If you are already in Durban, or planning to visit, or perhaps you haven’t even decided on Durban as your destination – regardless, I thought I would put together some info on your safari options from Durban.
It can be quite overwhelming when researching a safari trip, there are so many options when it comes to which game reserve in South Africa to visit, getting to the game reserves and back from the airport, even staying at hotels before and after your safari tour.
Hopefully by the tend of this post, you will have a clearer idea of what to expect when planning or booking a safari tour from Durban.
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Safari Options from Durban
When booking a safari tour in South Africa, Durban is probably not the first city that comes to mind when searching for options, and yet, it is one of the best cities to launch your safari trip from.
Durban has a number of Big 5 game reserves such as the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve, Nambiti, Thula Thula and so many more with a short driving distance of just 2 hours or so. There are 3-star accommodation options up to 5-star, and plenty of lodges to satisfy big groups or small family groups.
Here are my safari options from Durban.
Safari Day Tour from Durban
In Durban for a limited time only? Perhaps you’re working in Durban or visiting family and friends and that’s just not enough time for a multi-day safari tour, well I can still accommodate you. We have a great full day tour to the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve which is a big 5 reserve 3 hours north of Durban. On this tour you’ll get to enjoy an open vehicle game drive and experience African wildlife that way that they should be experienced! Check my safari day tour page for more info.
2 Day / 1 Night Safari Tour from Durban
For those that have a little more time, the 2 day safari tour from Durban is perfect. Apart from the actual safari portion of the tour, you will also get to enjoy a 2 hour estuary cruise at St Lucia – probably the best place in the country to view hippo in their natural habitat. Accommodation is at either Hilltop camp or at my favourite, Bonamanzi Game Reserve. Check out my 2 day safari tour page for more info.
3 Day / 2 Night Safari Tour Option
This is one of the most popular tour I offer and is a great option for those with a bit more time to spare. Much like the other tours, you’ll spend most of your time in the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve and stay at either Hilltop Camp or Bonamanzi. Also on offer are open vehicle game drives, a visit to St Lucia for the estuary tour and optional excursions to Emdoneni for the cheetah tour or Bayete Zulu for the elephant experience. Read up more about this tour on my safari tour page.
3 Night / 4 Day Safari Tour from Durban
This tour is my flagship offering and I love guiding it. It gives you the most bang for your buck and you get to do so many different things. From the elephant experience to the cheetah tour, St Lucia estuary cruise and of course open vehicle game drives, this 4 day safari is the best way to explore KwaZulu-Natal. The best part is that you can simply sit back and relax while I and my fellow guides do all the heavy lifting. Read up more about this tour on my tour page.
Kruger National Park Safari Tours
It may be quite surprising that you can book a Kruger Park Safari tour with a company called “Durban Safaris and Tours”, but yes, you can!I offer a number of safari tours that start in Durban and finish in Kruger National Park with drop-off in Johannesburg (or the other way around). These tours go through Eswatini which means you get another stamp in passport as well! For the itinerary of my Kruger Nataional Park safari tours from Durban, just get in touch with me.
What to Consider When Booking a Safari Tour
When you’re trying to decide on a safari tour, there are a few things you need to consider as you begin to narrow down your choices.
How Much Time Do You Have?
It goes without saying that the longer you can spend on a safari, the more likely it is that you will see the big 5 and other animals. If you’re only in a game reserve for 3 hours a day, unless it’s a small private reserve where the rangers know where every animal is, you’re going to struggle a bit to see everything.
The other thing to consider is the time it takes to get to a game reserve the airport you arrive at. From Durban to the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Big 5 Game Reserve you are looking at 2,5 hours whereas from Johannesburg to Kruger you are looking at a 6 hour drive.
Some reserves only provide for an early morning and late afternoon game drive whereas a private guide may be willing to spend the entire day on a game drive.
Try and aim for around 2 full days in a game reserve if at all possible – it gives the best options, but naturally, the longer the better!
What is Your Budget?
It’s a sad fact of life that very often your safari experiences are dictated by your budget. Staying at a 5 star lodge with 2 game drives a day where you are pretty much guaranteed to see the big 5 is certainly one of the best way to enjoy a safari – but not everyone is that fortunate.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Fact is, you can have an amazing experience on a budget, you just have to give a little, maybe staying at a 3 star lodge rather than 5 star – I can tell you from personal experience, the wildlife doesn’t care how much your paid for your safari trip!
Chat to your tour company and tell them your budget, if they are anything like I am, they will ensure you squeeze the last drop of value of of your budget.
How Are You Getting Around?
Every year thousands of visitors from around the world hire a car and drive around South Africa. There are definitely a number of options for car hire, from my personal favourites TreadLite and “Britz” to you more traditional like Hertz or Sani Car Hire.
The other option is to book a safari tour operator like myself who will take care you getting you from hotel to game reserve and the excursions around the game reserve – last thing you want to do is waste precious safari time because you got lost on the way to the safari park!
Are You Interested in Extra Activities
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with heading directly to a big 5 game reserve and spending every waking moment absorbing the sounds and sights of the bushveld, there is something to be said for exploring the small spots around you. If you are on one of my safari packages from Durban, here are some of the extras that can be included;
- St Lucia Estuary Cruise: spend two hours on a small craft puttering up the estuary spotting hippo, crocodile and birds.
- Emdoneni: learn more about 4 of the 8 Africa cats, cheetah, caracal, serval and African wildcat – you’ll even get to be within touching distance of them!
- Elephant experience: I’m not sure there anything more awe-inspiring than standing next to and even touching an African elephant – you have to experience it to believe it!
- False Bay: Hands down one of my favourite spots to explore hiking trails that envelope you with the sights, sounds and smells of coastal forests and everything that lives in them.
- Whale watching: depending on time of year, this is an amazing experience that can leave some people quite emotional when seeing these magnificent mammals breeching.
- Diving or snorkeling: Kosi Bay or Sodwana Bay offer superb underwater exploration that again, you can only being to imagine!
The End
There are many safari options from Durban; stay in KwaZulu Natal or visit Kruger via Eswatini, self-drive or let us do it all for you, focus on birding or explore the ocean – choices, choices, choices!
Contact me today and I’ll help you plan your amazing safari trip from Durban!