Our rates are inclusive of Dinner, Bed and Breakfast.

Unique SA Holiday Destinations for a Memorable Experience

South Africa offers countless magical travel destinations, particularly if you want to avoid tourist traps and experience something a bit more unique. If you only visit the popular SA holiday destinations listed in travel guides and websites, you’ll only see a small portion of South Africa’s true diversity.

We’ve chosen several places with unmatched beauty and unique experiences. This list includes gorgeous natural landscapes, quirky historical sites, as well as locations with significant archaeological value.

Unique SA Holiday Destinations

The Kruger National Park, Limpopo and Mpumalanga

One of the top SA holiday destinations is the Kruger National Park, which offers an unmatched  Kruger Big 5 Safari Experience. Not only is it the most famous national park in South Africa, but it also boasts the greatest variety of species. It is among the oldest conservation sites in Africa, with thriving animal populations and highly sought-after wild dog and cheetah sightings.

Nights can be spent in a lavish bungalow or by a roaring campfire as you listen to the sounds of nature. Wake up to a champagne breakfast as an elephant strolls by and lions roar in the distance. Then, embark on a self-drive or guided safari to explore one of Africa’s largest game reserves in search of majestic animals like lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, and wild cats. The Big 5 of Africa are the continent’s most famous animals, and seeing them in the Kruger National Park is an experience you are likely to treasure for a lifetime. All year long, close encounters with elephants, buffalo, rhinos, lions, and leopards are common.

The Owl House, Eastern Cape

The Owl House, in Nieu-Bethesda in the Eastern Cape, was home to the well-known South African artist, Helen Martin. The home is the result of her wish to bring colour and brightness into her dark and lonely environment. It has an incredible variety of sculptures, interiors made of colourful glass, and vivid paintings.

Martin, who was divorced in the 1940s and had no living relatives due to the passing of her parents, moved back to her birthplace to work on a project that she grew fixated on. With the help of a worker named Koos Malgas, she started making sculptures of owls, mythological creatures, and sun faces. Over the course of 12 years, she converted her house into a wonderland filled with hundreds of sculptures, shattered glass walls, and colourful windows. The Owl House, with its quirky sculptures and intriguing history, has a magical air to it. Iit is a really unique location that is not quickly forgotten.

The Drakensberg, KwaZulu Natal

One of South Africa’s most breathtaking locations is the Drakensberg. A haven for nature enthusiasts, it is renowned for its hiking paths that wind around picturesque mountain gorges, across serene grasslands, and into magnificent river valleys. But if there’s one unique destination within Drakensberg that you simply cannot miss, it’s the Amphitheatre. The Drakensberg Amphitheatre in the Drakensberg Mountains is a spectacular cliff face spanning 5 km. Surprisingly, the towering natural phenomenon attracts very few visitors. What makes this destination even more magical is the magnificent Tugela Falls, found at the cliff’s peak.

Sterkfontein Caves, Gauteng

A World Heritage Site, the Sterkfontein Caves are the ideal location for aspiring archaeologists or enthusiastic explorers. The caves are a wonderful destination to visit and one of the most significant fossil sites in the world. In the region referred to as the Cradle of Humanity, fossilised hominid and animal remains as ancient as 4 million years have been found. These findings provide important insights into the origins and evolution of humans.Any traveller to South Africa will find this visitor centre to be of the highest calibre, with first-rate displays, knowledgeable guides, a restaurant, and breathtaking vistas. The caverns are well located for seeing one of the most well-known archaeological sites in the world since Johannesburg is just 40 minutes away. Make sure to wear comfortable shoes that you can walk in inside the caves.

Book SA Holiday Destinations: Kruger Big 5 Safari Experience

You can book an unforgettable Kruger Big 5 Safari Experience on the Kruger Gate Hotel website, one of the most unique SA holiday destinations in the country. Or Contact Us to plan and book the ultimate Kruger National Park getaway.

Guest Reviews

I was at this location for a wedding. Spectacular views, wonderful food and atmosphere!

Posted on 20/11/2025 by Google

Spent there 4 days with my partner. Extremely good experience, the hotel is very nice, well decorated, well located and their games are extremely good!
Really recommend them!

Posted on 19/11/2025 by Google

We phoned Reception at 16h00 on 20 Nov and requested a top sheet and light weight blanket for the night; on return after a sunset gamedrive and supper at the Boma we were disappointed that it was not delivered.

