South Africa's Garden Route

Brent was knowledgeable about everything we saw and dealt with some disruptive elements within the group.

What a trip, we can highly recommend it! We booked an extra night pre-tour in Cape Town and could easily have filled an extra 2 nights, there is so much to see and do in Cape Town that isn't covered in the tour itininary. A Hop On Hop Off bus is a good option on arrival day, the red route will take you to the cable car for Table Mountain. Ubers are incredibly cheap and the best way to get around. We were pleased that we made the boat trip out to Robben Island, if we'd had an extra day we would have visited the Kirstenbosch National Botancial Gardens. Bee (Bianca) is an exceptional, top rate guide, she made our trip super special for us, particularly as we ended being the only 2 travellers and not the usual Explore small group experience. Although we stuck pretty much to the itininary Bee's flexibility ensured that we got the very most out of everywhere that we visited. We loved our additional stop at the Ostrich farm in Oudtshoorn - an ostrich neck massage is a must-do once in a lifetime experience! The hiking trails in the Robberg Nature Reserve involve steep uneven and precipitous climbs and descents, not for the faint hearted, so instead we opted for a fun boat trip spotting many fur seals and cormorants at the foot of the Robberg cliffs and a trip to the Monkeyland sancturay - both excellent alternatives that we were very pleased that we visited. The accommodation lived up to all expectations, each place unique in its own way; comfy beds, good showers, plenty of hot water and good breakfasts including the novelty of a 'bagged' breakfast from Elna, our fabulous host at De Poort. The sheer variety of this trip, the great hospiltality from the South African people and our superb guide made this a very memorable holiday. Practical notes: power sockets - you need the fat round 3 pin plugs not the skinnier ones that Amazon sell as compatable, not all usb sockets work, many hotels also have European 2 pin sockets; not all accommodation provide hairdryers in the room but you can probably borrow from reception; you can pay for everything with credit card even at Sedgefield market, no surcharge for small purchases, we only used cash for tips; expect to pay roughly half of what you would pay for food and drink in the UK.

A nice itinerary with beautiful scenery! We started in Cape Town, a nice city with an interesting history. The rest of the trip was along the beautiful coast. The food and wines are excellent. The walks could be challenging if you not used to walking on rocky slopes. Our guide was also the driver which meant that we did not get the usual information on the history of the country. He was good at organisation but I missed the guided tours and the information about each town we visited. Apart from a beautiful trip with a lovely group

My first experience using Explore. I found the itinerary included a lot of free afternoon/ mornings, perhaps too much ar times. Because there was no guide, just a driver, it was lacking in information and guidance. Stanley, the driver, was excellent. He absolute did his best and would go out of his way to make sure we were able to have some brilliant experiences. He was on call and put in so much effort but he wasn't a guide. The accommodation was excellent. The minivan was not the best, nowhere to put bags, hats etc and luggage was in a trailer. Personally I found thd trip to lack some direction.

A thoroughly enjoyable trip with a great group of people. Lots of interesting places and beautiful walks - if quite strenuous. I’m sure a bit more information about places and life living in Cape Town now and in the past would have been interesting.