PLANNING YOUR TRIP: 4 DAYS IN CAPE TOWN ITINERARY
April 3, 2024
Things to see in Cape Town range from modern districts to nature parks! Here is a ‘4 days in Cape Town itinerary’ for visiting Cape Town in 4 days!
Here is our 10-day itinerary in South Africa: from Cape Town, via the Blyde River Canyon, to Kruger National Park!
South Africa is a country where the presence of man and unchallenged nature have learned to coexist and blend together, creating a breathtaking contrast. In cities such as Cape Town you can feel the full force of the ocean, and inland towns and cities have found their place in the middle of the bush and savannah, all the way to the mountains of the Blyde River Canyon.
There are plenty of places to visit and in this article we offer you our 10 day itinerary South Africa that will take you from the beautiful city of Cape Town to the far south to the Cape of Good Hope and then up to the Kruger National Park.
Ready to explore South Africa in 10 days?
South Africa is a huge country with so much to see and do. You’ve got the well-known Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope, the wine regions, the Garden Route, the mountains and natural parks, and of course Kruger National Park.
When we decided to go on a 10-day journey of discovery of South Africa, we wanted our itinerary to include four main areas: So, we’ve got Cape Town, the Cape of Good Hope, the inland area of Mpumalanga, Blyde River Canyon and Kruger National Park.
South Africa’s main airports are Cape Town and Johannesburg. In fact, there are airlines that offer flights to both of these airports, including Emirates, Qatar Airways, British Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and many others.
In order to visit all of these places in South Africa in 10 days, it is obviously necessary to move around and plan accommodations in different places so as to optimize the time devoted to travel. Consequently, you also need to plan for multi-trip airline flights, as we explain more in the following.
In summary, here is a super summary of the travel arrangements for our 10-day itinerary in South Africa:
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During your time in Cape Town, we recommend using Uber or renting a car to get around, particularly on the last two days when you will be leaving the city to visit places such as Cape Point and Boulders Beach. For the first two days, however, you can easily get around on foot or by Uber.
For the part of the trip that takes you to the South African hinterland and Kruger National Park, you will need to rent a car again. For example, you could pick it up at Nelspruit Airport and drop it off at Johannesburg Airport (although this will cost a little more).
🚗🚗 FIND HERE all available cars at Cape Town Airport
🚙🚙 FIND HERE all available cars at Nelspruit Airport
Here’s how we divided the overnight stays for this 10-day South Africa itinerary:
For accommodation, we recommend a mid-range hotel in Cape Town, ideally in the Waterfront or Greenpoint area. In Mpumalanga, particularly in Graskop, we opted for a B&B in a beautiful colonial house (which was also very cheap!). Finally, we recommend staying either inside Kruger National Park or near the entrance gates, as we did. This option is cheaper but still very convenient.
🐧 Cape Town: Head South Lodge ⭐Trip To Try Choice
🌲Blyde River Canyon: Westlodge Graskop B&B ⭐Trip To Try Choice
🐘 Kruger National Park: Crocodile Bridge Safari Lodge ⭐Trip To Try Choice
Things to see in Cape Town range from modern districts to nature parks! Here is a ‘4 days in Cape Town itinerary’ for visiting Cape Town in 4 days!
The first day of our 10-day itinerary in South Africa starts by exploring the historic center of Cape Town to take a walk through its most famous main streets and visit its characteristic neighborhoods.
If you’re in downtown Cape Town, you can follow a route that will take you through the most famous places in the historic centre:
Although this neighbourhood is now famous for how nice it looks and how easy it is to take pictures, the colours of the houses in Bo-Kaap have a much deeper meaning. They symbolise the struggle against slavery. In fact, the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood started out as the “Malay Quarter”. The Dutch built this neighbourhood to house slaves deported mainly from Malaysia. At the time, the place looked very different: all the buildings were white and the use of warm colours typical of the area was forbidden. When slavery was abolished, all the houses were painted in bright colours. This was to symbolise the freedom won and the rebirth of the people.
If you want to know more about the history of this neighbourhood, you should definitely visit the Iziko Bo-Kaap Museum, which is in one of the old houses here.
You can end your tour of the historic centre of Cape Town with a stroll in the gorgeous Company’s Garden park, which is right next to another cool museum, the Iziko South African Museum.
🏫 BUY HERE the Cape Town City Centre and Bo-Kaap Walking Tour
In the late afternoon and for dinner, we suggest you head to the Constantia wine area to visit the vineyards and try some South African wines (which have been really popular lately), before enjoying an excellent dinner overlooking the vineyards at the Beau Constantia restaurant.
This wine-producing area is located not far from Cape Town and is perfect if you do not have much time to spare. Instead, if you have a few extra days, we recommend getting to the famous Stellenbosch, where you will find some of South Africa’s most famous wineries.