I had a headache, the shop was closed and I asked the Hostess at the Boma, Debra if she knew if there is some assistance. She went out of her way to find me 2 panado\'s! Thank you Debra!

There are so many vista\'s and various offerings at this hotel; I feel like so spoilt when visiting and the Boma is just beyond words! Thank you 😊

Posted on 23/11/2025 by TripAdvisor

This hotel is perfectly located just outside the Paul Kruger Gate by the Sabie River. We flew into Skukuza airport which is extremely small and booked the hotel transfer to collect us. The driver was very helpful, guiding us through paperwork needed for the park and giving us a mini safari on the way to the hotel.
Stayed for 3 nights and had 2 rooms. A lovely hotel with lots of different seating areas connected by wooden walkways, surrounded by trees with a stream running through it. It was well staffed and clean. There were viewing huts over the waterhole and Sabie River where we saw hippos and buffalo and a family of 3 bushbuck in the grounds.
The infinity pool was great, also overlooking the river and the pool bar/restaurant had a good range of food and drink and friendly staff. Just be careful not to leave food/drink unattended on the table as the monkeys come in.
Dinner at the outside Lapa Restaurant was fabulous - so much choice from their buffet and always some singing, often by the staff. The bushbabies patrol around the fence and occasionally come down looking for scraps, which the guests all found entertaining.
Breakfast was another huge buffet with a choice of inside or outside seating. There was also a bar, coffee shop and gift shop, plus a spa which we had treatments at, including extremely firm massages.
We booked 2 morning safari\'s with the hotel (I pre-booked these before we went) and they pointed out that it was fractionally cheaper for us to have a private tour as there were 4 of us. The vehicles can take 9-10 people but I\'m so glad we had the private tour and not the shared vehicle as it meant we could slide across the seats and see so much more and it was much more personalised. (We also did a sunset safari which we had to use SanParks for as private vehicles aren\'t allowed into the park in the evening, but it wasn\'t as good as a much bigger vehicle and less information).
The hotel used Kurt Safari for our morning tours and would thoroughly recommend. We had the same driver/guide, Karabo, each morning so he took us in 2 different directions and we saw an incredible variety of animals and he was very knowledgeable. It was a totally amazing experience!
The morning safari\'s start very early, and you have to fill in some indemnity forms before leaving (you need your passport numbers for this), so we had to be ready about 45 mins before entry to the park at 5.30am. We pre-ordered packed breakfast from the hotel and we stopped at a camp between 8.30-9am to eat - drink, sandwich, apple, yoghurt, biltong, snack. The camps we stopped at also had cafes and shops. The morning safari was about 6 hours, which is long enough really and gave some time in the afternoon to relax and catch up on sleep after a very early start.
We would love to visit Kruger again and if we did, I would stay at this hotel and I would definitely book the private vehicle safari.

Posted on 24/11/2025 by TripAdvisor

I had an amazing time with my sister and our friends. Beautiful accommodations, amazing food, excellent service!! A must visit!!

Posted on 23/11/2025 by TripAdvisor

Nous avons beaucoup aimé le cadre de l hôtel avec la gentillesse du personnel .
L hôtel est juste à côté du parc national donc très pratique pour les safari ( on recommande fortement les safari proposés par l hôtel )

Il y a de nombreuses activités dans l hôtel ( exemple : mini golf, spa/massage , piscine avec vue sur la rivière , belle salle de musculation …)
Et les petits déjeuners et dîners étaient tout simplement excellents !

Posted on 27/11/2025 by Booking.com

Sehr schön gestaltetes grosses Hotel in einem dschungelähnlichen Garten.
Wir hatten ein Deluxzimmer sehr gross und schön gestaltet. Bequeme Betten, 2 Waschtische im Bad, separate Toilette. Essen gab’s abends in der Booma obwohl gross sehr schön und romantisch!

Posted on 26/11/2025 by Booking.com

Pool

Posted on 26/11/2025 by Booking.com

O café da manhã e o jantar foram excelentes! Um buffet completo, muita variedade, funcionários muito simpáticos e prestativos. Valeu muito a pena!

Posted on 25/11/2025 by Booking.com

O hotel é muito confortável e tem funcionários fantásticos. A comida é muito boa. E ainda podemos desfrutar da experiência de estar na piscina e ver os animais bem na frente. Nós vimos Hipopótamos e Elefantes.

Posted on 22/11/2025 by Booking.com

Tudo perfeito!

Posted on 26/11/2025 by Booking.com

Best Hotel ever!

Posted on 25/11/2025 by Booking.com