South Africa Tour

I don’t have suggestions regarding a guided tour, but I will say that if you have that much time, then visit Cape Town and Stellenbosch together. Stellenbosch is wine country. There is quite a bit to do in Cape Town (well, at least for me as someone interested in history and tensions between different groups) including of course, Robben Island, District 6 Museum, Kirstenbosch, Tabletop Mountain, etc.

Personally, I think your list of places is way, way too much to do in 2 weeks. I think for a combination of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, you can easily fill your time there in one week. I am not a go-go-go kind of traveller, but I am definitely an inquisitive one who likes to walk everywhere and poke around here and there, including both places that are on the beaten path and OFF the beaten path.

If you visit Cape Town, I will highly suggest also visiting places like the Cape Flats such as Langa Township with a guided tour. The historical racial tensions continue to today and you can definitely experience that between the very touristy parts of Cape Town (white) and the poorer areas where many don’t visit but is definitely worth visiting with a guide. Many townships are trying to attract some tourists and one can be a culturally sensitive minded tourists by hiring a local guide to introduce you to some of the townships without falling into the trap of a) being a gawking tourist, and b) being ignorant about the existing and historical racial tensions in Cape Town.

Depending on the kind of tourist you are, I would even say doing Cape Town and Stellenbosch together, you can spend well over 1.5 weeks there. (Also, don’t forget about Cape of Good Hope. I personally didn’t go there as I ran out of time, but if you have time, it’s a historically significant point.)

Actually, I do have a recommended local tour guide for touring in Langa Township, but mind you that my details for this contact are about 7 to 8 years old so you might want something more updated.

The local guide I had was: Thando Matshethu who was/is a tour guide for Vamos Township Tours. He grew up in Langa. Email: matshethuthando@gmail.com

The URL I have for Vamos Township Tours no longer works. I don’t even know if they’re still around but historical internet details might be a start.

You might look at tours by OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel), Odysseys Unlimited, Gate One, or Tauck.

These are some good suggestions. South Africa is a lovely country and absolutely delightful; spend as long as you can. I don’t have much on organized tours, but here are some starting points for places of interest you can see on your own. For tours of this area, have you checked out Intrepid Travel or G Adventures? G Adventures partners with National Geographic and they have some nice but pricey stays but I’m sure they are lovely.

In the meantime, here are some recommendations of things to see and do.

Cape Town — My biggest recommendation is purchasing a ticket on the Hop On Hop Off (Red Bus). This functions lovely in Cape Town and takes you all around the smaller peninsula. You'll definitely want to make it around Chapman's Peak Drive and maybe to Simonstown if you would like a quaint area -- You don't have to purchase tickets to the Nature Reserve in Simonstown to see the penguins; they will be around when you get close to the beach! As other have noted, if you are interested in botanicals, stop by Kirstenbosch Gardens. Cape Town represents a unique botanical biome found no where else in the entire world (fynbos) - also makes good gin which I am sure you will find in the winelands. I would recommend taking the Wine Tram if you want to explore the winelands around Franschhoek - not sure where you are staying. Nevertheless, Franschoek is a lovely area. You will be subject to loadshedding (power cuts) but where you stay can advise you one the schedule of this (which may or may not be accurate - Cape Town is typically better than the rest of the country in this regard). Others have noted well the benefit of history lovers visiting Robben Island; however, the weather will dictate if you are able to make it to the island. Cape Town weather is absolutely lovely, but unpredictable. If you want to make it up to the top of Table Mountain, your schedule should be guided by the weather - if it is a clear morning when you wake up, go to the mountain first. The V&A waterfront is a nice area to relax and has some nice restaurants and live music typically in the evenings. There are some nice restaurants along Mouille Point and Green Point area (not far from V&A Waterfront). Ubers are, in my opinion, are quick, safe, and affordable (Lyft does not function in SA). All of this said, the Hop on Hop off Red Bus is lovely and will even take you to some of the larger wine estates (Groot Constantia is nice). The areas serviced by this bus service are more than enough to fill your several days prior to the wedding. The views on the open top of the bus are divine.

Unless visiting friends or simply enjoy urban life, a couple days in Joburg are enough. A point to see is the Apartheid Museum and Constitutional Hill. Both are easily accessible by Uber. You’ll want to stay in a suburb of Joburg and not downtown (the CBD). An area like Sandton is nice!

Kruger is delightful. If pressed, I’d split time between Cape Town and Kruger. You could grab a domestic flight from Cape Town to MQB near Kruger about an hour away. There are some nice lodges that fully take care of everything in Kruger. You can check out lodges on Siyabona Africa and find ones you like and inquire from there. Make sure you take a night game drive and see all the Galago!

South Africa has some frightening problems right now and crime is a real issue. Don't go without being on a tour.

Better take a safari in Kenya and/or Tanzania. We did a wonderful one last August during the Great Migration .
Our tour was Good Earth Tours. My son had been to South Africa before we did our safari and he thought the Kenya/Tanzania safari was better than SA.

I second the Odysseys Unlimited tour suggestion which goes to all the places you mentioned with the exception of Kruger. We did this tour and it was excellent.

I second the Hop-on Hop-off bus in Cape Town. It's worth it.