Skip to Content
SafariBookings® - Compare African Safari Tours List

User Reviews of Pilanesberg Game Reserve (98 Reviews)

Pilanesberg Safaris South Africa
Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 11-20 of 98 Reviews

Average User Rating

4.3367 / 5 4.3 /5
4.4583 / 5 4.4105 / 5 4.0549 / 5 4.1622 / 5

Rating Breakdown

5 star 53 / 10 53
4 star 32 / 10 32
3 star 8 / 10 8
2 star 3 / 10 3
1 star 2 / 10 2
Write a User Review
Male avatar icon Stefano Italy flag IT       Visited: November 2014 Reviewed: Apr 16, 2015

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

The review below is the personal opinion of Stefano and not that of SafariBookings.

Easy to reach and to visit, affordable, interesting

3 / 5 3 /5
3 / 5 2 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5

I did not expect plenty of wildlife, being a small park surrounded by civilization; however the variety and the amount of game viewing surprised me. We just missed big cats, but the kind of vegetation does not help easy spots; we could see several interesting mammals, including black rhinos. Birding is really worthy, as the quantity and variety of birds is impressive. Access is easy, roads are well maintained and such that even if the park is crowded, you seldom have to share space with other visitor's cars if an interesting spot is made

Female avatar icon ~lustedtowander~ United States flag US       Visited: August 2010 Reviewed: Jan 24, 2012

35-50 years of age

The review below is the personal opinion of ~lustedtowander~ and not that of SafariBookings.
3 / 5 3 /5
4 / 5 1 / 5 3 / 5 / 5

In my opinion Pilanesberg is too small to accommodate the number of people who go there.

Male avatar icon Ron Moon Australia flag AU       Visited: April 2009 Reviewed: Jul 4, 2011

50-65 years of age

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

We weren't impressed by the variety of the wildlife or the number of animals and any sort of bush vibe from the place was lacking.

Female avatar icon Morgane France flag FR       Visited: May 2025 Reviewed: May 25, 2025

Email Morgane  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Nice day in Pilanesberg park

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

One-day safari. In the freezing cold morning, we had trouble finding the animals, but the afternoon was fruitful, with elephants, rhinos, giraffes, and zebras just a few meters away! All this in a warm atmosphere thanks to our great guide, Petros, who is the embodiment of good humor...


(automatic translation from French)

Female avatar icon Nittaya Thailand flag TH       Visited: April 2024 Reviewed: May 17, 2024

Email Nittaya  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

4 / 5 4 /5
4 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5 2 / 5

From the game, we found many animals, but for big 5 we found only 3 (Leopard, Elephant, Rhino). However, our driver, Lethabo, he is an experienced driver with lot of knowledge. He tried very hard to find the places where we might see Lion and Buffalo. Anyhow, it was a great experience and exciting day.

Female avatar icon Tracey Skagias Greece flag GR       Visited: May 2023 Reviewed: Jun 8, 2023

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

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

I have been around many game parks in my life - I was born and raised in Kenya. I know you have to be lucky to see certain animals. I did find the tarmac road through the park rather unusual, and although I understand the why, I found rhinos without horns a bit sad. The grass was very long so visibility was a bit difficult for things like warthogs, lions etc. It was very pleasant and my colleague had never been to Africa before so she found it wonderful.

Male avatar icon Harold Klein United States flag US       Visited: January 2023 Reviewed: Feb 6, 2023

Email Harold Klein  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

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

Smaller park with easy access from Jo'burg airport hotels...a real satisfying suprise. Definately worth the day trip!!

Male avatar icon Alan South Africa flag ZA       Visited: June 2021 Reviewed: Jul 14, 2021

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

Game feast in a beautiful mountain ringed crator with expansive views extending kilometres.

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

I have travelled Kruger and Pilanesberg extensively. The rhino have disappeared from Kruger. Although the vistas have limits in Pilanesberg you can access 5 hides with many more opportunities of alighting from your vehicle. All hides have toilets. While people share their sightings with other game viewers this is seldom the case in Kruger. Hides are few and far between in Kruger without toilet facilities except lake panic.
I have often seen 4/5 big five…. Buffalo are elusive in Pilanesberg…within a weekend. Big herds are not on show though as they are in Kruger.
A great advantage of Pilanesberg is proximity to Jhb 2.5 hrs drive and it is MALARIA FREE and for the animals TB free too.
The Iron Age site in Pilanesberg allows you to roam around a large section of bush which is fenced. The view points from Moloto drive are exquisite…
Pilanesberg’s only drawback is noise from the populated areas near the rest champs at night and after 3 days you will find that you travel the same routes again, not so with Kruger.

Male avatar icon Almir Yeijo Tahira Brazil flag BR       Visited: January 2020 Reviewed: Feb 29, 2020

Email Almir Yeijo Tahira  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

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

We did one day safari only. We did not find the felines. We could see other big animals like Rhino, Giraffe, Elephant, zebra, etc..
My little girl became really astonished.
I recommend it!

Avatar icon Sérgio Baumgratz Brazil flag BR       Visited: October 2018 Reviewed: Nov 16, 2018

Email Sérgio Baumgratz

It was very cool.

4 / 5 4 /5
4 / 5 0 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5

I had luck seeing some of the 5 Big very close. The scenery and weather is very similar with some regions in Brazil, i.e, savanna (cerrado) covers a large area of the Brazilian territory and our climate is subtropical in the south. The accommodations, food, transportation and guides were very good - Morokolo lodge is perfect. I suggest to everyone to be at least two days in this game reserve. Enjoy it.