When to Go

There's no best time to visit the Garden Route, although the water and weather are warmest November through March. The high season is from mid-December to mid-January, when South African schools break for the summer holidays and families flock to the coast. Between May and September the weather cools down with some rain (though there is no single rainy season here). The winter months are the low season, and some establishments choose this time of year to take a break. Yet, even in these colder months it's rarely cold for more than two or three days at a stretch, after which you'll get a few days of glorious sunshine. Wildflowers bloom along the Garden Route from July to October, the same time as the annual Southern Right whale migration along the coast.

The Little Karoo can be scorchingly hot in summer. In winter, days are generally warm and sunny, though it does get cold at night.