Tour Style
TRAVELLER TOUR
Group Size
Minimum: 2 | Maximum: 8
Route
JOHANNESBURG TO JOHANNESBURG
Vehicle
AIR-CONDITIONED QUANTUM
Season
1 Jan 2026 to 31 Dec 2026
Rate
FROM € 1 649 PER PERSON
Tour Overview
Touring Kruger National Park offers an unforgettable safari experience, where you can spot the “Big Five” and immerse yourself in the park’s rich wildlife and diverse landscapes. Alongside this, the Panorama Route showcases breathtaking views of natural wonders like Blyde River Canyon, God’s Window, and the Three Rondavels, making it a perfect combination of thrilling wildlife encounters and scenic beauty.
Note: This tour is also available in German
Traveller tours provide comfortable stays in 4 to 5-star hotels and lodges. Breakfast, most dinners and activities are included. A registered tour guide accompanies the group throughout, ensuring smooth navigation of cultural and language differences. This option offers a well-supported experience ideal for those seeking comfort and expert guidance in a small group setting.
Tour Highlights
- Overnight in the Kruger National Park
- Kruger National Park game viewing
- Overnight at a ‘Big 5’ 5-star private game lodge
- Open safari vehicle game drives
- Tick off the Panorama Route sights
Tour Itinerary
Touring Kruger National Park offers an unforgettable safari experience, where you can spot the “Big Five” and immerse yourself in the park’s rich wildlife and diverse landscapes. Alongside this, the Panorama Route showcases breathtaking views of natural wonders like Blyde River Canyon, God’s Window, and the Three Rondavels, making it a perfect combination of thrilling wildlife encounters and scenic beauty.
Your adventure begins as we depart Johannesburg, towards the Kruger National Park – South Africa’s top-ranked safari destination and one of the planet’s last vast preserved wildernesses. We stop en route for lunch (at your own expense).
We enter the park in the afternoon and enjoy game viewing as we make our way to our lodge at Skukuza Rest Camp. Kruger National Park is home to what is famously known as the ‘Big 5’ (lion, elephant, leopard, buffalo, and rhino), along with 336 tree, 49 fish, 34 amphibian, 116 reptile, 507 bird, and 147 mammal species. Arrive at the lodge in the late afternoon. We dine at the lodge restaurant.
- Breakfast at the hotel (own expense – own arrangement)
- Lunch en route (own expense)
- Dinner at the lodge (included)
- Overnight at Skukuza Safari Lodge or similar
- Afternoon game viewing to the touring vehicle to Skukuza Rest Camp
Wake up early with a sunrise cup of coffee and fresh rusks (a traditional South African biscuit). Expect an exciting safari as we head out on a full day game drive with expert guides in an open safari vehicle. You will receive a breakfast pack to enjoy at a picnic spot in the park.
Explore the wilderness with heightened senses on the lookout for creatures big and small. Be ready to add to your animal and bird viewing list! There is a lot to look for, including the ‘Big 5’. Find graceful giraffes among the thorn trees, while in the vast African skies, vultures circle, marking a kill. Listen out for the compelling cry of a Fish Eagle or the unforgettable, full-throated roar of a lion.
As the day unfolds, relish a tranquil lunch (at your own expense) at a scenic picnic spot, surrounded by the park’s untamed beauty. Relax and take in the special energy of the African bush. We return to the lodge in the late afternoon. Enjoy dinner under the starry galaxy, and share stories around the campfire or at the restaurant.
- Early breakfast at the lodge (included)
- Lunch at a Rest Camp Restaurant or Picnic spot (own expense)
- Dinner at the lodge (included)
- Overnight at Skukuza Safari Lodge or similar
- Full day open safari vehicle game drive (included)
You will be reluctant to leave the wild world of the Kruger National Park, but Hoedspruit is a wildlife mecca. After breakfast, there are more opportunities to spot wildlife on the 3-hour drive to Orpen Gate, where we exit the Park and head towards the Makalali Private Game Reserve. Makalali is renowned for its diverse wildlife and beautiful landscapes, with a signature skyline of the Drakensberg Mountain Range. It is also home to the highly endangered African wild dog. We stop for lunch (at your own expense) en route.
Once at the lodge, you can enjoy an afternoon high tea, cool off in the pool, or relax on a viewing deck. You will explore this private reserve, spanning 26,000ha of pristine bushveld, in an open safari vehicle with an expert game ranger in the afternoon. With two game drives, you can expect hours of excitement and wonder. You are in for a treat this evening with fine dining on the deck, before retiring to your suite for the night.
- Breakfast at the lodge (included)
- Afternoon High Tea (included)
- Dinner at the lodge (included)
- Overnight at aha Makalali River Lodge or similar
- Game viewing in Kruger National Park in the closed touring vehicle from Skukuza to Orpen Gate
- Afternoon open safari vehicle game drive (included)
Early morning in the bush is extraordinary. The clear air is filled with birdsong; animals make their way to drinking holes. Be part of the wilderness on a guided walk through the bush, or head out on an open vehicle game drive. After a lodge breakfast, we drive along the Panorama Route where the scenery shifts from bushveld to the lush green mountains and valleys.
We stop for lunch (at your own expense) along this route. First, we visit the Blyde River Canyon, the world’s largest green canyon filled with waterfalls and ancient geological formations that will astound you, including the Three Rondavels – three conical peaks resembling African huts. Stand on the bridges over the Bourke’s Luck Potholes, where millennia of swirling water have carved giant holes into the sandstone. Watch misty rainbows formed by the cascading Lisbon Falls as it plunges 94m of sheer rock face.
If time permits, take a short walk to the bottom of the falls. We continue to the highest point of the day, at God’s Window before seeing the Pinnacle – a tall, freestanding rock formation that offers unrivalled views of the Canyon. We overnight near Graskop, a town established in the 1880s at the height of the gold rush, and now part of the local timber industry. Enjoy a relaxing dinner at your hotel.
- Breakfast at the lodge (included)
- Lunch en route (own expense)
- Dinner at the hotel (included)
- Overnight at Hoyohoyo Angel’s View or similar
- Morning open safari vehicle game drive (included)
- Blyde River Canyon and The Three Rondavels (included)
- Bourke’s Luck Potholes (included)
- Lisbon Falls (included)
- God’s Window (included)
- The Pinnacle (included)
Enjoy breakfast at your hotel before we make our way back to Johannesburg. We will stop for lunch (at your own expense) en route and arrive in Johannesburg in the afternoon at OR Tambo International Airport or the main Sandton and Rosebank hotels.
NOTE for airport drop-off: It is advisable to book a local flight departing after 18h00
- Breakfast at the hotel (included)
- Lunch en route (own expense)
At the time of presenting, the above itinerary was correct. Drifters continually strives to offer our clients the best available tour options, and as such, we reserve the right to change aspects of the itinerary at our discretion. During the validity period of the published itinerary, conditions may change, roads may be improved or deteriorate, contracted camps and accommodation facilities may change standards, optional activities may become available or be discontinued, new border posts may open, or existing ones may become congested, etc. Drifters continuously monitor all the factors contributing to a successful tour and will amend the published itinerary if circumstances demand or if we believe the change will enhance the tour.
