Wilderness Travel Tips
We hope you find these travel tips relating to your trip to Wilderness useful. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you want any more specific information.
Location
Wilderness is located on South Africa’s southern coast and is part of the well known “Garden Route”. It’s less than 15km (10 miles) east of George, a large town. The nearest large city is Port Elizabeth (PE), approximately 300km (190 miles) to the east. Cape Town is 450km (280 miles) to the west of Wilderness.
See the map at the bottom of this page for more information.
Getting There
Wilderness is easy to access by road as the main N2 highway runs straight through the town. Don’t let this put you off visiting – from the vast majority of locations, any traffic noise is drowned out by the sound of crashing waves. The drive along the N2 from Cape Town generally takes around 5 hours (excluding stops), and from PE to Wilderness it’s roughly a 3 hour drive.
If you are travelling on holiday from overseas, you would most likely want to fly into Cape Town and hire a car there. After spending some time in Cape Town, you could then make the drive to Wilderness.
If you would rather avoid a long road trip, George airport (which offers car hire) is just a 20 minute drive from Wilderness. You can fly to George from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. There are no international flights to or from George.
Amenities
Despite being a small town, there is a good selection of shops and amenities in Wilderness. There is a decent sized Spar which will cater for most of you food requirements, along with Wilderness Minimarket. There are also 2 liquor stores, a Post Office, a Petrol Station and a hardware store. In case of sickness, there is a pharmacy, a Doctor and a Vets surgery. An ATM is also available.
The town has a good number of small speciality shops, mostly located in Palms Garden Square. There is an excellent selection of restaurants in Wilderness.
The large Garden Route Mall is only 10 minutes drive from Wilderness, situated on the edge of George. It has most major South African stores as well as a cinema.
Next Steps
Does Wilderness sound like a great place to visit? If so, take a look at our guide to accommodation in Wilderness.