Overview – Sabi Sabi GR

Philip Briggs
Expert
By Philip Briggs

Philip lives in South Africa and is the author many guidebooks to African destinations, including the Bradt and Insight guide to South Africa.

Philip lives in South Africa and is the author many Africa guidebooks, including the Bradt and Insight guide to South Africa.

Philip is the author of many Africa guidebooks, including the Bradt and Insight guides to South Africa.

Philip is the author of the Bradt and Insight guides to South Africa.

An authentic wildlife experience is assured at Sabi Sabi, one of the private luxury reserves housed within the greater Sabi Sand Game Reserve. Sabi Sand shares fenceless borders with the world-famous Kruger Park. Wildlife viewing tends to be superb, with the main focus being on sighting all of the Big Five. The big cats are plentiful. Even the normally secluded leopard is easily found.

Sabi Sabi was one of the first lodges in Sabi Sands and offers exclusive wildlife viewing while guests enjoy 5-star accommodation as well as excellent food and service. It has four very different lodges to choose from with themes ranging from traditional, colonial, avant-garde and contemporary. Sabi Sabi owns a reasonable chunk of the Sabi Sands property and only offers traversing rights to one small property, which makes it less crowded at wildlife sightings.

Size Sabi Sands*:
650km² / 251mi²
Altitude Sabi Sands*:
272-479m / 892–1,572ft
*Sabi Sabi is part of the greater Sabi Sand Game Reserve

 
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Best Time to Go May to September (Dry season)
High Season October to March (It can get a bit busy)
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Pros & Cons

  • Wildlife viewing is fantastic with easy sightings of all of the Big Five
  • Off-road driving allows close encounters with habituated wildlife
  • Experienced guides offer a variety of wildlife-viewing activities
  • Four luxury safari lodges with different styles
  • Situated in a less crowded part of Sabi Sands
  • Expensive, fully-inclusive safari packages are the only option
  • Primary emphasis on finding flagship species only

Sabi Sabi GR Safari Reviews

  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding

Wildlife

Easy sightings of the Big Five and cheetah make wildlife viewing superb. Also commonly sighted is the leopard, which is hard to find elsewhere. Varied antelope species are plentiful but often passed over for the chance to view flagship animals.

Scenery

Sabi Sabi's landscape is mostly woodland savannah. The foliage can be dense, but this rarely presents a problem when viewing wildlife due to the expert tracking skills of guides and the possibility to drive off-road.

See Sabi Sand Game Reserve for more information

Sabi Sabi is part of the greater Sabi Sand Game Reserve. See the links below for more info about Sabi Sands.

Want to Visit Sabi Sabi GR?

Sabi Sabi GR Safari Reviews

  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding
Most Helpful Expert Review
Expert
Melissa Shales  –  
United Kingdom UK

Melissa is an award winning travel writer for Fodors, Frommers and Insight, including guides to Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

SabiSabi – natural luxury
4/5

In the 1980s and 90s, several old farms were bought and added to South Africa’s oldest private game reserve, the 65 000 hectare/153 000 acre patchwork of properties known collectively as Sabi Sand. Those farms became Sabi Sabi, now a...

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Latest User Review
Alan Bishop Reviewed: Nov 22, 2017
5/5

We saw the big five and even two packs of wild dog. The vehicles are in radio contact so as soon as something interesting is spotted, everyone can make their way there to see. The accommodation was also far more luxurious than in Kruger and...

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