National Park Day Trips in South Africa: The 15 to Book First

1.Addo Elephant National Park All Inclusive Full-Day Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 872 reviews · 9 hours · from $186Our pick

Review of Addo Elephant National Park’s 9-hour safari, with elephant sightings, expert guides, lunch, pickup, pricing, and practical tips.

“We can 100% recommend this tour to anyone! Our guide John was really knowledgeable and always knew the best spots to see a lot of the animals. The open safari car was spacious & comfortable and all of us were able to have a window seat. Whenever someone spotted an animal, John would immediately tell the driver to stop so we could take all the pictures we wanted. The little pre packed lunch was also delicious. All in all we felt in good hands at all times. Thanks again for the trip of a lifetime!”

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2.Kruger National Park Full Day Private safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 799 reviews · from $158Top rated

Review of a private full-day Kruger safari from Hazyview, with Big Five viewing, expert guiding, meals at rest camps, and practical tips.

“Very happy with the service provided. Good communication right from when the booking was made. Senzo, our guide was knowledgable and jolly. He picked us up right from our chalet on time and explained the details on the way to the park. Throughout the day, he catered to our needs and kept explaining various details about the park and wildlife. I would highly recommend him.”

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3.Full Day Ultimate Pilanesberg National Park Safari from Johannesburg or Pretoria

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 718 reviews · from $159

Review of the full-day Pilanesberg safari from Johannesburg, with two game drives, lunch by a waterhole, hotel pickup, and practical tips.

“The tour was really great! Perfect timing and pickup in the morning, friendly drivers, a great guide in the national park :))) Not only the elephants were amazing! Thank you very much for this wonderful day!!!”

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4.Kruger National Park – Private full day Safari trip.

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 347 reviews · from $166

Private Kruger safari from Hazyview with a personal guide, early start, big-game viewing, bottled water, and flexible wildlife spotting.

“Absolutely amazing experience from start to finish. Gerrie was a fantastic guide and made the trip even more memorable with his knowledge, insights, and photographer skills. Gerrie brought us to every animal we wanted to see and allowed us Read more”

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5.Addo Elephant National Park All Inclusive Full-Day Safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 256 reviews · from $147

Review of Addo’s full-day safari from Port Elizabeth, with expert guides, lunch, hotel pickup, wildlife tips, honest limits, and value advice.

“We had a wonderfull day with our guide. Stafford was friendly and looked after us. We saw a lot of Elephants and other animals. We learned a lot about the animals who live in the park”

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6.From Hazyview: Kruger National Park Full-Day Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 205 reviews · 10 hours · from $105

Review of a full-day Kruger safari from Hazyview, with sunrise wildlife viewing, expert guides, Big Five chances, costs, and practical tips.

“The whole journey through Kruger National Park was a terrific experience. From the pick up to the drop off, everything ran smoothly, and we got to see many animals throughout our time at Kruger. I highly recommend this tour for those coming to do a safari.”

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7.Full Day Safari Tour of Pilanesberg National Park, Open Jeep experience

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 139 reviews · from $155

Review of a full-day Pilanesberg safari from Johannesburg, with open-jeep viewing, Big Five wildlife, lunch, transfers, and practical tips.

“This was such an amazing and once in a lifetime experience! We saw 4 out of the big 5. This was just awesome! I would definitely recommend this tour.”

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8.Kruger National Park: Full-Day Game Drive with Pickup

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 136 reviews · 1 day · from $109

Review of Kruger’s full-day open-vehicle safari, with Big Five sightings, guide tips, costs, stops, packing advice, and honest drawbacks.

“A brilliant day. Jerry’s passion and knowledge were fantastic and we saw so many wonderful animals. Highly recommend.”

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9.Addo Elephant National Park Full Day Safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 110 reviews · from $169

Review of Addo Elephant National Park’s full-day safari from Port Elizabeth, with wildlife viewing, a South African braai, transfers, and practical tips.

“Joel and Loreen were wonderful hosts and they are fantastic tour operators. They waited for us at the cruise terminal and did not leave until all registered guests arrived. Or tour guide, Stafford, was very friendly, knowledgeable, entertaining and really cared about making sure his guests were treated well and gained the best experience possible. The park itself was huge and Stafford and our driver did their best to spot as many animals as we could. This is a national park, not a private reserve, so the experience is more authentic although more difficult to see some of the big 5. No matter because even though we didn’t see lions…”

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10.Addo Elephant National Park Full Day Safari with Braai Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 77 reviews · 9 hours · from $208

Review of Addo Elephant National Park’s 9-hour safari from Port Elizabeth, with Big 5 viewing, braai lunch, drinks, and expert guiding.

“Pünktliche Abholung am vereinbarten Ort. Der Guide Joel ging auf alle Wünsche aller 8 Personen ein und wir sahen viele Giraffen, Elefanten, Löwen, Nashörner, Antilopen und Warzenschweine. Das Mittagessen im Park inkl. Getränke war sehr reichlich und gut. Er hat uns pünktlich um 18.00 Uhr mit vielen guten Eindrücken am Schiff abgesetzt. Diesen Ausflug können wir nur weiter empfehlen.”

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11.Safaris in Kruger National Park Full Day

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 60 reviews · from $89Best value

Review of Kruger Pride Safaris’ full-day Kruger game drive, with guide tips, costs, wildlife expectations, transport, and practical advice.

“My family and I did several private game drives with Kruger Pride Safaris in May 2025. Booking was very easy--I was able to arrange everything via email with Liz several months ahead of our trip. Liz was very easy to communicate with and eveRead more”

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12.Addo Elephant National Park Tour – Full day of Wildlife Wonders

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 34 reviews · from $186

Review of Addo Elephant National Park from Port Elizabeth, with practical details on wildlife, guides, lunch, price, pickup, and value.

“Very good Car. Alan was an excellent guide. He gave as many good and profunded informations. His special choice of the roads beside "where they all drive" helped us to unforgetable contact with animals, even totally unexpected as a hyena.”

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13.Addo Elephant National Park Game Drive Day Tour With Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 19 reviews · 7 hours · from $236

Review of Addo Elephant National Park’s 7-hour safari with elephant sightings, small groups, braai lunch, park entry, and hotel pickup.

“We had an amazing trip with Donald as our safari guide. We have seen 2 of the big 5 and Donald put all his effort in finding a lion, but unfortunately we did not see one. The park is extremely large which makes it difficult to find the entire big 5. In the afternoon we had a delightful braai with a Savanna cider. It was really delicious. We would definitely book again, great safari!”

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14.Addo National Park: Full-Day Safari Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 15 reviews · 9 hours · from $140

Review of Addo’s 9-hour safari with North and South park sections, expert guides, wildlife spotting, and a traditional braai lunch.

“Stephen was a very pleasant guide. We did the whole day tour with him and would recommend it to anyone!! We almost had a private tour with him as there was just another couple with us. Stephen explained everything very well and made a stop whenever we wanted. For Lunch he cooked us a delicious meal! :)”

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15.Pilanesberg National Park Full Day Safari From Johannesburg

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 15 reviews · from $225

Review of the Pilanesberg safari from Johannesburg, with Big Five sightings, transport details, costs, group size, timing, and practical booking advice.

“From reading the description of this tour we expected a private tour. After we were picked up 30 minutes late we went to pick up another passenger. Upon arrival at Pilanesburg NP we were asked to get into a large approx 30 passenger safari tRead more”

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