Cape Town
Aquila, Inverdoorn, Fairy Glen: malaria-free, 1.5 to 2.5 hours from the city.
2 h one wayBig FiveMalaria: freefrom $234.52
The starting points
Eight cities, each with a safari on the doorstep.
Every page answers what you want to know before booking: how far the reserve is, whether the Big Five live there, what park and tour cost, whether malaria is a factor, and which tours get booked most.
South Africa
Tanzania
Zanzibar
Mikumi and Nyerere by air, back in the evening.
1 h one wayMalaria: riskfrom $446.50
Kenya
Nairobi
National park 7 km from the centre, Nakuru and Amboseli as a long day.
30 min one wayMalaria: lowfrom $34.80
Zimbabwe / Zambia
Victoria Falls
Chobe in Botswana by boat and 4x4, border included.
1 h 30 min one wayBig FiveMalaria: riskfrom $170
South Africa
Johannesburg
Pilanesberg 2.5 hours, malaria-free, Big Five. Kruger only as a 12-hour day.
2 h 30 min one wayBig FiveMalaria: freefrom $189.20
South Africa
Durban
Hluhluwe-iMfolozi with rhinos, 2.5 hours north.
3 h one wayBig FiveMalaria: freefrom $105.50
Kenya
Mombasa and Diani
Tsavo East from the beach, Shimba Hills in an hour.
2 h 45 min one wayMalaria: riskfrom $200
South Africa
Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha)
Addo with 600 elephants, 1 hour, malaria-free, also in your own car.
1 h one wayBig FiveMalaria: freefrom $191.57
Individual reserves
South Africa · Reserve
Aquila
The most-booked day reserve from Cape Town, a 2 hour drive.
Botswana · Reserve
Chobe National Park
Botswana's elephant park, from Victoria Falls or Kasane.
South Africa · Reserve
Pilanesberg
Big Five in a volcanic crater, malaria-free, from Johannesburg and Pretoria.
South Africa · Reserve
Hluhluwe-iMfolozi
Rhino park with the Big Five, from Durban and St. Lucia.
South Africa · Reserve
Addo Elephant Park
SANParks park with elephant herds, drive yourself or take a tour.
At a glance
All reserves side by side.
Drive time one way from the city, Big Five yes or no, malaria area or not, starting price of the most-booked day tour.
| Reserve | Starting points | Drive time | Big Five | Malaria | Day tour from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquila Private Game ReservePrivate reserve | Cape Town | 2 h | yes | free | $234.52 |
| Inverdoorn Private Game ReservePrivate reserve | Cape Town | 2 h 30 min | yes | free | $234.52 |
| Fairy Glen Private Game ReservePrivate reserve | Cape Town | 1 h 20 min | yes | free | $234.52 |
| Mikumi National ParkNational park | Zanzibar | 1 h | no | risk | $446.50 |
| Nyerere National Park (formerly Selous)National park | Zanzibar | 1 h | no | risk | $446.50 |
| Saadani National ParkNational park | Zanzibar | 2 h | no | risk | $446.50 |
| Nairobi National ParkNational park | Nairobi | 30 min | no | low | $34.80 |
| Lake Nakuru National ParkNational park | Nairobi | 3 h | no | risk | $34.80 |
| Amboseli National ParkNational park | Nairobi | 4 h | no | risk | $34.80 |
| Chobe National ParkNational park | Victoria Falls | 1 h 30 min | yes | risk | $170 |
| Zambezi National ParkNational park | Victoria Falls | 15 min | yes | risk | $170 |
| Mosi-oa-Tunya National ParkNational park | Victoria Falls | 15 min | no | risk | $170 |
| Pilanesberg National ParkProvincial park | Johannesburg | 2 h 30 min | yes | free | $189.20 |
| Kruger National Park (southern gates Malelane and Numbi)National park | Johannesburg | 4 h 21 min | yes | risk | $189.20 |
| Dinokeng Game ReserveGame reserve | Johannesburg | 1 h | yes | free | $189.20 |
| Lion & Safari Park (Cradle of Humankind)Wildlife park | Johannesburg | 42 min | no | free | $189.20 |
| Rietvlei Nature Reserve (Pretoria)Nature reserve | Johannesburg | 45 min | no | free | $189.20 |
| Hluhluwe-iMfolozi ParkProvincial park | Durban | 3 h | yes | low | $105.50 |
