Itinerary
  
Day 1: Arrive Cape Town, South Africa
You will be met upon arrival and taken to the Victoria & Alfred Hotel or the Cape Grace, where you will spend the next three nights on a bed and breakfast basis. Both hotels are conveniently located on the Victoria and Alfred waterfront.

Day 2: Full Day Tour of Cape Peninsula & Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
From Cape Town you will head along the western or Atlantic seaboard, characterized by rocky indentations, beautiful stretches of wide beaches and charming bays. You will make a stop at Hout Bay Harbor where, as an optional extra, you can take a half-hour cruise to see the seals or you can simply stroll around the harbor and visit the fish markets and shops. From Hout Bay you will travel over the mountains, descending into the flat, low marshy plain of Noordhoek, and into the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. The Reserve is known for its floral diversity (about 1200 species) and populations of bontebok, Cape mountain zebra, springbok (the national emblem), Cape grysbok, grey rhebok, red hartebeest, eland duiker, Cape fox, caracal, and chacma baboon. These baboons are unique in that their diet consists largely of marine foods, which they gather at low tide. Over 160 species of birds have been recorded in the reserve. Cape Point itself is one of the finest view sites – you can either climb the steps or take the shuttle bus to the top for a small additional fee. After lunch you'll head off to famous Boulders Beach, where you can sit face-to-face with African penguins, the only penguin species found on the continent. Later this afternoon you will head back along the False Bay coastline to Simonstown,then on to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens – one of the world's leading botanic gardens. 9,000 of the country's 18,000 indigenous flowering plant species are cultivated here. The bird life attracted to the gardens includes the Cape sugarbird, malachite, lesser double-collared and orangebreasted sunbirds, Cape bulbul, Cape francolin, cuckoo, and Cape batis.

Day 3: Full Day Winelands Tour
No trip to the Western Cape is complete without a tour of the wine country. This morning you will travel through verdant valleys and farmlands, with views of the Hottentots Holland and Simonsberg mountains in the distance. Estates visited will vary but usually include picturesque Neetlingshof with its beautifully restored Manor House and modern cellar, and Vlottenburg Co-op. Here you will taste wines and sample cheeses from some of the Cape's most beautiful estates. After lunch, continue on to Franschhoek, nestled in the Valley of the Huguenots, where the French first settled in 1688, past the Victor Verster prison where Nelson Mandela was a political prisoner. Next, if time permits, you will visit the Huguenot Memorial and Museum, before driving to Boschendal for a tasting and tour of this historic estate. Next you'll travel over Helshoogte Pass to Stellenbosch, the second oldest town in South Africa. Enjoy the drive along Dorp Street with its beautiful display of Cape Dutch houses. After a chance to visit the shops and galleries in town, you will visit the town of Paarl, birthplace of the Afrikaans language, before returning to Cape Town.

Day 4: Depart Cape Town
Transfer to airport for return flight.

 
Trip Details

Included
Airport transfers, hotel accommodations (Victoria & Alfred or the Cape Grace), breakfast daily, 2 lunches, guided tours of the Cape, Kirstenbosch and the Winelands.

Not Included
Air transportation to Cape Town, items of a personal nature, gratuities to guides and drivers.

Physical Requirements
Easy
This trip is easy for travelers of nearly every physical fitness level. Of course, should you wish to hike (on Table Mountain or elsewhere) a higher degree of physical fitness is required.