18 Best Hotels in Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park, South Africa

For an Out of Africa experience and great game, you can't beat Selati, an intimate, stylish, colonial-style camp that was formerly the private hunting lodge of a famous South African opera singer. The early-1900s atmosphere is created by the use of genuine train memorabilia—old leather suitcases, antique wooden chairs, nameplates, and signals—that recall the old Selati branch train line, which once crossed the reserve in the 1870s. At night the grounds flicker with the lights of the original shunters' oil lamps. Dinner is held in the boma whereas brunch is served in the friendly farmhouse kitchen. Glitterati and European royalty have stayed at the spacious Ivory Presidential Suite, with its Persian rugs and antique furniture.

Marula seeds softly falling on the tents seem to be applauding this gorgeous little camp shaded by a canopy of giant trees. You'll feel like a sultan as you lie beneath your billowing, honey-colored canvas roof, which acts as a ceiling for your basket-weave handmade bed and headboard. Polished wooden floors, gauze-screened floor-to-ceiling windows, a roomy dressing area with two stone washbasins, and a fabulous en suite bathroom create a feeling of such roominess and elegance that it's hard to believe you're in a tent. The camp's dining area, lounge, and huge wooden decks almost nudge the very edge of the Timbavati River.

Tanda Tula has a well-deserved reputation as one of the best bush camps in Mpumalanga. When lions roar nearby, the noise sounds like it's coming from under the bed. The reason is simple: you sleep in a large safari tent with huge window flaps that roll up, leaving you gazing at the bush only through mosquito netting. Each comfortable thatch tent has electricity, a freestanding fan, a private bathroom with a Victorian-style tub and outdoor shower, and a private wooden deck overlooking the Nhlaralumi River. First-class rangers give you a very thorough understanding of the environment, local history, and animals without concentrating solely on the Big Five. True adventurers might enjoy getting a taste of safaris of a bygone time at Tanda Tula's non-permanent field camp (open April through to October); after bush walking or driving all day, you set up camp in the bush; there's no electricity and limited cell phone coverage, but you'll be wined and dined at the elegant mess tent.

You'll feel as if you've stepped back in time at this camp because rooms are strategically clustered around the original 1920s homestead, which, with its colonial furniture, historic memorabilia, and wraparound verandah, makes you feel like a family guest the moment you arrive. The lodge was named after renowned cattle farmer turned conservationist, Harry Kirkman, who first lived here one hundred years ago, and who can be seen in the old photographs found about the lodge. Interiors have crafted out light and airy communal spaces for guests to mingle. Seek out a cocktail Paul's Pub (and slide your sightings into the tally board) or settle down with a glass of sherry in front of a blazing log fire. There's game galore in Sabi Sand (the size of New Jersey), which has the highest density of leopards in the world. Kirkman's is ideal for families and family reunions.

If you want to make the most of the viewpoints along the Panorama Route (and get the best photographs), this old-school holiday resort with campsites, self-catering chalets, and a restaurant, is your best bet. Don't expect oodles of personality, you're here for the location---epic views all to yourself (ask for directions to World's End). There are also horse rides and mini-golf. 

This delightful, value-priced camp owned and operated by Honeyguide is situated on both sides of a riverbed within Manyeleti Private Game Reserve. Simply designed and built of corrugated iron and wood, the large public areas overlook green lawns leading to the pool and outside bar. There's a private space in front of each of the 12 platform tents (all with modern conveniences and en suite bathrooms) to chill out and take in the sights and sounds of the surrounding bush. As part of the Children's Safari activities, kids can make clay footprints, learn about the little bugs and critters they see on their guided walks, play soccer, swim, relax in the playroom, and then dig into a special kids' menu.

This tented camp, built on wooden platforms, minimalist but with surprising luxury touches (owned and operated by Honeyguide within Manyeleti Private Game Reserve), gives you the total bush experience at half the price of some of the more upscale lodges. Designed to reflect Hemingway's Africa, it sits in a tamboti grove overlooking a dry riverbed. You'll feel very close to the bush (but quite safe and secure) in your large, comfortable tent with its leather couch and en suite bathroom with concrete bath, double shower, and separate toilet. Tea or coffee is served in your tent at dawn, and meals are served communal style in a big safari tent around a long wooden table in an intimate, relaxed atmosphere. Spot game as you lounge on the swimming pool deck, or browse in the temperature-controlled wine cellar. No children under 12, but children are allowed at its sister camp, Khoka Moya.

Renowned for its relaxed and informal atmosphere, Leopard Hills is one of the premier game lodges in the Sabi Sands area. Set on a rocky outcrop with panoramic views of the surrounding bushveld, this small lodge offers privacy and luxury. Its main draw is its spectacular game-viewing; during a two-night stay you're almost guaranteed to see the Big Five at close quarters. Rangers are eager to share their knowledge and quick to rush guests off to see big game. The decor has an authentic bush theme, which gels well with the surroundings. Each double room has its own private pool (in addition to the main pool) and deck overlooking the bushveld. Bathrooms have his-and-her showers both indoors and out. 

