The 15 Safaris in South Africa to Build a Trip Around

From Johannesburg: Pilanesberg Nature Reserve Game Safari

1.Pilanesberg Nature Reserve Game Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 1,327 reviews · 12 hours · from $186Our pick

Review of a full-day Pilanesberg safari from Johannesburg, with open-vehicle game drives, lunch, Big Five sightings, costs, and practical tips.

“This is a great day trip from Joburg for an authentic safari experience. Thomas our driver was communicative and professional, pointing out interesting things on our way to Pilanesberg. Thabo our guide was also great. Very knowledgeable. Of course you can’t control what you will and won’t see but we were fortunate enough to see a leopard and had incredible elephant and rhino sightings. Lunch is a bit basic but overall would recommend the trip”

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From Cape Town: 2-Day Safari at Garden Route Game Lodge

2.2-Day Safari at Garden Route Game Lodge

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 928 reviews · 2 days · from $533

Review of the 2-day Cape Town safari to Garden Route Game Lodge, with Cape Agulhas, coastal stops, wildlife drives, meals, and practical tips.

“The guide (Chris) was excellent. Very flexible, planning the route to get the best weather at different places and asking us how long we wanted to stop for. He also answered all my questions about South Africa”

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Addo Elephant National Park All Inclusive Full-Day Safari

3.Addo Elephant National Park All Inclusive Full-Day Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 872 reviews · 9 hours · from $186

Review of Addo Elephant National Park’s 9-hour safari, with elephants, Big 5 wildlife, lunch, hotel pickup, and expert guides.

“Unforgettable safari with an outstanding guide! Our safari at Addo National Park was absolutely incredible, and a huge part of that was thanks to our amazing guide, Freddy. From the very start, Freddy’s deep knowledge of the park, its history, and its wildlife made every moment fascinating. He didn’t just point out animals - he shared stories, fun facts, and insights about the ecosystem, turning each sighting into something truly special. We were thrilled to see almost the entire Big Five, an unforgettable highlight of our trip! Freddy’s sharp eye and experience meant we spotted animals we would have easily missed on our own. He also knew the best routes…”

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Kruger National Park Full Day Private safari

4.Kruger National Park Full Day Private safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 799 reviews · from $158Top rated

Review of a private Kruger safari from Hazyview, with Big Five viewing, expert guides, park stops, costs, timing, and booking advice.

“Very happy with the service provided. Good communication right from when the booking was made. Senzo, our guide was knowledgable and jolly. He picked us up right from our chalet on time and explained the details on the way to the park. Throughout the day, he catered to our needs and kept explaining various details about the park and wildlife. I would highly recommend him.”

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Full Day Ultimate Pilanesberg National Park Safari from Johannesburg or Pretoria

5.Full Day Ultimate Pilanesberg National Park Safari from Johannesburg or Pretoria

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 718 reviews · from $159

Review of the full-day Pilanesberg safari from Johannesburg, with two open-vehicle drives, lunch by a waterhole, transport, costs, and practical tips.

“The tour was really great! Perfect timing and pickup in the morning, friendly drivers, a great guide in the national park :))) Not only the elephants were amazing! Thank you very much for this wonderful day!!!”

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Big Five Game Reserve Wildlife Safari from Cape Town

6.Big Five Game Reserve Wildlife Safari from Cape Town

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 576 reviews · from $184

Review of Aquila Game Reserve safari from Cape Town, with Big Five sightings, lunch, transport, costs, comfort tips, and honest drawbacks.

“Excellent activity and we saw the 5 Big Animals. Well organized and lunch was great at a very nice lodge on a 10,000 acre property.”

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Big Five Safari and Breede River Valley Guided Day Trip

7.Big Five Safari and Breede River Valley Guided Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 526 reviews · from $155

Review of a Cape Town Big Five day trip with Aquila safari, Breede Valley views, wine tasting, lunch, transport, costs, and practical tips.

