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Our most recommended Knysna Hiking

From Cape Town: 5-Day Best of Garden Route and Addo Safari

1. From Cape Town: 5-Day Best of Garden Route and Addo Safari

Day 1: Route 62 (travel about 400 km) Start with a morning pickup from Cape Town and Stellenbosch. Travel along Route 62, the longest wine route in the world, with a wine-tasting stop (non-alcoholic tasting available too) before reaching Oudtshoorn by late afternoon. For a close encounter with Mother Nature, opt in to join elephant guides on an Elephant Observation Nature Walk (at extra cost) and follow 3 lovable rescued elephants in their natural Cango Valley bush veld habitat. Overnight at Uthando Backpackers (dorm or saver package) or 88 van Rheede Guesthouse (3* comfort package) or Buffelsdrift Lodge (4* deluxe package). Day 2: Oudtshoorn (travel about 400 km excluding safari drives) Visit a working ostrich farm and see the largest flightless birds in the world. Next, head to the mountains to go deep underground in the illuminated wonder world of the Cango Caves, exploring vast halls filled with ancient stalactites before traveling onward to the Addo region. Overnight at Avaco Cabins (dorm or saver package) or Gerald's Gift (comfort package) or Addo Wildlife lodge (deluxe package). Day 3: Addo, Jeffreys Bay (travel about 200 km) An early morning start allows the best option to spot wildlife as the bush awakes in Addo Elephant National Park, the 3rd largest national park in South Africa. Join the park's optional 4x4 game drive or simply take the included 2-hour safari bus drive. Along with. your guide, search for some of the big five, which includes elephants, buffalos, lions, leopards, and rhinos. Spend your afternoon relaxing with free time at Jeffreys Bay's Beach. Choose between surfing, beach horseback riding, or sand boarding (all optional at an extra cost). Overnight at Island Vibe (dorm or saver package) or Sea Whisper (3* comfort package) or On The Beach Lodge (4* deluxe package). Day 4: Tsitsikamma, Sedgefield (travel about 250 km) Experience the highest bungy jump bridge in the world, Waterfall Zipline over waterfalls in the nearby Tsitsikamma forest for even more optional adventure (at extra cost) or spend more time in Tsitsikamma National Park. Take a short walk to the suspension bridges before a photo stop at Knysna's lagoon en route to Sedgefield. Overnight at Pili Pili Beach Cabanas (dorm or saver) Fairy Knowe (3* comfort) or Dolphin Dunes (4* deluxe). Day 5: Wilderness (travel about 450 km excluding safari drives) Take to the water for a leisurely canoeing session to a secret waterfall along the rivers of the wilderness region. On the journey back to Cape Town, spot wildlife on a 4x4 Botlierskop game drive (at extra cost) or relax at Mossel Bay's Diaz Beach after walking to the Cape St Blaize lighthouse. Your adventure ends with an evening drop-off at your Cape Town or Stellenbosch accommodation.