Short Market Street in Cape Town
Dinner at Beau Constantia restaurant
Bo-Kaap
🐧 Low budget: Anchor Bay Workation
🐧🐧 Medium budget: Head South Lodge ⭐Trip To Try Choice
🐧🐧🐧 No limits: Radisson Red Hotel V&A Waterfront Cape Town
The second day of our 10-day itinerary in South Africa is dedicated to visiting Cape Town’s most modern neighborhood: the V&A Waterfront, located on the ocean. This neighborhood is the most famous in the city and definitely one of the places to include in any itinerary in South Africa, and it is also one of the quieter areas where you can spend your evenings.
The Waterfront consists of several modern buildings, including the large shopping mall, the Watershed, museums and restaurants, and the aquarium that line the pedestrian walkways that run along the pier.
If you are looking for souvenirs or local handicrafts, we recommend visiting the Watershed building.
V&A Waterfront
The V&A Waterfront is where you can buy tickets and catch the ferry to Robben Island. After a nice morning checking out the Waterfront, you head off to this amazing place, which is definitely worth a visit if you’re planning to spend 10 days exploring South Africa. Robben Island is definitely one of the symbolic places of the struggle against apartheid that shook this country, and is still a present and heartfelt issue today.
The visit to Robben Island lasts about three hours, so when you get back, we suggest you stop by the Waterfront again in the evening. Have a drink in one of the bars with a great view, and enjoy an excellent dinner in one of the typical restaurants there.
Opening hours: guided tour daily at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. (3 p.m. only from September to April)
Entrance fee: 600 ZAR (approximately €31.40)
Our tips: admissions are limited to the capacity of the ferries, so we recommend that you purchase your ticket online in advance. In case of bad weather, the visit will not take place, so keep an eye on the official website that will give you real-time updates!
On the third day of our 10-day itinerary in South Africa, we set off for the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, a huge park on the outskirts of Cape Town located on the slopes of Table Mountain.
You could easily spend a couple of hours in this park, following the trails through the different microclimates, woodlands, the famous Canopy Walk (a wooden walkway suspended between trees) and the colourful flowers, like the protea, which is South Africa’s signature flower. Free guided tours leave from the main entrances of the park during the day, and you can find more detailed information on the official website.
We reckon a great idea would be to visit the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and then drive to Constantia, which is just a few minutes away, for a wine tasting! If you’re interested, you can find the ticket for this combined tour here.
Opening hours: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. from September to March, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from April to August
Cost of admission: 230 ZAR (approximately €12). You can purchase your ticket online here.
After you have finished your visit to Kirstenbosch, you set off in the direction of Hout Bay, the port from which boat excursions depart to visit Duiker Island, or the island of sea lions. Duiker Island is a very small island where you will find a colony of hundreds of sea lions and which you can observe from the boat.
This is a fairly short visit, taking about an hour in total, including the round trip.
Opening hours: 9 am to 6 pm, there are plenty of tours starting from Hout Bay and leading to Duiker Island, you can buy your ticket online at this link
Cost of admission: average 140-150 ZAR (about 7-8 euros)
Our tips: the Hout Bay area is not the best, so tip the valets at the parking lot where you leave your car to be on the safe side!
So, on the third day of our 10-day South African itinerary, we’re heading to Table Mountain. It’s that famous flat-topped mountain that looms over Cape Town. To reach the top of the mountain, you need to take the cable car, which we recommend you book in advance to avoid the long lines. Or you could climb to the top on foot, which is a bit of a challenge and will take at least half a day. When you reach the top of the mountain, you can enjoy the amazing sunset views of the city and the ocean. If you’re planning a 10-day trip to South Africa, you’d be mad not to visit Table Mountain.
When you’re planning your trip to Table Mountain, it’s really important to check the weather forecast. If the wind is strong or the weather’s bad, the cable car might be closed and the walking route might not be suitable. You can find the latest info on the official website, which you can access via this link.
In the evening, we recommend you to book your typical dinner at the Gold Restaurant, where there are traditional dance performances to the beat of the bongo and you can try South African cuisine through a multi-course tasting menu.
Opening hours: 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Cost of admission: 430 ZAR for the A/R cable car ticket (about €22.50)
Our tips: in bad weather the cable car does not work and it is also dangerous to walk up, so keep an eye on the official website that will give you real-time updates!
🚞 BUY HERE your Table Mountain Cable Car Ticket and Cape Town Bus Tour
On our last day in Cape Town, we head to the far south of South Africa, starting at Muizenberg beach, where long rows of colourful beach cottages stand out against the ocean.
Muizenberg is about 40 minutes from Cape Town and is a popular spot for water sports enthusiasts, particularly surfers, as it’s very exposed to the wind. It’s also one of the most visited and photographed beaches by tourists, thanks to the rows of colourful cottages that line the coast. They were built by local fishermen in the early 20th century.
After spending some time taking photos or watching the surfers’ stunts at Muizenberg beach, we head to the famous penguin beach: Boulders Beach.
Boulders beach is located near Simon’s Town and is another must-see on a 10-day itinerary in South Africa.This is a protected beach, observable from wooden boardwalks, where penguin colonies live permanently. Here you can spend a pleasant hour or so watching these friendly animals diving into the ocean waves or hatching their eggs in the shelter of the vegetation surrounding the beach.
