Everything arranged.
All you do is arrive.
A small group of women, one host, and somewhere warm while Norway cools for winter. Your own room every night, return flights, and nothing on your list other than showing up.
Cape Town and the Garden Route
6–15 November 202710 daysGroups of ten
Late spring in the Cape while Europe winters. Famously easy the first time, and famously good the second. A small hosted group, with private transport throughout.
- Money protected, always
A registered package under the Norwegian travel guarantee fund, flights included.
- One host, always
The same person who runs The Faraway is with you from the departure gate in Norway to the arrival gate on the way home.
- Your own room, always
Not an upgrade and not a supplement. The door closes and the evening is yours.
Cape Town and the Garden Route
Late spring in the Cape while Europe winters. Famously easy the first time, and famously good the second. A small hosted group, with private transport throughout.
- Day01Day 1
Depart Norway
Stavanger → Cape Town, overnightEvening departure from Stavanger, one connection. Group meets in the lounge and boards together.
- Day 2
Arrival and settle
Cape TownLand mid-morning, transfer to the guesthouse in the Bo-Kaap district. Lunch, a slow walk through the neighbourhood, welcome dinner as a group.
- Day 3
Table Mountain and the city
Cape TownEarly cableway (with a backup plan if the wind closes it), then a considered walking route through the city bowl. Company Gardens, District Six memorial, lunch at a place we know.
- Day 4
Cape Peninsula
Cape Point and BouldersFull day south with a private vehicle. Cape of Good Hope, the penguin colony at Boulders, seafood on the way back. Sunset from Signal Hill if the light holds.
- Day 5
The winelands
Franschhoek and StellenboschTwo vineyards, one lunch, one long slow afternoon. Home to Cape Town for the evening, dinner on your own or with the group, your call.
- Day 6
East to the coast
Cape Town → Hermanus → OudtshoornWhales in Hermanus if the season plays along (November is late but viable), then inland to the semi-desert of the little Karoo. Farmhouse dinner.
- Day 7
Ostriches, caves, forest
Oudtshoorn → KnysnaThe Cango Caves in the morning, then over the Outeniqua pass into the forest and lakes of the Garden Route. Two nights in Knysna.
- Day 8
Plettenberg and Tsitsikamma
Knysna → Plettenberg BayThe Robberg peninsula walk in the morning (moderate, roughly two hours, or a shorter option), then Tsitsikamma suspension bridge in the afternoon. Back to Knysna for dinner.
- Day 9
The last day
Knysna → George → Cape TownSlow morning, brunch, short flight George → Cape Town in the afternoon. Farewell dinner as a group before the overnight flight home.
- Day10Day 10
Home
Cape Town → StavangerOvernight flight, arriving Stavanger the same day. One connection each way. Arrival home mid-morning.
From joining to landing home.
Four steps, and then you pack. If seats don’t fill, you get refunded in full.
- 01
Join, free
The membership layer is open, free, and does not commit you to anything. It gives you the interest board, priority when a trip opens, and the pre-departure space for any trip you book.
- 02
Post to the board or wait
Say where you want to go, and roughly when. See who else is interested. Or wait for a departure that already suits you. New destinations are chosen from what the board is telling us.
- 03
Reserve your seat
When a trip opens, everyone who has shown interest is invited first, with a 72-hour window. A deposit holds your seat. The balance is due four months before departure.
- 04
Fly together
You are met at the airport. Private transport throughout. Your host is with the group from the departure gate in Norway to the arrival gate on the way home.
What if the trip doesn’t fill?
We need a minimum of seven travellers to join. If we’re unable to confirm this amount by six weeks before departure, the trip is cancelled and your deposit is refunded in full within seven days.
A specific person, not everyone.
Ten seats a trip. It helps to know who tends to take them.
This is for you if
- You are single, divorced, widowed, or travelling without your partner.
- You are between forty and seventy, or you are not. There is no age bracket.
- You have travelled before and would like to travel more of the world without arranging it yourself.
- You would rather not share a room with a stranger, and you would rather not pay a supplement for that.
- You want to go with others choosing the same trip for the same reasons.
This is not for you if
- Couples. This one is not for two.
- Anyone who wants a big group. Group is limited to ten.
- Anyone after late nights. The days are full and the evenings are slow.
- Anyone who wants to rough it. We travel comfortably.
The person you’ll be travelling with.
“I built this because the trip I wanted to book did not exist.”
