A couple enjoys coming into contact with an elephant at Tinstwalo Safari Lodge. Picture: Supplied
The best in South African hospitality and travel has been revealed in the latest Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards.
Globetrotting readers from around the world picked their top resorts in South Africa for 2024.
The rankings include 15 luxury properties around the country from bespoke safari lodgings to mesmerising ocean properties.
More than 575 000 Condé Nast Traveler readers across the United States submitted responses rating their travel experiences across the globe to offer a comprehensive look at the places they anticipate revisiting.
The 2024 Readers' Choice Awards, with its legacy as the travel industry's longest-running and most prestigious accolades, remain the ultimate symbol and acknowledgement of excellence within the travel sector, including resorts, hotels, cruises, spas and islands.
According to these readers, here is the list of the top 10 best resorts.
Mankanyi Private Lodge
Makanyi Private Game Lodge is a full-on luxury resort with the feel of a family home in Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. The lodge ranked number one on the list of best resorts with a score of 99.78.
Tswalu Kalahari
Coming in second, Tswalu Kalahari in Kuruman stunned readers. The lodge scored 98.21. Tswalu Kalahari offers an immersive private game preserve in the Kalahari Desert.
Last Word Kitara
The Last Word Kitara has gracious proportions and is mostly built of beautiful stone in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve. The camp is laid out along a riverbank with beautiful grasses and trees. Kitara came in 3rd with a score of 98.1.
Lion Sands Game Reserve
Lion Sands Game Reserve in Sabi Sands ranked 4th place with a score of 97.62. The lodge has a chic design interpretation of the traditional safari lodge with contemporary décor and limited walls that create a flow between interior and exterior with a sense of brightness and space.
Londolozi Game Reserve
Londolozi is one of South Africa’s original private game reserves in the Sabi Sands region. A pillar of global ecotourism, the word Londolozi comes from a Zulu word that means ‘Protector Of All Living Things’, reflecting the lodge’s ambitious conservation ethic to preserve the natural world. The lodge scored 96.57 and ranked 5th.
andBeyond Kirkman’s Kamp
Also in the Sabi Sand region, andBeyond Kirkman’s Kamp scored 96.53 with a ranking of 6th place. The resort sits high on a ridge at the world-famous Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, overlooking the magnificent Sand River.
Tintswalo Safari Lodge
Tintswalo Safari in the Manyeleti Game Reserve of the Greater Kruger area was cited as one of the readers ‘favourite places to view wildlife in South Africa’ and was scored at 96.49 to take the 7th place in the prestigious line-up of Top Resorts in South Africa.
andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve
This 70 560-acre private game reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal is not far from the Indian Ocean on the east coast of South Africa. It ranked 8th with a score of 96.35. The resort is a 3.5-hour drive from Durban.
Cheetah Plains
Cheetah Plains is home to the exclusive-use luxury sustainable safari in South Africa’s most celebrated wildlife area, the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve. The lodge ranked 9th with a score of 96.22.
Thornybush Game Lodge
Thornybush Game Lodge lies in the heart of the Big 5 country part of the Greater Kruger National Park, with a huge diversity of mammal and bird species. The lodge on 14 000 hectares of pristine African Bushveld scored 96.19 and came in 10th place.