I always knew my honeymoon would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and that I just needed to find my person in order to take it. In 2026, I married the love of my life, and we took a truly incredible trip to Africa. We debated between Botswana and South Africa and landed on South Africa because of the shorter travel time, knowing the second half of the trip would involve a more extensive travel day. Traveling from the U.S., it made the most sense to start in Cape Town and then head to safari. This gave us time to adjust to the time difference and explore a new city.
With three nights in Cape Town, we certainly made the most of it. We started night one with a delicious multi-course meal at Merchant Bar & Grill, paired with the recommended wine pairing. It was the perfect way to start our adventure. The next two days were about seeing as much of the city as possible while also drinking the wine in the Winelands and eating the best food possible. We crossed off bucket-list spots like seeing the penguins at Boulders Beach and making our way up Table Mountain. At the top, we spotted a dassie, which was the cutest little guy, and we were lucky to see a group of 10 or more while exploring Boulders Beach.
In Stellenbosch, we visited the second-oldest winery in the region, Neethlingshof, then moved on to our favorite stop of the day, Tokara. Our last stop was Boschendal, with a lovely chocolate and wine tasting. If you visit Tokara, do the red wine tasting. You will not regret it! We immediately shipped some wine back to the States.
On our second night in Cape Town, we tried Café Paradise. We loved the vibe of the restaurant and got to try ostrich for the first time. It tasted like a mix of lamb and beef, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it! On our last night, we went to Beau Constantia. This meal had us rolling out of the restaurant. To this day, I don’t think we realized how many courses we had signed up for, but it was DELICIOUS. Everything was cooked and presented with such precision and care. We didn’t know exactly what to expect from the food in South Africa, but we were blown away by everything we ate.
After falling in love with Cape Town, it was time to head to our safari. We took a short flight to Hoedspruit, then headed to Timbavati, where we stayed four nights at Amaya. The safari starts immediately as you land! On our way to the hotel, we saw elephants, zebras, and a rhino. This blew us away, as we hadn’t even had our first official game drive. Once we got to camp, we were greeted by the most friendly staff. The chef came out to meet us and ask about allergies and preferences. We loved this attention to detail and were very excited for each meal, especially after the first lunch. Wow! We thoroughly enjoyed every meal. Since we arrived in the early afternoon, we were able to head out on an evening game drive right away. From there, each day started with a 5:15 a.m. wake-up and a light snack before heading out on the morning game drive at about 6:30 a.m. Afterward, we could relax, eat lunch, and lounge before heading out again at about 3:30 p.m. for the evening game drive, with dinner following. Each game drive lasted roughly three to four hours and included a sundowner. We were immediately hooked on this routine and the peacefulness we found in the bush. We hope to go again someday.
Even though we did not want to leave the bush, it was time to head to the next part of our trip: Seychelles. We had to spend one night in Johannesburg to catch a flight to Mahé. The journey didn’t stop there, though. We spent one night on the main island before heading to Desroche. We had our very own White Lotus experience when we landed at the Four Seasons Desroche Island. The staff greeted us and immediately took us on a mini tour of where we would be staying for the next week. This place was absolute paradise, with our own private pool and the beach just steps away. We biked everywhere on the island, which led us to call it a wellness retreat. The other swimming beaches weren’t far by bike, but they weren’t right near us. We went snorkeling one day, kayaked another, and spent the afternoons lounging by our own private pool. Everyone at the hotel was extremely attentive, and we couldn’t have chosen a better way to end an extraordinary trip.
Stay tuned for a Safari packing guide coming up next or to follow our travels be sure to follow @bffswhotravel!