“It was my very first safari ever and it was absolutely amazing. Mike went above and beyond! He managed everything extremely well and thanks to him I did not have to que a single time. Also his knowledge about the area is huge. You can Read more”

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Early Morning Balloon Safari with Breakfast from Magaliesburg

8.Early Morning Balloon Safari with Breakfast from Magaliesburg

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 418 reviews · from $240

Review of the Magaliesburg balloon safari, with flight details, breakfast, price, fitness needs, weather rules, and booking advice.

“Loved this experience..surreal with an amazing breakfast at the end of it!! The views were breathtaking!”

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From Cape Town: South African Wildlife and Safari 2-Day Tour

9.South African Wildlife and Safari 2-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 411 reviews · 2 days · from $322

Review of the 2-day Cape Town safari to Oudtshoorn, including Big Five game drives, accommodation, costs, long drives, and elephant encounters.

“We had an amazing trip with our Guide Maudi! Everything was planned and organized perfectly! We could enjoy our whole Trip with no waste of time! We saw so many animals and i'm so happy that i was on this Tour! Thanks again to Maudi for making this Trip so special!!”

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From Johannesburg: Lion & Safari Park Half-Day Tour

10.Lion & Safari Park Half-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 384 reviews · 5 hours · from $167

Review of Johannesburg’s Lion and Safari Park tour, with lions, cheetahs and wild dogs, transport details, value advice and practical tips.

“The Park Ranger was very informative with insights into the animals behaviours. She found as many animals possible to see and made the tour an absolute delight. I am so glad I went and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.”

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Kruger National Park – Private full day Safari trip.

11.Private full day Safari trip.

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 347 reviews · from $166

Review of a private Kruger safari from Hazyview, with Big Five sightings, guide details, costs, timing, and practical booking advice.

“This was an amazing experience. Saw a huge variety of animals, Informative, nothing was too much trouble and importantly, fun. I’ve done several safaris and this was right up there as the best and that was largely down to our fabulous guide…..who also happens to be a great photographer!”

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Full-Day All Inclusive Safari with Traditional Braai Lunch

12.Full-Day All Inclusive Safari with Traditional Braai Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 345 reviews · 9 hours · from $186

Review of Addo’s 9-hour safari with Big Five game drives, expert guides, park entrance, drinks, and a traditional South African braai lunch.

“Steven is a Great Guide! He took all the time we needed to watch the lions, saw nearly everything in the bushes and did a great lunch! We would recommend this tour everyone!”

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2 Day Safari Experience from Cape Town

13.2 Day Safari Experience from Cape Town

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 326 reviews · from $447

Review of a two-day Cape Town safari with Big Five drives, Cape Agulhas, penguins, Hermanus, lodge stay, meals, and practical tips.

“From start to finish, what a fantastic packed two days! Benjamin the driver/guide from Bokbus was an absolute gentleman and missed nothing: bravo! Stops were frequent and pertinent as we visited many interesting places en route to and from the lodge. The lodge is fantastic to be fair. The grounds are beautiful and immaculate. The huts are well equipped and quite cute to be fair. The two pools are clean and very inviting. Food and service is second to none and the dining hall is a really nice surrounding. The two drives with Zandre were incredible as we saw absolutely everything you could hope for and his educated updates were…”

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Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park Full Day Big 5 Safari Tour

14.Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park Full Day Big 5 Safari Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 310 reviews · from $96

Review of the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Big 5 safari from St Lucia, with early pickup, ranger-led drives, meals, pricing, and practical tips.

“It was a fantastic day! Without going into the animals we saw, as that depends on luck, let me share the good and bad points of this tour. Arnaud, our guide, always had a smile on his face, answered every question, and provided a lot of inforRead more”

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5 Day Garden Route and Addo Safari – Best of South Africa Small Group Tour

15.5 Day Garden Route and Addo Safari – Best of South Africa Small Group Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 291 reviews · from $575

Review of the 5-day Garden Route and Addo Safari from Cape Town, with wildlife, beaches, caves, hikes, wine, lodging, costs, and practical tips.

“Such a great trip to experience Garden Route wildlife up close! Gerhardus was an amazing guide. He made sure we saw everything promised on the trip and was so helpful and fun. Yes, its a lot of driving but that's the only way you get to see and experience so many different things. I would highly recommend this adventure for anyone.”

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