12 National Park Safaris in Cape Town to Build a Trip Around

1.Big Five Game Reserve Wildlife Safari from Cape Town

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 576 reviews · from $184Our pick

Ride from central Cape Town to Aquila Game Reserve in an air-conditioned coach, then join an English-speaking ranger for a three-hour open-vehicle drive through the malaria-free Karoo. Look for lions, elephants, rhinos, buffalo, giraffes, hippos, and more than 170 bird species. Lunch, a welcome drink, and hotel transfers are included.

“Fun tour! Get to see all the big 5 although there are very few of each animal. It is a big zoo so don’t expect it to be like a proper safari but still a great experience. A lot of it actually done in travelling too and from the game reserve so be prepared to be on a coach for a while”

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2.Aquila Game Reserve Safari Tour with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 183 reviews · 8 hours · from $342

Travel from Cape Town to Aquila Game Reserve by hotel pickup, enjoy a welcome drink and buffet lunch, then join a 3-hour open-vehicle game drive. You may see lions, elephants, rhinos, and buffalo. Leopards are not present in the reserve, so this is a convenient Big Five-style outing rather than a wild, remote safari.

“Great day out, saw all the animals. Tour guard was very knowledgeable and friendly”

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3.Aquila Game Reserve Safari with Park Fees, Transport & Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 121 reviews · from $238

Travel from Cape Town through the Cape Winelands to Aquila Private Game Reserve. Your day includes roundtrip hotel pickup, a welcome drink, buffet lunch, and a three-hour open-vehicle safari with a ranger. Guides such as Ray, James, Ebby, and Collen are praised for their local knowledge and care, though the drive is long and leopard sightings are never assured.

“Great day. Friendly driver and fun day trip from Cape Town. Food at Aquila was great.. would definitely recommend.”

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4.Sunset Safari at the big 5 Game Reserve All inclusive

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 30 reviews · 8 hours · from $280

Travel from Cape Town with an English- or French-speaking guide such as Enoch Mukidi Lokwa, then join an open-air 4x4 safari at a private Big 5 reserve. The outing lasts about eight hours, including transfers, with roughly three hours for the reserve visit. Expect sunset scenery, light snacks, beverages, and possible sightings of elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, hippos, and birds. Confirm the safari fee before paying.

“0 goede communicatie qua vervoer, heel ingewikkeld met nagevolg enkel extra kosten.”

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5.Kruger National Park. 3 Days Best Ever Safari from Cape Town

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 25 reviews · from $1,428Top rated

You leave your Cape Town hotel around 4 am, fly to Johannesburg, and continue by road to Hazyview and Kruger National Park. Expect a sunset drive, a full-day open-vehicle safari, and a final morning outing. Moses is one named guide connected with the park drives. Flights, lodging, transfers, park fees, and bottled water are included.

“This was a phenomenal experience. We saw the big five and so much more. Everyone was very friendly and we had the best time.”

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6.Aquila Game Reserve Safari with wine tasting, Transport & Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 23 reviews · from $158

Travel from Cape Town to Fairview for five South African wines and cheese, then continue to Aquila Private Game Reserve for a welcome drink, buffet lunch, and a 2 to 3 hour open vehicle safari. Pickup is offered within 15 km of the city center. The reserve fee, about R1890 per person, is extra.

“Great place to see Africa's Big 5. Value for money. Very informative guides. Reasonably close to Cape Town.”

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7.Private Aquila Reserve Safari with Winery Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 20 reviews · 10 hours · from $185

Travel from Cape Town to Aquila Private Nature Reserve for a 2 to 3 hour 4x4 safari, then visit Fairview for wine and cheese. Your English-speaking guide handles transport, with hotel pickup and drop-off. The reserve fee is extra and includes the game drive and buffet lunch. Wine tasting guests must be 18 or older.

“Mr Poppi made sure we did everything on time and made the experience very fun. Would definitely recommend.”

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8.Aquila Game Reserve Safari Tour with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★3.9 · 17 reviews · 9 hours · from $130Best value

Spend about nine hours traveling from Cape Town through the Cape Winelands to Aquila Game Reserve. After a welcome drink and buffet lunch, join a guided open-vehicle safari to look for lions, elephants, buffalo, rhinos, and leopards. English and French guides are available, and Isidore has earned praise for his careful timing and explanations.

“Very good day trip. Our tour guide, Isidore was outstanding. He ensured we were in the right places and the right times and explained a lot both ways on the trip.”

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9.Full-Day Safari Aquila Game Reserve from Cape Town

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 15 reviews · from $375

Travel from Cape Town to Aquila Game Reserve with guide Ordain Hove, passing Stellenbosch, Paarl, Franschhoek, Worcester, and Hex Valley. Enjoy breakfast, a safari drive of up to three hours, lunch, and a welcome drink. An optional winery visit is available on the return journey, with tasting fees charged separately.

“Great day, must see trip if in cape town and have to say our driver was fantastic, could not do enough for us 10 out of 10... brilliant 🙏😁😁”

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10.Aquila Game Reserve Sunset Safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 13 reviews · from $165

Leave Cape Town at noon for Aquila Private Game Reserve, traveling through the Winelands toward the Karoo. Your small group, capped at 10 people, joins a guided game drive timed for late-day light, with a chance to see the Big Five. Pickup, drop-off, and bottled water are included, but reserve admission is extra.

“This was a wonderful experience. I did both the day time and sunset safari and the sunset safari is hands down the better option. It was beautiful, the weather was wonderful, and the animals were so cool.”

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11.Kruger National Park 3 Days Best Ever Safari from Cape Town

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 11 reviews · 3 days · from $1,899

Fly from Cape Town to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport for three guided Kruger game drives, including a five-hour afternoon outing, an eight-hour full day, and an early morning final drive. Africa Moja Tours & Safaris arranges flights, transfers, park entry, and two nights at Tembo Guest Lodge.

“Jag hade en bra guide som lyckades finna big 5. Men jag hade en dålig upplevelse av företaget som arrangerade hela turen med flyg, transfer och hotell. De berättade inte att de skulle hämta mig kl 6:30 istället för kl 4. Det fick jag reda på för att jag hörde av mig kvällen före för att bekräfta tiden. Flygbiljetten fick jag be om när jag satt i transfern till flygplatsen. När jag skulle flyga tillbaka till Kapstaden fick jag även be om flygbiljetten. När jag kom till flygplatsen så fanns ingen transfer där som väntade på mig. Så jag fick smsa och ringa innan de svarade. De påstod att det…”

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12.Cape Town Full Day Aquila reserve safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 11 reviews · from $313

Travel from Cape Town to Aquila Private Game Reserve in a private, air-conditioned vehicle with guide Joel or another English- or French-speaking guide. After the scenic drive through Worcester, Hex Pass, and the Klein Karoo, enjoy an open-air 4x4 game drive across 10,000 hectares, plus lunch, bottled water, WiFi, and hotel pickup and drop-off.

“It was wonderful. Our guide was attentive, friendly, knowledgeable and made sure we were back in time for a flight home. The safari was wonderful. We truly enjoyed the entire experience”

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