Situated amidst majestic mountains and lined with pristine white-sand beaches, Cape Town is home to a rich cultural and historical heritage. After your airport greeting, transfer to your hotel. Your Tour Director hosts a Welcome Reception at 6:30 pm. 

Your full-day exploration on one of the world’s most beautiful drives takes you southeast along the Atlantic seaboard past the 12 Apostles, Hout Bay, and Chapman’s Peak. Stop at the Cape of Good Hope, first rounded in modern times in 1488 by the Portuguese in their attempt to establish trade in the Far East and still a significant landmark for sailors today. Also visit Boulder Beach, home to thousands of African penguins. Lunch today is fine dining with drinks overlooking False Bay. 

Choose from two sightseeing options today. The first option is to take a cableway up Table Mountain for spectacular views from the summit. Then head out to the scenic Cape Winelands, which comprises the Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl valleys. Visit two renowned vineyards and sample their wines. A sumptuous regional lunch is included along the way. Or you can choose to board a ferry to Robben Island, once used as a prison for many political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela. Your tour is led by a former inmate before returning back to Cape Town. After lunch, board the cableway to the summit of Table Mountain followed by a drive through some of the city’s diverse neighborhoods. 

Fly to Kasane, Botswana (via Johannesburg) and board the Zambezi Queen. This afternoon, enjoy the view as you settle in on the Chobe River before a Welcome Cocktail and Dinner. 

This morning embark on a boat safari to explore the Chobe River’s spectacular game viewing. Then journey back to the Zambezi Queen for lunch and time to relax on board. Later today, enjoy a slightly different version of a river safari aboard a special double decker barge which allows you to venture into the southern channels. This excursion offers you an unusual viewpoint to observe hippos and elephants in their natural habitat. 

Join a full-day safari of Chobe National Park in open-top 4x4 vehicles. Chobe National Park is home to one of the most dense populations of wildlife in Africa. Be on the lookout for elephants, giraffe, zebra, sable, warthog and cape buffalo. Prides of lions, hyenas, and (more rarely) cheetahs are normally visible along the way. Lunch includes a delicious picnic served up under the trees.

This morning, enjoy an unforgettable visit to a typical African village to experience the local culture first hand. Spend time with the children of the village as well as its elders and learn about their day-to-day life. After lunch on board, you can choose your afternoon activity including an afternoon safari by boat, bird watching or fishing. Tonight your crew hosts an African-themed dinner complete with singing and dancing. 

During breakfast, watch for wildlife as you cruise the Chobe River. Later, transfer to Victoria Falls. Enjoy a leisurely afternoon, and in the evening, join a cocktail reception aboard a vintage steam train. 

A local guide will take you on a tour of the awe-inspiring Victoria Falls. In the evening, embark on a private sunset cruise along the Zambezi River, observing a variety of game while enjoying a delicious mix of tapas with drinks. 

Enjoy a leisurely morning before touring the town of Victoria Falls and being treated to a home-hosted lunch. Later in the day, head to the Victoria Falls colonial-era rail station where you’ll board the Rovos Rail. 

Start the morning with a safari to the Hwange Game Reserve, Zimbabwe’s largest national park, boasting a tremendous selection of wildlife with over 100 species of mammals and nearly 400 different birds. The elephants of Hwange are world famous and the park’s elephant population is one of the largest in the world. After your safari, return to the train for a lovely brunch as you travel through the vast landscapes of central Zimbabwe on the way to the border town of Beitbridge. Take in the southern African landscape from the lounge, observation cars or your deluxe suite. 

Leave baobab tree country and South Africa’s northern wilderness as you cross the Tropic of Capricorn, traveling alongside the Magaliesberg Mountains. 

Disembark the train in Pretoria where you will be transferred to the airport in Johannesburg for your onward flight home or extend your trip with four nights in Rwanda. Note: Please do not schedule your onward flight until after 4:00 p.m.