Live music is the draw
Two festival nights are built into the itinerary rather than sold as an extra, and the whole trip is dated around them.
2027 signature group experience
The Cape Town Jazz Fest South Africa Experience
- Where
- Johannesburg and Cape Town, plus Pilanesberg on the safari route
- When
- 21 to 29 March 2027
- Length
- 8 nights, 9 days
- From
- $3,299 per person sharing
The reason for the dates
Two nights at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival
The largest jazz festival on the African continent, and the fixed point this trip is arranged around. Everything else is sequenced so that you reach Cape Town with the festival still ahead of you.
Your package includes a weekend pass to the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. The lineup, stage schedule, and performance times are set by the festival organisers and announced closer to the event. Visit the official festival website for the latest details.
The journey
A festival trip with a country attached
Plenty of people fly in for the festival and see an airport, a hotel, and a stage. This is built the other way round: two days in Johannesburg first, at Soweto, the Apartheid Museum, and Vilakazi Street, so the music lands in a country you have actually met.
After Johannesburg the group splits. Some carry on to Pilanesberg for two nights of safari before heading south. Others fly straight down and take six nights in Cape Town instead. Both routes run eight nights, and both are in the city for the festival.
Who this is designed for
This journey suits you if
You want the history too
Two full days go to Johannesburg’s heritage sites before anyone reaches Cape Town. That is the trip working as intended.
You want to set your own pace
Safari and city, or a longer stretch in one place. The route is yours to choose and the price follows it.
Day by day
Itinerary
Dated rather than numbered, since the two routes split for part of the week. Everyone starts together in Johannesburg and finishes together in Cape Town.
Johannesburg, for everyone
21 Mar
Arrival in Johannesburg
Met at OR Tambo and transferred privately to 54 on Bath in Rosebank. The afternoon and dinner are yours, which is deliberate after a long flight.
22 Mar
Soweto and the Apartheid Museum
The Soweto Heritage Tour and a Johannesburg historical tour: the Apartheid Museum, Vilakazi Street, Mandela House, the Hector Pieterson Memorial, and Regina Mundi Church. Lunch is an African buffet at Sakhumzi on Vilakazi Street.
23 to 25 March
Then choose your route
Route one
With the safari
23 to 24 Mar, Pilanesberg · 25 Mar, to Cape Town
$4,749 per person
$3,299 base, plus $1,450 for the safari
Drive to Ivory Tree Game Lodge inside Pilanesberg National Park, about two hours from Johannesburg, for two nights. Morning and afternoon game drives, with meals at the lodge. On 25 March you transfer back to OR Tambo and fly south, arriving in Cape Town before the festival begins.
Four nights in Cape Town.
Route two
Straight to Cape Town
23 Mar, to Cape Town
$3,299 per person
Skip the bush and fly south on 23 March instead, which buys two extra days in the city before the festival starts. Worth taking if you have done safari before, if the early starts do not appeal, or if you would simply rather have the time in Cape Town.
Six nights in Cape Town.
Until 29 March
Cape Town, for everyone
23 or 25 Mar
Arrival in Cape Town
Route two arrives on 23 March, route one on 25 March. Either way you are met at the airport and transferred privately to the hotel, with the first evening at leisure.
26 Mar
Table Mountain, and the first night of jazz
The aerial cableway to the summit, then lunch at Seven Colours Eatery, Chef Nolu’s restaurant serving traditional South African food. In the evening, the first of two nights at the festival.
27 Mar
An open day, and the second night
The day is yours. Use the hotel, or take one of the optional experiences below. The second festival night follows in the evening.
28 Mar
The Winelands
A private jeep day through Black-owned winelands. Described in full below.
29 Mar
Departure
Breakfast, then a private transfer to Cape Town International for the journey home.
The Johannesburg to Cape Town flight is not included on either route and is quoted separately, so travelers arriving on different international routes are not paying for a fare that does not suit them.
28 March
A private jeep day through Black-owned winelands
Not a standard tasting route. A private excursion arranged with Jeep Tours Cape Town, whose Wranglers are driven by accredited female guides, built around two or three Black-owned estates.
The estates under consideration: Klein Goederust in Franschhoek, the first fully Black-owned and operated winery in South Africa, bought by the Siguqa family in 2019. Black Elephant Vintners, also in Franschhoek, founded by Raymond Ndlovu. Aslina, founded by Ntsiki Biyela, South Africa’s first Black female winemaker. And Seven Sisters, run by the Brutus sisters in Stellenbosch.
Where you stay
Three properties, three settings
Ivory Tree applies to the safari route only. Both routes use the same hotels in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
54 on Bath, Southern Sun
- Where
- Johannesburg · 21 and 22 Mar
A boutique hotel in Rosebank, with the Level Four restaurant on site and the Gautrain station close enough to reach the rest of the city.
Ivory Tree Game Lodge
- Where
- Pilanesberg · Safari route only
Inside Pilanesberg National Park, about two hours from Johannesburg, set in a natural amphitheatre of hills. Guided game drives, a pool, and a spa on the property.
The Capital 15 on Orange
- Where
- Cape Town · Until 29 Mar
In Gardens, at the foot of Table Mountain, within reach of the V&A Waterfront, Camps Bay, and the road out to the Winelands.
Optional
Add to the open days
Booked separately and priced on request. The days either side of the festival are deliberately light so there is room for these.