Garden Route and Addo Elephant National Park: 6-Day Safari

2. Garden Route and Addo Elephant National Park: 6-Day Safari

Explore Hermanus, Oudtshoorn, Sedgefield, Knysna, Tsitsikamma, Addo, and Mossel Bay on an adventurous 6-day trip from Cape Town with accommodation, transportation, and most meals included. Discover wildlife and indigenous forests, taste local wine, canoe, hike, and visit the beaches of Mossel Bay. Day 1: Cape Town - Hermanus - Cape Agulhas Start your trip by departing from Cape Town to Hermanus. Follow the scenic coastal road to Betty's Bay to see a colony of endangered African penguins. Spend the afternoon in the seaside resort town of Hermanus, famous for being the home to hundreds of southern right whales from July to November. Later, drive on to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa and the place where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. Day 2: Cape Agulhas - Oudtshoorn Travel to Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo, known as the Ostrich Capital of the World, via Route 62, South Africa’s longest wine route. Enjoy lunch and a wine tasting at a local winery before checking into your accommodation, a working game farm in the Little Karoo. As the sun goes down, join a tour of the ostrich farm. Take in the views of the Outeniqua and Swartberg mountain ranges in the background before calling it a night. Day 3: Oudtshoorn - Sedgefield After breakfast, head to Outeniqua Mountain Pass and explore the Wilderness National Park by canoe. Paddle up the Touw River through the indigenous forest with an abundance of bird life. After about 40 minutes, leave the canoes for a 2 km hike along a boardwalk to a waterfall with rock pools. In the late afternoon, spend time exploring Sedgefield with its expansive views and beaches. Day 4: Sedgefield - Knysna - Tsitsikamma - Addo Head to the famous town of Knysna via the lavish Lake District of the Garden Route. Visit the Knysna Heads Viewpoint for sweeping views over the Knysna River and the Indian Ocean. Next, stop at Bloukrans Bridge to view the world’s highest bungee jump bridge. Midday will be spent in Tsitsikamma National Park, with its unique combination of indigenous forest and Indian Ocean coastline. The park has a wide choice of activities including hiking, crossing a suspension bridge, and swimming. In the afternoon, leave the Garden Route for the Big Five country, Addo. Day 5: Addo - Wilderness - Sedgefield Spend the morning exploring Addo Elephant National Park. Get up to 2-3 hours to roam the 28,000-hectare national reserve, home to approximately 600 elephants and other animals including buffalo, lions, rhinos, warthogs, and more. After a morning on safari, drive back to the Garden Route where you'll stay overnight in the Wilderness or Sedgefield area. Day 6: Wilderness - Sedgefield - Mossel Bay - Cape Town After breakfast, stop in Mossel Bay to spend some time on the beach. Hike the Cape St. Blaize trail along the seaside cliffs and visit the famous Diaz Museum complex, which commemorates the first known European exploration around the tip of Africa. The more adventurous can try a 10,000-foot tandem skydive or sandboarding on the longest dune in South Africa. Later, arrive back at Cape Town in the early evening for drop-off.

Garden Route and Addo Elephant National Park: 5-Day Safari

3. Garden Route and Addo Elephant National Park: 5-Day Safari

Experience the best of South Africa's Western Cape and look for wildlife in spectacular national parks, such as Addo Elephant National Park. Take part in a host of available optional activities, including a bungee jump off the world's highest bungee bridge and a tandem skydive from 10,000 feet. Choose from a range of accommodation options and sleeping arrangements, including shared dormitories to save you money! Day 1: Cape Town – Hermanus – Cape Agulhas (D) Depart Cape Town early on Monday morning and head for Hermanus. Please note that shark cage diving clients will be picked up very early in the morning by the diving operator and will miss the first half of this day’s itinerary. Follow the scenic coastal road, stopping at Betties Bay to view a colony of endangered African penguins. Spend the afternoon in the seaside resort town of Hermanus, famous for the hundreds of Southern right whales during whale season (July to November) as well as its many shops, restaurants and markets. Drive to Cape Agulhas in the afternoon to discover the southernmost tip of Africa. Visit a viewpoint known as the “real” place, and see where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. Stay the night in Cape Agulhas/Struisbaai. • Included activities: Penguins at Betties Bay • Optional activities: Shark cage dive; whale-watching boat trip (in season, July – November). Day 2: Cape Agulhas – Oudtshoorn (B, D) Travel along scenic Route 62 on route to Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo, known as the “Ostrich Capital of the World,” and experience South Africa’s longest wine route. Take a break for lunch and a wine tasting at a local winery, before checking into your accommodation, which is on a working game farm in the Little Karoo. As the sun goes down, enjoy a tour of the ostrich farm, taking in the views of the Outeniqua and Swartberg mountain ranges in the background. • Included activities: Local wine tasting; Klein Karoo ostrich farm tour Day 3: Oudtshoorn – Knysna – Sedgefield (B, D) After breakfast, head over to the marvelous Outeniqua Mountain Pass and explore Wilderness National Park with some canoes. Enjoy a paddle up the Touw River through the indigenous forest, enjoying the abundance of bird life. After about 40 minutes, the canoes will be left for a 2 km hike along a boardwalk, which leads to a lovely waterfall and rock pools. Spend the late afternoon exploring Sedgefield, with its expansive views and beaches. • Included activities: Canoeing and hiking in Wilderness National Park Day 4: Sedgefield – Tsitsikamma – Addo (B, D) Head to the famous town of Knysna via the Lake District of the Garden Route. Visit the Knysna Heads viewpoint and marvel at magnificent views over the Knysna River estuary and the Indian Ocean. After Knysna, stop at Bloukrans Bridge to view the world’s highest bungee jump bridge (216 meters). Enjoy plenty of time for the adventure seekers to test their courage. Midday will be spent in Tsitsikamma National Park with its unique combination of indigenous forest and beautiful Indian Ocean coastline. The Park has a wide choice of activities for all, including hiking, crossing a suspension bridge, and swimming. In the afternoon, leave the Garden Route behind and head for Big 5 country, Addo. • Included activities: Entrance to Tsitsikamma National Park • Optional activities: 216-meter bungee jump at Bloukrans Day 5: Addo Elephant National Park – Port Elizabeth Spend the morning exploring Addo Elephant National Park for up to 2-3 hours. Look for indigenous animals in the 28,000-hectare national reserve, including approximately 600 elephants along with Cape buffalo, lions, black rhinos, warthogs, zebras, eland, kudu, hartebeest, and many more. After an exciting morning of game viewing, drive to Port Elizabeth for a drop-off at the location of your choice between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM. • Included activities: Entrance and 2-3 hour drive through Addo Elephant National Park by tour vehicle • Optional activities: 2-hour open vehicle game drive with an Addo Elephant National Park field guide

