George: the gateway to South Africa's Garden Route

At the foot of the Outeniqua mountains, George remains South Africa's most convenient base for exploring the Garden Route, one of the world's most scenic drives.

A rental car remains essential for exploring the scenic Garden Route of South Africa.

The Railway Museum of George, dedicated to the historic steam train 'Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe', tells the story of rail connections built through the local mountains.

A few minutes away, the Outeniqua Mountains, covered with fynbos, the endemic vegetation of the Cape, offer panoramic trails over the coast below.

Continuing along the coast, you reach Victoria Bay, a small bay among the most loved by South African surfers for the consistent quality of its waves.

To the west begins the Garden Route proper, which passes through indigenous forests, lagoons, and nature reserves until Plettenberg Bay.

Fynbos, vegetation unique to the world growing only in South Africa's Cape region, comprises over nine thousand distinct plant species, many of which exist nowhere else on the planet.

The Garden Route, stretching approximately two hundred kilometers, takes its name from the extraordinary variety of landscapes it traverses in just a few hours of driving, from rainforests to ocean beaches.