South Africa Jazz Festival Tour

South Africa (Johannesburg, Pilanesberg Safari, Cape Town)

This eight-day journey brings together three of South Africa’s most extraordinary experiences in a single, coherent itinerary. It begins in Johannesburg — a city of immense historical weight and surprising creative energy — where two full days explore the Apartheid Museum, the streets of Soweto, and Constitution Hill: the arc from apartheid’s machinery to the democracy it produced.

A transfer to Pilanesberg National Park follows, with a sunset and dawn game drive inside one of Africa’s finest Big Five reserves, set in the crater of an ancient volcano. The journey then flies to Cape Town — the Mother City — for four nights combining Table Mountain, Robben Island, the coastal drive to Boulders Beach, and the headline event: two nights at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

This is South Africa at its fullest — history, wilderness, culture, music, and coastline — designed by Palace Travel, specialists in Southern Africa since 1991.

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Activity

  1. Day 1: Arrive Johannesburg (Mon 22 Mar)

    Arrive at O.R. Tambo International Airport. Your local representative meets you in arrivals and transfers you to your hotel in Sandton — Johannesburg’s most cosmopolitan district. This is a day of arrival only. Settle in, adjust to the time difference, and let the journey begin tomorrow.

    Hotel: Southern Sun Sandton

  2. Day 2: Johannesburg — Apartheid Museum & Soweto Heritage Tour (Tue 23 Mar)

    Begin at the Apartheid Museum — one of the world’s most powerful institutions. Visitors enter through separate ‘White’ and ‘Non-White’ gates. In the afternoon, tour Soweto: the Hector Pieterson Museum and Memorial, Vilakazi Street (home to two Nobel Peace Prize laureates), the Nelson Mandela National Museum, and Walter Sisulu Square where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955.

    Meals included: Breakfast

    Hotel: Southern Sun Sandton

  3. Day 3: Constitution Hill — Pilanesberg — Sunset Game Drive (Wed 24 Mar)

    A morning at Constitution Hill — a living museum built on the site of the notorious Old Fort Prison where both Gandhi and Mandela were held. Then transfer northwest to Pilanesberg National Park for check-in at Ivory Tree Game Lodge. Late afternoon: your first sunset game drive into one of Africa’s finest Big Five reserves, set in the crater of a 1,200-million-year-old volcano.

    Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

    Hotel: Ivory Tree Game Lodge

  4. Day 4: Dawn Game Drive — Johannesburg — Cape Town (Thu 25 Mar)

    Rise early for a morning game drive — lions often still active, birds in full chorus, extraordinary light for photography. Return to Ivory Tree for breakfast and checkout, then transfer to O.R. Tambo for your afternoon flight to Cape Town. Arrive to views of Table Mountain and settle into The Commodore Hotel, directly adjacent to the V&A Waterfront.

    Meals included: Breakfast

    Hotel: The Commodore Hotel

  5. Day 5: Table Mountain — Cape Town Jazz Festival Night 1 (Fri 26 Mar)

    Morning: ride the rotating cable car to the 1,086-metre summit of Table Mountain for sweeping views across the Atlantic, Robben Island, and the Peninsula. The afternoon is free. Evening: your first night at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival — Africa’s premier jazz event — with premium admission giving you full access to all stages. Transport included.

    Meals included: Breakfast  |  Jazz Festival Premium Admission: Included (Night 1)

    Hotel: The Commodore Hotel

  6. Day 6: Robben Island — Cape Town Jazz Festival Night 2 (Sat 27 Mar)

    Morning: ferry from the V&A Waterfront to Robben Island — where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years of incarceration. A 3.5-hour tour includes the Maximum-Security Prison led by a former political prisoner, plus a bus tour of the island. The afternoon is free. Evening: your second and final festival night — move between stages with the confidence of a returning guest.

    Meals included: Breakfast  |  Jazz Festival Premium Admission: Included (Night 2)

    Hotel: The Commodore Hotel

  7. Day 7: Kalk Bay — Simon’s Town — Boulders Beach Penguins (Sun 28 Mar)

    A deliberately relaxed morning after two festival nights. Late morning, depart for a scenic coastal drive south along the False Bay coastline: Kalk Bay’s fishing harbour and galleries, Simon’s Town’s Victorian high street and seafood restaurants (lunch own account), and finally Boulders Beach — home to a thriving colony of African penguins among the granite boulders. Pure joy.

    Meals included: Breakfast

    Hotel: The Commodore Hotel

  8. Day 8: Cape Town — International Departure (Mon 29 Mar)

    After a final leisurely breakfast at The Commodore Hotel and one last view of Table Mountain from the Waterfront, your private vehicle transfers you to Cape Town International Airport. Hamba kahle — travel well.

    Meals included: Breakfast

Trip Includes

  • Meeting and assistance on arrival and departure
  • All airport/hotel transfers throughout
  • 7 nights hotel accommodation as listed
  • Private vehicle and experienced cultural guide throughout
  • Meals: Breakfast daily; Dinner on Day 3 (Pilanesberg, Ivory Tree Game Lodge)
  • Cape Town International Jazz Festival — 2 nights (Fri 27 & Sat 28 March 2027), Premium Admission
  • Festival transfers (hotel to CTICC and return, both evenings)
  • Sunset and dawn game drives at Pilanesberg National Park
  • Economy class airfare: Johannesburg to Cape Town
  • Admission to all listed sites: Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill, Hector Pieterson Museum, Mandela Museum, Robben Island ferry & tour, Table Mountain cable car, Boulders Beach
  • Bottled water during all touring
  • Assistance with visa applications where required

Not Included

  • International flights to Johannesburg and from Cape Town
  • Travel insurance (strongly recommended)
  • Visa fees where applicable
  • Meals not listed in the itinerary
  • Alcoholic and personal beverages
  • Personal expenses and souvenirs
  • Gratuities for guide and driver
  • Optional activities not specified above
  • Early check-in or late check-out fees
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Book Your Trip

8 Day Tourstarting from$3995 / person
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