One of our favourite trips in South Africa for the wonderful balance of walking and mountain biking amidst the great outdoors in the Drakensberg, world class, great value big five safari in Hluhluwe and snorkelling on the remote and stunning beaches on the wild KwaZulu Natal Coast. Staying at superb 4* lodges, full board throughout, with expert guided activities and plenty of time to relax midst beautiful natural surroundings.
Tailor-made 12 days
'From Price' is the average price per person for ground arrangements for two people sharing.
Flights are typically an additional $1,167 per person economy class from London
'From Price' is the average price per person for ground arrangements for a family of four (two adults + two children under 12).
Flights are typically an additional $1,167 per person economy class from London
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DAY 1: ARRIVE DURBAN AND DRIVE TO DRAKENSBERG MOUNTAINS (2.5HRS)
Just a couple of hours drive inland from Durban lies the stunning Drakensberg Mountains, offering stunning scenery, walking, mountain biking, horse riding and the fascinating history of the Anglo Boer Wars. Three Tree Hill Lodge overlooks the Spioenkop Game Reserve set within the stunning backdrop of the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa. This owner operated fair trade lodge is the perfect place to unwind amidst nature. In addition to independent activities, such as enjoying the nature trails and mountain biking on the farm, there are a number of excellent guided activities available from village visits to horse back riding to game walks and battle-field tours. The lodge itself has a pool and adventure play area.
Accommodation: Three Tree Hill Lodge
Meals Included: Full Board
DAY 2: DRAKENSBERG MOUNTAINS
We recommend allowing a day to relax and unwind after your journey. You can enjoy the pool and self guided trails on the farm. Enjoy a picnic lunch and sun-downers at a beautiful look-out towards the Drakensberg Mountains & Spioenkop dam.
Accommodation: Three Tree Hill Lodge
Meals Included: Full Board
DAY 3: DRAKENSBERG MOUNTAINS
Walks in the neighbouring Spioenkop Game Reserve can be arranged with the resident guides. These are more strenuous than the Nature Trails on the farm, as the route does not follow a set trail. Uneven, rocky, hilly terrain will be encountered and walks may last between 1.5 – 2 hours (12 and over, extra cost). Trail Rides can be arranged to suit the experience and pace of the riders. Inexperienced rides are approximately 30 – 45 minutes, while experienced rides 60 – 90 minutes. English-style saddles with snaffle bridles are used. Hard helmets are compulsory. These are provided. Rides are taken on the working cattle farm, adjacent to the game reserve, where game may be seen from time to time (extra cost)
Accommodation: Three Tree Hill Lodge
Meals Included: Full Board
DAY 4: DRAKENSBERG MOUNTAINS
A range of half day and full day tours are available to the Battlefields (Battle of Spioenkop, Battle of Colenso & Churchill’s Capture, Ladysmith, Rorke's Drift) with expert guides - must be booked in advance (extra cost). Alternatively enjoy a truly authentic experience with one of the Three Trees staff members takes you to the nearby village (8km down the road) for a look into the lives of the Hambrook residents. Pop into the pre-school & visit someone’s home (Extra Charge). Alternatively there are a number of trips up into the high Drakensberg that can be taken independently, The Northern, Central and Cathedral Peak areas of the Drakensberg are all approximately 60km away by car.
Accommodation: Three Tree Hill Lodge
Meals Included: Full Board
DAY 5: DRIVE TO HLUHLUWE AREA FOR SAFARI. GAME DRIVE IN AFTERNOON (5.5HRS)
Up early to drive to the Hluhluwe area for your safari. Hluhluwe National Park and surrounding private conservancies are home to a number of super 3,4 and 5 star big five safari lodges. Aim to arrive as early as you can so you have time for refreshments before heading out for an afternoon game drive
Accommodation: Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge
Meals Included: Full Board including afternoon game drive
DAY 6: ON SAFARI
Each day on safari enjoy a wonderful routing of early morning game drives, languid afternoons, afternoon game drives, sun-downers and of course delicious meals all round.
