You can cover a lot of South Africa in two weeks, and multiple routes can be combined if you don’t mind a lot of driving.
Top 3 South Africa Road Trip Routes
These top three recommendations are ideal for a relaxing two-week road trip, with enough time to spend a couple of days at each of the highlights along the route.
Cape Town to Port Elizabeth – Garden Route
In two weeks, you can drive from Cape Town along the Garden Route, to Port Elizabeth, with a few days in Cape Town and a short Big Five safari in Addo Elephant National Park at the end. Keep to the coastline and you can spend a night in Hermanus and Cape Agulhas on the way. Other highlights include Wilderness, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Nature’s Valley and Tsitsikamma National Park.
KwaZulu Natal Coast
The best two-week route for winter is along the KwaZulu-Natal coast. From May to September these beautiful beaches are mild and dry, and the pretty seaside towns are at their quietest. Spend a few days in Durban and finish the trip with a Big Five safari at Hluhluwe–Imfolozi or iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
Johannesburg to Cape Town
An unusual, but very rewarding two-week route crosses the interior of South Africa, from Johannesburg to Cape Town, along the Maloti Mountains, through the Karoo to the Cederberg Mountains and the Cape. Spend a night or two in Golden Gate Highlands National Park and Clarens, then head straight down the N1 highway for two nights in the Karoo National Park. Visit the western Karoo town of Sutherland next, before dropping down the escarpment into the Tankwa Karoo National Park. Spend a couple of nights in this beautiful semi-desert and then a few more nights in the Cederberg Mountains on the way back south to the Cape. This route is best in spring and autumn when the weather is less extreme and you will need a high-clearance vehicle for the passes between Sutherland and the Tankwa Karoo Most travellers opt for booking a vehicle with car rental South Africa to accommodate their travel.