kindred spirits — new and old.

Savute Elephant Lodge, A Belmond Safari
Breakfast (B), Lunch (L), Dinner (D)