Great Itineraries: South Africa in 7 Days

With only one week, you can still enjoy the best of South Africa, including Johannesburg and Cape Town highlights, as well as a short safari.

3 Days: Kruger National Park

Spend your first afternoon recovering from your international flight by lazing at a luxury lodge, but take a short game drive if one is offered. Meals are all arranged for you, and bedtime is early.

Experience your first full safari on Day 2. A quick caffeine jolt at sunrise before setting out on a game drive (usually with a stop for morning coffee and snack) sets the tone for your stay—you’ll love the sheer wildness. Return to the lodge for lunch and a rest during the midday heat. Depending on where you stay, you may be able to arrange for a massage or spa treatment during this time (it helps with the jet lag). After a hearty and proper afternoon tea of sweet and savory options, you're off in the vehicle again. Having sundowner drinks at sunset is an experience you'll never forget. After the evening drive, it's back to the lodge for cleanup, drinks, and dinner, where guests and guides share tales.

You'll fit in a morning game drive before departing the camp on Day 3. Head back to Johannesburg by car so you can stop at the sites along the Mpumalanga Panoramic Route through Blyde Canyon's breathtaking scenery, arriving in Johannesburg late in the day. Shoppers might select a small B&B or guesthouse in the thick of things (for example, the Melville or Parkhurst neighborhoods); those looking for retail therapy will have the Rosebank shopping malls a short drive away. To experience life outside the cloistered environment and walk down a street or sit at a café, Melville is the bohemian choice, whereas Parkhurst tends toward chic shopping and eating.

Logistics: To make the most of your time, take a direct flight from O. R. Tambo Airport to a safari lodge at one of Kruger's fly-in reserves. International flights arrive in the early morning, making it easy to board the daily midmorning South African Airlink flight to an airfield servicing one of the private reserves making up the Greater Kruger National Park, like Timbavati and Sabi Sands. Rent a car for your return trip.

1 Day: Johannesburg

Prearrange a township tour to Soweto to learn about the roots of apartheid and the way entrepreneurs are changing lives within the community. A tour of Alexandra township will be just as informative but off the beaten track. Include a stop at the Apartheid Museum for a full taste of the country's history. Catch a late-afternoon or early-evening flight to Cape Town, where you'll spend the next two nights.

Logistics: Arrange a township tour of your choice in advance; choose a company that offers a pickup at your hotel so you don't have to drive (return the rental car on arrival in Jo'burg and take a taxi to your hotel).

1 Day: Cape Town

You can stay at the V&A Waterfront at one of the numerous hotels, or if you prefer quiet, try something like the historic and beautiful Cellars-Hohenort in the wooded Constantia Valley. Whichever you choose, dinner will feature Table Mountain looming behind you.

On the following morning, take the first boat to Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela spent decades, and inhale that bracing, fresh sea air. When you return, grab a taxi to the base of Table Mountain and ride up on the cable car for magnificent views. You can walk a few miles on one of the trails up there to stretch your legs. If you're a shopper, you could spend the rest of the afternoon browsing African curios in Greenmarket Square and then grab a snack in one of the bohemian Long Street cafés. The Cape Quarter in Greenpoint offers more chic shopping and cafés. Alternatively, you could rent a car to visit Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens to see magnificent protea plants—the national flower—and views (in summer there are concerts on the lawns). You may even have time to dip into some nearby wine-tasting rooms before heading to Camps Bay for sunset cocktails and a light dinner, followed by a stroll along the beach.

Logistics: Your day in Cape Town will be busy and hectic; be sure to plan it in advance, and book a guided tour if possible to maximize your time.

1 Day: Cape Winelands

Head out early to the university town of Stellenbosch, less than an hour from Cape Town, on Day 6. Check out the historic downtown's Cape Dutch architecture before settling into a typical South African B&B (La Petit Ferme in Franschhoek has standout views). Book some spa time wherever you stay. Stop for some wine tastings at Fairview wine estate toward Paarl or Boschendal, famous for its picnics and Blanc de Noir, just outside Franschhoek to finish off the day.

Logistics: You don't have to rent a car to do this trip, and don't have to spend a night in the Winelands; there are plenty of companies that offer tours that will allow you to taste wines with impunity.

1 Day: Cape Peninsula

Get an early start on your last morning, but there’s no point in exhausting yourself. Take in False Bay village gems like Kalk Bay (for its harbor) and Simon’s Town for the fantastic penguins at Boulders. Visit Cape Point before finishing up at Cape Town’s airport for a flight home that evening.

Logistics: You can do all of this exploring on a guided tour if you don't want to drive yourself.