Opening hours: 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. in December and January, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from April to September, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. the remaining months
Entrance fee: 190 ZAR (about €10)
When you’ve finished exploring Boulders Beach, you’ll head off to the Cape of Good Hope, the well-known southernmost point of South Africa where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. When you get to the main car park, there are a few trails you can follow to explore the peninsula and get some amazing views of the coastline, with wild beaches where you might spot friendly ostriches or sea lions playing in the waves.
Opening hours: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. from October to March, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. from April to September
Cost of admission: 400 ZAR (about €21.90)
🐧 BUY HERE a tour that will take you to Boulders Beach and discover the Cape of Good Hope!
Cape of Good Hope
Muizenberg beach
Boulders Beach
On the fifth day of our 10-day itinerary in South Africa, we leave for the hinterland and the Mpumalanga area. Therefore, you need to take an internal flight from Cape Town to Nelspruit. Here, after picking up your new rental car, you need to head to the country of Hazyview.
In the village of Hazyview, after a great lunch, you can have two experiences: a visit to the reptile house, Perry’s Bridge Reptile Park, and a visit to the elephant sanctuary, Elephant Whispers.
Perry’s Bridge Reptile Park is home to so many species of reptiles, many of them native and found in the wild in South Africa. You will get to see demonstrations, where you can see some of the most venomous snakes in the world (and found in South Africa) and learn more about these animals. The trail runs through a park where there are several recent ones, including turtles and crocodiles.
Opening hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Fridays
Cost of admission: 160 ZAR (about €8.30)
Once you’ve been to Perry’s Bridge Reptile Park, you’ll be just a few metres away from one of the area’s most important elephant protection sites, Elephant Whispers. This place is where abused elephants are cared for and rescued. You’ll need to book a slot to visit, as you’ll be guided around and learn about the history of the place and the journey to help elephants recover. Then, you get to meet the gentle giants and pet and feed them.
Then at the end of the day, you’ll head off to your accommodation for the night: the village of Graskop, which is located in the Blyde River Canyon area.
If you’re travelling from Hazyview to Graskop, you’ll be taking in the views of the Mpumalanga region along the way. You’ll soon get the feeling of being in a typical mountain landscape.
The day ends with dinner in Graskop (we recommend The Glass House!).
Opening hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost of admission: from 860 ZAR (about €44.50) depending on the activity you want to participate in
Elephant Whispers
🌲 Low budget: Zur Alten Mine
🌲🌲 Medium budget: Westlodge Graskop B&B ⭐Trip To Try Choice
🌲🌲🌲 No limits: Angels View Hotel
Day six of our 10-day itinerary in South Africa starts early in the morning, exploring the Blyde River Canyon area, to which half the day is devoted, before heading off in the direction of the Kruger National Park. Here are the places you could visit using the whole morning:
The Mpumalanga hinterland area is full of amazing places and we think that in a trip discovering South Africa in 10 days should not be missed.
After a lunch break, it’s time to hit the road to the Kruger National Park. We opted for a lodge located in the southern part of the park, on the Crocodile River.Arriving in the late afternoon, you could already plan a guided night safari in the Kruger National Park.
Bourke's Luck Potholes
Blyde River Canyon
Berlin Falls
🐘 Low budget: Crocodile Bridge Safari Lodge ⭐Trip To Try Choice
🦒 Medium budget: Aha Skukuza Safari Lodge
🦁 No limits: Rhino Post safari Lodge
The last 4 days of our 10-day itinerary in South Africa are dedicated to Kruger National Park, where you can use all your available time to go on bush safari. Kruger National Park is an incredible park, where you enter the animal kingdom and have the opportunity to witness the spectacle of life in the bush. Needless to say, an itinerary in South Africa cannot fail to include a visit to Kruger National Park.
Having four days to spare, we recommend that you focus on the southern part of the park, where the likelihood of spotting the big five is greater as there is a higher concentration of animals.
You can either take guided safaris or explore the park by self-drive. For example, on the first day of our stay in the Kruger, we went on a full-day private guided safari to familiarize ourselves with the park and to get a sense of the distances to be traveled from camp to camp and the time required for travel. The next day we scheduled a guided safari with the Kruger rangers at dawn, when the gates are still closed to other visitors, and once that was over we jumped into a self-drive safari. On the third day we decided to go through the park again on self drive and then experience the guided safari at sunset.
On the last day you could say goodbye to Kruger National Park with one last sunrise safari, then leave in the direction of Johannesburgh to catch an international flight to Italy.
🦁 BUY HERE the private the full day safari in Kruger
🐘 BUY HERE the private the half day safari in Kruger
Elephant in Kruger National Park
Lion in Kruger National Park
Hippos fighting al Kruger National Park
If you are intrigued by the self-drive safari in the Kruger National Park and would like more information, we recommend that you read the article we have dedicated to this topic and you can find it at this link.
We hope that this article has enticed you to set off on a journey of discovery through the fantastic state of South Africa and that it will be helpful in planning your 10 days in South Africa travel itinerary. A 10-day trip to South Africa will allow you to visit its most famous sights, from the southern Cape of Good Hope and Cape Town to the northern Kruger National Park. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to answer them!
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