South Africa can deliver a city break, wine country, a coastal road trip and safari in one beautifully connected journey. Luxury and corporate travel concierge Carly Singer joins Daniel to explain how she would organise it — beginning with four or five days in Cape Town and finishing at a private game reserve in the Eastern Cape.

In Cape Town, Carly covers the essentials: Table Mountain, Robben Island, Boulders Beach and the Cape Peninsula. She compares the V&A Waterfront, Camps Bay, Sea Point and the City Bowl as places to stay, and shares the restaurants that made the strongest impression on her, including The Pot Luck Club, La Petite Colombe and Willoughby & Co.

The journey then heads east. There is wine tasting around Stellenbosch, seasonal whale watching near Hermanus, the Cango Caves and a dawn meerkat experience near Oudtshoorn, followed by the coastal scenery of Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. Carly makes a persuasive case for small lodges, fresh breakfasts and allowing enough time to enjoy the setting rather than racing through every stop.

Finally, we go on safari. Carly explains why an Eastern Cape private game reserve can be a practical, malaria-free extension to a Cape Town and Garden Route holiday, what twice-daily game drives are like and the thrill of watching elephants appear at the lodge watering hole. Listen for a clear first-timer’s route, honest practical advice and the souvenir-market trick worth checking before you leave.