Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
South Africa and Zimbabwe: Kruger, the Panorama Route and Victoria Falls
10 days from Johannesburg: a night on the Panorama Route, two by Kruger's southern gates, two in a private reserve near Hoedspruit and three at Victoria Falls.
10 days · Johannesburg to Victoria Falls · up to 12 guests
White rhinos on a track in Karongwe, the private reserve near Hoedspruit we plan to use Photo: Jean & Nathalie, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ceratotherium_simum,_Mpumalanga,_South_Africa_1.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 10 days, 9 nights
- Start and end
- Johannesburg to Victoria Falls
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
Mostly time in vehicles with short walks: about 2 km on a level, often wet path at Victoria Falls, short paths and steps at the Panorama Route viewpoints, and an optional two-hour bush walk. Safari days start around 5 am and the Kruger day is about 11 hours out; any drive or walk can be sat out.
- Meals included
- 9 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 4 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,150 (estimated price)
- Season
- April to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- The Three Rondavels above the Blyde River Canyon at opening, before the coaches arrive
- A full day in Kruger in an open vehicle, gate to gate, with a sit-down lunch over the Sabie River
- Two nights in a private reserve near Hoedspruit: off-road tracking, night drives with a spotlight and a bush walk with an armed ranger
- God's Window and Pinnacle Rock in the late afternoon light
- The Victoria Falls Rainforest from about 7 am, when the path is quiet and the sun puts rainbows in the spray
- A sunset cruise on the Zambezi above the Falls, included
- A free day for the Chobe River in Botswana or a slow day in Victoria Falls town
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 1,150 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Johannesburg
O. R. Tambo International Airport to the Apartheid Museum, then your hotel in Rosebank
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Johannesburg
Fly into O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), about 25 km east of the city, where a driver meets you in arrivals. We stay in Rosebank or a similar walkable northern neighbourhood. If you land by about noon, join your See Sight Tours guide at 2 pm for a guided visit to the Apartheid Museum, south of the centre. Its rooms follow the country from the gold rush through forced removals and the 1976 Soweto uprising to the first democratic election in 1994; it takes about two hours and is not a light visit, so we keep the rest of the day easy. The museum is closed on Mondays, so if the group arrives on a Monday or a public holiday we visit Constitution Hill instead, the old prison that now houses the Constitutional Court. On the way back we cross the Nelson Mandela Bridge over the railway yards into Braamfontein as the city lights come on.
Evening
In the evening the group meets for a short briefing on the days ahead, from early safari starts to what to wear in an open vehicle, then sits down to a welcome dinner nearby. If you land later, you join us at dinner.
Included
- Pick-up at O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB)
- Guided visit to the Apartheid Museum (Constitution Hill on Mondays and public holidays, when the museum is closed)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the 2 pm museum visit, or until dinner if you land later
Activity: Land by about noon to join the museum visit; the exact time is confirmed with your final itinerary.
Over the escarpment to Graskop
Johannesburg to Dullstroom, over the Long Tom Pass to Sabie, then Graskop and God's Window
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Graskop
- Drive about 5 h
This is the one long road day of the trip, about 390 km and five hours of driving, and we break it into three stretches of under two hours each. Flying to Kruger Mpumalanga International would save little once airport time is counted, and the road is the scenery. We leave Rosebank at 8 am and head east on the N4 across the open highveld, with a coffee stop after about ninety minutes.
Afternoon
Dullstroom, a trout-fishing town at around 2,000 m, is where we sit down to lunch. From there the road runs through Lydenburg and climbs the Long Tom Pass, named after the Boer field guns hauled up it in 1900, and we stop near the top for the view over the lowveld. Then down through the pine plantations around Sabie to Graskop, a small town on the edge of the Drakensberg escarpment. In the late afternoon light we walk out to God's Window, where the cliffs drop about 700 m to the lowveld, and to Pinnacle Rock, a single quartzite column standing out of a forested gorge.
Evening
Dinner is your choice in town.
Included
- Drive from Johannesburg to Graskop with your guide, via Dullstroom and the Long Tom Pass
- Sit-down lunch in Dullstroom
- God's Window and Pinnacle Rock in the late afternoon, with entry fees
Free time: Evening free in Graskop
Activity: The longest road day, over the usual 4 hour cap: there is no shorter road to the escarpment, and flying to Kruger Mpumalanga International saves little once airport time is counted; three stops break it up. Short paved paths and steps at the viewpoints.
