Timber cabin under coastal forest canopy
Plan your stay

Accommodation

Sleep inside a World Heritage Site — in a log cabin above the dunes, a tented camp on a fig-forest floor, or a beach lodge reached by sand track.

iSimangaliso stretches 220 kilometres from Maphelane in the south to the Mozambique border at Kosi Bay, and each of its ten jewels offers a different night. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife runs the state camps inside the Park — the log cabins, chalets and campsites at Cape Vidal, Sodwana Bay, Maphelane, uMkhuze and Charters Creek. Privately run lodges and community camps operate alongside them, several on land returned to local communities through the Park’s land claim settlements, so the money a bed earns stays in the region.

State camps are booked through Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife; private lodges and community camps book directly. Choose your jewel below, then follow the link through to that destination for gate times, access notes and what there is to do once you have unpacked.

Ten jewels

Where to stay, jewel by jewel

Families with beach umbrellas on the sand, boats offshore beyond the surf

Eastern Shores & Cape Vidal

Log cabins a dune away from the beach, plus one of the Park’s most popular campsites.

  • Cape Vidal log cabins (five- and eight-bed)
  • Cape Vidal campsite
  • Bhangazi bush camp
Explore Cape Vidal
Beach lodge above the shoreline at Sodwana Bay

Sodwana Bay

Dive-country lodging, built around early launches onto the reefs.

  • Sodwana Bay log cabins and campsite
  • Mseni Beach Lodge
  • Dive-camp accommodation at the bay
Explore Sodwana Bay
Aerial view of the Kosi Bay lake system

Kosi Bay

Community-run camps and forest lodges beside the four-lake system and its fish kraals.

  • Utshwayelo Kosi Mouth Lodge & Camp
  • Kosi Forest Lodge
  • Kosi Bay Casitas
Explore Kosi Bay
Beach lodge at Mabibi near Lake Sibaya

Lake Sibaya

South Africa’s largest freshwater lake on one side, empty Indian Ocean beach on the other.

  • Thonga Beach Lodge, Mabibi
  • Mabibi community campsite
Explore Lake Sibaya
Tented camp in the coastal forest

Coastal Forest Reserve

Camps hidden in dune forest, within walking distance of turtle-nesting beaches.

  • Rocktail Beach Camp
  • Rocktail Camp
  • Mabibi campsite
Explore the Coastal Forest
Lodge deck overlooking Lake St Lucia

Lake St Lucia

The estuary town and the lake shore — the easiest first night in the Park.

  • Makakatana Bay Lodge
  • Sugarloaf and iPhiva campsites
  • Guesthouses in St Lucia town
Explore Lake St Lucia
Leopard in the sand forest at uMkhuze

uMkhuze

Big-game country, with hides on the pans a short drive from your door.

  • Mantuma Main Camp chalets and tents
  • Nhlonhlela Bush Lodge
  • Lodges on the reserve boundary
Explore uMkhuze
Forested dune trail at Maphelane

Maphelane

The Park’s southern corner, below the highest forested dune on the coast.

  • Maphelane log cabins
  • Maphelane campsite
Explore Maphelane
Bush camp on the Western Shores

Western Shores & Charters Creek

Quiet lake-edge camps on the grassland side of the estuary.

  • Charters Creek chalets
  • Dukandlovu bush camp
Explore the Western Shores
Open water and shoreline at False Bay

False Bay

Bush camping on the western arm of Lake St Lucia, for self-sufficient travellers.

  • Lister’s Point campsite
  • Mpophomeni trail camp
Explore False Bay

Before you book

Seasons fill early

South African school holidays, Easter and the December period book out months ahead, particularly the cabins at Cape Vidal and Sodwana Bay.

Getting there

Several northern camps are reached on sand tracks where a high-clearance or 4x4 vehicle is required. Check access with your camp before you travel.

Gate times

Park gates open and close at set times that change with the season. Plan to arrive well before closing — each destination page lists its own times.

Health and safety

Parts of the Park lie in a low-risk malaria area; take advice from a travel clinic. Hippo and crocodile are present in and around the lakes — keep to signed paths and camp boundaries.

Camp names, facilities and availability change from season to season. Confirm details with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife or the operator before travelling.