Full Day Pilanesberg Experience in Open Vehicle

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. After collecting you form your hotel or residence in Johannesburg between 06:00 – 06:30, we travel to the Pilanesberg Nature reserve. On arrival your guide will take you on an exciting morning open 4×4 safari vehicle safari drive in search of the Animals that inhabit the National Park. Our guides are knowledgeable and will give you in depth information on the animal you are viewing and try their out-most to find the members of the Big 5. During the heat of the day you will enjoy lunch at one of the many rest camps in the National Park before departing on an afternoon closed vehicle safari drive. Our vehicles depart the National Park between 15:30 – 16:00 in order to arrive

   7 h

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 469 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 5An awesome experience!

  Peter, our guide was fantastic. When we saw animals he would tell us if they were male or female. He would also tell us what they were doing. Lots of good info. HE was a superior guide. After the tour he sent us photos he had taken on other tours so we could send them to others in our group An exceptional experience we will never forget.

  Culture366665September 2026via Tripadvisor

• 4🦁 Full-Day Pilanesberg Experience

  This tour started with a very early morning pickup right from our location, which was extremely convenient. The drive to Pilanesberg is a long one — about three hours each way, with a stop along the way — but the transportation was comfortable and having door-to-door pickup and drop-off was a big plus. Our safari guide, Lizzie, was good, and the morning game drive was definitely the highlight of the day. We saw quite a variety of animals and had some great sightings. We didn’t see the big 5 but we did see; Hippos, lions, kudu, giraffes, elephants with their babies, wilder beasts, monkeys, impala, zebra, crocodile, fishing eagle and pumba. Lunch was served in the park at picnic tables rather than at a lodge. There was a choice of steak, chicken, salad, and bread, along with a selection of beverages. It was casual but enjoyable and gave us a nice break between drives. The afternoon game drive, however, was disappointing and felt like a waste of time. It was warm, and there was very little animal activity. If I did this tour again, I would definitely skip the afternoon drive and opt for either a morning game drive or a late afternoon/evening drive when the animals are more active. If you’ve been on safari before, especially in a more remote or traditional safari destination, Pilanesberg may feel fairly mellow by comparison (there is no off roading to get closer). But if you’ve never experienced a safari, I think this would be a great introduction and an easy way to get a taste of the experience. Overall, it was a pretty good day out. The convenient pickup and drop-off from our location was a real advantage, and the morning safari made the long journey worthwhile. 🐘🦏🦒

  Kirsten_WSeptember 2026via Viator

• 5Leopard spotted and many more thanks to Petrus

  If you scroll only a little down then you will see that we have already reviewed this tour once, but since we were able to do this wonderful full-day-Safari twice, we just had to do it again! Together with our wonderful tour guide Petrus who has accompanied us for three previous Safaris as well was simply AMAZING! This experience was simply the best and I will never be able to forget it. Not only did Petrus take us to new areas of the park which we had never seen before, but he made sure that we saw animals we had never seen before, and to not keep you on your toes for too long, yes, we mean a Leopard! Thanks to Petrus insight and fast response as well as his patience we were able to see the rarest animal of the Big Five so close by! Thanks to his calm, while other guides were already rushing off we were able to watch the Leopard stalk up to its prey while seeing her in her full beauty! But while that was certainly the most impactful sighting which painted a smile on our faces for the whole day because it was so surreal, we saw so much more… From baby giraffes and giraffes right next to our vehicle over elephants, rhinos with their babies, warthogs with their babies, baboons with their babies and zebras with their babies, feeding on the milk. It was simply incredible, and Petrus had so much knowledge about each animals, even the tiniest birds. We furthermore spent a lovely and delicious lunch at the Fish Eagle where chef Isaai cooked us a splendid meal which we enjoyed while looking over the beautiful landscapes of Pilanesberg while we spent some time talking to Petrus and Tmen. Both of them were lovely to chat to and we had a great time! Thank you so much to Petrus as well as to MoAfrika Tours, it has been a pleasure and we will be back for more, hopefully sooner than later!! We will miss you, Petrus and Tmen! Anna & Sophie 🫶

  annadD526UWAugust 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Great Experience

  Amazing tour. Our tour guide really made this experience even more special. He knew to anticipate the movement of the lions, hippo and elephants. They have the experience to spot even animals in the far distance. Would recommend this tour to those really wanting to see the animals in their natural habitat.

  AngeloS2499August 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5It was great, i wished i...

  It was great, i wished i brought binoculars with me to be able to see the animals spotted far far away

  Maureen_TMay 2026via Viator

• 5One day Pilanesberg Safari

  This was the safari we ever took and we couldn’t be more pleased. Alex was our driver to and from the park. He was extra accommodating. He even let us off at the mall on our way back and waited to take us to the hotel. Martin was our safari guide and he was extremely knowledgeable. We saw lions, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, elephants, a rare cheetah and many more in just one day. He knew where to go to find the animals. I highly recommend this tour. You won’t be disappointed.

  Walter_WMay 2026via Viator

Know before you go

How it compares in Johannesburg

• Its from-price is 15% above the median of the 256 day trips we list in Johannesburg.
• It is longer than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 4 of 256.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Johannesburg

Johannesburg is South Africa's dynamic economic heart, a city of powerful history, vibrant townships and art, where many safari journeys begin.

The Apartheid Museum tells the story of segregation and resistance with great power, and Constitution Hill, a former prison where both Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were held, is home to the Constitutional Court. In Soweto, Vilakazi Street is famous as the street where two Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Mandela and Desmond Tutu, once lived, and the Hector Pieterson Memorial recalls the student uprising of 1976.

Top-ranked sights in Johannesburg: Soweto, Mandela House, Apartheid Museum.

See all 897 experiences in Johannesburg