Accommodation: Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge
Meals Included: Full Board including 2 game drives per day
DAY 7: ON SAFARI
Accommodation: Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge
Meals Included: Full Board including 2 game drives per day
DAY 8: ON SAFARI
Accommodation: Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge
Meals Included: Full Board including 2 game drives per day
DAY 9: DRIVE TO ST LUCIA ISIMANGALISO WILD COAST AREA (3HRS)
Enjoy four days of relaxation on a remote stretch of Coast with pristine beaches, warm water, world class snorkelling and diving and internationally important wetland and coastal forest areas. Run along the the lines of a safari lodge, activities include snorkelling and diving trips, seasonal turtles, whale and dolphin watching, canoeing and boat trips on Lake Sibaya (hippos and crocodiles) and nature walks. In addition to serious snorkelling and diving trips further afield, easier shore entry snorkelling is available in protected areas near the lodge.
Accommodation: Thonga Beach Lodge
Meals Included: Full Board including some activities
DAY 10: WILD COAST
Accommodation: Thonga Beach Lodge
Meals Included: Full Board including some activities
DAY 11: WILD COAST
Accommodation: Thonga Beach Lodge
Meals Included: Full Board including some activities
DAY 12: WILD COAST
Accommodation: Thonga Beach Lodge
Meals Included: Full Board including some activities
DAY 13: DRIVE TO DURBAN (5HRS). AFTERNOON AT LEISURE
After breakfast transfer to the Dolphin Coast for a relaxing stay at a small boutique guesthouse.
Accommodation: Lalaria Lodge
Meals Included: Breakfast included
DAY 14: DEPART
Short drive to the airport for your overnight flight home
Meals Included: Breakfast included
Guide price is based on recommended accommodations. Alternative accommodations and upgrades are available. Please get in touch for alternatives and upgrade options.
South African Airways, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways have good regular connections from Johannesburg to Durban which work well with overnight flight from London to Johannesburg from £950-£1250.
In addition with Durban now being an international airport you are able to fly directly in from the Middle East and Emirates often have excellent offers.
Flight prices on this route are always cheaper booked in advance, particularly when flying during UK school holidays. If you are booking anything less than a month prior to departure expect to pay through Virgin and BA tend to offer flight sales around September and October, which are worth looking out for.
Please let us know your preferred departure airport and we would be pleased to quote for a flight inclusive ATOL protected package.
Accommodation with meals as specified and car hire for the duration with comprehensive insurance and unlimited mileage
This holiday is available all year round, although be warned that accommodation will book out early for the Christmas period.
October - March is summer in South Africa and is the best time to view turtles hatching. At this time of year, temperatures will be 30C and over with occasional rain.
April - September is winter, which means sunny days with temperatures up to 25C and no rain. The bush is less dense at this time of year, so wildlife spotting is best in June, July & August. Overnight temperatures can be chilly, so swimming pools will probably be a bit too cold to use (unless heated) and you would need warm layers especially for early morning game drives, when the wind chill can be considerable.
Sea temperatures are faiirly consistently warm year round.
This itinerary is a self drive itinerary that would suit adventurous families. Driving is relatively simple, but does pass through some rural areas and would suit
In terms of comfort, accommodation is superb throughout and alternatives are available (both upgrade and downgrade) for all three locations in the itinerary.
If you are looking for a two centre holiday we should suggest combining the safari with the beach, which would make for a lovely 7-10 day itinerary.
For the latest travel advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth office check www.gov.uk/travelaware
Our customers agree - a conversation with an expert makes for a better trip. Call us now or request a call back out of hours.
Call 855 686 7694 9am and 6pm GMT Monday to Friday
Or request call back weekday evenings or Saturdays
Hi Lisa,
The safari trip was excellent! The stay, the food and the people were all very nice. We were happy to have Ryan and Stanley as our game drive guides they brought us up close to the animals and Ryan gave very good information throughout.
