ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
7-Day Addo & Plettenberg Bay Escape

South Africa - Fly-in safari

7-Day Addo & Plettenberg Bay Escape

Duration
7 days
Countries
South Africa
Suited to
2-8 guests
Pricing
From USD 5,780

The journey

Updated on 23 August 2026

This is the Eastern Cape's answer to the classic bush-and-beach formula, and it needs no malaria tablets, no light aircraft and no long-haul repositioning: one hire car or one driver covers the lot. It begins at Gorah Elephant Camp, the only lodge inside Addo Elephant National Park itself, where eleven colonial-era tents surround a gracious 1856 manor house and the waterhole in front of the deck runs like a station platform for the park's six hundred elephants. Drives here are about density: elephant families at arm's length, buffalo, lion, and the endearing flightless dung beetle with right of way on every road. Then the road runs west along the N2 into the Garden Route, two and a half hours, to The Plettenberg, perched on a rocky headland with whales breaching in the bay below in season. Three nights covers the coast's greatest hits: the Robberg Peninsula's seal colony and hiking trails, Birds of Eden and the Monkeyland sanctuaries, beach mornings and Lookout Deck oysters. June to November adds southern right whales; summer adds beach weather. Either way it is South Africa at its most effortless.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

Gqeberha to Gorah

From Gqeberha's airport it is 45 minutes to Addo's gates and through them to Gorah, where the 1856 manor house waits behind its waterhole like a set from another century. Lunch on the deck usually comes with elephants attached. The afternoon drive eases into the park's rhythms: family herds, warthogs at a trot, dung beetles at work.

Stay 2

Six Hundred Elephants

Addo carries one of the densest elephant populations on earth, and the morning drive is spent inside it: breeding herds flowing around the vehicle, calves testing trunks that do not yet obey them. Lion and buffalo fill the supporting roles. The midday hours belong to the manor's veranda, and the evening drive ends by spotlight.

Stay 3

The Wider Park

Today's drives push Addo's quieter sections: the Zuurberg foothills for zebra and red hartebeest, and the southern valleys where spotted hyena den. Between them, the camp waterhole does its reliable theatre, elephants queuing, kudu waiting their turn. Dinner is by candlelight on the lawn, the herds audible somewhere out in the dark.

Stay 4

The N2 to the Bay

After a last waterhole breakfast the road runs west, two and a half hours through the Tsitsikamma's forests and over the Storms River bridge to Plettenberg Bay. The Plettenberg stands on its headland with the Indian Ocean on three sides; in season you may count whales from your balcony before your bags arrive. Sundowners on the terrace.

Stay 5

Robberg and the Seals

The Robberg Peninsula's circuit trail is one of South Africa's great coastal walks: two to four hours above a Cape fur seal colony thousands strong, with dolphins working the surf line below and, in season, southern right whales idling in the bay. The afternoon is beach time on Lookout, oysters optional but advisable.

Stay 6

Forest, Sanctuaries, Sea

Choose the day's register: the free-flight aviary at Birds of Eden and the Monkeyland sanctuary in the forest canopy, a boat-based whale and dolphin trip from Central Beach, or the lagoon at Keurbooms by kayak. The hotel's pool terrace absorbs whatever is left of the afternoon, and dinner is at one of Plett's polished bistros.

Stay 7

Bay to Gqeberha

A slow breakfast over the bay, a last walk on Lookout Beach if the tide obliges, then the two and a half hour drive back to Gqeberha for your onward flight. A week that proved the Eastern Cape's case: the Big Five, the whales and the Garden Route, all without a malaria tablet or a single early airport morning.

Safari highlights

  • Three nights at Gorah, the only camp inside Addo
  • Six hundred elephants and a busy camp waterhole
  • Completely malaria-free safari
  • Three nights at The Plettenberg above the bay
  • Robberg Peninsula walks and whale season
  • One easy self-drive or chauffeured route

What is included

Included

  • 6 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • Road transfers Gqeberha Airport-Gorah, Gorah-Plettenberg and Plettenberg-Gqeberha
  • All meals and local drinks at Gorah Elephant Camp
  • Breakfast daily at The Plettenberg
  • Twice-daily game drives at Gorah
  • Addo Elephant National Park conservation fees
  • Government taxes and VAT
  • Emergency medical evacuation cover

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • Domestic flights to Gqeberha, quoted separately
  • Visas and entry permits
  • Comprehensive travel and medical insurance
  • Lunches and dinners in Plettenberg Bay
  • Gratuities for guides, drivers and hotel staff
  • Items of a personal nature and telephone calls

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 7-day Addo and Plettenberg Bay trip cost?

From USD 5,780 per person sharing, rising to about USD 6,280 in peak season, one of the most accessible price points in luxury South African travel. It covers three fully catered nights at Gorah Elephant Camp with game drives and park fees, three bed-and-breakfast nights at The Plettenberg, and all road transfers. International and domestic flights are excluded and quoted separately.

Is this really malaria-free?

Yes, entirely. The Eastern Cape and the Garden Route lie well outside South Africa's malaria zone, so no prophylaxis is needed at any time of year. That, plus short road transfers instead of light aircraft, makes this route the standard recommendation for families with young children, pregnant travellers and anyone who wants the Big Five without the tablets.

What is special about Gorah Elephant Camp?

Position. Gorah holds the only private concession inside Addo Elephant National Park, so its eleven tents and 1856 manor house sit in the middle of the park's traffic rather than at its edge. The waterhole in front of the deck draws elephant through the day, sometimes fifty at once, and dinner is served by candlelight as they rumble past in the dark.

When can you see whales in Plettenberg Bay?

Southern right whales calve in the bay from roughly June to November, with humpbacks passing on migration in early and late season; The Plettenberg's cliff-top position turns breakfast into a whale watch. Bottlenose and common dolphins are resident year-round, and boat-based whale watching and the Robberg seal colony run in every month.

How do you get there and around?

Fly into Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, which connects to Johannesburg and Cape Town in about 1 hour 40 minutes. Gorah is then a 45 minute road transfer, and the drive from Addo to Plettenberg Bay along the N2 takes about 2 hours 30 minutes through the Tsitsikamma forests. All road legs are included; many guests convert them to self-drive.

Are international flights included?

No. International flights to and from Africa are excluded, as are the short domestic legs to Gqeberha, which we quote at the time of booking to match your routing. Everything on the ground, transfers, Gorah's full board and game drives, park fees and The Plettenberg's breakfasts, is included in the published price.