From Cape Town: 7 Day Garden Route, Addo and Winelands Combo

4. From Cape Town: 7 Day Garden Route, Addo and Winelands Combo

Join the ultimate Garden Route experience: explore the winding roads from Cape Town to Addo National Park with a combo tour package including a 2-day Western Cape tour and a 5-day Garden Route tour. Enjoy accommodation, tastings, bushwalks, and more. Day 1-2: Cape Winelands and Cape Point Sample wine paired with cheese at the Fairview wine estate and enjoy chocolate at the Muratie Wine Estate in the scenic Cape Winelands. Join a 15-minute wine tram journey to Rickety Bridge in the historic town of Franschhoek for a Taste & Tram tour along the Cape Winelands (or similar). Continue to spend time in Franschhoek for lunch before you return to Cape Town for your overnight stay as per your selected package: Never@home Backpackers (Saver), 3-star Sea Point Protea or Sky hotel (Comfort), or 4-star Garden Court Hotel Victoria Junction or similar (Deluxe). The next day, travel via Chapman's Peak towards Cape Point. After a short hike to the top of the lighthouse and a stroll down to the Cape of Good Hope, journey along Boulder's Beach to visit the penguins. Drive past colorful beach huts at Muizenberg Beach before another overnight stay in Cape Town. Day 3: Oudtshoorn Capture the beauty of the high mountains and rugged Karoo Plains on a drive along the legendary Route 62 to reach and explore the Cango Caves. Stay the night in Oudtshoorn: Uthando Backpackers (Saver), 3-star Yamkela Guesthouse (Comfort), or 4-star Buffelsdrift Lodge or similar (Deluxe). Day 4: Addo Fall in love with giant orphaned elephants on an optional bush walk. Visit an ostrich farm before spending the night in the town of Addo: Avoca Cabins (Saver), 3-star Gerlads Gift Guesthouse (Comfort), 4-star Addo Wildlife Lodge or similar (Deluxe). Day 5: Addo and J’bay Look for wildlife on a game drive by tour bus at Addo Elephant National Park, home to the densest population of wild elephants on the planet. Chill at J’bay Beach: swim, surf, or join in optional activities like beach horse riding or sand boarding. Stay overnight at Jeffrey's Bay: Island Vibe Backpackers (Saver), 3-star Sea Whisper (Comfort), or 4-star On The Beach Guesthouse (Deluxe). Day 6: Wilderness Face your fear during an optional jump from the world's highest bungee bridge at the Bloukrans, zip-line over waterfalls, or have more time to explore the Tsitsikamma National Park. Visit The Heads Viewpoint at Knysna, then stay overnight in the Wilderness National Park area: PiliPili Backpackers (Saver), 3-star Fairy Knowe (Comfort), or 4-star Dolphin Dune (Deluxe). Day 7: Wilderness National Park Canoe peacefully in nature in the Wilderness region and watch abundant birdlife while rowing to a waterfall. Choose to visit Mossel Bay Beach or partake in an optional 4x4 Botlierskop Game Reserve Safari before arriving back in the Cape in the evening.