Blyde River Canyon, then down to Hazyview
Graskop to the Three Rondavels, Bourke's Luck Potholes and Lisbon Falls, then down the escarpment to Hazyview
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Hazyview
- Drive about 3 h
Morning
We are out by 7 am so we reach the Three Rondavels viewpoint near opening, before the coaches and while the morning light still reaches into the Blyde River Canyon, cut about 750 m deep into the escarpment. Three round, grass-topped peaks give the viewpoint its name, with the Blydepoort Dam far below them. Back south along the canyon rim, Bourke's Luck Potholes are deep round pools scoured into yellow rock where the Treur River meets the Blyde; a short path and footbridges cross above them.
Afternoon
On the way back we stop at Lisbon Falls, about 94 m high, then sit down to lunch in Graskop. In the early afternoon we drive down off the escarpment to Hazyview, a market town about fifteen minutes from Kruger's Phabeni Gate, where we stay two nights. The rest of the day is free: a rest before tomorrow's early start, or the curio stalls along the roads into town, where carvers sell wooden animals and masks.
Included
- The Three Rondavels viewpoint over the Blyde River Canyon at opening
- Bourke's Luck Potholes
- Lisbon Falls
- Sit-down lunch in Graskop
- Panorama Route entry fees
Free time: Afternoon and evening free in Hazyview
Activity: Short walks on paths, steps and footbridges at each viewpoint.
A full day in Kruger
Hazyview into Kruger National Park by the southern gates, along the Sabie River to Lower Sabie and back
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Hazyview
Kruger covers almost 20,000 square kilometres of lowveld and has been a national park since 1926.
Morning
We leave Hazyview before dawn with coffee and rusks so we are at the gate when it opens, about 5:30 am in summer and 6 am in winter, because the first two hours give the best chance of finding lions and leopards still on the move, and the light is soft. You ride in an open safari vehicle with a qualified field guide at the wheel and your See Sight Tours guide alongside, no more than 8 guests to a vehicle. We follow the Sabie River east, looking for elephants, buffalo and hippos at the water, which in the dry months is where much of the game comes to drink.
Afternoon
Breakfast is a picnic at a designated picnic site, and lunch is a proper sit-down meal at Lower Sabie rest camp, on a deck above the river.
Evening
In the heat of the middle day animals rest, so we slow down at Sunset Dam and the waterholes, then work back west in the late afternoon and leave before the gates close. Dinner is together in Hazyview.
Included
- Full-day drive in Kruger National Park in an open safari vehicle with a qualified field guide
- Kruger conservation fees
- Picnic breakfast in the park
- Sit-down lunch at Lower Sabie rest camp
- Dinner in Hazyview
Easier option: If a full day in the vehicle is too long for you, tell us when you book and we arrange a morning drive back to Hazyview by about 1 pm (cost confirmed at booking).
Activity: About 11 hours out with stops. In the national park you stay in the vehicle except at rest camps and picnic sites. Bring a warm layer for the early start.
North to a private reserve
Hazyview north on the R40 past Hoedspruit to a private reserve (Karongwe planned)
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Karongwe (private reserve near Hoedspruit)
- Drive about 3 h
Morning
After yesterday's early start, breakfast is unhurried. At about 9 am we drive north on the R40 through the lowveld, past Bushbuckridge, Acornhoek and Hoedspruit, to a private reserve west of Kruger. We are planning on Karongwe, a fenced Big Five reserve of about 9,000 hectares, and confirm the reserve and lodge with your dates.
Afternoon
We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge, with free time to settle in. Here the rules change from the national park: rangers can leave the roads to follow tracks, drive after dark with a spotlight, and share sightings between a few vehicles by radio, so you are rarely in a queue. The afternoon drive leaves at about 4 pm with a tracker on the front seat, stops for a sundowner as the light goes, and comes back in the dark looking for owls, genets, hyenas and hunting cats.
Evening
Dinner is at the lodge, full board, as all meals are here; we confirm the lodge and its facilities with your dates.
Included
- Drive from Hazyview to the private reserve with your guide
- Lunch and dinner at the lodge
- Afternoon and night drive with a ranger and tracker, with a sundowner
Free time: Free after lunch until the afternoon drive
Activity: Open vehicles get cold after dark for much of the year; bring a warm jacket.
