There's no other Africa trip like this. And you know it when you're eye-to-eye with a giraffe—from the seat of your bike, on foot or in an open-top 4x4. It's more than you can imagine and everything you expect: premiere lodges, untamed landscapes and once-in-a-lifetime cycling and hiking with your family—all seamlessly connected by our private charter flights.
Days 1-2 Gain insight into traditional and contemporary culture from our local friends, including one who served on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela | Follow the trail along Table Mountain's base to extraordinary Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden | Bike from Cape Point to Chapman's Peak, looking for ostrich, baboons, rare Cape Mountain zebras and elands.
Days 3-4 Rejuvenate, walk and mountain bike at Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Retreat, where ancient Bushman rock art and red hartebeest antelope embellish the scenery | Taste local vintages or go canoeing.
Day 5 In remote Mashatu, learn to track classic African animals on a guided mountain bike ride teeming with wildlife, including giraffes, the big cats and hundreds of bird species | Tonight, dinner is served under the African sky around a blazing fire.
Days 6-8 Bike in Botswana among elephants on their ancient paths | Open-top Land Rovers make for great game viewing | Hike the rarely visited Great Escarpment.
Days 9-11 In Londolozi, spot the Big Five and other fascinating creatures, like dung beetles and lilac-breasted rollers, during exhilarating bush excursions on foot and in Landies | Join our friend Lotus in his traditional Shangaan village.
This trip goes beyond the "trip of a lifetime" category! Our best family trip ever! The wildlife viewing was superb and the hotels were all so unique and beautiful. The itinerary is well thought out; the activity level is high in the beginnning part of the trip and the wildlife viewing is lower, but then as the days go by, activity level and wildlife viewing swap! It is really like 5 trips in one, so different are the regions and experiences. It will be hard to top this trip!- Lookout Mtn., TN
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Accommodations may vary based on departure date. Any difference from what is listed below can be found by clicking on your desired date on the Dates & Prices tab.
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A historic manor house in the Cape Winelands with stunning views of Table Mountain. A Relais & Châteaux member. (pool, spa)
This wilderness retreat features a gorgeous landscape, and is home to a wide variety of antelope and birds. A Relais & Châteaux member. (pool, spa)
A spectacularly remote luxury camp built around a water hole where one of southern Africa's largest elephant herds congregates. (pool)
These luxurious tented lodge suites are nestled in a secluded valley along the Sabie River, where hippos sometimes bathe at dusk. (pool, spa)
An elegant game lodge on the Sand River offering chalets with balconies for observing elephants and hippos in the wild. Travel + Leisure World's Best. A Relais & Châteaux member. (pool)
There's no better way to find out about Backroads than by hearing it from the people who have traveled with us. For more about the Backroads Experience, read our Guest Testimonials.
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REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviews(based on 2 reviews)
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Comments about South Africa & Botswana Family Breakaway Safari Multisport Adventure Tour:
This trip goes beyond the "trip of a lifetime" category! Our best family trip ever! The wildlife viewing was superb and the hotels were all so unique and beautiful. The itinerary is well thought out; the activity level is high in the beginnning part of the trip and the wildlife viewing is lower, but then as the days go by, activity level and wildlife viewing swap! It is really like 5 trips in one, so different are the regions and experiences. It will be hard to top this trip!
Comments about South Africa & Botswana Family Breakaway Safari Multisport Adventure Tour:
The trip was amazing. The guides added so much to the trip. Both Danny and Travis are bright, funny and great conversationalists and the perfect hosts or as we renamed them, the backcountry butlers. :). Fruit on silver platters were a welcome site after visiting the Cape of Good Hope. Great food and drink was always close by and offered. Riding bikes with a tower of giraffes and watching male lions patrol and defend their territory was two of many memorable experiences.
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The earlier you book, the more choice you'll have and the lower your price. And you can always change your mind—you won't be charged to transfer to a different trip before your final payment is due.
Please click on a date below for specific pricing and possible itinerary variations.
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AVAILABLE TO BOOKi GOING FASTi CONTACT USi PRIVATE TRIP - RESERVEDi
Interested in a Private Trip? Check out the Make It Private tab for private dates available, or call us at 800-462-2848.
Every Backroads trip is designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests and fitness levels. We know your pace may vary from one day to the next—and your traveling companion's may differ somewhat from yours. So we present a range of mileage options, and each day you decide exactly what and how much you want to do.
