If you’re looking for a family safari near the Garden Route at the end of your South African family holiday, then we recommend you take a look at Kariega Game Reserve.
We have stayed there twice – once before kids in 2000 and again in 2024 with kids. We had a great experience each time.
We have also stayed at other family-friendly safari lodges in South Africa and so we felt in a good position to give you a detailed Kariega Game Reserve review.
Our review of Kariega Game Reserve aims to help you get a better understanding of what you can expect from a stay there to help you decide if it would work well for you.
If you’re planning on heading up to the Kruger, take a look at our review of Thornybush Game Lodge which is located in one of the best Kruger private reserves for families.
By the way, we have written a guide to the best destinations in Africa for a family safari in case you want more ideas.
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Before we get to our review of Kariega Game Reserve, we wanted to let you know that we have lots of helpful information on this site for planning a family safari.
We work in the safari industry and have gained a great deal of experience going on safari with kids. Whether this is your first safari experience with kids or you are planning more adventurous safaris, please check out our safaris with kids section.
It has lots of tips and advice for families going on safari as well as itineraries we have done with our kids. These are our most popular ones.
Kariega Game Reserve Review
There are lots of places to go on safari in the Eastern Cape so why choose Kariega?
Our Kariega Private Game Reserve review covers why it works well from a location point of view as well as how family-friendly it is and our overall safari experience there.
But don’t just take our word for it. Check nearly 3,000 Kariega Game Reserve Main Lodge reviews Tripadvisor giving it 5/5!
So what makes Kariega Main Lodge at Kariega Game Reserve a good choice for safari accommodation for families in the Eastern Cape?
Where is Kariega Game Reserve?
Located less than a 2 hour drive from Stormsriver and 90 minutes from Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), it is perfectly located to visit at the end of your family Garden Route trip (or at the beginning if you’re doing it the other way around).
The roads to Kariega Game Reserve are all paved. The N2 is in good condition but watch out for potholes on the R334). Once through the entrance gate you hit gravel roads but they are well kept and easily accessible with a 2WD vehicle.
The setting of Kariega Game Reserve is pretty stunning incorporating two river valleys. It is right in the heart of Frontier Land in the Eastern Cape where the British settlers arrived in 1820s and made a new life.
Families may be interested to know that Kariega Game Reserve is malaria free. See here for other malaria free safari locations in Africa.
What makes Kariega Game Reserve good for families?
We’re talking in particular about Kariega Main Lodge here. You can read more about Main Lodge below but here’s what we love about staying at Kariega with kids.
- Accommodation – chalets set well apart from other chalets for privacy.
- Dining – relaxed buffet style with lots of variety which is great for families with young kids.
- Kids’ Center – There is a Kids’ Club at Kariega which offers activities between 11am and 2pm. On arrival, the kids received a Kariega backpack with safari related goodies including a ‘Kids on Safari’ booklet with lots of safari related challenges. There are also toys and games and table tennis for older kids.
- Security – Kariega Main Lodge is fenced so it is safe to walk around with kids.
Family-accommodation at Kariega Game Reserve
Kariega Game Reserve is made up of a number of different accommodation options. Some of them are more family-friendly than others.
- Main Lodge – mid-range log chalets. No age limit for kids.
- The Homestead – private lodge for group bookings up to 14 people. No age limit for kids.
- Ukhozi Lodge – luxury suites with private plunge pool. No kids under 10.
- Settler’s Drift – luxury tented suites. No kids under 10.
- River Lodge – luxury suites nestled on the Bushman’s River. No kids under 10.
We recommend that families stay at Kariega Main Lodge. Not only does Main Lodge accept children of all ages, it is just a much more relaxed setting for families.
Main Lodge is also where the kids’ center is located.
The accommodation at Main Lodge comprises of 24 log chalets. They were originally built in 1999 and are a bit dated but are still perfectly charming.
The chalets are set on a ridge overlooking the valley and all of them have a private deck from which to enjoy the view.
The chalets are not self-catering (Kariega Main Lodge is booked on a full board basis) but they do have a fridge and tea and coffee making facilities and drinking water is provided.
Our main bit of advice for booking accommodation at Main Lodge is to request one of the chalets with a private pool.
There is a main pool near the main lodge but having a private pool is so much better with kids, particularly if you need to drive to Main Lodge.