Dawn drive and a walk in the bush
A full day in the private reserve
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Karongwe (private reserve near Hoedspruit)
Evening
Coffee is at about 5:30 am and we are out at first light, the coolest and busiest hours for animals, when the ranger reads the night's tracks in the sand and decides where to go. We look for rhinos, elephants and buffalo, and the tracker watches for fresh signs of lions and leopards; nothing is guaranteed, but off-road access helps. We come back at about 9 for a full brunch, and the middle of the day is yours to rest, read or sleep, with lunch at the lodge. At about 3 pm you choose. Walk for about two hours with an armed ranger, learning to read spoor, dung and birdcalls and seeing the small things a vehicle drives past, or stay at the lodge. Then everyone heads out on the last afternoon drive, with a sundowner on a rise and the drive home under a spotlight. Dinner is at the lodge, the last night in the bush before we fly north. We plan on Karongwe and confirm the reserve and lodge with your dates.
Included
- Dawn drive with a ranger and tracker
- Guided bush walk with an armed ranger
- Afternoon and night drive with a sundowner
- All meals at the lodge
Easier option: Sleep in and skip the dawn drive, or rest at the lodge instead of the walk.
More active option: The guided bush walk of about two hours with an armed ranger, at an easy pace on uneven ground.
Free time: Middle of the day free at the lodge
Activity: Bush walks usually have a minimum age (often 16) set by the reserve; we confirm it when we name the lodge.
Fly to Victoria Falls
The private reserve to Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport, fly via Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, then into town
- Breakfast
- Stay in Victoria Falls
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
There is time for a short last drive at dawn if you want it, or a slow breakfast if you do not. At about 10 am we leave for Hoedspruit's Eastgate Airport, about an hour away, and fly to Johannesburg, then on to Victoria Falls Airport (VFA) in Zimbabwe, about an hour and three quarters further north. Your See Sight Tours guide flies with the group and handles the connection and the visa queue at the other end. If the day's schedules do not connect, we route through Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport instead; you will see the flights in your final itinerary.
Afternoon
We land in the late afternoon and drive about 20 km into Victoria Falls town, to a hotel within walking distance of the Falls entrance and the town's shops. In the wetter months you can see the column of spray above the trees from town and sometimes hear the water, which is where the local name, Mosi-oa-Tunya, the Smoke that Thunders, comes from.
Evening
The evening is free; your guide can point you to dinner nearby.
Included
- Optional short dawn drive in the reserve
- Transfer to Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport
- Flights from Hoedspruit to Victoria Falls via Johannesburg, with checked baggage
- Transfer from Victoria Falls Airport (VFA) to your hotel
Free time: Evening free in Victoria Falls town
Activity: A travel day with airport time. Have your Zimbabwe visa plan ready (see good to know).
The Falls on foot, the Zambezi at sunset
Victoria Falls Rainforest, then a sunset cruise on the Zambezi above the Falls
- Breakfast
- Stay in Victoria Falls
- By boat
Morning
The Rainforest gate opens at about 6 am, and we walk in at about 7 with a licensed local guide, while the path is quiet and the morning sun behind us throws rainbows into the spray. The Falls are about 1,700 m wide and drop roughly 108 m into a narrow chasm, and from the Zimbabwe side you look straight across at most of that face. The path passes about sixteen viewpoints, from the Livingstone statue at Devil's Cataract to Danger Point, close to the Victoria Falls Bridge. From February to May the spray is heavy enough to soak you and sometimes hide the bottom of the gorge; in October and November the water is low and the rock face shows.
Afternoon
Lunch is your choice in town and the afternoon is free. In the late afternoon we board a boat on the Zambezi upstream of the Falls for a cruise of about two hours with drinks and snacks, watching for hippos, crocodiles and elephants along the islands as the sun goes down.
Included
- Guided walk through the Victoria Falls Rainforest with a licensed local guide, entry included
- Zambezi sunset cruise with drinks, snacks and the park fee
Optional experiences
- Helicopter flight over the Falls
- Whitewater rafting in the Batoka Gorge (seasonal)
- Victoria Falls Bridge tour or bridge swing
Free time: Afternoon free
Activity: About 2 km on a level path that is wet and slippery in high water; a rain jacket is useful from February to May.
Chobe, or a slow day at the Falls
Victoria Falls, with an optional day trip across the Kazungula border to the Chobe River in Botswana
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Victoria Falls
- By boat
Today is yours, and there are two good ways to spend it. The optional Chobe day trip leaves at about 7 am and drives about 80 km west to the Kazungula border, about an hour and a half including formalities.
