Game reserve near Cape Town, with 5 year old

[TrulyMiss]

Hi folks! As per the title, I'm looking into going to South Africa at Easter. I want to fly into Cape Town and spend around a week there. Also want to do maybe 4 days in Franschhoek and maybe 2 days on safari. My son will be amazed with whatever we see so I'm planning to keep it simple, stay in the same area and avoid having to do a big internal flight. Where would you recommend for safari? Quality of accommodation and having facilities like a pool etc is important. I guess I'm going for safari-lite

This is probably your nearest but you’d need to drive out a couple of hours. Is pretty fab though. https://grgamelodge.co.za/

We went to https://buffelsfontein.co.za/ with our children 12 and 14 years. We stayed overnight in a lodge near a watering hole. This was a side trip from our 8 day stay in Cape Town.

Love Cape Town and Franschhoek plus safari however not sure that they offer much for a 4 year old. There is often an age limit on game reserves as they often require a lot of sitting about quietly waiting to spot wildlife which doesn't work with most 4 year olds. What exactly were you hoping to do?

Have you considered a trip to Simon's Town/Boulders Beach? It's where the penguins of Netflix's Penguin Town live and Easter would be a good time to see them. It's near Cape Town, look it up. It's on my five-year-old's wish list and we're planning a trip for next year.

Check very carefully. Most reserves don’t allow young children on game drives.

https://www.aquilasafari.com/day-trip-safaris/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search+Always+On+Non+Brand&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=non_brand_may_2024&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20248222458&gbraid=0AAAAADscrH6DB4uA5PW8PaJ80olbnuj4w&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6PLltcLWjgMVUj2DAx3XmAvkEAAYASAAEgJRhfD_BwE

we went here just under 2 hours drive from Cape Town. It’s not quite the same as real safari - you are driven around the property to see the animals but they feed them in different areas so they are easily found and the lions are fenced in. So I think a middle ground between zoo and safari. But the property was lovely and we had a good time - photos were amazing. It seemed the best option from Cape Town when we travelled in 2018

@itstrue I'm about to book Aquila big just wanted to check if you thought it was definitely worth it? It's very expensive - I wouldn't dream of spending that much for two nights without the safari element. What did you think of the accommodation and good? Did you do anything apart from the drives?

@Aslockton also interested in Bufflestein but no info or pictures of the accommodation on their website which gives me anxiety It would also work as a day trip as it's closer...

Email them. We stayed full board in a Luxury cottage for one night and did two game drives. The place has an outdoor pool which the children used… too cold for us!