Kruger & the Kingdoms Small Group Classic Tour

The journey

Big Five country and two kingdoms

From Johannesburg the road drops into the Lowveld past Waterval Boven and the logging town of Sabie to Mac-Mac Falls and Hazyview, the base for three nights. A day on the Panorama Route — the Blyde River Canyon and its Three Rondavels, Bourke's Luck Potholes, God's Window — and a dawn open-vehicle safari in the Kruger National Park with a ranger and a packed breakfast, which includes a presentation on the park's anti-poaching dog unit.

Then into eSwatini, the independent kingdom within South Africa's borders: an interactive cultural experience with lunch, the Ngwenya glass works and a night in the Ezulwini Valley; the Swazi candle factory the next morning, and a long drive south into Zululand, with an optional afternoon safari in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, famous for its rhino. The tour ends in Umhlanga on the seventh day.

Scheduled small-group departure (minimum 2, maximum 10 guests). Accommodation is as named or a similar standard; the exact hotel is confirmed at booking. Two guests travel in a sedan; three to ten guests travel in a 13-seater vehicle.

Johannesburg (Sunday)

Met at OR Tambo International Airport and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is free — an optional Soweto and Apartheid Museum tour at your own cost, or simply rest. At 19h00 the group meets at reception for a briefing. — Accommodation: Protea Hotel Balalaika (4-star) or similar · About 35 km
Johannesburg – Mpumalanga (Monday)

A long drive into the Lowveld past Waterval Boven and Sabie, with a visit to Mac-Mac Falls, a 65-metre waterfall. Arrive in Hazyview in the late afternoon. — Meals: breakfast, dinner · Accommodation: Hippo Hollow Country Estate (3-star) or similar · About 440 km
Mpumalanga – the Panorama Route (Tuesday)

The 26-kilometre Blyde River Canyon and the Three Rondavels, Bourke's Luck Potholes and God's Window (weather permitting). Back in Hazyview in the late afternoon. — Meals: breakfast · Accommodation: Hippo Hollow Country Estate or similar · About 320 km
Kruger National Park (Wednesday)

Early coffee, then an open-vehicle game safari with a ranger and a packed breakfast — the Big Five, general game and prolific birdlife — including a presentation on the park's anti-poaching dog unit. Afternoon at leisure; an optional afternoon open-vehicle drive at your own cost. — Meals: breakfast · Accommodation: Hippo Hollow Country Estate or similar · About 120 km
Mpumalanga – eSwatini (Thursday)

Into the Kingdom of eSwatini for an interactive cultural experience with lunch, a visit to the Ngwenya glass works, where recycled glass is blown by hand, and a night in the Ezulwini Valley with dinner at the hotel. — Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner · Accommodation: The Royal Villas (4-star) or similar · About 310 km
eSwatini – Zululand (Friday)

The Swazi candle factory, then south through eSwatini and back into South Africa for the long drive into Zululand. Optional, at your own cost: an afternoon open-vehicle safari in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, Africa's oldest game reserve and the home of white rhino conservation. — Meals: breakfast · Accommodation: Anew Hotel Hluhluwe (3-star) or similar · About 360 km
Zululand – Umhlanga (Saturday)

An early breakfast, then the drive to the coast past Zulu homesteads, eucalyptus plantations and sugar cane, arriving in Umhlanga in the early afternoon, where the tour ends. — Meals: breakfast · About 275 km

What’s included

9 meals: 6 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 2 dinners (drinks excluded)
6 nights' accommodation, including porterage
Air-conditioned touring vehicle, including toll fees
Professional English-speaking tour guide
Entrance fees as listed in the itinerary
Bottled water

What’s not included

Meals and drinks not listed
Optional excursions
Items of a personal nature and gratuities beyond those listed
Travel insurance

Departs: Sunday (scheduled 2027 departures — ask us for the dates)
Group size: Minimum 2, maximum 10 guests
Start / end: OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, to Umhlanga (Durban)
Minimum age: 12 years
Visas: The tour crosses into eSwatini. Check whether your nationality needs a visa for eSwatini before you travel.
Accommodation: Protea Hotel Balalaika, Johannesburg (1 night) · Hippo Hollow Country Estate, Hazyview (3 nights) · The Royal Villas, eSwatini (1 night) · Anew Hotel Hluhluwe (1 night) — or similar
Optional: Soweto and Apartheid Museum (day 1), afternoon Kruger open-vehicle safari (day 4), afternoon Hluhluwe-iMfolozi safari (day 6) — at your own cost, pre-booked