BONUS XOMU: Three weeks in South Africa

Safaris, beaches, penguins, hiking, sushi, and more! Follow along with our April 2024 family adventure (part 1 of many)

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My husband has good friends in South Africa; he and Sean met at a volleyball tournament in Aspen in the early 2000’s. Sean and his family visited us last summer and at some point over dinner, his wife Jade said, “You should come visit.” I replied, “You should not say that unless you want me showing up at your door, because we will book a trip.” Eight months later, and we were having dinner again—this time, at their house in Knysna.

I spent months planning our almost three-week trip to South Africa in April, the first month of their fall season. In this multi-part series, I’ll share our itinerary and set the stage for follow-up articles covering our eight days of safari, the sights of the southern coast, the famous Garden Route, and five days in Cape Town.

Our South Africa itinerary

We knew we wanted to spend a significant portion of the trip on safari, so I planned the whole trip around that. We also wanted to spend time with our friends, so we spent two days at their house, then another two nights at a nearby hotel. I also built in a road trip to Cape Town, knowing we’d want a car there and we’d be tired of flying by that point.

Note, though we flew in and out of Johannesburg, we didn’t explore that city—it was just a pit stop on the way there and the way home. (All of the Delta flights between Cape Town and SLC have a layover in Joburg.)

• March 29: Fly from SLC → Amsterdam (AMS, 10 hours) → Johannesburg (JBN, 11 hours)

• March 30: Land in JBN at 10 PM, sleep (+8 hour time change from MDT)

• March 31 (AM): Small plane to Sabi Sabi airstrip (1 hour)

• March 31 - April 3: Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge (a private game reserve outside Kruger National Park)

• April 3 (AM): Small plane to Tanda Tula airstrip (20 minutes)

• April 3 - April 7: Tanda Tula Safari Camp (a private game reserve outside Kruger National Park)

• April 7: Drive to small airstrip + small plane to JBN + 2-hour flight to George + (rental car) 45-minute drive to Knysna, Western Cape (12 hours of total travel)

• April 7 - 11: Exploring Knysna + surrounding coastal area with friends

• April 11: Drive 6 hours from Knysna to Cape Town via Garden Route

• April 11 - 16: Cape Town

• April 16 (noon): Fly from Cape Town (CPT) → Johannesburg (JBN, 2 hours)

• April 17 (10 PM): Fly from JBN → ATL (17 hours) → SLC (4 hours)

• April 18: Land in SLC at 2:00 PM (-8 hour time change)

Planning our trip

With our guide (Sedonea) and tracker (Gladstone) at Sabi Sabi

I spent three-plus months planning this trip, and did hours of online research. I also had a huge leg up, as our friends in Knysna sent me a list of things we could do in both the Knysna area and in Cape Town. However, after a month of researching possible safari locations (both in and outside of Kruger National Park), I decided to use a travel agent for this portion of the trip.

I came across Jacada Travel in my research and reached out via email to schedule a consult call. James, my travel agent, lives in a South Africa and gave me fantastic advice. The safari was the part of the trip we were most looking forward to, and it felt smart to invest in our experience by hiring experts to help me plan. Though it was more expensive to book through them, it was 100% worth it to have them reserve both of our safari locations, arrange for all of the small plane transfers, and have a representative meet us at all of the larger airports to help with customs, baggage, and transport. (More on what it’s like to work with a travel agent and our 8 days on safari in upcoming articles.)

I planned the rest of the trip myself, booking all of our flights, a one-way rental car, and our hotels in Knysna, Cape Town, and Joburg. I also kept a huge Google Doc of things we may want to do in each area (from my own research, and our friends’ recommendations), with notes like “2 hours from Knysna” or “on the way to Cape Town.” While I didn’t plan an itinerary for every city, we had a wish list to choose from day-by-day based on our energy, the weather, and how far we were willing to drive.

Medical prep

We did a consultation with my MD six weeks before we left, to ensure we were prepared with necessary medications and vaccinations. Visit the CDC’s current recommendations for vaccinations in South Africa before your trip.

Coming up…

A lioness and her three cubs, captured with my iPhone from the safari Land Cruiser

In future articles, I’ll be sharing:

• My packing list: The accessories, supplies, and gear we packed (including a few things you should know about South Africa before you pack)

• What I wore: Everything I packed for eight days on safari and two more weeks traveling, including my travel bags

• Safari 101: Everything you need to know about our South African safaris (what to bring, what to expect, what the internet will tell you is a big deal but really isn’t, and three things I wish I had known ahead of time)

• Things to do in Knysna and the surrounding area

• Things to do in Cape Town

• Traveling in South Africa (flight tips, driving, and ride-sharing)

• Dining in South Africa (where we ate, what we ate, what it cost)

• What it’s like to work with a travel agency to plan your South African safari

If you have questions about our trip, share them in comments and I’ll make sure to address them in future articles! Stay tuned for more.

XO, MU

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Future articles in this series will be published first for paid subscribers of XO, MU. It’s $6 a month to join, and gives you access to all of my resources, including my US travel and hiking guides! Thank you for supporting my work. I love sharing my travels with you and hope the details I’ll provide here will help you plan your trip, saving you time, money, and energy.