Eastern Cape family safari holiday

Blessed with a Mediterranean climate and a dramatic, picture postcard situation, Cape Town rivals the world’s most celebrated coastal cityscapes.

South Africa’s ‘Mother City’ makes full use of its abundant natural riches to offer a host of activities that will have you wishing you’d stayed for another night.

A vibrant, multi-cultural society has emerged from a chequered colonial past. This is nowhere more evident than in the melting pot of international cuisines for which Cape Town is internationally renowned.

The Garden Route specifically refers to a 200km stretch of coastline between Mossel Bay and Stormsrivier in South Africa’s Western Cape.

Pristine beaches and vertiginous cliffs are flanked on one side by abundant marine life and world class surf. To the other, a luxuriant hinterland of mountains, forests and indigenous fynbos vegetation awaits.

Here, land and sea come together to offer a smorgasbord of diverse landscapes, native wildlife and myriad activities to suit everyone’s palate.

Bisected by the sparkling Great Fish River, the Kwandwe Game Reserve boasts a glittering array of wildlife and a treasure trove of activities.

Wonderful animal sightings, specialist interest safaris and an ingrained ethos of conservation all go comfortably hand in hand at Kwandwe. This is the Big Five, and so much more!

Kwandwe is perfect for visitors of all ages, but it’s particularly popular with families who have young children, due to the lack of malaria risk.

Offering Cape Town’s largest hotel rooms and suites, the glorious One & Only is one of our top choices for a stay in the Mother City.

Incredibly family-friendly yet also luxurious and polished, you will be able to explore Cape Town easily from here, while also taking advantage of all this large hotel has to offer. The hotel welcomes everyone, and is cleverly laid out, so you need not worry about noisy family activities.

The focus here is firmly on making the most of your time as a family – there is a fun kid’s clubhouse bursting with activities for little ones to enjoy, the only one of its kind in Cape Town. It is fully supervised by an expert childcare team, and this same team also offer a day program for teenagers. All the restaurants will cater for family meals and you will find the staff extremely willing to help in any way they can.

The wonderful Hog Hollow Country Lodge & Villas is one of our very favourite choices on the Garden Route when it comes to a family-friendly, fun and easy-going lodge.

There are no other options in the area that offer the relaxed and flexible atmosphere that Hog Hollow does. There is truly something for everyone here, whatever your age – the pool area offers a great base from which to while away an afternoon and relax, while those with more energy can take advantage of the many activities to choose from.

The rooms are attractive in that the design is simple and tasteful, with more than a nod to African art and style. With all the activities on offer you may not find yourself with too much time to enjoy your Garden Route base, but if you do, you will be more than comfortable, and may well find it hard to leave!

Uplands Homestead is one of a few accommodation options in the famed Kwandwe Game Reserve, which is a haven for rhino conservation.

Uplands is the most characterful of the villas on the reserve, and sleeps a family of up to six very comfortably. Each suite has its own private veranda and is en-suite, and this with the large communal living area means a very versatile living space for a family.

Immaculately manicured lawns surround the lovely building, which then give way to the more wild bush beyond. The full-sized swimming pool is a great place to while away an afternoon, or to cool off over lunch time in between activities.

The One & Only is conveniently located on the vibrant V&A Waterfront, providing a great base from which to explore Cape Town.

Iconic Table Mountain overlooks a vibrant city, bursting with fine-dining restaurants, renowned museums and galleries, and world-class attractions.

Cape Town and its surrounds are home to abundant marine life and form part of a unique ecosystem – the Cape Floral Kingdom. The latter can be explored at the wonderful Kirstenbosch Gardens, perhaps lingering longer to enjoy a summer open air concert.

South Africa family holidays will often include a visit to the aquarium, the Cape Point ostrich farm or a boat trip out to Seal Island. This tiny speck of land is home to thousands of cape fur seals, as well as the marine predators that consider them a delicacy.

Stopping off at Hermanus or Knysna, you can enjoy whale watching at the right time of year.

The coastline east of Cape Town is blessed with abundant marine life year-round with sharks, dolphins, penguins and sea lions all reliably present.

Southern right whales have for years chosen the waters between Cape Town and the Garden Route to calve and mate.

They can be seen anywhere along this coastline but perhaps most reliably, in the waters off the town of Hermanus.

All of the Western Cape is non-malarial, but perhaps less well known is where to head for a malaria-free family safari.

The malaria-free Eastern Cape game reserves of Shamwari and Kwandwe tie in beautifully with a visit to Cape Town and the Garden Route and offer fantastic family-friendly lodges.

How your day looks will depend to a degree on the ages of your children. Older kids will join you on early morning and late afternoon game drives in search of the Big Five and other species. The evening might be rounded off with an open air movie night or learning about the stars.

For your fledglings who may not yet possess the attention span for a three hour game drive, they will be entertained back at the lodge. Identifying animal tracks, interactive wildlife quizzes, baking, and crafting are the order of the day.