Summary
Short description
Showcase the unique history of a truly remote island idyll on a full range of excursions
Highlights
- Take a 4WD through the island’s forest-clad interior
- Explore a heritage that spans from Napoleon to colonial fortresses
- Meet the world’s oldest animal – a giant tortoise
- Visit Cape Town’s Table Mountain and Robben Island
- Explore with excursions and transfers included throughout
In Brief
- 3 Nights Cape Town
- 1 Night Johannesburg
- 7 Nights St Helena
- 1 Night Johannesburg
In pictures
About
Recommended for:
Activity adventure | City | Natural world
Making use of the recently opened flight route, this is a unique opportunity to explore one of the world’s last island frontiers. Staying in St. Helena’s finest hotel – a converted 18th-century barracks – you’ll explore its colonial fort history and magnificent natural world of volcanic peaks, jungled coastlines and rolling coffee plantations. It’s all showcased by a full spread of included guided excursions, ranging from town walks, museum visits and conservancy trips to 4WD tours, guided hikes and distillery tastings. You’ll even take in the sites of Napoleon’s exile and the world’s oldest creature – a giant tortoise that lives in the grounds of the governor’s house. It’s all linked by private transfers and reached by a pause in South Africa, staying in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Here, you’ll summit Table Mountain and visit Nelson Mandela’s Robben Island.
Day by day itinerary
Day
1
Depart UK
After making the most of your complimentary airport lounge access, board your overnight flight to Cape Town.
Days
2-4
Cape Town
On arrival, a private transfer will see you to your handpicked accommodation on Cape Town’s fashionable waterfront. It offers the likes of Table-Mountain views, spa treatments and a seafront restaurant. Over your three nights here, we’ve included a pair of excursions, beginning with a half-day private city tour. Via scenic coastal drives and a tour of the Diamond Museum, you’ll summit Table Mountain, explore colourful Malay enclaves and take in the finest colonial architecture, including the Castle of Good Hope. While there’s also plenty of time to sample the gorgeous beaches and fine wines, we’ve also included a visit to Robben Island – the site of Mandela’s imprisonment.
Stay: Queen Victoria Hotel, Cape Town (Superior)
Meals: B
Day
5
Johannesburg
With your flight bookended by private transfers, you’ll arrive into Johannesburg and your boutique accommodation. It’s an opulent country estate in the heart of the city, offering afternoon teas and fine spa treatments among its acres of sculpted gardens. Then, there’s also the evocative Apartheid Museum and Soweto – the colourful township with a fascinating history.
Stay: Fairlawns Boutique Hotel, Johannesburg (Deluxe)
Meals: B
Day
6
St Helena
Your next flight, again serviced by private transfers on both sides, will see you onto St Helena and your unique accommodation. Set in an 18th-century stone building, it’s the island’s finest hotel, offering just 30 boutique rooms, a cocktail bar and a superb restaurant. It even counts the southern hemisphere’s oldest Anglican church as its neighbour.
Stay: Mantis St. Helena (Superior)
Meals: B
Day
7
St Helena: 4WD tour
Your programme of included excursion begins today with a private, full-day 4WD tour of the island. It’s the perfect way to get your bearings, with scenic trails contrasting lush-green countryside with sheer volcanic peaks and dense jungle. It’s all brought to life by your expert guide and paired with an included lunch.
Stay: Mantis St. Helena (Superior)
Meals: B
Day
8
St Helena: town walking tour
Today will introduce you to the fascinating history of St. Helena’s diminutive capital, alongside offering a glimpse into its way of life. On a guided walk through Jamestown, you’ll take in in everything from court houses and brilliant gardens to sea fortifications and the aptly named “Castle”. Positioned on the site of James Fort, it’s the island’s main government building, having been rebuilt in the 18th century. There’s also the vertiginous Jacob’s Ladder – 699 steps that offer spectacular views over the town.
