South Africa accommodation

South Africa Travel Plan has selected South Africa accommodation characteristic to the country: cosy bed & breakfast run by friendly owners, colonial hotels, ostrich- and citrus farms, tented lodges, adventure lodges or bush camps, beehive huts, bushland chalets and round huts with thatched roofs (rondavels).

We use a hand-picked, eclectic selection of authentic, comfortable hotels. We steer clear of international chains, as we prefer to use properties with local character and warmth. We personally ensure that each property has the right combination of features such as cleanliness, location, friendly staff, good service, and local character. Of course, we always balance this against a good value for money. Our properties are reviewed regularly, and we can certainly vouch for their quality.

These properties are often fairly small, with only a handful of rooms, so we don't name the hotels in advance of booking. We use a pool of accommodation in each destination, which means that if one hotel is full, we are able to offer another of equal standard. We don't name them purely because we do not know which of these will be available at the moment of booking, and we do not like to fix customer expectations on one particular venue. Once your booking is confirmed, we'll send you a comprehensive list of all of your hotels.

Accommodation ratings 1 and 2

1. Basic accommodation with shared bathroom

Accommodations such as a park hut in a cultural village such as Ndebele en Phedi, accommodation in the Drakensberg area and those during the trek through St Lucia Park (these have very basic bathrooms). Apart from where mentioned, our 4x4 itineraries also use Rating 1/2 camping accommodation for the most part.

2. Basic accommodation with private bathroom

Basic yet comfortable overnight stay in hut, rondavel or room with private bathroom. What these accommodation lack in comfort, they more than make up for in authenticity and/or romantic surroundings. Kruger park accommodation, farm accommodation and national park camps are included in this category.

South Africa accommodation - Traditional beehive huts in Swaziland

South Africa accommodation - Spectacular views in Hazyview

Accommodation ratings 3 and 4

3. Comfortable accommodation

Bungalow, rondavel or room with private bathroom. Most of this accommodation is very authentic and usually there is a swimming pool on the property. This category includes bed & breakfast hotels, hotels in cities, and lodges.

4. Very comfortable accommodation

Spacious bungalow or hotel room with either a large number of amenities or situated at a premium location. This category includes exclusive game lodges and special hotels. Our 'Out of Africa' suggested itinerary includes overnight stays in several different locations of this category and the travel module 'Exclusive Kruger Game Drives' also features this type of accommodation.

Accommodation rating 5

5. Special accommodation

This is not a standard accommodation during our trips, but it can be booked at your request if you are looking for something truly special during your holiday. These are mostly deluxe rooms with large bathrooms, fan, air conditioning and with a swimming pool on the property. Just let our travel specialist know and they will be more than happy to look into it for you.

More detailed information on each of type of accommodation can be found in the module and suggested itinerary descriptions, or take a look at some of our different accommodation examples below.