Skip to Content
SafariBookings® - Compare African Safari Tours List

User Reviews of Pilanesberg Game Reserve (94 Reviews)

Pilanesberg Safaris Pilanesberg Game Reserve
Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 41-50 of 94 Reviews

Average User Rating

4.3617 / 5 4.4 /5
4.5000 / 5 4.3956 / 5 4.0575 / 5 4.1714 / 5

Rating Breakdown

5 star 51 / 10 51
4 star 32 / 10 32
3 star 7 / 10 7
2 star 2 / 10 2
1 star 2 / 10 2
Write a User Review
Male avatar icon brunogarennealabadi France flag FR       Visited: September 2006 Reviewed: Sep 18, 2016

Email brunogarennealabadi  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 / 5 / 5 / 5

Slightly more than 2 hrs from joburg, it is really great , you can spend a great day, and be back in joburg at night.
The whole park can be nearly completely seen throughout one single day.
really a must.

Male avatar icon zapiture South Africa flag ZA       Visited: July 2016 Reviewed: Aug 7, 2016

Email zapiture  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5

Well known for the Noah's Arch project, the wildlife in this reserve was replenished with all the wildlife that could be found in this area before it was destroyed by hunting and farming

Male avatar icon Harold Brown United States flag US       Visited: April 2009 Reviewed: Aug 6, 2016

Email Harold Brown  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

4 / 5 4 /5
4 / 5 3 / 5 4 / 5 3 / 5

Pilanesberg was my first experience visiting a game reserve. That was in 1998 and it was a nice experience. Many of the larger animals I saw were at quite a distance away so it wasn't like visiting Kruger, but I did see lions trying to chase down their dinner without success which was my only experience of the chase. So each experience can bring something new.

Male avatar icon Gareth South Africa flag ZA       Visited: June 2016 Reviewed: Jun 14, 2016

Email Gareth  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

4 / 5 4 /5
5 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5

A great big 5 park, with a great chance of seeing game based on the varying types of terrain.

Male avatar icon thewildlifephotographer United Kingdom flag GB       Visited: December 2015 Reviewed: Apr 26, 2016

Email thewildlifephotographer  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of thewildlifephotographer and not that of SafariBookings.
2 / 5 2 /5
3 / 5 1 / 5 2 / 5 3 / 5

More like a small safari park, with no feeling of being 'wild'. I won't be visiting again.

Male avatar icon Bert South Africa flag ZA       Visited: November 2015 Reviewed: Mar 25, 2016

Email Bert  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

A Must Visit

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 5 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5
Pilanesberg has become one of South Africa's 'must visit' destinations. It's a compact game park which can be reasonably covered in a day visit, with a great variety of large and small game, as well as birdlife. Should you have the privelage to spend more than a day, that would be even better. Accommodation is great and does not lose the bushveld atmosphere. The service is good and friendly and in the many times that I have been there I have not been able to fault the food once. There is a low security risk but as tourists we all need to be security concious no matter where one goes in the world, so don't leave expensive equipment lying around. The weather is great whether sunshine or rain, but keep in mind that December - February are hot months in South Africa, so if you come in those months please don't complain about the heat, just enjoy it. Over-all I can assure anyone that they will look back at a visit to Pilanesberg and never regret making it part of
Read more their itinerary. It's a thoroughbred African experience with an entrance fee through the gate of less than 5 Euros per person for the day. (Accommodation in the luxury catagories could of course be quite expensive, but you normally get good value for your money) I hope you consider making Pilanesberg part of your life experience - I'm addicted :-)
Male avatar icon jeffa4444 United Kingdom flag GB       Visited: March 2016 Reviewed: Mar 24, 2016

Email jeffa4444  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Pilanesberg. A South African gem

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5 5 / 5
Pilanesberg is about a two hour drive from Johannesberg with Sun City on its southern edge. The area its contained within once was a volcano eroded over many centuries to form the present landscape. We stayed at the Ivory Tree Lodge just inside the park & there are many others with a similar high standard, very good food and excelent service. Game drives are arranged early in the morning before sunrise and then again late afternoon until after dark before your brought back for dinner. We stayed for three days and were lucky enough to see the Big Five (Leopard, Lion, Elephant, Buffalo & Rhino) and many other animals. We got to see a Lion kill of a young Giraffe and the Leopard as it stalked off towards prey just before sunset. We observed Elephants playing at a watering hole and many species of birds including Fish Eagles, Kori Bustards, Yellowbilled Hornbill, Red Bishop, Southern Masked Weaver, Pied Kingfisher & Spotted Eagle Owl.
Pilanesberg is a fantastic destination
Read more and easier to see the Big Five than Kruger National Park which is also a brilliant game reserve. If your thinking of going, do it you will not be disappointed.
Male avatar icon Dean United Kingdom flag GB       Visited: February 2016 Reviewed: Feb 21, 2016

Email Dean  |  50-65 years of age

Fantastic way to see the wildlife in its natural habitat

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 5 / 5 4 / 5 / 5

Whilst staying in Johannesburg we decided to visit the game reserve. We wanted to see animals in their natural habitat rather than visit some of the parks around Johannesburg. Arriving at the park in the early morning we had missed the 5:30am game drive so we decided to drive our hire car around the many miles/kilometres of tracks and roads. With just a map as reference we managed to see Rhino, Giraffe, Zebra, Wild Dog, Warthogs, Impala, Springbok, Kudu, Elephant, Hippo, Leopard, Monkey and other smaller animals all the way down to the dung beetle we watched for 10 minutes trying to push its dung across the road. There is so much to see although we couldn't find any Lions, probably as they sleep during the day. We drove for 6 - 7 hours and thoroughly enjoyed the day, stopping at the various hides and places to buy food and drinks. If you are looking for a safari experience Pilanesburg Game Reserve is a great day out and much better than seeing these animals in a fake environment.

Avatar icon Henk Pretorius South Africa flag ZA       Visited: December 2015 Reviewed: Feb 15, 2016

Email Henk Pretorius

The review below is the personal opinion of Henk Pretorius and not that of SafariBookings.
3 / 5 3 /5
3 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5 3 / 5

This is average to other parks - need to get more predators

Avatar icon Tjeerd de Wit South Africa flag ZA       Visited: March 2015 Reviewed: Jan 18, 2016

Email Tjeerd de Wit

4 / 5 4 /5
5 / 5 4 / 5 5 / 5 4 / 5

Ideal for day visit from Johannesburg or Pretoria.
Good bird hides
Lots of wildlife
Interesting landscape, old vulcano area.