Guests return again and again to this classic safari lodge with its timeless Out of Africa ambience. A massive, double-sided fireplace dominates the lodge, opening onto a lounge filled with elegant comfy sofas and chairs on one side and a dining room on the other. Dinner at Ngala is quite formal (kids on their best behavior, please!); it's served in a reed-enclosed boma or a tree-filled courtyard lighted by lanterns with crystal and silver. Comfortably furnished air-conditioned guest cottages, in mopane shrubveld with no views, comprise two rooms, each with its own thatch verandah. However, you can easily make up for the lack of room view with an overnight stay at the luxurious andBeyond Ngala Treehouse (can be added on to any stay at andBeyond Ngala Safari Lodge or andBeyond Ngala Tented Camp). The remote off-the-grid sanctuary soars 39 feet into the air offering sublime birds-eye scenery. There's a full bathroom with an outdoor shower and two sleeping areas—one covered and weatherproofed, the other an open-sky sleep-out platform for the outstanding star-gazing.

In the center of Kruger, Olifants has the best setting of all the camps: high atop cliffs on a rocky ridge with panoramic views of the distant hills and the Olifants River below. A lovely thatch-sheltered terrace allows you to sit for hours with binoculars and pick out the animals below. Lions often make kills in the river valley, and elephants, buffalo, giraffes, kudu, and other game come to drink and bathe. Try to book one of the thatch rondavels overlooking the river. It's a charming old camp, graced with wonderful indigenous trees. The only drawback, particularly in summer, is there's no pool.

Don't dismiss this tiny, underappreciated rest camp on Kruger's western border in the center of the park because of its proximity to the Orpen Gate. It may not be the most attractive camp—the rooms, arranged in a rough semicircle around a large lawn, look out toward the perimeter fence, about 150 feet away—but there's a permanent waterhole where animals come to drink, and plenty of game is in the vicinity, including cheetahs, lions, and rhinos. The two-bedroom huts are a bit sparse, without bathrooms or cooking facilities (although there are good communal ones), but there are three comfortable family cottages with bathrooms and kitchenettes. And it's a blissfully quiet camp, as there are so few accommodations.

This large, nostalgically old-fashioned camp, close to the Numbi Gate in southwest Kruger, makes a good overnight stop or touring base. The rocky kopjes and steep ridges that characterize the surrounding landscape provide ideal habitat for mountain reedbuck and klipspringers—antelope not always easily seen elsewhere in the park. The area's sourveld—so named because its vegetation is less sweet and attractive to herbivores than other kinds of vegetation—also attracts browsers like giraffes and kudu, as well as white rhinos, lions, and wild dogs. There's not a lot of privacy in the camp—accommodations (rondavels, bungalows, cottages, and guesthouses) tend to overlook each other—but there is some shade, plus a great swimming pool set into the rock. Some great-value accommodation in the huts if you're willing to share communal bathrooms and outdoor kitchen facilities.

Book all three private suites or just hide yourself away from the rest of the world like the celebrities and royals who favor this gorgeous getaway. Here, it's all about location, location, location. Huge, flat granite rocks in the riverbed, where elephants chill out and bathe, stretch almost to the horizon in front of your floor-to-ceiling picture windows, and the elephant prints and furnishings done in velvets and silvers, grays, and browns echo the shifting colors and textures of the mighty pachyderms. Bathe in your own rock pool. At night, when your suite is lit by scores of flickering candles, you may truly feel that you're in wonderland.

Bush Lodge overlooks a busy waterhole (lions are frequent visitors) and the dry course of the Msuthlu River. The thatch, open-sided dining area, observation deck, and pool all have magnificent views of game at the waterhole. Thatch suites are connected by walkways that weave between manicured lawns and beneath enormous shade trees where owls and fruit bats call at night. All have a deck overlooking the dry river course (where you may well see an elephant padding along) and outdoor and indoor showers. Roomy, comfortable chalets are Africa-themed, each with a personal wooden deck.

This avant-garde, eco-friendly lodge was the first to break away from the traditional safari style and strive for a contemporary theme. It's a luxurious cross between a Hopi cave dwelling and a medieval keep, but with modern touches. You won't spot your mud-domed suite, hidden from view by bush-covered hummocks, until you're practically at the front door. Rough-textured, dark brown walls encrusted with orange seeds and wisps of indigenous grasses cocoon the gorgeous suites which have a huge living area, a mega bedroom and bathroom, private verandah, and plunge pool. The dining boma, fashioned from branches, is lit at night by scores of flickering lanterns. A personal butler takes care of your every need, and there's a meditation garden.

Sabi Sabi's delightful little camp is tucked away in the bushveld on the banks of the Msuthlu River and combines spaciousness with a sense of intimacy. At night glowing oil lanterns lead you along a wooden walkway to your comfortable thatch-roof room or suite decorated in earthy tones of brown, cream, and white. After your action-packed morning game drive—during which you'll see game galore—and your delicious brunch, relax on your secluded wooden deck with plunge pool overlooking the bush, or go active and take a guided game walk with your armed ranger. In the evening dine out under the stars—if you're a city slicker, you may never have seen such bright ones.

This gorgeous ultraluxurious lodge, sited under huge jackalberry and fig trees, overlooks a seasonal river, where game (elephants especially) come down to drink and bathe. Each suite is themed for one of the great African explorers, including Dr. Livingstone and Stanley, who would undoubtedly be amazed by such modern conveniences as air-conditioning, hair dryers, en suite bathrooms, and personal plunge pools. The suites are warmed by Persian rugs and honey-colored velvet chairs and ottomans. Dining is under the stars or in an elegant thatch dining room with open fireplace and sparkling chandelier. Stargaze by telescope, enjoy a spa treatment, visit a local Shangaan village, or, if you're both adventurous and romantic, opt for a moonlight sleep-out in the bush. There's also a Manor House that's rented out separately to private groups of six or more (it can accommodate 10).