A hand-picked selection of lodges and camps. Click through their name to visit their own website directly.
Royal Malewane
An ultra-luxury lodge in Thornybush, part of The Royal Portfolio, with opulent thatched suites (several with private plunge pools), personal butlers, an acclaimed spa and expert ranger-tracker teams delivering close-up Big Five game drives just outside Kruger.
Tintswalo Scops Rest
An exclusive-use private villa in Klaserie, on the banks of the Klaserie River, sleeping up to eight guests across four en-suite bedrooms. Built for families and small groups, it comes with a private chef, butler and guide, two treehouses for stargazing sleep-outs, and a pool looking out over open wilderness — deep in Klaserie’s unfenced Big Five country with far fewer vehicles than the park itself.
Walkers River Camp
Walkers River Camp is a family-owned, self-catered lodge on the Klaserie River in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, part of the Greater Kruger’s Big Five territory. Sleeping up to 8 guests across 5 en-suite suites, it offers a relaxed, exclusive-use “rustic luxury” bush experience with two guided game drives a day across 5,000+ hectares of prime wilderness.
Amaya
Amaya sits within the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, part of the unfenced Greater Kruger ecosystem. Run by Too Wild, the lodge favours a quieter, understated style of safari luxury — simple, considered spaces designed to keep the focus on the surrounding bush rather than on the lodge itself.
Timbavati Safari Lodge
A family-owned lodge on its own property near Kruger National Park’s Orpen Gate, in the Timbavati region of the Greater Kruger. Accommodation ranges from Ndebele-painted rondawels to family chalets and glamping tents, with open safari vehicles running day and sunset drives into the park via Orpen Gate, plus guided bush walks and a Shangaan cultural walk on site.
18 On The Hill
18 On The Hill sits in the Maseke Game Reserve, part of the Balule and open to more than 11,000 hectares of Greater Kruger traverse, including nine kilometres of Olifants River frontage. Nine tented suites of around 100 square metres each come with bush views, a plunge pool and an outdoor shower. Morning and evening drives cover Big Five country, and the rate is all-inclusive — meals, drinks and boma evenings under the stars. There is a kosher kitchen, and the camp welcomes families.
Tanda Tula Safari Camp
Tanda Tula Safari Camp stands on the sandy bed of the Nhlaralumi River in the Timbavati Nature Reserve, part of the unfenced Greater Kruger. The camp reopened in June 2023 after a complete rebuild: seven suites and two family suites in canvas and glass, each with a private deck and plunge pool. Game drives run morning and afternoon in open vehicles, and walking is a particular strength — two of South Africa’s few Master Trackers work here. It stays open all year. Access is 45 minutes by road from Hoedspruit, or 15 from the Timbavati RockFig airstrip.
Shumbalala Game Lodge
Shumbalala stands on the bank of the seasonal Monwana River in Thornybush, about 45 kilometres from Hoedspruit and open to the unfenced Greater Kruger. Four stone-clad Superior Suites of 75 square metres each have an indoor fireplace, indoor and outdoor showers, a private deck above a waterhole and a plunge pool; a two-bedroom Presidential Suite of 224 square metres adds a private lounge, butler’s kitchen, boma and two more pools. The whole lodge takes twelve. It is wheelchair accessible throughout, with one suite fitted to international standards. Children from ten, accommodated in the Presidential Suite.
Waterbuck Lodge
Waterbuck Lodge looks out over a waterhole in Thornybush, a 14,500-hectare reserve inside the unfenced Greater Kruger near Hoedspruit. Four thatched, stand-alone suites take eight guests in all, each with a private deck facing grassland or the water, an outdoor shower and a bathroom with a view. An elevated deck overlooks the waterhole, and there is a pool on the lawn and a boma for fireside dinners. Morning and afternoon drives run with a ranger and tracker, with walking on offer between them. Children of all ages are welcome.
Shimungwe Lodge
Shimungwe sits on a bend of the dry Timbavati River in Thornybush, with a waterhole in front of the lodge and an elevated deck for watching what comes to it. Four suites take eight guests, semi-detached and set close enough to suit a family or a group taking the whole lodge, each with air conditioning, a private deck over the bush and an open-air shower. Meals move between the dining room, the pool terrace and a fireside boma. Named after the Bateleur, it was once a private house for invited guests.
Kapama River Lodge
The biggest of Kapama’s four lodges, on the northern side of the reserve. Suites run from the Marula and Tamboti Superior categories up to the Royal Suites, and the newest addition — the Leadwood Suites and Leadwood Family Suites — opened for booking in August 2026. There is a spa, and a cellar holding more than 600 South African wines. Children are welcome, though the youngest go out on a shorter bush drive rather than the standard morning and afternoon game drives.
Kapama Southern Camp
Kapama’s family camp, set in the middle of the reserve. Accommodation splits three ways: standard suites, thatched villas with private pools, and family villas built for two adults and two children with a separate children’s bedroom. Guests are shuttled across to the wellness centre at Karula for spa treatments.
Kapama Buffalo Camp
The smallest of the four and the only adults-only one — ten luxury tents raised into the treetops on wooden walkways, for guests aged sixteen and over. There is a rim-flow pool on the elevated deck and dinner around an open fire in the boma. Guests are shuttled to the wellness centre at Karula for spa treatments.
Kapama Karula
Kapama’s flagship, on the banks of the Klaserie River on the eastern side of the reserve. Twelve villas — ten superior and two family — each with wrap-around glass doors and a private heated pool. The wellness centre here serves multiple lodges, with guests shuttled in from the other camps, and family villa bookings come with a private vehicle, guide and assistant guide. It took a Condé Nast Excellence Award this year.
The Outpost
The Outpost occupies the Makuleke private concession at the very northern tip of Kruger, on a ridge above the Luvuvhu River valley near the Zimbabwe and Mozambique borders. Twelve standalone suites — Bush View, Treetop, River View and a single Honeymoon suite — open onto retractable, remote-controlled screens for uninterrupted 180° views. Twice-daily game drives, walking safaris and a Sound Safari program run through a concession known for exceptional birding and low guest density.
Pel’s Post
Pel’s Post is the intimate sister camp to The Outpost, a short way downstream on the Luvuvhu River within the same Makuleke concession at the far northern tip of Kruger. Four open-air suites, taking up to eight guests, come with retractable screens, indoor and outdoor showers and wooden decks over the riverbank, with the option to book the whole camp exclusively. Twice-daily game drives and sundowners run through Pafuri’s riverine birding country and ancient fever-tree forest.
