Simbavati River Lodge

We had 17 family members travel to Simbavati for 4 nights. We had an amazing time! The staff were exceptional and super accommodating - they made lovely allergy friendly and vegan meals for a few of our group members. The safari game rides were wonderful and exciting, we saw the big 5 and so many other beautiful animals, birds, reptiles and more! The rooms were spacious, the beds were comfortable and the views were breathtaking. I would recommend this lodge to anyone wanting to go on safari!

Simbavati River Lodge was the perfect safari experience for us. We stayed for 3 nights in May 2025 on our honeymoon after flying from Cape Town.||Booking our stay and scheduling transfers was very easy and we were met at Hoedspruit Airport with a driver that helped with our luggage. We made the drive to the lodge in an air-conditioned sprinter van (some other lodges make you drive in an open-air vehicle for an hour). ||While at the lodge, we had the pleasure of working with Dennis and Musa, our guide and tracker. The lodge ensures you have the same tracker and guide for the entire stay, so they know which animals you have and have not seen to ensure you have the greatest chance of seeing the Big 5. Dennis and Musa were both friendly and knowledgeable about the animals we saw. We saw the Big 5 on our first day but they still worked hard to make the following two days exciting and fun!||Our butler (waiter) at the lodge was Ralph. He was warm and friendly, telling us about local traditions and customs while he served us. The food and service were both great.||We stayed in a Luxury Safari Tent with a plunge pool and it was the perfect setup for our 3 night stay. It was private yet easily accessible from the main lodge. We were visited twice on our walkway by elephants and giraffe! There is plenty of communal space in the lodge and pool to hang out with family and friends.||We were unsure what to expect as it was our first time on safari, but we're already telling all of our friends and family to stay at Simbavati River Lodge when they travel to South Africa!

We absolutely LOVED! Our experience at this lodge. The property was well kept, in a fabulous location right on the river, and had everything you need. The staff were incredible, friendly, and very attentive! The food was some of the best food I’ve ever had in my life. They never let you go hungry. The rooms themselves were very nice, equipped with anything you may need during your stay. Our safari guides/trackers were incredibly knowledgeable and made this experience one of the best things we’ve ever done. Highly recommend staying here!

Wonderful in every aspect. Animal experience was beyond expectations. Martin (our guide) and Stiff (tracker) found every animal we hoped for, and gave us all the info we wanted without being pedantic. Lodge staff all welcoming, solicitous but not overbearing - thinly seemed committed to us enjoying ourselves. Accommodations incredibly comfortable, technically a tent but felt like a luxury room. And the food was delicious, an unexpected plus.

We spent 3 nights at The River Lodge and enjoyed every minute. The rooms were nice. The food was superb and everyone was great. Our guide Martin and tracker Stiff were excellent. Perfect sundowner spots each day, true love of the animals and connected with everyone in the group. Bishop, our butler, was always smiling and adding extra touches. A great kick off to our 1st African Safari experience.

We had a super time coming from Ireland, for our first onsite Safari. The experience was second to none. The price, relative to other local safaris, was fair. A 3 night Safari anywhere in SA isn't cheap. The vibe in the Lodge was really homely family-orientated and welcoming. We had Donald as our waiter and he was always accomadating. The early morning and evening Safari drives were excellent. We were given blankets and hotwater bottles leaving camp every morning, a welcome gift as it does get cold at night-time. We spotted all of the BIg 5, including leopards every day, which is very unusual in comparison to other places like Mikumi ,Tanzania. Our guide and trekker, Martha Louise and Happy, had a great working rapport and that fed into the whole experience. The animals are all around you at night. A lovely feeling knowing you are surrounded by nature. The optional bushwalk during the days is so worth doing. Leaving the security of the jeep to view animals on foot is a humbling experience, realising that we are only a small cog in the wheel of nature. Would recommend Simbavati highly. Would love to come back some day again.

A great safari lodge in the Timbavati Game Reserve. It's difficult to find fault with the lodge. It delivers on all counts, we were a bit disappointed to not have a view of the river from our room but the fact that our room got frequented by elephants more than made up for it!||The food and service was also great, from management greeting us to Ralph imparting some wisdom when serving us drinks and food.||A lodge stands and falls by their game drives, and we must compliment our guide, Alison, who showed good knowledge of the bush, respect for us and also for the animals. It was amazing to see how she suspected there was something in the area and using all her experience located wild dogs and followed them with some excellent foresight and driving skills. We also expressed interest in seeing woodpeckers and she managed to locate these, firstly by sound, and helped us to learn and apply this to our self drive in Kruger after our stay at River Lodge. She is also very enthusiastic and was a pleasure to deal with.||The Timbavati offers a different experience from the surrounding reserves in that it is not as busy in the reserve, something that we appreciated even if it means there might be less vehicles looking for animals. We enjoyed our stay thoroughly and hope to be back in future.

Everything about Simbavati River lodge was incredible. From the outstanding service from the staff, the room accommodations, the the dining area, and the spa services were wonderful. Our guide, Martin and tracker Stiff were extremely knowledgeable and taught our group so much during the safari’s. The pictures the lodge advertisers are not a hoax either, within the first two hours of arriving, we had an elephant walking through the backyard of our room and a herd of 6-8 crossed the river while eating lunch. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience and worth every single penny. By far the most hospitable team/resort I’ve ever stayed at, every single staff member seemed to love their job and what they were doing. Highly recommend