Would definitely recommend to friends who are interested in safaris :)
Also, thanks much for your help, particularly keeping the room for my Brother and his wife they’ve enjoyed the safari very much too!
Best regards,
Woan Chyi
Woan Chyi L
reviewing Cape Town & Kruger Safari
on 16 October 2019
We had a fantastic time and all the arrangements worked perfectly.
We were very impressed with the quality and service levels of all 4 locations visited and it was truly a holiday of a lifetime.
Thank you to you and to Lisa for giving us this experience.
Particular highlights for us – really the whole experience, but of particular impact:
Breathtaking scenery at Cathedral Peak Hotel
Rhino Ridge game drives incredible, thanks to guide (we had their head guide, Hala, who’s knowledge, enthusiasm, kindness, interaction, ability to spot wildlife was out of this world)
Luxury of Rhino Ridge (shower, food, views, service)
Immersion in nature, torch lit meal on last night and beach trip at Kosi Forest Lodge
Level of service, quality of food throughout
Catherine F
reviewing South Africa Safari, Beach and Wetlands
on 04 September 2019
We had a fantastic time. Thank you and it went smoothly in the main except for British Airways!
The trip had the right degree of luxury and relaxation (for me) and adventure (all of us).
A few points:
Driving directions to Umlunghi Lodge were slightly wrong. The driving directions should read at the 4th roundabout take the first exit and turn right over the railway. We loved it there. Anton, Bianca and her son and Harriet were very informative and entertaining. The snake talk and handling, night walks and seeing scorpions and the walk in the bush and "bumping" into a giraffe were really special. The kayak trip to Makuzi pan that the lodge organised was good and Tomaz was very informative and kept a respectful distance from the hippos.3 nights was plenty.Rhino River Lodge game reserve was incredibly luxurious and we felt very looked after. The lion siting in camp the day we arrived sent an extra frisson of excitement down our spines. It was easy to forget there were predators that could attack us with all that luxury. The staff and guides (Karl) were knowledgeable and invested in their set up. We saw rhinos with baby, cheetahs with young, porcupine, Genet, wildebeast, Impala, Lion with young, buffalo, a puff adder, ostrich, zebra and giraffes. 4 nights was also plenty.
They all served great food but I felt Ghost Mountain Inn topped the lot. The variety was amazing. We arrived at 10.30 but could not get into our room until 2 ish. The service was not so personal I guess because it is larger (far more than 50 rooms). We had been a bit spoilt at Rhino River! My daughter and I had some treatments at the Spa and loved it. We also went on a large boat trip on Jonzi and had a closer encounter with a large bull hippo and also a hike up Ghost Mountain with Patrick who was very informative and passionate about his people and his country. Isaac the other guide there took us on the boat trip and pointed out the sugar cane harvest on the way. he was very informative also.Lastly, Lalaria Lodge was fabulous and we all piled into the surf of the Indian Ocean. There was hardly anyone on the beach. It was "too cold" according to the landlady. The view from her terrace was of the ocean and whales breaching in the distance. I could have sat there all day. She very kindly provided us with a Scrabble board of her own for us to play. We took a Microlight ride from Ballito over the coastline in the hope of seeing whales and dolphins but no luck. If we had stayed longer we might have gone on a boat trip from Durban. We had a meal at a restaurant called Mozambique which was great fun with vast portions, plenty of carbs and fresh seafood!
The value of the Rand to the Pound was excellent and therefore we felt that we got excellent value which also played a large part!
Katrina P
reviewing Value KZN Bush & Beach Safari For Families
on 02 September 2019
Our itineraries are carefully designed by our experienced travel designers based on years of experience and customer feedback. For a custom itinerary tailored to you, please enquire giving as much detail as possible on your brief.