Cape Sidecar Adventures
The city, the Atlantic seaboard, or the full peninsula from the sidecar of a restored 1960s Ural or CJ750. Jackets, goggles, and helmets provided. Anything from two hours to a full day.
Robben Island
A ferry across the bay and a guided tour of the prison that held Nelson Mandela, led by former political prisoners. Weather dependent, as the crossing does not run in poor conditions.
Cape Malay cooking in Bo-Kaap
A hands-on class in a local kitchen, followed by lunch of what you have made.
Quad biking in the Atlantis Dunes
White sand dunes outside the city, and the least reverent thing on the itinerary.
The One&Only Spa
Treatments at the One&Only on the V&A Waterfront, for a day with nothing else in it.
The package
What is and is not included
Included in your package
- Eight nights, in Johannesburg and Cape Town, plus Pilanesberg on the safari route
- Meet and greet plus private transfers at Johannesburg and Cape Town airports
- Soweto Heritage Tour and Johannesburg historical tour, including the Apartheid Museum
- Buffet lunch at Sakhumzi on Vilakazi Street
- Table Mountain aerial cableway
- Lunch at Seven Colours Eatery
- Two nights at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival
- A private jeep day through the Black-owned winelands
- Road transfer to Pilanesberg and back, plus game drives at the lodge, on the safari route
- Breakfast daily, with other meals as noted in the itinerary
Not included
- International airfare to and from South Africa
- The Johannesburg to Cape Town flight
- Travel insurance, which is required for this journey
- Passport and visa fees
- The optional experiences listed above
- Meals and drinks not listed as included
- Gratuities for guides, drivers, and hotel staff
- Personal spending and laundry
- Single supplement, if you prefer your own room
At Ivory Tree Game Lodge
- Two game drives per day
- Accommodation
- All meals
Not covered at the lodge
- All beverages
- Items of a personal nature
Investment
Pricing and payment
Cape Town is the base price. The Pilanesberg safari is an add-on to it rather than a separate package. Pricing is per person sharing a room unless stated otherwise, and places are confirmed in the order deposits are received.
Cape Town only, per person sharing$3,299
Cape Town only, single occupancy$4,199
Add the safari, per person sharing+$1,450
With safari, per person sharing$4,749
Deposit to reserve, per person$500
Final payment due20 January 2027
The safari route is available on a shared-room basis only. If you are travelling alone and want the safari, talk to us at your consultation about the available rooming options. Payment plans are available; your proposed payment dates and amounts will be provided in writing before you pay a deposit. Pricing is subject to availability and may change until your deposit is received and your place is confirmed in writing. The Johannesburg to Cape Town flight is quoted separately from both routes.
Before you travel
Practical matters
Travel insurance
Required for this journey. We ask every traveler to hold a policy covering trip cancellation, medical care abroad, and emergency evacuation. Review the coverage requirements before purchasing and visit our travel insurance page for provider options and important disclosures.
Passports and visas
Entry requirements depend on your passport and can change. You are responsible for confirming the rules that apply to you well before departure. U.S. travelers should review the U.S. Department of State country information; eligible travelers can also consult South Africa’s official Electronic Travel Authorisation portal.
Health
Health recommendations depend on your itinerary and medical history. Review the current CDC guidance for South Africa and speak with a travel-health professional well before departure.
Questions
Frequently asked
Can I switch routes after booking?
Ask us before paying your deposit if you are still deciding. Changes after booking are not guaranteed and depend on availability, supplier terms, and any additional cost. We will confirm what is possible and provide the revised price in writing before making a change.
Are Jazz Festival tickets guaranteed?
Your written proposal will identify the festival admission included in your package. The programme, performers, stages, and event schedule are controlled by the festival organisers and may change. Any material change affecting your package will be communicated as soon as we receive confirmed information.
Why is the Johannesburg to Cape Town flight not included?
It is quoted separately so travelers arriving on different international routes are not paying for a fare that does not suit their schedule. It also differs between the two routes, since they fly on different days. Your written proposal will state whether Majestic Dream Vacations will arrange this flight and will show its fare and any applicable service fee before you approve it.
Can I travel solo on this journey?
Yes. A single-occupancy price is listed for the Cape Town route. The safari route is offered on a shared-room basis only, so contact us about the rooming options currently available. A roommate match is not guaranteed unless we confirm it with you in writing.
How physically demanding is it?
Expect walking on guided visits, extended time in vehicles, early starts on the safari route, and potentially late nights during the festival. Tell us about mobility or access needs before booking so we can explain the current itinerary and ask suppliers what accommodations are available.
Is the deposit refundable?
Refundability and cancellation charges are governed by the written booking terms and the policies of the suppliers in your package. You will receive the applicable schedule before payment; review it before submitting your deposit.
The fine print
Important terms
Pricing is per person based on double occupancy, is subject to availability, and may change until a deposit is received and a place is confirmed in writing.
Festival programming is set by the organisers and may change. Robben Island and other water-based experiences are weather dependent. Winelands estates are subject to availability on the day.
Your written booking terms set out the cancellation and refund schedule, name-change rules, any minimum group requirement, and the supplier terms that apply to your reservation. Each traveler is responsible for meeting the passport, visa, health, and entry requirements that apply to them.
Full terms and conditions are provided with your booking confirmation and must be accepted before your place is secured. Read the full terms
21 to 29 March 2027
Reserve your place
Tell us which route you want and we will send you everything else.