The Knysna Experience Tour

5. The Knysna Experience Tour

The Circles in the Forest A hike to remember. The circles in the forest are situated in the Goldfield (“Goudveld”) forest in Knysna. The trail starts at the Krisjan-se-Nek picnic site. It is a beautiful scenic walk, the walk is sensual and picturesque. You will come across a swimming hole and waterfall. The trail goes through the forest surrounding you with a thick density of ferns, large trees and the forest floor is thriving with frogs and other small critters, if you are lucky you may also spot the infamous Knysna Loerie. There are two routes: a short 3.1km circle route and a 9km circle route. The effort level during this walk ranges from easy to moderate, making this pleasant for anyone over the age of 5. Margaret’s View Point This roadside stop can be found on the way to Brenton-on-Sea and offers breath-taking views of the Knysna Estuary and an overview of the dynamic town. The viewpoint is named after Margaret Addinal, an avid conversationist, who persistently campaigned for this viewpoint. Brenton-On-Sea Brenton-On-Sea is a seaside resort town 15km west of Knysna, named after Sir Jahleel Brenton, who declared Knysna a harbour in 1818. The area is home to the endangered Brenton Blue butterfly, the only place in the world where it can be found. Township Tour The Knysna township tour takes you through the suburbs of Concordia, Khayalethu, Hornlee and Judahs Square. Entering the large colourful jumble of wooden shacks you will pass Judahs Square a little, yet growing Rastafarian community. Half Knysna Experience excluding Sunset Cruise R750 pp Full Experience including Sunset Cruise R1100 pp

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What people are saying about Knysna

Overall rating

4.9 / 5

based on 66 reviews

Highly recommended ,, Do not in hesitate to book this trip. It is amazing filled with Best tourist attraction , information and knowledge . Our Tour Guide ( Christine ) is the best she is very kind , helpful, knowledge person . She fulfilled all of our requests. she expand our knowledge with lots of information about South Africa and took us to hidden tourist attraction . We met very amazing people in this trip from all over the world. They have the best customer care fast respond to email and request. we saw all the culture all the nature we met great people on the way we saw lots of animal , waterfall everything was amazing starting from the places and accommodation that we stay in and it end with the Food so delicious so good we loved everything in this trip. there is nothing You need to worry about it … just book this trip and you will see by yourself ♥️ Thank You very much for everything ♥️

Great tour. Communication for initial pickup was good and on time, from there our guide TK looked after everything. Backpackers accommodations were a good standard overall (varied from basic to really nice). Activities were brilliant and scenery throughout the tour was fab. Tour guide TK added a lot of knowledge and was keen to share South African history and culture with the group as well as learn about our countries current affairs, culture and history.

Such a good tour - so worth it! We had Wendy as our guide who was totally phenomenal - I can’t recommend her enough. She was so knowledgable and upbeat and organised, it made everything so easy and interesting. The views were stunning, the activities interesting, the food tasty, the hostels clean and secure - I can’t recommend enough!

Tour excellently arranged, guests get a good insight of important highlights along the Garden Route within a few days. I am fully satisfied with the accommodations and meals.

5/5 Sternen, mega Tourguide, mega Restaurants/ Übernachtungen