GARDEN ROUTE

Hmm, well, this is a classic. But if you’ve already planned a few swanky days in the coastal suburbs of Cape Town, and time is of the essence, I’d think, just for a minute, about not bothering with it. It’s perfectly gorgeous - a bit like California’s Highway 1 - but if it’s between the Garden Route and the Winelands, the Winelands win every time. If you’re flash enough to have time for all three, lucky you. These beaches are South Africa’s best - and, unless you’re mad enough to go over Christmas, they’re virtually empty.

Give yourself a good four or five days to do it, and ideally be brave and serendipitous... as you would on an American fly-drive. There are so many beautiful B&Bs in each town, you can either park up and check-in whenever you’re tired of driving, or book a day ahead once you’ve asked for tip-offs.

Keep an eye out, though, for Hog Hollow Country Lodge (00 27 4 4534 8879, www.hog-hollow.com ; luxury suites from £170, B&B, including car wash, as if you care how muddy your hire car is), on the edge of the indigenous forests nine miles east of Plettenberg Bay. And in Plett itself, right out on the bluff looking across the lagoon to the rolling breakers of the Indian Ocean, you have the magnificent Bay Lodge, another of the reputable i-escape.com’s top recommendations for South Africa. Doubles cost £157, B&B, which gets you total luxury and who-cares-about-global-economic-meltdown sea views.

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BACKGROUND

• Table Mountain: a tough climb?

• Is the Table Mountain cable car safe?

• The best holiday bargain? South Africa

• Is Cape Town safe?

• Dom Joly in the Cape

Related Internet Links

• Research features from our South Africa section

Usefully, there is usually no drop-off charge on car hire in South Africa, which helps with the Garden Route, where you can save hassle by flying into Port Elizabeth and out from Cape Town or vice versa.

SAFARI

If you’re going to do Kruger National Park – and if you have any ambition at all to tick off the Big Five you should – you have to be very careful who you do it with. There is nothing quite so depressing as sitting in a truck looking at three bored lions and 12 other trucks full of people wondering how this was any better than a zoo. You have two options: stay on a private reserve that borders Kruger, or in one of the very few lodges that have a bit of Kruger to themselves.

A good bet for option one is Elephant Plains (www.elephant plains.co.za ), a lovely lodge on the Sabi Sand Wildtuin, adjacent to the park. A private rondavel costs £195 a night for two, including two daily game drives and a bush walk and three fine meals. Getting there is, unfortunately, expensive in high season, when airfares from Jo’burg cost up to £300 per person. Going by road takes seven hours.

Option two, you want the truly epic Jock Safari Lodge. It has its own private bit of Kruger to itself, as well as the complete freedom to roam around the rest of the park. The game-viewing here is unparalleled, as are the gin and tonics on the veranda, as are the game steaks, as are the fabulous roll-top baths . . . I’m building it up because it’s not cheap: expect to pay £400-plus a night, but I promise it’s good value. They have a UK number (01483 425465) or the website is www.jocksafari lodge.com .

GETTING THERE AND AROUND

If only we had run this last week – when the nonstop carriers all had seat sales, with fares to Cape Town from just £560 return. Now peak season is approaching and they have bounced back to nudge £1,000. Diddums. Keep an eye on BA (0844 493 0787, www.ba.com ), Virgin Atlantic (0870 380 2007, www.virgin-atlantic.com ) and the grim South African Airways (0870 747 1111, www.flysaa.com ) for any further offers.

Failing that, making a plane change will save serious money, with Iberia in Madrid, Air Namibia in Windhoek, Lufthansa in Frankfurt, KLM in Amsterdam, Turkish Airlines in Istanbul, or Emirates, Etihad or Qatar Airways in the Gulf. The latter has fares from Heathrow and Gatwick from £460.

There is less price pressure on the Johannesburg route, as there are many more flights. Currently, Emirates has fares from £500, while Qatar, KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, Kenya Airways (via Nairobi) and Olympic (via Athens) have fares for £500-£600. Etihad, TAP (via Lisbon) and the nonstop services of SAA, Virgin and BA are about £650.

It is 785 crow-flying miles between Johannesburg and Cape Town, so look at the country’s biggest no-frills air-line, Kulula (www.kulula.com ). It has fares from Johannesburg to Cape Town or Port Elizabeth from £40 one-way, and to Dur-ban from £28. Also 1time (www.1time.aero ) and Fly Mango (www.flymango.com ) are worth a look.

TOUR OPERATORS

To pick up the very latest currency fluctuations, you need to be travelling independently and paying in rand. However, last week some operators were already announcing deals in the wake of the latest low rates. Rainbow Tours (020 7226 1004, www. rainbowtours.co.uk ) is well worth a look before you embark on an indie adventure. And top-end Cazenove+Loyd (020 7384 2332, www.cazloyd.com ) is also quoting on the exchange rate of the day.

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