Morning
In Botswana a boat takes you along the Chobe River in the morning, looking for hippos, crocodiles, buffalo and, in the dry months, the elephant herds that come down to drink.
Afternoon
Lunch is in Kasane, then an afternoon game drive along the Chobe riverfront in the national park, and you are back in Victoria Falls by about 6 pm. Your guide goes with the Chobe group. If you would rather stay, walk to the Victoria Falls Bridge, built in 1905, and look down into the Batoka Gorge, browse the craft market, or rest at the hotel after a busy week.
Evening
In the evening we all meet again for a farewell dinner together in town.
Included
- Farewell dinner in Victoria Falls
Optional experiences
- Chobe day trip into Botswana: Chobe River boat trip, lunch in Kasane and an afternoon game drive (price shown when you book)
Easier option: Stay in Victoria Falls: the bridge, the craft market and a rest.
More active option: The full Chobe day trip, about 11 hours out with a border crossing each way.
Free time: The whole day is free unless you take the Chobe trip
Activity: For Chobe you need a Zimbabwe visa that allows re-entry (see good to know) and your passport.
Depart from Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls town to Victoria Falls Airport (VFA)
- Breakfast
Morning
The last morning is free. Early risers can walk back towards the Falls for one more look at the spray in the first light, or along to the bridge, while others take a slow breakfast at the hotel. Pack with the airport in mind: the transfer to Victoria Falls Airport is about 20 km and takes around twenty-five minutes, and your guide sees the group off and checks each flight. The airport has direct flights to Johannesburg and Cape Town and onward connections, so most routes home go through Johannesburg. Book a flight leaving after about 11 am so the morning is not a rush. If you want more time in the region, we can add nights in Victoria Falls, a stay in Cape Town before the trip, or a few days on the Chobe River; ask when you request to book and we quote the extra nights and transfers.
Included
- Drop-off at Victoria Falls Airport (VFA)
Free time: Morning free
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 11 am.
- Johannesburg1 night
- Graskop1 night
- Hazyview2 nights
- Karongwe (private reserve near Hoedspruit)2 nights
- Victoria Falls3 nights
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Kruger's dry winter (May to September) thins the bush and draws animals to water, so sightings are easier, but dawn drives can be close to freezing in June and July. Summer (November to March) is hot, green and wet, with newborn animals and migrant birds, but thicker bush. Victoria Falls is fullest from about February to May, when the spray can hide the view and soak you, and lowest in October and November.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- First safari travellers who want Kruger and Victoria Falls without overland camping
- Travellers who want both the national park and a private reserve with night drives
- Photographers who want dawn in the bush and the Falls at opening
- Solo travellers who want a set group and one guide throughout
Not for you if you want
- Travellers who want Cape Town on the same trip (ask us about adding it before day 1)
- Anyone who dislikes early starts: game drives leave around dawn
- Travellers expecting luxury lodges every night
- An adrenaline holiday: rafting, bungee and helicopter flights are optional extras in free time
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
9 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Johannesburg1 night
- Graskop1 night
- Hazyview2 nights
- Karongwe (private reserve near Hoedspruit)2 nights
- Victoria Falls3 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 9 nights: 1 in Johannesburg, 1 in Graskop on the Panorama Route, 2 in Hazyview near Kruger's southern gates, 2 at a safari lodge in a private reserve near Hoedspruit and 3 in Victoria Falls town
- Hotels of a 3-star-plus standard and a full-board safari lodge, all with private bathrooms; we name each hotel and lodge when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) and drop-off at Victoria Falls Airport (VFA)
- A private air-conditioned vehicle and driver for the group in South Africa
- Open safari vehicles with qualified field guides in Kruger and the private reserve, no more than 8 guests per vehicle
- Flights from Hoedspruit to Victoria Falls via Johannesburg, with checked baggage
- Transfers and the Zambezi cruise boat in Victoria Falls
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group from day 1 to day 10, including on the flights
- Rangers and trackers in the private reserve and a licensed local guide at Victoria Falls
Activities
- Johannesburg: the Apartheid Museum (Constitution Hill on Mondays and public holidays, when it is closed)
- Panorama Route: God's Window, Pinnacle Rock, the Three Rondavels, Bourke's Luck Potholes and Lisbon Falls, with entry fees
- Kruger National Park: a full-day drive in an open vehicle, with conservation fees
- Private reserve near Hoedspruit: up to four ranger-led drives, including night drives, and a guided bush walk
