6 best safari day trips in Johannesburg

There's a version of Joburg where you trade the rush-hour standstill for a giraffe mid-stride, and you can do it with the same handful of daylight you'd otherwise lose on the M1. Here are six ways out of the city and back in time for supper — most with someone else at the wheel, a couple with your own tyres on the gravel.

Researched live by an agent that reads real pages. Updated 2026-09-21.

1

Pilanesberg Game Reserve

North-west, about a two-hour drive from Johannesburg (up to three hours each way with stops on full-day tours)

An ancient volcano's eroded crater ring concentrates lions, elephants, rhino, buffalo and leopard into one of the easiest Big 5 parks to reach, with scenery flipping between Kalahari scrub and moist Lowveld bush in minutes.

📸 Take the guided route and put your best energy on the morning drive, when the light and the animals behave best; full-day tours do door-to-door hotel pickup, and you won't necessarily tick all five in one day even though they're all there.

From about R3,200 per person plus a R500 conservation fee at the gate Tickets / info →

2

Kruger National Park full-day safari

Mpumalanga Lowveld, nearly five hours each way from Johannesburg (about ten hours driving on a day tour)

Africa's best-known reserve throws volume at you — the full Big 5 plus wild dog, sable, cheetah and an enormous bird list, worth a very long day's drive.

📸 Book it as a guided full-day with hotel pickup and park fees folded in; keep your best hours for the afternoon game drive and bring binoculars, because game hides at a distance here.

From about R7,700 per person with transfers, park fees and a guide Tickets / info →

3

Dinokeng Game Reserve (self-drive)

North-east, an hour to 90 minutes from Johannesburg (about 40 minutes from Pretoria), the nearest true Big 5 reserve to the city

Gauteng's only free-roaming Big 5 reserve lets you steer your own car down 140 km of dirt tracks past lion, elephant, rhino and giraffe — a safari you actually run yourself.

📸 Go self-drive on a weekday morning and buy your conservation fee and self-drive permit online in advance; an open guided vehicle spots more, but independence is the whole charm here.

About R350–R450 per person (R100 day admission plus R250 self-drive permit) Tickets / info →

4

Dinokeng guided day trip with transfers

Same reserve, collected from your Johannesburg, Sandton or Pretoria hotel

The hands-off version of Dinokeng: a co-ordinator fetches you, a qualified guide works the bush on a 2.5-hour open-vehicle drive, and lunch sits on the Kingfisher deck overlooking a waterhole.

📸 Pick the sunset game drive over the mid-morning one if you can — the light holds and predators surface at dusk, making the same drive twice as lively.

Transfers, guide, drive and lunch roughly R1,500–R2,500 per person Tickets / info →

5

Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, Krugersdorp

West Rand, about an hour from central Johannesburg in the Cradle of Humankind

A private reserve where white lions, cheetah, wild dog and a healthy pile of white rhino come close enough to make the back seat go quiet — no Big 5 bragging required.

📸 Don't expect a full free-roam safari; take the park's guided bus, which knows exactly where to pause, and pair the visit with the Wonder Cave on the same ticket.

Day entry and tours around R250–R400 per person Tickets / info →

6

Pilanesberg open-air safari (MoAfrika)

The same crater rim north-west, around two hours from Johannesburg

Both game drives run in an open 4×4 with no windscreen, so you smell the bush and hear the birds instead of watching through glass — the blastier way to do Pilanesberg.

📸 The day splits into a morning and an afternoon drive, and the midday loop quietens as it heats up, so spend your fresh eyes on the dawn spin and pack a jumper for the open car.

From about R3,200 per person plus a R500 park fee at the gate Tickets / info →

See what is on in Johannesburg this weekend →