Organising a honeymoon is arguably probably the most vital components of getting married. It’s the victory lap, and also you need it to land. Higher, then, handy the mic to somebody who’s simply completed it brilliantly.
Janine Gous (now Visser), our exquisitely well-travelled colleague, lately touched down from her personal celebration, nonetheless sand-dusted and starry-eyed. She is aware of which suites whisper privateness and which glasses of Cape classic make time gradual. So, take into account this your shortcut previous guesswork and into post-martial glow. What follows is Janine’s from-the-heart information to doing a South African honeymoon the best way it deserves to be completed.
A personal stretch of coast made for 2, Picture Credit score: Lekkerwater Seashore Cottages
Why a South African Honeymoon Simply Works
Janine and her husband, Chris, obtained married final 12 months and deliberate what they thought can be a fast five-day “mini-moon” (principally a post-wedding escape to clean away the possibly lingering pre-wedding worries).
However someplace between the Cape Winelands and the coast, it stopped being a mini-moon and quietly was their correct honeymoon.
That’s the factor a few South African honeymoon: it gently leads you from one world to the following and offers you the uncommon luxurious of a journey that feels layered but nonetheless unhurried.
“Every part’s shut collectively and straightforward to achieve, so all of it feels splendidly easy.” – Janine.
So, when you love the thought of a number of “chapters” in a single journey, South Africa is the vacation spot that pulls it off greatest. Here is why.
The place lengthy lunches flip into lingering honeymoon afternoons, Picture Credit score: Boschendal Cottages
Janine’s Honeymoon Route at a Look
Janine and Chris did a whirlwind five-day self-drive honeymoon by the Cape Winelands and Whale Route:
Franschhoek (vineyards, mountain mild, and a really convincing case for daytime ingesting)Hermanus (cliff walks, sea air, and the artwork of sitting nonetheless)De Hoop Nature Reserve (wild seashores, windblown dunes, and honeymoon-level seclusion)
The Stays
Janine and Chris’s honeymoon unfolded throughout 4 fastidiously chosen stops, carrying them from the rolling vineyards of the Winelands to the cliff edges of Hermanus and the fynbos-rich wilds of De Hoop Nature Reserve. Right here’s a better take a look at every keep.
1. La Residence – Franschhoek
La Residence sits simply exterior the bustle of Franschhoek, tucked into the folds of the Winelands with mountains on the horizon and vineyards throughout. It was Janine and Chris’s first cease, and it set the tone instantly: private, polished, and quietly indulgent.
What struck her first wasn’t the décor (though sure, that too), however the welcome.
“We arrived on the Sunday after our marriage ceremony, and the entire workers got here out once we parked, greeted us, and gave us a glass of wine. They made us really feel at house immediately.” – Janine.
That’s a honeymoon temper proper there – nothing to organise, nothing to clarify, nothing to carry out. After which there’s the sort of element that solely issues when you’re really there. La Residence has its personal wine, included within the fee and never bought wherever else.
“You may’t discover it. You may’t purchase it wherever else. They usually offer you a bottle to take house.” – Janine.
Janine and Chris are preserving theirs for his or her first anniversary, which is the type of candy, barely strategic behaviour I totally help.
Outdated-world glamour meets honeymoon-level spoiling in Franschhoek, Picture Credit score: La Residence
What She Liked Most About La Residence
The eye to element (contemporary flowers in all places, colors completely thought-about)The workers (she even reached out to the proprietor afterwards)The sense of being barely faraway from the busy a part of Franschhoek
Greatest for: privacy-seekers, design lovers, {couples} who need luxurious with heat
Janine’s stand-out expertise: An indulgent in-house feast on the in-house restaurant, excellent for honeymoon-level lingering with out leaving your individual little bubble.
“Lots of people overlook they’ve an amazing in-house restaurant. We sat by the hearth and had dinner proper there. After which being inside strolling distance to your room to break down into mattress.” – Janine.
Above all of it, Franschhoek luxurious feels splendidly non-public, Picture Credit score: La Residence
2. Boschendal Cottages – Franschhoek
After the polish of Franschhoek’s finer issues, Janine and Chris meandered to the foothills of the Franschhoek mountains and right into a wide-open slice of the Winelands. Boschendal Cottages is the place their honeymoon slowed down, in the easiest way attainable.
Whereas the farm itself is superbly open, the cottages really feel non-public, and all of the sudden you’re the type of one who thinks biking previous pigs is a legitimate honeymoon exercise (which, it seems, it completely is).
“We ended up taking bicycles across the property, biking previous the pigs and the horses. It actually felt like we had been experiencing the Cape for the primary time.” – Janine.
Gradual sips, good firm, and Winelands indulgence, Picture Credit score: Janine Visser
What She Liked Most About Boschendal
The on-site deli (a lifesaver for honeymooners who do not wish to eat out however nonetheless relish native flavours)Being simply exterior vibrant Franschhoek, shut sufficient to dip in however far sufficient out to really feel tucked awayThat “personal little world” feeling within the coronary heart of the Winelands
Greatest for: gradual honeymooners, self-drivers, {couples} who need area and quiet
Janine’s stand-out expertise: A complimentary wine tasting on arrival (a shock for Janine, at the same time as a marketing consultant)
A winery retreat made for lingering, unhurried love, Picture Credit score: Boschendal Farm
3. Birkenhead Home – Hermanus
From the wine-soaked folds of the Winelands, Janine and Chris headed for the coast. Their route was ideally designed to embody this iconic transition, the place vineyards give strategy to salt air. In Hermanus, Birkenhead Home is ready on the cliffs above the seaside, opening up right into a dramatic horizon vista.
