The Garden Route & Sabi Sand

Nights

10

Party

2–4 guests

Countries

South Africa

From

US$ 32,500 per person, based on four guests sharing, including private aircraftExcludes international flights to and from Africa.

Best season

Apr–Jun · Sep–Nov

This is South Africa's golf safari done by air, so the hours you would spend on the N2 go on the fairway instead. You start with two nights at The Silo Hotel above the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town: a dawn helicopter down the Peninsula, Salsify one night and La Colombe the next. Then the aircraft takes you to George, where you play all three Fancourt courses with the Outeniqua Mountains behind you. Ninety minutes north-east is Leopard Creek, on the Crocodile River with the Kruger on the far bank. You finish in the Sabi Sand with three nights in a Cheetah Plains villa that is yours alone, along with its guide, tracker and chef.

Highlights

• All three Fancourt courses
• The 13th at Leopard Creek, above the Crocodile River
• A dawn helicopter down the Cape Peninsula
• Dinner at Salsify and at La Colombe
• A Cheetah Plains villa for your party alone
• A sommelier's tasting in the villa cellar

1. Day 1

   Cape Town · The Silo Hotel

   We meet you at Cape Town International and drive you to The Silo Hotel, the Royal Portfolio's 28-room hotel in an old grain silo above the V&A Waterfront. Sleep off the flight. In the evening we take you to Salsify at The Roundhouse in Camps Bay, Eat Out's Restaurant of the Year for 2025. Ryan Cole cooks eight courses and the Atlantic goes dark below the windows while you eat.

2. Day 2

   The Peninsula from the air

   The helicopter lifts off at dawn and follows the Atlantic seaboard south, past the Twelve Apostles and Chapman's Peak towards Cape Point. Back on the ground your guide drives you to Boulders Beach, where we have early access to the African penguin colony before the public arrives. Dinner is La Colombe at Silvermist, No. 49 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list for 2024: eleven courses up in the eucalyptus forest above Constantia Nek.

3. Day 3

   Cape Town → George · Fancourt Hotel

   After breakfast the Embraer Phenom 300 takes you to George, under an hour away. The Fancourt team meets you at the aircraft and you are at the hotel before lunch. In the afternoon you play the Outeniqua, a Gary Player course ranked No. 22 in South Africa, with a caddie on your bag. Anyone who doesn't play has the spa and the gardens, which are quiet at that time of day.

4. Day 4

   Golf · Fancourt Montagu

   The Montagu is No. 4 in South Africa, a Gary Player design upgraded in 2005. Your caddie has the yardages before you reach the first tee, and the Outeniquas sit behind you all morning. Non-golfers head out along the Garden Route with a driver: Knysna, lunch on the lagoon, and back at Fancourt by late afternoon.

5. Day 5

   Golf · Fancourt The Links

   The Links is ranked No. 1 in South Africa for 2025 and hosted the 2003 Presidents Cup. It is open and firm and takes the full wind, so this is the day your caddie earns the fee. Non-golfers can spend the morning at the Golfing for Change project in Oupad, Knysna, which every Ascot Private journey supports. Tonight's dinner is private, in the Fancourt Manor House, the original manor and a national monument.

6. Day 6

   George → Lowveld · Private lodge near Leopard Creek

   The Phenom 300 flies north-east for about ninety minutes to Malelane, on the southern edge of the Kruger. You stay at Buhala Lodge, ten minutes from Leopard Creek, above the Crocodile River with the Kruger on the far bank. Nothing is planned for the afternoon. If you want a late drive along the river, your guide is there.

7. Day 7

   Golf · Leopard Creek Country Club

   Leopard Creek is No. 3 in South Africa for 2025 and home of the Alfred Dunhill Championship. The 13th green sits above the Crocodile River with the Kruger on the far bank, and the hippo are usually in view while you putt. Your caddie knows which lines the river punishes. Non-golfers go into the Kruger for a morning drive with the lodge guide and meet you at the clubhouse for a late lunch.

8. Day 8

   Lowveld → Sabi Sand · Cheetah Plains

   A Cessna Caravan makes the short hop north to the Arathusa strip. Before landing the pilot does a low pass to move whatever is grazing on the runway, usually impala, now and then buffalo or elephant. At Cheetah Plains the villa is yours: four suites, your own chef, guide, tracker and butler, and a solar-powered electric game vehicle. The afternoon drive goes when you are ready.

9. Day 9–10

   Cheetah Plains · Sabi Sand

   Two full days with no fixed timetable. Each morning your guide and tracker read the overnight tracks and decide where to go. The electric vehicle is close to silent, which matters when you are sitting with a leopard. One evening a sommelier opens the villa's 300-bottle cellar for a private tasting of wine, whisky or gin, at the pool or the boma, before dinner outside.

10. Day 11

    Departure

    One last morning drive and breakfast on the deck, then the aircraft is waiting at Arathusa. A Pilatus PC-12 flies you to OR Tambo in Johannesburg for your international flight, or to Cape Town if you are connecting there. Your Journey Architect will already have your luggage checked through to the international desk.

Flown by turboprop, light and super-light jet and helicopter. How we choose the aircraft