2025 Reviews: Arathusa Safari Lodge Reviews from Real Guests.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Arathusa Safari Lodge. everything was a good experience. The cabins were very spacious, well appointed, comfortable and cleaned twice daily. Comfortable beds, good linens, large bathroom, minifridge replaced daily with water and soft drinks. Our cabin faced the pond and animals were around all the time, elephants came to drink, impalas and hipos were there always, wildebeest and water buffalo, always something to see. We also had monkeys visiting for breakfast everyday. Speaking of animals, we saw multiple animals on all of our game rides, which were twice daily, one at 5:30 am and one at 5:00 pm (the only thing we didn't like was getting up a 4:30 am, but it was totally worth it). On the first half hour of the first drive we saw a male and a female lion, a leopard and elephants. Every drive was full of surprises, the guide and tracker made sure we saw animals every time we went out. We know people who have gone to other lodges and didn't see half of what we saw. Finally I have to commend the service, they went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable and well taken care of. The wait staff was excellent, we enjoyed our waiter telling us "stories" with every meal. The cleaning crew did a great job and management was on top of everything. And the food was very good also, every meal was very pleasant, we had two nights with bon fires eating al fresco, very pleasant all together.

Multiple strange juxtapositions; - remote location (an hour of uneven, unsurfaced road to access), yet huge beds with Egyptian cotton sheets - wild animals walking through the camp/allowing us up close in the vehicles, but mains power and air conditioning - water hole in need of seasonal rains, yet bore-hole-fed lodges with bath/plunge pool and shower inside and out - crazy amounts of wonderful food served by the loveliest people, but struggling farms less than an hour away. So lucky to see a leopard as we arrived, yet as we left, they were almost passe! Ranger and guide knowledgeable and informative and house team great too.

The Arathusa Lodge is an outstanding facility for many reasons. The location in Sabi Sand was central for excellent Safari adventures. The quality and varied dining options were plentiful and delicious. The waterhole view suite was spacious, comfortable and very well appointed. The cherry on top that made Arathusa an outstanding pick were the people who made our visit so pleasantly memorable. My wife and I had DeBeer as our range driver for our Safaris, and he was absolutely terrific. We could easily assess that his work was his passion. With his knowledge, sense of humor, and pleasant ways, he and his incredible tracker Isch, allowed us to throughly enjoy every minute of our drives! We felt safe the entire time we were with them. The ever present smiles and hospitality of the staff of Winnie, Precious and Ste, as well as the entire staff were exceptional. I highly recommend the Arathusa Lodge for a once in a lifetime experience.

If you are planning a safari in Sabi Sands or the greater Krueger Park area, you could not choose better than Arathusa. From start to finish, our 4-day stay was utter perfection. Small and private, with a stunning waterhole that attracts a wide variety of wildlife - including a resident pod of hippos, plus visiting leopards, elephants, giraffes, warthogs and numerous bird species - there are only 8 cottages facing the waterhole plus 4 facing the bush. The open-plan cottages are spacious and luxurious, with large windows for wildlife viewing in the privacy of your room. The service is impeccable and the staff is friendly and accommodating (shout-out to server Ste, storyteller Ronny and bartender Clearance). On game drives and bushwalks, our ranger Geoff and tracker Adam were unbelievably knowledgeable - we saw four of the Big Five on our first evening, and the 5th (Cape Buffalo) on the next day. The safari trucks are very comfortable and each seat provides excellent views - Geoff and Adam were able to maneuver the vehicles very close to the wildlife. Guests are organized into groups of 6-8 so that meals and game drives are taken with the same people daily. All meals are taken either on the deck overlooking the waterhole or, in cae of bad weather, in the partially-enclosed dining room adjoining the bar and pool. The food is great (menu very varied at each meal).

We spent three nights in October 2024 at Arathusa after spending 3 nights in another part of Kruger National Park earlier in this trip. The game drives here were unreal- we saw rare animals like a pangolin in addition to the big 5 and lots of others. We saw a leopard catch a scrub hare, while being pursued by several hyenas and the leopard had to scramble up a tree with her catch to keep it from being stolen by the hyenas. We saw a large herd of Cape buffalo, many lions, and even lots of hippos and elephants. We had a bush suite and one morning after the game drive and breakfast we were taking a nap in our room when I was awakened by a strange noise. Looked out the window and an elephant was right there just hanging out. He stuck around for about an hour. Besides the game drives the food at the lodge was excellent. At meals there was often a lot of animal action right there at the watering hole in front of the hotel. There were always hippos there and often elephants, giraffes, antelopes and even lions would occasionally visit. The included drinks were excellent and service was impeccable. Three nights at Arathusa was almost too short - we hated to leave!