I’m the person who runs The Faraway and hosts every trip. I’m based in Norway. For years my job was moving people to countries they had never seen and helping them feel at home there. This is the same work, with better weather.
I’ve travelled to South Africa eight times, five of them on the Garden Route. I know which guesthouse in Bo-Kaap I would put my own mother in, which winelands lunch is worth the drive, and which day trip to skip if the wind is up. I know it in a way you can’t know it from a guidebook, and you shouldn’t be expected to.
A trip is ten of you and one of me, together for ten days. I do this because I love it. I chose Cape Town first because it is the kindest place I know to land the first time.
Your own room, for your own comfort.
The door closes and the evening is yours. Unpack or don’t. Read until two in the morning with the light on. Come back from dinner without negotiating with anyone.
That is The Faraway standard — not an upgrade. The price you see is for your own room, on every trip, always.
If you would rather share, say so when you book and we take 5 400 kr off. Bring a friend, or we’ll introduce you to someone else who wants to share, well before we go. If it doesn’t feel right, you keep your own room at the standard price.
Your interest shapes where we travel to next.
Destinations are chosen from what members have on their wishlist. One-click interest, with no obligation. Groups of friends are welcome to contact us for bespoke packages.
Building
JapanKyoto in cherry blossom, and a night on Koyasan
“Kyoto by yourself is complicated the first time. A small group with someone who has done it before, and one night in a temple, would be perfect.”
Marte, Bergen · 6 days ago · Late March / early April22 interested · 9 commentsBuilding
VietnamNorthern Vietnam, Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Halong Bay
“Everyone I know who has been says it is the trip of a lifetime and everyone I know who has been went with a partner. My turn.”
Ida, Fredrikstad · 27 days ago · October–November or March19 interested · 8 commentsBuilding
ItalyEastern Sicily, Ortigia, Etna, Taormina
“I have been three times with partners who did not want to walk anywhere. This time I want the walks, the food markets, the archaeology, and no compromise.”
Elin, Trondheim · 11 days ago · Early October17 interested · 5 commentsBuilding
JordanJordan, Petra, Wadi Rum, one night in a proper camp
“This is on my list and I would not do it alone. Group of ten, a woman host, and a decent camp, not a rough one.”
Torhild, Tromsø · 19 days ago · March or November15 interested · 7 commentsBuilding
MoroccoThe High Atlas and Marrakech
“I want a slow week in a riad and three nights hiking between Berber villages, not a bus tour. Guided, with a woman lead ideally.”
Ingvild, Oslo · 3 days ago · March or October14 interested · 6 commentsOpen
PortugalPorto, the Douro valley, and one long slow river week
“The port houses, the vineyards, and one river cruise segment. Two nights in Porto to bookend it.”
Kine, Drammen · 16 days ago · September or early October13 interested · 2 commentsOpen
Sri LankaSri Lanka, hill country, tea, one beach at the end
“Trains through the hills, tea estates, a temple day, and a proper beach for three nights to finish. I would prefer not to plan it.”
Hilde, Copenhagen · 42 days ago · January or February12 interested · 4 commentsOpen
GreeceTwo islands slowly, Naxos and Amorgos
“Not Santorini. Two islands, one ferry between them, swimming every day, one house for four nights each. No optimisation.”
Ann-Kristin, Stavanger · 9 days ago · Late May or September11 interested · 4 commentsOpen
SpainAndalusia, Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada
“The three cities, at pace, with someone who knows where to eat and where the good tiles are. Not a cruise-ship-crowd itinerary.”
Camilla, Sandnes · 35 days ago · April or October10 interested · 3 commentsOpen
PeruCusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu (train, not trek)
“I have always wanted to go. I do not want to hike the Inca Trail. I want the train, comfortable rooms, and a small group. Altitude done properly.”
Signe, Kristiansand · 14 days ago · May or September9 interested · 3 commentsOpen
NamibiaNamibia, Sossusvlei and the Skeleton Coast
“Landscape, silence, and the light. Small lodges, not big safari camps. I do not need the Big Five, I want the desert.”
Berit, Oslo · 24 days ago · May or August8 interested · 1 commentOpen
IcelandIceland, the ring road, small vehicle, autumn light
“Close to home, driveable, but with a group. Autumn light, hot springs, one horseback afternoon.”
Ragnhild, Ålesund · 31 days ago · Late September6 interested · 1 comment
Considerations.
Every question that has come up in conversation, answered specifically. If yours isn’t here, write and ask, we’d rather answer once and add it than have you wonder.