South Africa summer 2026

[cheezncrackers]

We're considering SA for next summer with our two teens (they'll be 18 and 15). We'll be travelling some time in July/August for two weeks from London. We definitely want to visit Cape Town and spend a few days doing all the usual stuff there - Table Mountain, Robben Island, penguins, food, Kirstenbosch, etc. I love the look of the winelands region too - Stellenbosch and Franschhoek look stunning and with older son being 18 he can also do a spot of wine tasting with us. DH and I love historic buildings and museums, etc. We also all enjoy hiking (moderate - not hardcore) and being out in nature. I quite fancy spending a night or two in Stellenbosch, as it looks like a lovely town.

We'd also like to do a mini safari (maybe 3 nights) and I was just wondering if anyone who's done something similar would mind sharing their itinerary/tips with me? There seem to be so many places to go and I don't know where is good or less so. Is it worth driving all the way east past Plettenburg Bay? Most itineraries seem to include some combination of Mossel Bay, Knysna, Plettenburg Bay and on from there. Presumably these are lovely beach towns, but what about in the middle of the SA winter?

TLDR: if you've been to SA in the UK summer/SA winter for two weeks with teenagers, in particular, and you started your trip in Cape Town, where did you go and would you recommend it?

Thank you!

The area slightly further on from Plettenberg is Storms River - I’d highly recommended! Cracking scenery, walks, & activities! We really liked the town and area around Plettenberg.

We found Knysna town very shabby although, again, there’s some nice areas around it such as the elephant park.
Our favourite experience in SA was our safari at Gondwana, truly amazing!
Enjoy your trip in this stunning country.

We stayed at Hlosi, stunning setting where my DD's could have some independence to wander around. The magical highlight was a herd of elephants drinking from the swimming pool one evening. They had babies with them , just a few months old

Thank you all for the info you've shared. I really want to go to this part of SA, but I'm starting to be quite put off by the reality of the weather in our summer. I hate winter with a passion, I live for spring and summer, and the thought of going somewhere that could be chilly, grey and rainy for two weeks and our main holiday of the year is really putting me off. Argh! Back to the drawing board, I think.