Love in the Wild: A Dream Honeymoon in South Africa

When my husband and I started searching for our dream honeymoon destinations, we wanted the best of all worlds: beautiful weather, exciting adventures, delicious food, and relaxing vibes—basically, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If that’s what you’re looking for, then keep reading about our dream honeymoon in South Africa!

We divided our trip into 3 key destinations

First Stop: Cape Town

We flew from JFK to Cape Town with a stop at Johannesburg. Uber’s are easy to find and affordable, so transportation is a breeze. We stayed at The Capital Mirage, which was conveniently located in the center of town and nearby the V&A Waterfront, a popular mall with restaurants along the water.

You will want at least three days to see all that Cape Town has to offer. You will find many different cuisines and gourmet restaurants run by famous chefs throughout the town.

Some of our favorite restaurants included:

• Test Kitchen – Top 50 restaurant in the world. We opted for the wine pairing but be warned we had to book months in advance!
• Gold – Might be considered a tourist trap, but we LOVED the experience. Authentic African cuisine with live dancing and entertainment.
• Jason’s Bakery – Coffee, amazing breakfast sandwiches & famous doughssants.
• Thali – Indian restaurant with a delicious pre fixe menu.
• Baia Seafood Restaurant – prawns from heaven and attached to the famous V&A waterfront.

As for sight-seeing, you could easily spend days in this beautiful city and still not be able to experience it all.

• Franschhoek – Wine country tour with the most incredible views. There are trams that take you from winery to winery or you can just uber from place to place.
• Cape of Good Hope – Discover Africa’s southwesternmost point with stunning cliffs and sea views.
• Boulder Beach – See African penguins among the scenic granite boulders.
• Botanical Garden – Explore diverse plants with Table Mountain views.

Second Stop: Safari in Sabi Sand Game Reserve

The highlight of the trip, by far! Sabi Sands Game Reserve is one of South Africa’s top game reserves, located right next to Kruger National Park, it’s renowned for its high-end accommodations and exceptional safari adventures. During our stay, our guide and tracker were phenomenal, helping us see an impressive array of wildlife. We often ventured through dense bush and unmarked territories to get closer to the animals!

It was a 3 hour flight from Cape Town to Kruger International Airport. We stayed at Savannah Private Game Reserve, an all-inclusive luxurious resort within Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve. They had very friendly & personable staff, incredibly fresh food every day, and a different unique experience each night (i.e., dinner under the stars on our first night). We opted for a more luxurious destination for our honeymoon, but you can certainly find less expensive options if you prefer.

How to Book & How Much is an African Safari?

Rates generally depend on time of the year and level of luxury. But as a general guideline, safaris can range from $500 USD per person to upwards of $2000. Since our lodging was private we needed to go through a travel agency to finalize the booking. Each of the 4-5 star lodges in the national park typically host about 20-30 guests at a time, so travel agents generally block off rooms to sell to their clients. That is why we recommend using a travel agency for booking. We used Go2Africa and they assisted us every step of the way – from flights, to accommodations, to transfers, and tour guides, everything was perfect and they worked within our budgets!

Even though you are on vacation, this is not the place for sleeping in! The game reserve hosted two “game drives” each day: one in the morning around 05:15 am, and another around 3 pm (15:00). Each game drive was approximately 3 hours long, and the driver (along with a personal tracker) did a great job to ensure you get a glimpse of just about every animal, including the big five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino). The early morning drive is critical to seeing the animals in their natural habitat as they awaken and begin their hunt for the day. Sabi Sands is particularly known for Leopards, which we were lucky enough to see a few times, but also has an abundance of Lions, Cheetahs, Giraffes, Rhinos, Buffalo, Zebras, and more.

In between game drives, you can opt for massages, hang by the pool, or simply take in the surrounding sights and sounds. There is a watering hole that is occasionally visited by wild animals. This all-inclusive lodge made sure we were comfortable, safe, and ready for our adventure. They provided blankets, ponchos, water canteens, chapsticks, etc. The rangers were extremely knowledgeable and made you feel like you were part of their family.

Mauritius: A Perfect Last Stop on our Honeymoon

Mauritius is a small island a little beyond Madagascar, and perfect for a relaxing end to your trip. It was a 6 hour flight with a quick stop back in Johannesburg. We opted for an all-inclusive stay at the Victoria Beachcomber Resort & Spa. Our room was wonderfully located with an attached swim-up pool that led to one of the main pools with a swim-up bar.

There were several restaurants at the resort included with the all-inclusive package, including Italian, Steakhouse, and a buffet (but we much preferred the sit-in restaurants over the buffet, which seemed more suitable for kids). For us, three nights was a perfect amount of time to unwind, as we get a bit restless with too much beach time. Included with our stay was a complimentary gift experience, which allowed us to choose an experience from several options (Sunset cruise, a spa day, catamaran snorkeling, etc.).

Overall, we had our dream honeymoon in South Africa filled with culture, history, adventure, and an overall unforgettable experience that far exceeded our wildest imaginations. We could not recommend the trip more, as no matter what you were looking for a vacation, you are bound to find it here.

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