- Victoria Falls: guided Rainforest walk with entry, and a Zambezi sunset cruise with the park fee
Meals
- 9 breakfasts
- 5 lunches, including a sit-down lunch inside Kruger at Lower Sabie
- 5 dinners: a welcome dinner in Johannesburg, a dinner in Hazyview, two dinners at the safari lodge and a farewell dinner in Victoria Falls
- Drinks and snacks on the sunset cruise
Not included
- International flights to Johannesburg and home from Victoria Falls
- Visas (Zimbabwe, and South Africa or Botswana if your passport needs one)
- Travel insurance
- Meals not listed
- Drinks, except on the sunset cruise
- Tips for your guide, driver, rangers and trackers
- Optional activities: the Chobe day trip, helicopter flights, rafting and the bridge tour or swing
- Personal expenses
- Malaria tablets and vaccinations
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,150 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
Prices in these answers apply from Jan 1, 2027. Black Friday offer: 15% off the small-group price for requests received by Dec 1, 2026. From CAD 5,780 per person. Dec 2 to Dec 31: from CAD 6,255. From Jan 1, 2027: from CAD 6,800.
What does the price include?
Nine nights in hotels and a full-board safari lodge, 9 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 5 dinners, the flight from Hoedspruit to Victoria Falls, airport transfers at both ends, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, a full Kruger day in an open vehicle, private-reserve drives and a bush walk, the Panorama Route fees, Victoria Falls entry with a guided walk and a Zambezi sunset cruise.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests. On safari we put no more than 8 guests in an open vehicle and use two vehicles when the group is larger, and we rotate seats each drive so everyone gets time on the outside.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from arrival in Johannesburg to the airport in Victoria Falls, including on the flights. Qualified field guides drive the open vehicles in Kruger, rangers and trackers lead the drives and walk in the private reserve, and a licensed local guide walks you through the Victoria Falls Rainforest.
How fit do I need to be?
Not very. Most of the trip is spent in vehicles, with short walks at viewpoints and about 2 km on a level path at Victoria Falls. The bush walk is optional and gentle. The harder part is the hours: dawn starts on safari days and about 11 hours out on the Kruger day.
I'm travelling solo. Do I pay a single supplement?
Only if you want a room of your own, which is from CAD 1,150 more and shown before you book. If you would rather share, ask and we will try to match you with another solo traveller of the same gender. Solo travellers get the same seats, meals and guide as everyone else.
When is the best time to go?
April to October. The dry winter makes game easier to see in Kruger, though dawn drives can be close to freezing in June and July. Victoria Falls is fullest and wettest from about February to May and lowest in October and November. Summer is hot and green, with newborn animals but thicker bush.
How does booking work?
Pick a start date and request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, and no payment is taken until then. We then ask for your passport details for the flights and the Victoria Falls arrangements, and send your final itinerary with hotel and lodge names.
Can I travel privately or on my own dates?
Yes. The trip also runs as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, with your own guide and vehicles. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, lodges, flights and local guides.
Do I need visas for South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana?
Canadian, US, UK and most EU travellers do not need a visa for a short stay in South Africa or Botswana. Zimbabwe needs one, available on arrival or online. If you take the Chobe day trip you need a visa that allows re-entry to Zimbabwe, such as the KAZA UniVisa or a double-entry visa. We confirm for your passport.
Do I need malaria tablets?
Probably. The Kruger area, the private reserves near Hoedspruit and Victoria Falls are all malaria areas. See a travel clinic six weeks or so before you go for advice on tablets, and pack long sleeves and insect repellent for the evenings, when mosquitoes are most active.
Which side of Victoria Falls do we see?
The Zimbabwe side. From the Rainforest path you look across the gorge at most of the Falls' width, through about sixteen viewpoints. From about February to May the spray can be so heavy it hides the view and soaks you; in October and November the flow is low but the Zimbabwe side keeps water.
Is the Chobe day trip worth it, and why is it optional?
For most people who want more wildlife, yes: the Chobe River has large elephant herds in the dry months, seen from a boat and a game drive. It is optional because it is a long day with two border crossings and a visa cost, and some guests prefer a slow day at the Falls. Its price is shown when you book.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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