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Top things to do on the Garden Route
We had some amazing experiences along the Garden Route in South Africa. Depending on whether you’re driving it in a week, 10 days, or going full “slow travel” mode and taking a whole month, you can fit some of these activities into your itinerary.
Swimming with seals (Plettenberg Bay)
If there’s one thing you do on the Garden Route, it should be this. Swimming with seals is an epic opportunity and I don’t know if there are any other countries in the world where you can do this! Plettenberg Bay is the best place to swim with seals in South Africa, but not the only.
The tour operator we booked through Get Your Guide, Offshore Adventures, was committed to making sure we didn’t chase or touch the seals, and they didn’t feed them or anything to lure them over. (But they did that on their own accord, they were very playful!)
Knysna Heads & Coney Glen Beach
You’ll find some of the best lagoon and ocean views at the Knysna Heads. It looks down at Coney Glen Beach and across to the Featherbed Nature Reserve. If you’re lucky you’ll be able to spot some seals or otters!
Coney Glen Beach is just below the Heads and you can drive a couple minutes down from the viewpoint to the beach. It’s definitely worth doing both.
St Blaize Hiking Trail (Mossel Bay)
You can start this hiking trail from town, just below the lighthouse. It’s a 14 km out-and-back trail, so if you do the whole thing, pack accordingly for a 28 km journey. The first stretch includes a cool cave with a bit of the area’s history and an epic viewpoint of the rugged coast. But if you’re not ready or don’t have time for a big hike, just walk until you’re over it and want to turn back.
Wilderness
Spend more time in Wilderness (the place, not literally just the outdoors) on your Garden Route trip. It’s famous for its beach, and it’s very nice, but explore beyond if you have time.
Touw River canoeing
You can rent a canoe from Ebb and Flow Rest Camp and go for a chill paddle on the calm water — keep your eyes peeled for birds! At a natural stopping point, get out of the boat and follow a walking trail that leads to a waterfall and swimming hole.
Map of Africa viewpoint
Also in Wilderness, drive up to the Map of Africa viewpoint. The Kaaimans River loops around a forested hill and creates a strangely accurate outline of the African continent. (Go with an open mind.) Pretty on-the-nose for a South African road trip, but I guess Mother Nature has a sense of humour. It’s free and only takes about 10 minutes.
Paragliding
This is one of the best places for paragliding in South Africa. Tandem flights don’t require any experience, you just blindly trust a stranger and go running off a hill strapped to someone who knows what they’re doing. Easy! Worth it for the views up there.
Bloukrans Bungy Jump
Are you a thrill-seeker? The Bloukrans Bungy Jump is the highest in Africa (not just South Africa). So this is definitely something to tick off your “most” bucket list. The Sky Walk and zipline options are more tame if you want to dabble in a bit of fun without going full bungy. You’ll pass it just before Tsitsikamma National Park, which brings me to my next point…
Tsitsikamma National Park
This is a little adventure paradise! Make sure you save some energy (and money) for one or two activities like tubing or ziplining. The Waterfall Trail is free to hike and kind of has it all: waterfalls, the coast, and caves.
Storms River Suspension Bridge
Storms River Mouth is the last stop of the official Garden Route SA. The suspension bridge is very much “a thing” and you’ve probably seen the photo pop up when researching this epic road trip in South Africa. It’s inside the Tsitsikamma National Park, so easy to include in your itinerary.
Kayaking Storms River
The suspension bridge is cool, but getting out on the water is arguably the best way to explore Storms River. You can join an unique kayak and “lilo” trip — basically an inflatable raft you can lie down on. Book with Untouched Adventures.
The Otter Trail
This isn’t a typical Garden Route activity, but I had to mention it for the avid hikers. The Otter Trail stretches 42 kilometres over five days and is absolutely stunning following the coast. If you’re trip is a bit open-ended and you’ve packed your hiking shoes, see if you can reserve a space at the four overnight camps on the route.
Monkeyland (Plettenberg Bay)
Monkeyland is one of many animal activities along the Garden Route. And yes, ok, many of these rescue monkeys are not endemic to South Africa, but they’re still fun to see.
You can easily combine this visit with Birds of Eden, which is right next door. Jukani is also in the area, but it houses big cats and that one starts to feel a little too close to the unethical line, so we skipped it.
Cango Caves (temporarily closed)
Head inland over the mountains to Oudtshoorn — a bit of a detour from the traditional Garden Route. You can explore the massive limestone Cango Caves on a walking tour or the adventure tour, which involves squeezing yourself through small gaps. If tight spaces aren’t your thing, there’s no shame in booking the standard, spacious option.
The caves are closed temporarily, but you can contact reservations@cangocaves.co.za to check in or visit the Oudtshoorn tourism page for updates.
Bonus: Whale Watching (Hermanus)
Technically, Hermaus isn’t on the Garden Route. But it’s between Cape Town and Mossel Bay, where the route officially starts, so I’m including it anyway.
Obviously whale watching is always incredible, but it can be a pretty expensive activity. Hermanus is unique in that the southern right whales come super close to the shore. This means you don’t necessarily need to get on a boat to see them, and can watch them from dry land for free! They come through for the mating season from July to November. So you’re also likely to see some bébés, like we did in October.
There are still boat tours if you’d rather go with a guide who will be more informative and better at spotting them. Helicopter tours are also an option, and a pretty unique way to see them.
Bonus: Addo Elephant Park (Gqeberha)
The Addo Elephant Park is another spot that’s not actually on the Garden Route, but it’s so close that we’ll count it. This is one of South Africa’s most famous parks and is, as the name suggests, it’s dedicated to elephants. The perfect place for spotting your favourite gentle giants.
There’s no reason not to do both, but if you’re doing a self-drive safari in the Kruger National Park, you won’t feel as much FOMO for skipping the Addo.
Full Garden Route tour packages
If you can’t or don’t want to drive, if you’re short on time, if you simply prefer more structure, there are multi-day Garden Route tours you can book.
Naomi Lai
Naomi is a Canadian travel editor and writer with 13 years of international travel across Southeast Asia, Europe, South America, New Zealand, and beyond. She covers everything from budget backpacking to luxury travel — always from personal experience.
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