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| Daily Route Options | |||||||||||
| Day | Activity | EASYGOING | ACTIVE | AVID | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 | |||||||
| miles | feet gain | miles | feet gain | miles | feet gain | miles | feet gain | miles | feet gain | ||
| 1 | Walking/Hiking | 1* | 0 | 7 | 1000 | ||||||
| Walking/Hiking | 2* | 600 | |||||||||
| Walking/Hiking | 3 | 700 | |||||||||
| 2 | Biking | 19* | 1000 | 25* | 1400 | 38* | 2500 | ||||
| Walking/Hiking | 1 | 0 | |||||||||
| 3 | Biking | 9 | 0 | ||||||||
| 4 | Walking/Hiking | 3 | 100 | 4 | 500 | 7 | 600 | ||||
| Walking/Hiking | 4 | 200 | |||||||||
| Other | Evening Walk & Game Drive (2 Hours) | ||||||||||
| 5 | Other | Game Drive to Mashatu Main Camp (1 Hour) | |||||||||
| Other | Afternoon Game Walk (45 Minutes) | ||||||||||
| Other | Evening Game Drive (2 Hours) | ||||||||||
| 6 | Other | Morning Biking & Game Drive (3.5 Hours) | |||||||||
| Other | Afternoon Bush Walk (1 Hour) | ||||||||||
| Other | Evening Game Drive (2 Hours) | ||||||||||
| 7 | Walking/Hiking | 3 | 300 | ||||||||
| Other | Morning Biking & Game Drive (3.5 Hours) | ||||||||||
| 8 | Walking/Hiking | 3 | 300 | 4 | 400 | 7 | 700 | ||||
| 9 | Other | Summerfields Rose & Orchard Walking Tour (1 Hour) | |||||||||
| Other | Shangaan Community Tour (1.5 Hours) | ||||||||||
| Other | Evening Game Drive (2 Hours) | ||||||||||
| 10 | Walking/Hiking | 3 | 0 | ||||||||
| Other | Morning Game Drive (2 Hours) | ||||||||||
| Other | Evening Game Drive (2 Hours) | ||||||||||
| 11 | Other | Morning Walk & Game Drive (1 to 2 Hours) | |||||||||
Note: On this trip, we'll be using titanium mountain bikes that are just right for the non-technical dirt road riding as well as the paved riding. (approximately 50% dirt and 50% paved). The walking terrain includes rugged bush trails, with the focus on game viewing. The biking routes on this trip follow narrow rocky paths and dirt and paved roads. All the walks and bike rides in game reserves are optional with game drives as an alternative activity.
* Includes shuttle.
Learn more about how we determine our activity levels and fully support a range of abilities and interests.
Please note that our distance and elevation figures come from Ride with GPS. Other sources (such as Map My Ride and Garmin devices) may give differing elevation figures due to different GPS and mapping technologies. Readings from a Garmin or a smart phone are influenced by other factors such as air pressure.
Christian Chumbley, our Regional Manager for South Africa, drew on 25 years of exploring to create this unique itinerary. The result is a trip where you don't sit in vehicles viewing elephants—you get on bikes and ride past them. And in private reserves with no fences limiting animals’ freedom, you spot game with some of the best rangers anywhere, gaining their expert insights and feeling their passion for the land—a passion that inspires every dimension of this trip.
Most companies' trips in South Africa and Botswana are run by local operators. At Backroads we manage our own trips; we would never subcontract your precious vacation to a third party. So as you enjoy the support of your seasoned Trip Leaders, along with our expert local guides and drivers, you have the confidence of knowing we're with you every step of the way.
On this Premiere Inn trip, you can count on the best lodgings South Africa and Botswana has to offer. In fact, the hotels we've chosen in this region have higher retail room rates than those offered by any other active travel company—even when their trips cost more.
After 30 years of creating Backroads Multisport Adventures, our trip designers know how to blend the perfect balance of biking and hiking with other activities to showcase the best of a region. And then they arrange the seamless transitions that would be so hard to orchestrate on your own—adding dimensions to your trip that are exciting, inspiring and just plain fun.
We design and support our South Africa and Botswana trips to suit mixed abilities and varied interests—so you can set your own pace, then change things up as the day unfolds. And all guests are free to do the same, traveling together or apart, with no one cramping anyone else's style. Which sounds easy in theory, but it's hard to pull off. Here's more on how we do it.
Backroads has the best-qualified people to lead your trip in South Africa and Botswana, and our guests back that up, rating our Trip Leaders an average of 9.75 out of 10 for all-around quality of performance. Get the facts (and no fluff) on how we recruit and develop the very best people for your trip.
In choosing the ideal experts to enrich your travel experience, we look for people with a wealth of local knowledge, but also the ability to convey their insights in English. Too often travelers find themselves smiling politely, not quite understanding what they're being told. Our experts share intriguing facts, anecdotes and inside stories that stay with you forever.
Since 1979, Backroads Founder and President Tom Hale has shown that staying #1 means constantly evaluating our performance using the best possible source of information: our guests. As we systematically analyze your feedback on our trip consultants, leaders, hotels, meals and on-trip activities, we never stop working to make a great company even better.
Only Backroads offers active trips in South Africa and Botswana designed for families with older teens and 20-somethings. Our Family Breakaway trips are aimed at you and the amazingly grownup members of your clan—whether they're almost high school grads, already in college or further along. Find out more in this blog post.
Thanks to our extensive connections in South Africa and Botswana, Backroads takes you off the beaten track and deep into the region's culture in ways that traditional travel can never hope to do. We know the people and their customs, the legacy of art and architecture, the complex history and politics – and if we're not sure, our amazing local experts can fill in the blanks.
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Gather your favorite people to share a Backroads adventure on a ready-to-book Private Trip - featuring all the legendary Backroads hallmarks from expert leaders to unforgettable activities. You can pick from a large selection of dates for your group of 8 or more. Call us for date availability. If your party has fewer than 8 guests, or if your preferred date is not available, we'll create a departure just for you.
Click on a date below for specific pricing and possible itinerary variations.
8 AVAILABLE TO BOOK FOR 8 OR MORE GUESTS 16 AVAILABLE TO BOOK FOR 16 OR MORE GUESTS RESERVED
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Invite your family and friends on an adventure that's entirely your own - for your group of 8 or more. Find out more
I simply can't imagine a better way to immerse yourself in the life of a region, to explore hidden corners and appreciate nuances while enjoying the benefits and enormous satisfaction of traveling under your own power. These are experiences you cannot have behind the wheel of a car, or on a train or a tour bus. Active travel is, at its heart, a way of connecting more authentically with the world. Sure, Backroads provides amazing leaders, superb accommodations and meals, and opportunities you could never arrange on your own. But all of our comprehensive planning and support is aimed at something far simpler: bringing you the immediate, highly personal satisfaction of discovering a new world on your own terms.
— Tom Hale, Founder & President
