Cape Town to the Garden Route: A 5-Day Self-Drive Itinerary

The Garden Route is the drive most people come to South Africa for, and it is genuinely easy to do yourself. The road is tarred the whole way, the signage is good, and the distances are short enough that you are never stuck behind the wheel all day. Five days is the sweet spot: long enough to stop properly, short enough that you are not just ticking off towns.

Here is the version we give our own guests at handover.

The route at a glance

At a glance	Detail
Total distance	About 1,200 km return from Cape Town
Time behind the wheel	Roughly 13 hours, spread across five days
Longest single leg	Cape Town to Mossel Bay, 387 km (about 4.5 hours)
Road surface	Tarred the entire way on the N2
Best months	September to November - whales, wildflowers and long light
Tolls	One toll plaza on the N2 near Tsitsikamma. Card or cash
Permitted in a Jimmy’s Jimny?	Yes - the Garden Route as far as Storms River is within range

That last row matters. Our cars are approved for the Western Cape and the Garden Route as far as Storms River, which covers this entire itinerary. If you want to carry on to Gqeberha or beyond, talk to us first.

Day 1: Cape Town to Hermanus

120 km, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Resist the N2. Take the R44 over Sir Lowry’s Pass and down Clarence Drive instead, the coastal road that hugs the cliffs between Gordon’s Bay and Rooi-Els. It adds maybe forty minutes and it is one of the best stretches of road in the country.

Between June and November, Walker Bay fills with southern right whales, and Hermanus is the rare place where you watch them from the cliff path rather than a boat. September to November is close to guaranteed.

Day 2: Hermanus to Wilderness

400 km, about 4 hours 30 minutes. The long day. Rejoin the N2 through Caledon and Swellendam, and if you have the appetite for it, detour inland onto Route 62 through the Langeberg for an hour before dropping back down.

Wilderness is where the Garden Route actually starts to feel like its name: lagoon on one side, forest on the other, and a beach that runs for kilometres. Break the drive at Mossel Bay if you would rather not do it in one go.

Day 3: Wilderness to Knysna

50 km, about 45 minutes. Deliberately short. This is the day you stop driving and start looking. The Seven Passes Road between Wilderness and Knysna is the old route, slower and prettier than the N2, and takes about twice as long for the same distance.

Knysna sits on a lagoon guarded by two sandstone cliffs. Take the day.

Day 4: Knysna to Storms River

100 km, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Through Plettenberg Bay and into Tsitsikamma, the densest, greenest stretch of the whole route.

• Bloukrans Bridge - the world’s highest commercial bungee at 216 m. You can also just watch from the viewing deck.
• Storms River Mouth - the suspension bridge over the river mouth is a 45-minute walk from the car park and worth every step.
• Nature’s Valley - a short detour off the N2 down the old pass, and almost always empty.

Storms River is the eastern edge of where our cars are permitted, so this is the turning point.

Day 5: The drive home

600 km, about 6 hours 30 minutes. Straight back on the N2 is entirely doable in a day. If you have the time, split it over two and come home on Route 62 instead - Oudtshoorn, Calitzdorp, Barrydale, Montagu - which is a completely different landscape and turns a return leg into a second trip.

Is a Jimny the right car for this?

For this route, yes, with one thing to think about. Every kilometre of the main itinerary is tarred, so you do not need a 4x4 - but the good detours (the Seven Passes Road, Prince Alfred’s Pass, the track down to Nature’s Valley) are exactly the kind of road a Jimny makes effortless and a low-slung hatchback makes stressful.

The thing to get right is luggage. A three-door takes two suitcases behind the rear seats; a five-door takes four. For two people over five days, either works. For four people, take a five-door.

Rentals of 30 days or longer include unlimited kilometres. For a five-day trip like this one you are choosing a package instead, and the 300 km a day option is the one that fits - this itinerary averages around 240 km on driving days.

Compare the whole fleet or check the kilometre packages.

Five things worth knowing before you go

• Book accommodation ahead between December and January. The Garden Route is where South Africa goes on holiday.
• Do not drive the long legs after dark. Not for safety so much as livestock and potholes - and you miss the entire point.
• Fill up in the towns, not between them. Stations are frequent on the N2 but sparse on the passes.
• Attendants pump your fuel. You do not get out. A small tip is normal.
• Keep the toll receipt. There is one plaza on the N2 and you will pass it in both directions.

Ready to drive it?

Pick your Jimny, tell us your dates, and we will have it waiting at Sea Point, our Bree Street office or the airport. Handover takes about ten minutes. Check availability.