Right here, the entire honeymoon temper adjustments. Janine skilled the identical Royal Portfolio heat she felt at La Residence, however now it was the ocean stealing the highlight.
“The situation is unmatched.” – Janine.
They solely had one evening right here, keen to maintain transferring in the direction of their subsequent cease, however Birkenhead nonetheless delivered a kind of quietly unforgettable moments that turns a mini-moon into one thing larger.
“We simply sat exterior and watched this moon rise over the dunes, and we had been like, ‘Holy crap, we’re on honeymoon’.” – Janine.
And if that isn’t the purpose, I don’t know what’s.
Cliffside evenings designed for love, reflection, and bubbles, Picture Credit score: Janine Visser
What She Liked Most About Birkenhead Home
The straightforward, unforced romance, with outside areas made for gradual eveningsThe iconic coastal stroll straight from the property, heading in the direction of Hermanus and backThe front-row whale watching (in season)
Greatest for: slower honeymooners, ocean addicts, {couples} who need romance with a view (and whales, in season)
Signature expertise: Merely sitting exterior, sea air, a glass of wine, watching the day gently soften into nightfall.
A personal retreat made for gradual mornings collectively, Picture Credit score: Birkenhead Home
4. Lekkerwater Seashore Lodge – De Hoop Nature Reserve
From Hermanus, their journey carries on alongside the Whale Path to De Hoop Nature Reserve – a fynbos-rich stretch of shoreline the place the world feels pleasantly far-off. Lekkerwater Seashore Lodge is the sort of place that makes you’re feeling such as you’ve stepped right into a secret, tucked away in a conserved nook of the wilderness.
One of the crucial memorable experiences is the marine stroll: at low tide, you discover the rock swimming pools with a information, discovering the quiet magic of the ecosystem alongside the best way.
“We realized a lot. With De Hoop Nature Reserve being a marine protected space, if you keep there, you’re actively giving again and serving to to protect that space.” – Janine.
Gradual coastal wanderings, the place curiosity turns into its personal romance, Picture Credit score: Janine Visser
What She Liked Most About Lekkerwater Lodge
The sensation of getting the shoreline to yourselves, with infinite dunes and sea airThe objective behind the keep, realizing your time right here actively helps conservationThe proper room makes the entire expertise: guide essentially the most non-public suite with the very best view down the seaside for peak honeymoon temper
Greatest for: nature lovers, acutely aware honeymooners, seaside {couples} who need privateness and which means
Signature expertise #1: The wood-fired scorching tub above the seaside. Sure, you learn that proper.
“They’ve this stunning wood-fired scorching tub that’s perched proper above the seaside. Fully non-public. You select what drinks you need, and so they set it up for you. You simply sit there, hearken to the waves, and sit back.” – Janine.
The wedding of luxurious and wilderness, consolation and conservation, Picture Credit score: Lekkerwater Seashore Lodge
Janine’s Suggestions
Janine’s minimoon-turned-honeymoon didn’t embody the bush (safari portion), however after I requested what she’d do in a different way with an extended timeline (the sort of journey you’d plan when you’re selecting South Africa as your honeymoon vacation spot), she was fast and decisive: add safari, then end with a number of days of a bona fide seaside escape.
For the seaside pairing, Janine’s recommendation is refreshingly trustworthy and sensible: it depends upon the time of 12 months and how much seaside you need. South Africa’s coastal payoff is big with dramatic surroundings, charming seaside cities, and seashores that really feel just like the ending your honeymoon deserves.
The Backyard Route is a close-to-the-heart vacation spot, with Knysna and Plettenberg Bay being the stand-out choices for an idyllic expertise.
Morning espresso with nothing however shoreline and one another, Picture Credit score: Lekkerwater Seashore Cottages
The Excellent Itinerary
Janine’s minimoon was 5 days (and she or he cherished it), but when she had been planning the proper South African honeymoon now, she would advocate 10 to 12 days, and even two weeks.
Right here’s the Janine-inspired move:
Days 1–4: Cape City (3 nights)
Begin with metropolis power and glorious foodDo Desk Mountain, coastal drives, and one correct “we’re on honeymoon” dinnerKeep afternoons free – Cape City rewards wandering
Days 4–7: Cape Winelands (3 nights)
One property with eclectic power and unmatched serviceOne farm-style stick with broad open areas and down-to-earth experiencesPrioritise gradual mornings and one lengthy lunch that turns into dinner
Days 7–10: Safari (3 nights)
Days 10–13: Seashore (3 nights)
Hand-in-hand, letting the Winelands set the tempo
All of the Wow, Not one of the Problem
Select South Africa as your honeymoon vacation spot, and also you’ll have wine, waves, and wilderness in abundance (and also you gained’t have to dash between them). Merely present up and let the land do what it does greatest: shock you.
That is the sort of journey that leaves you lighter and makes you take a look at one another midway by and say, “That is it. That is the honeymoon.”
Already contemplating potential locations on your romantic getaway? The small print are on us. Share your needs, and we’ll ship a South African honeymoon with each switch, tasting, and monitor taken care of.