Stay: Mantis St. Helena (Superior)
Meals: B
Day
9
St Helena: Plantation House tour & Museum of St Helena
Today is given over to a guided tour of the 18th-century Plantation House – the Grade-I-listed home of the island’s governor. It’s a beautifully furnished Georgian mansion set among idyllic grounds that are home to nature trails and a collection of giant tortoises, including Jonathan – thought to be the world’s oldest vertebrate. You’ll even be treated to complimentary tea and cake in the coffee shop. Then, back in Jamestown, you’ll learn a bit more about the island’s fascinating past and present with a guided visit to the Museum of St Helena.
Stay: Mantis St. Helena (Superior)
Meals: B
Day
10
St Helena: island tour & wirebird tour
You’ll pay particular attention to one of the island’s most notable residents today – the exiled Emperor Napoleon. Alongside his residences at Briars Pavilion and Longwood House, you’ll finish with his now-empty tomb at Sane Valley. Along the way, you’ll also take in everything from centuries-old forts and the Boer Cemetery to St Paul’s Cathedral and a fine selection of colonial houses. You’ll then join the St Helena National Trust, visiting the Millennium Forest where over 10,000 gumwood trees have been planted to preserve the natural habitat of the endemic wirebird. You’ll even have the chance to plant your very own.
Stay: Mantis St. Helena (Superior)
Meals: B
Day
11
St Helena: guided walk
You’ll get active today with a guided walk up Diana’s Peak – the island’s highest point. You’ll be brought out of Jamestown for the 800m climb to its summit, offering truly spectacular views that, on a clear day, reach across the entire island.
Stay: Mantis St. Helena (Superior)
Meals: B
Day
12
St Helena: distillery visit & optional marine-life cruise
Ending in style, you’ll visit the world’s most remote distillery, set in Alarm Forest. Here, you’ll meet with head distiller Paul Hickling, who’ll shed some light on the process and offer tastings of the local rum, gin and Midnight Mist coffee liqueur, made exclusively from the island’s famous coffee. There’s even a spirit distilled from indigenous prickly pears. Lastly, this afternoon, you’ll have the option of a marine-life cruise, showcasing the local dolphins and seabirds, alongside offering the chance to snorkel with seasonal whale sharks.
Stay: Mantis St. Helena (Superior)
Meals: B
Day
13
Johannesburg
Your flight back to Johannesburg, again bookended by private transfers, will see you to Fairlawns. It’s the chance to relax with a spa treatment, or bid farewell to South Africa with a visit to one of the city’s superb art galleries or restaurants.
Stay: Fairlawns Boutique Hotel, Johannesburg (Deluxe)
Meals: B
Days
14-15
Depart for UK
Following a final private transfer, you’ll arrive at the airport and board your overnight flight home.
Meals: B
Map
Pricing
Any element of this itinerary can be adjusted to suit your needs. Just contact us to find out more.
Accommodation rating:
15-day tailor-made holiday
from £5,300 pp incl. flights
Superior
Low Season
from £5,300 pp. incl. flights
High Season
from £5,635 pp. incl. flights
Includes:
- Complimentary UK airport lounge access
- Return flights from the UK to Cape Town and from Johannesburg to the UK
- Flights from Cape Town to Johannesburg, and return flights between Johannesburg and St Helena
- 12 nights accommodation in 4* (Superior) hotels on a B&B basis
- Private airports transfers
- Private half day Cape Town tour and entrance to Robben Island
- Private 4x4 Adventure tour in St Helena
- Shared touring in St Helena including Historical Jamestown Walking Tour, Plantation House tour, visit to Museum of St Helena, Island tour, Wirebird tour & Millennium Forest visit, Walking tour and visit to St Helena Distillery
Note: Shorter 3 and 4 night journeys to St Helena are available between December and March
Terms & Conditions
Prices are per person based on two people sharing a twin/double room; prices are subject to availability and possible change; normal booking conditions apply.
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