Cape Town Safari Holidays for independent travellers.

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Cape Town Safari Options

Introduction

Unfortunately it is not possible to go on an African safari near Cape Town, and in order to combine Southern Africa's most popular city with the thrill of a safari, visitors will either need to drive to the Eastern Cape or take a flight up to the Kruger Park, KwaZulu-Natal, or Port Elizabeth.

There are a number of European or North American style safari parks nearer Cape Town, but these tend to be very sterile and tame, and overseas visitors may find them rather disappointing. If you have the opportunity it is well worth making the effort to visit one of the National Parks or private game reserves elsewhere in South Africa or the neighbouring countries.

For more information on types of safari and the different destinations, click here.

The Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape: Shamwari, Lalibela, Gorah, Kwandwe, Amakhala

Probably the most popular Cape Town Safari route is to drive along the beautiful southern coast of South Africa between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

The distance by road is around 750 km and could be driven in a couple of days by a determined driver, however most people chose to stop for a few nights on the well-known Garden Route which forms part of this journey.

The Eastern Cape game reserves and safari lodges are only a 60-90 minute drive from Port Elizabeth.

Find out more about safaris in the Eastern Cape here.

The Greater Kruger National Park

Greater Kruger: Sabi Sand, Timbavati, Manyeleti, Klaserie, Thornybush

Impala Sabi Sand This magnificent Park in the north-east of South Africa is as far away from Cape Town as you can go without leaving the country.

Having said that, it is still by far the most popular safari destination for locals and overseas visitors alike, and huge numbers of people fly or drive between Cape Town and Kruger to combine the country's 2 leading destinations.

By road, the journey would take an exhausting 3 days (2 to Johannesburg, and a further 5 hours or so to the Park entrance), and as a result, most people decide to fly to one of the airports in or near the Park. These flights all route via Johannesburg.

Leopard, Sabi Sand Once in the area, the choice of safari on offer is outstanding. There are numerous lodges, including those in the world-famous Sabi Sand Reserve, and if you want to get within a couple of metres of lions or leopards in the wild, then these are the places to stay!

For people who prefer to self-drive in the park, there is an excellent infrastructure of roads and rest-camps in the park, and you can read more about staying in the park for self-drive wildlife viewing here.

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal: Phinda, Mkuze Falls

Combining Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal in your South African trip adds more than just a safari to your holiday.

Phinda Cheetahs In addition to some of the best safari lodges and most famous game reserves in Southern Africa, KwaZulu-Natal also has the magnificent Drakensberg Mountains, the St Lucia Wetland Park, and a fascinating and dramatic history in its moving and eerie Battlefields.

Add to this mix the sub-tropical city of Durban, a still vibrant Zulu culture, snorkelling and scuba diving, and near endless beaches, KwaZulu-Natal probably boasts a wider range of world-class attractions within its borders than any other part of the country.

Given all these attractions, why don't more visitors combine these 2 areas? Well, the most likely reason is the distance between them - it would take at least 3 days of non-stop motoring to drive from Cape Town to Durban, and large parts of the journey are on smaller roads through remote parts of the Eastern Cape. It is around 1,000 km between Durban and Port Elizabeth, and apart from East London and the Wild Coast (which is around 90 minutes drive off the main road!) there is very limited accommodation on route.

There are flights available, and unless you have around 4 weeks or so to spend, this would be our recommendation.

There are several excellent upmarket lodges as well as self-drive parks in KwaZulu-Natal, and you can read more about them here.

The North West Province & The Waterberg

North West Province: Madikwe, Pilanesberg

The Waterberg

The malaria-free reserves of the North West Province and The Waterberg are located within a couple of hours drive of Johannesburg airport, and with numerous flights each day between Cape Town and Jo'burg these could be an attractive alternative for many visitors looking to include a safari in their trip to Cape Town.

A popular option is to fly into Cape Town and spend time visiting the beautiful Western Cape for 7-10 days before flying up to Johannesberg and then driving on to Sun City or one of the safari lodges in the North West Province or Waterberg. It is then possible to fly home from Johannesberg.