The chalets with a pool are:
Chalet 1
Chalet 2
Chalet 4
Chalet 9
Chalet 24
Take a look at this map of Kariega Main Lodge to see where the lodges are located. They are quite spread apart (great for privacy) but if you’re staying in chalet 1 or 2 or 24 you will need to drive to meals at night.
It may not look far on the map but it is around a 10 minute walk from these chalets to the main dining area.
You can book your accommodation directly on the Kariega website or you can book as part of a package through an agent.
If you are booking your entire trip through an agent, you may get better rates. We like to use Go2Africa for a lot of our safari holidays because they are an industry leader in this area and have won many awards. See our Go2Africa review.
If you are booking independently, you can also find Kariega on:
Age limit for kids at Kariega Game Reserve
If you are interested in staying at Kariega Game Reserve with kids under 10, then Main Lodge (or the Homestead if you are a large group) is your only option.
There is no age limit for kids staying at Kariega Main Lodge. However, it will be at the manager and/or guide’s discretion as to whether kids under the age of 5 will be allowed to join game drives. This is a policy that many if not all game lodges have.
It is a tricky one because you won’t know until you go whether your child will be allowed on a game drive or not.
Having said this, we were on a game drive with kids under 5. It would be best to contact Kariega directly to understand what might cause them not to allow younger kids on a game drive.
I really can’t imagine there would be any hard and fast rule, particularly as they seemed to group families with similar age kids together on drives.
Another thing to consider is whether you think your kids (if aged under 5) would enjoy a game drive.
Game drives are around 3 – 4 hours long and children are required to remain still and be quiet when close to dangerous animals.
This is not only for their own safety but also for the enjoyment of other paying guests. See more about kids on safari at Kariega here.
Babysitting is available if required.
See here for advice on kids clothing for safaris as well as what to pack for a family safari.
Wildlife at Kariega Game Reserve
Kariega Game Reserve is home to the Big 5 so this means you have a chance of seeing elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and rhino.
We spotted everything except leopard. From experience I would stay it would be very difficult to spot leopard given the terrain at Kariega.
There are also lots of giraffe, hippo, zebra and other plains animals.
Make sure you read all about one very special rhino at Kariega that will give you some insight into the rhino poaching problem faced in South Africa.
Dining at Kariega Main Lodge
For us, food is a big part of any holiday so we wanted to go into this in a bit more detail.
In short, the dining at Kariega Main Lodge was excellent. The huge breakfast spread was very welcome after an early morning game drive.
What we loved most was the fact that it was all ready (buffet style) as soon as we arrived in the dining area.
This is so important when on safari with kids because, if they are anything like ours, they will be ‘starving’. Being able to give them something to eat straight away was ideal.
The dining area is also very informal so it didn’t matter that you dined in dusty safari clothes. It didn’t matter that the kids wanted to get up and look out of the windows at the views. It was so relaxed.
All meals were held in the main dining area, except for a couple of evenings where you gather around the firepit area for a buffet meal with singing and dancing from local children.
Drinks are not included in the full-board plan (but sunset drinks are included on the game drives).
Activities at Kariega Game Reserve
What do you do when not on safari?
For us, downtime between game drives is really important. We can’t get up at 5am and have a full day with 2 game drives without some downtime.
This can either be a nap or some quiet time by the pool. The kids are much more likely to enjoy the afternoon game drive if they’ve had a nap.
Here are some other things to do at Kariega Main Lodge:
- Relax by the main pool (or at your own one if you have one).
- Substitute a game drive for a river cruise along the Bushmans River.
- Send the kids to kids club (between 11am and 2pm) for them to enjoy safari related activities with other kids.
- Enjoy the singing and dancing by kids from the local township during a boma dinner.
- Visit the spa at Ukhozi Lodge for a relaxing treatment (additional cost).
- Take the Blue Duiker walk (which is about a 45 minute trail) through some dense bush.
Our final thoughts on Kariega Game Reserve for families
As a family with young children, we felt very comfortable at Kariega Game Reserve.
It is pitched at just the right level. Not so posh that we felt uncomfortable when our kids were loud. It was actually very reasonably priced compared to other lodges offering similar in the area.
The accommodation was not high end but you don’t spend a lot of time in the chalet in between game drives and activities.
You could pay twice as much or even five times as much and still see the same wildlife at the end of the day. Paying more for your safari does not guarantee seeing more.
We also love that they are doign so much for the local community. Read more about their initiatives here.
Kariega Private Game Reserve – Main Lodge is the perfect choice for you family safari near the Garden Route.