| Tala Private Game ReservePrivate reserve | Durban | 50 min | no | free | $105.50 |
| iSimangaliso Wetland Park (St. Lucia)National park | Durban | 2 h 45 min | no | low | $105.50 |
| Tsavo East National ParkNational park | Mombasa and Diani | 2 h 45 min | no | risk | $200 |
| Shimba Hills National ReserveNational reserve | Mombasa and Diani | 1 h | no | risk | $200 |
| Mwaluganje Elephant SanctuaryCommunity conservancy | Mombasa and Diani | 1 h 15 min | no | risk | $200 |
| Tsavo West National ParkNational park | Mombasa and Diani | 4 h 30 min | yes | risk | $200 |
| Addo Elephant National ParkNational park | Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) | 1 h | yes | free | $191.57 |
| Schotia Safaris Private Game ReservePrivate reserve | Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) | 45 min | no | free | $191.57 |
| Amakhala Game ReservePrivate reserve | Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) | 50 min | yes | free | $191.57 |
| Kragga Kamma Game ParkGame reserve | Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) | 25 min | no | free | $191.57 |
What a day safari can and cannot do.
A day safari is no substitute for a week in the Serengeti. It is the right choice when the trip is really about city or beach and one day of wilderness should be part of it. The reserves around the cities are smaller, the game drives shorter, the animals often closer. What you get for it, and what you do not, is stated honestly on every page.
Built from sources.
Park authorities and the reserves themselves come first, then government bodies and tourism boards. What cannot be sourced is not on this site. Prices carry a date.
Corrections
What the web gets wrong.
Travel blogs copy from each other, which is how outdated park fees, wrong drive times and Big Five promises for parks without lions survive for years. Every starting point comes with the correction and its source.
At Aquila you experience the Big Five in their natural habitat, South Africa as it once was
Aquila is a fenced 10,000-hectare private reserve that began as an antelope farm in 1999 and introduced the Big Five later. The lions come from canned hunting and, according to the operator, live in secured enclosures, not free among the other animals (aquilasafari.com/about-us, aquilasafari.com/conservation).
Cape Town →The Serengeti can be done as a day trip from Zanzibar
No. The flight to Seronera takes around two hours each way according to the operators, and the shortest Serengeti programme from Zanzibar that we found covers three days from 1,540 USD per person.
Zanzibar →The Masai Mara can be done as a day trip from Nairobi
The Sekenani Gate lies 230 kilometres west of Nairobi, the drive takes 5 to 6 hours each way according to Safaribookings, and the park gates close at 18:00. Offers with this title mean 10 to 12 hours of road for two to three hours in the reserve; as day safaris from Nairobi, the realistic options remain Nairobi National Park, Lake Nakuru and, with reservations, Amboseli.
Nairobi →The Chobe day trip only takes six hours
The operators themselves quote pickup at 07:00 and return around 18:00, so eleven hours. Six hours is only the two activities in the park, without the drive, the border and lunch.
Victoria Falls →The Kruger National Park is only three hours from Johannesburg
To the nearest gate, Malelane, it is 392 kilometres and 4 hours 21 minutes of pure driving time via the N12 and N4 according to the route information on krugerpark.co.za, with breaks and traffic more like five hours. The three hours apply at most to the stretch from Johannesburg to Nelspruit.
Johannesburg →Tala is a Big Five reserve
Of the Big Five only the rhino lives in Tala. The operator itself advertises “no large predators” and lists rhino, kudu, hippo, giraffe and wildebeest as its animals.
Durban →