One of the main attractions of the Eastern Cape is the opportunity to visit a wildlife park and see the Big 5 in a malaria-free environment.

Only between a 60-90 minutes drive from Port Elizabeth, the lodges and reserves of the Eastern Cape are ideal for people who wish to combine a beach holiday or the ever-popular Cape Town and  Garden Route with an unforgettable safari experience.

The lodges are all situated in a handful of privately owned reserves, ranging in size from 5,000 hectares to 25,000 hectares. These reserves all operate independently from each other, and each therefore have their own wildlife stock - the larger reserves such as Shamwari and Kwandwe can obviously sustain more wildlife in terms of actual physical numbers, but the privilege of this is reflected in the rates.

The smaller reserves such as Amakhala, Lalibela, Pumba and Kariega, which tend to be around the 5,000 - 9,000 hectare size, do have to limit the number of predators - for example, a small reserve can only sustain one or 2 small prides of lions, or else they would find their entire buffalo or zebra population is wiped out very quickly by hungry lions! Some are also 'spilt' reserves, which means the more 'dangerous' wildlife are kept in separate fenced off parts of the reserve. 

All the lodges in the region offer a fully inclusive African safari including accommodation, all meals, 2 safari activities or guided game drives per day in 4x4 vehicles, and an optional guided bush walk each day.

If you would like us to include a safari in one of these outstanding lodges as part of your trip to South Africa, please click here.

Alternatively if you are only looking to book just a safari you can either browse our selection of safari lodges in the Eastern Cape below and book directly through this site, or ask us to recommend a safari based on your budget.

Some reserves also offer day visitor programmes for people staying overnight in Port Elizabeth or other accommodation in the area.

For self-drive safaris in the Eastern Cape, see our page on the Addo Elephant National Park.