Highlights of South Africa (2012)

Johannesburg • Kruger • Garden Route • Cape Town
  • 18 days
  • from only:
  • $2845
  • $159 per day
    Land Tour Only
  • 20 days
  • from only:
  • $4245
  • $213 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
SAF map 2012
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
Video: Travelers' experiences of Highlights of South Africa
Photos From Our Travelers
What Makes this Trip Unique
It's Included
Featured Accommodations
Pre- & Post-Trip Extensions
Big Five Bush Safari, South Africa
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
Know Before You Go
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your vacation, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two vacations to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the Grand Circle vacation that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your vacation
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your vacation with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of Grand Circle vacations to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Orlando, Tampa

22hrs

Dallas, Denver

23hrs

Minneapolis, Newark, New York (JFK), Philadelphia

21hrs

Washington, DC (Dulles)

18hrs

Phoenix

24hrs

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle

25hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Johannesburg, South Africa. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the Grand Circle family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on a Grand Circle trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-221-2610
or click here.

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Post-Trip: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

3 nights from only $1295

 

Extend your discoveries of Africa's wonders with this optional extension to thundering Victoria Falls. You'll have ample time to view the Falls, twice as high as Niagara and one-and-a-half times as wide, perhaps taking an optional helicopter flight to witness its full grandeur. You'll also experience local culture at a traditional boma dinner and cultural show. During this extension, you'll have a variety of optional tours to choose from, including an all-day excursion to Botswana's celebrated Chobe National Park.




Single Supplement: FREE.

Please note: This extension may not be available on all departures. Ask your Travel Counselor for details.

It's Included

  • Air transportation from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls
  • Accommodations for 3 nights in Victoria Falls at the Superior First-Class Elephant Hills Resort
  • 4 meals: 3 breakfasts and 1 dinner
  • Included tour: Victoria Falls walking tour with a local resident guide
  • Exclusive services of a resident Grand Circle Program Director
  • All transfers

Optional Tours

  • Helicopter Flight over Victoria Falls ($130 per person); Elephantback Safari ($120 per person); Chobe National Park ($190 per person); Zambezi River Sundowner Cruise ($45 per person)
Day 1
Day 1 Fly to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe/Victoria Falls tour

Fly from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, arriving in the early afternoon.

You have some time to settle in and have lunch on your own. Later in the afternoon (the best time for rainbows), you’ll tour the Falls itself. Walk along surfaced paths within the rain forest that grows down the gorges of the falls, and visit the Livingstone statue, commemorating the great British explorer who named this natural wonder for his Queen. See the Big Tree, a centuries-old baobab more than 50 feet in circumference. Always, you hear the thunder of the falls and feel the spray of its mist on your face.

Tonight, dinner is on your own.
Day 2
Victoria Falls/Optional Helicopter Flight/Optional Elephantback Safari

Your day is at leisure to relax or do some independent exploring, which is easy to do, as the town is small and compact.

At the local market, you can scoop up bargains galore in local handcrafts such as sandalwood, teak, and ebony carvings; brilliant African textiles; malachite; basketry; and more. This is one of the places where bartering is expected—and can be great fun! American goods like t-shirts, sweatshirts, and baseball caps with designer logos can be good “currency” here. Ask your Program Director for advice about where else it may be appropriate to barter in this manner. You can also take a tour of Spencer Creek Crocodile Farm, home to more than 5,000 crocodiles of all sizes, or enjoy a traditional English “high tea” at the famous Victoria Falls Hotel.

Or, choose an optional helicopter flight—popularly referred to as a "Flight of the Angels"—over the Falls. Flying lower than a conventional, fixed-wing aircraft, you'll fly a complete circuit over the Falls in both directions, giving you a unique bird’s-eye view. You might also choose to climb aboard one of Africa's gentle giants for an optional elephantback safari.
Day 3
Victoria Falls/Optional Chobe National Park tour/Optional Zambezi River Sundowner Cruise

Enjoy another day to pursue your own interests. Perhaps you’ll return to the market to purchase something special. Or gaze at the majesty of the Falls from a different vantage point.

You can also choose an optional full-day excursion to Chobe National Park in nearby Botswana. On game-viewing drives, be on the lookout for zebra, cheetah, herds of elephant grazing on the open grassy plains, and lion prides huddled in the bush.

Or enjoy an optional afternoon Sundowner cruise along the Zambezi River. As the sun sets over the river, climb aboard a small boat and enjoy a relaxing ride and a chance to take in the riverbank scenery.

This evening, enjoy an authentic boma dinner and cultural show featuring Matabele tribal entertainment. The Matabele tribe of Zimbabwe is famous for its elaborate painted masks, full-body costumes, dancing, and musical instruments. Though the tribespeople no longer live traditionally, the show this evening is a faithful rendering of how the tribe once lived and celebrated.
Day 4
Victoria Falls/Return to U.S.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport and fly to Johannesburg, where you'll board your overnight flight to the U.S.