Lodge · Garden Route
Kariega Main Lodge
The 4-star Kariega Main Lodge sits high on a ridge in the malaria-free Kariega Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape. This private game reserve is also a short drive from the coast, making it easy to combine with the sandy beaches and warm sea of the world-famous Garden Route.
From R 7 200 per person sharing, per night
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Kariega Main Lodge
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Kariega Main Lodge
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About the lodge
An overview of Kariega Main Lodge.
The 4-star Kariega Main Lodge sits high on a ridge in the malaria-free Kariega Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape. This private game reserve is also a short drive from the coast, making it easy to combine with the sandy beaches and warm sea of the world-famous Garden Route.
Highlights
- Located in Kariega Private Game Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Experiences: Game drives, river cruises, guided bush walks, canoeing, bush dining, African sunsets
You Should Know
- Children of all ages are welcome.
- Children aged 12 years and under pay 50% of the adult rates.
- Children aged 3 years and under stay free of charge.
The Detail
Kariega Main Lodge boasts twenty-one wooden chalets built on raised wooden platforms to make the most of their spectacular views of the reserve. Whether you choose a one-bedroom or a four-bedroom chalet, each includes a double bed or twin beds, an en-suite bathroom with a bathtub and shower, a hairdryer, an in-room safe, tea and coffee-making facilities, air conditioning, a sitting area, a fireplace (in most chalets), satellite television, and a private viewing deck. Some chalets even feature a small swimming pool.
The lodge facilities include a restaurant, an outdoor boma, a swimming pool, and a wellness center.
Kariega Game Reserve is the perfect setting for exciting safari vacations with an abundance of wildlife, including the Big Five—lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo, and leopard. Other species that can be seen on the reserve include hippos, hyenas, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, elands, kudus, waterbucks, various antelope species, and a myriad of bird species, including the nesting crowned eagle, martial eagle, and fish eagle.
Activities offered at the lodge include morning and afternoon open-vehicle game drives, river cruises, guided bush walks, and canoeing excursions. Since this is a private reserve, your guide is allowed to drive off-road, giving you up-close views of the reserve’s wildlife.
Kariega Main Lodge welcomes children of all ages and encourages them to enjoy morning and afternoon game drives with their parents. For children aged 5 years and under, it is at the discretion of the ranger and lodge manager whether they can be taken to sightings of the more dangerous animals. A "Kids on Safari" program is available for all young guests staying at the lodge.
Kariega Main Lodge also boasts a play area for kids, which includes a television, wildlife DVDs, books, toys, puzzles, coloring-in books, play-dough, games, a blackboard, and table tennis. Babysitting facilities are available on request.
Kariega Main Camp is ideal for solo explorers, couples, and families looking for an adventurous safari getaway.
Price Includes
Accommodation, all meals, and scheduled safari activities.
You pay the lodge's rate, never a markup.
The same as booking direct
Rates and dates.
Per person sharing, per night. Final pricing depends on dates, room category and party size.
Valid until 10 Jan 2027
Green season
1 May 2026 – 31 Aug 2026
Full Board - All meals and activities
R 7 200
per person · night
Peak / migration
1 Sept 2026 – 19 Dec 2026
Full Board - All meals and activities
R 8 500
per person · night
Festive
20 Dec 2026 – 10 Jan 2027
Full Board - All meals and activities
R 9 300
per person · night
Rates are per person sharing, per night. A single supplement may apply for solo travellers. We offer a price match guarantee, just ask your safari specialist.
Honeymoon offer
For couples celebrating a wedding.
Documented from Kariega Game Reserve's 2026 rate sheet. A formal offer you can claim, not marketing language.
Honeymoon Offer
All honeymoon bookings: free bottle of sparkling wine in room on arrival. For 3+ night stays: free bottle of sparkling wine in room on arrival AND free spa treatment to the value of R500 per person.
Kariega Main Lodge offers a honeymoon inclusion for all honeymoon bookings of a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine in the room on arrival. For bookings of 3 or more nights, guests also receive a complimentary spa treatment to the value of R500 per person, in addition to the sparkling wine.
- Minimum stay
- 3 nights (for full inclusions; sparkling wine applies to all stays)
Sourced from operator rate sheets and audited by our safari specialists. Terms and eligibility may change. Your specialist confirms all offers at the time of booking.
Family policies
Travelling with children.
What our safari specialists know about bringing children to Kariega Main Lodge, current as of May 2026. They plan family trips here all the time, so anything below that needs arranging, they will sort. For the bigger picture, see our guide to safari with children .
- Minimum ages
- Stay All ages · Game drives All ages · Walking safari All ages
- Child rates
- Children of all ages welcome. Children 12 and under pay 50% of the per person sharing rate; children 3 and under stay free. 3rd person sharing in 2/3-bedroomed chalets pays the sharing rate (no single supplement). For discounted rates (4+ adult paying pax in a chalet), 2 children at 50% equate to 1 adult paying pax.
- Family rooms
- Family unit available.
- Care
- Kids' programme · Babysitting available
- Exceptions
-
Children under 5 may join game drives, but it is at the guide's discretion whether they are taken into sightings of the more dangerous Big Five animals, for safety reasons. The tailor-made Children's Programme runs daily from approximately 11h00 to 14h00. Babysitting is available on request. Note: other Kariega properties have different policies (e.g. Settlers Drift does not accept children under 10); this all-ages policy applies to Main Lodge specifically.
Imagery
A closer look.
Your specialist for this lodge
Safari Specialist - Southern Africa & East Africa
Knows Kariega Main Lodge backwards. Your direct contact from first enquiry to the day you come home.
With Mel and Keith across the team.
"Leigh-Ann was outstanding and very helpful in putting an itinerary together not just for a Safari but including internal flights and accommodation in Cape Town and all along the Garden Route. Would highly recommend using Safari.com for your South Africa trips especially if it is your first trip."
Speak to a safari specialist
Let's design your stay.
From your first enquiry to the day you come home, one named safari specialist looks after every detail. We can handle the whole trip, not just the stay at Kariega Main Lodge: multi-country itineraries, internal flights, road transfers, tipping guidance, travel insurance, the lot. A safari specialist will be in touch within as little as 15 minutes during working hours.
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