Vuyani River Lodge

Vuyani River Lodge is a wonderful, friendly, welcoming lodge. The staff are a credit to the company, each one being polite and attentive, they genuinely want to do everything they can to enable you to have a great experience. The rooms are spacious and clean with an outside shower adding to the safari experience. The food was outstanding and the chefs were happy to cater to any dietary needs. Communal eating with the other guests was delightful, everyone was so friendly. The sunrise and sunset game drives were magical with Jarrod our driver and Direct our tracker. These guys truly made our experience outstanding. We saw so many animals it far outweighed our expectations, we even saw a pangolin!!! I would highly recommend this delightful, intimate, friendly lodge.

Warning. This is not my first review of this place nor will it be my last, I’m sure. Keeping it short this time (ish). Incredible game viewing ✅ (thanks Jarrod and Direct) Great food and drinks ✅ (Mini bar in the rooms included in the price) Amazing staff ✅ (they will feel like family) Fantastic value for money ✅ (it really is for everything that’s included) Would I book again ✅ (I actually already have 😂) It truly is such a beautiful place, comfy beds, lovely rooms, the wildlife viewing will blow your mind, and on such a beautiful reserve.

Well the 5 star reviews are definitely not exaggerated! We have had the BEST 5 days at Vuyani River Lodge! Our flight was delayed by an hour and a half but we had a brilliant car journey with our lovely driver Johan. Yes it’s long but Johan kept us entertained on the way and is very knowledgeable and the time flew by! Johan got us to the Lodge in time for our afternoon safari and we jumped on board with Stuart (our driver) and Mpilo (our spotter) and a lovely couple who had arrived on the same flight as us and who when we left feeling we had made some great friends! We went on every single drive (FOMO 🤣) and we came really really close (sometimes holding my breath close) to lions, lionesses, elephants, cheetahs and giraffes. One evening we were having sundowner drinks and heard a whoosh like a snort and Stuart said for us to turn around and there was a rhino literally 10 metres from us all (in the pitch black 😳)…he just looked at us and sauntered by! I can’t even explain how amazing our driver Stuart was…he was so funny, so friendly, so knowledgeable about the wildlife and was always looking out for anything of interest . There were many times we were at specific spots first, he was constantly on the radio, refusing to give up when he knew animals were in the area. He completely made our safaris! He was very careful not to overload these beautiful creatures with too many watchers and kept viewing numbers to sensible levels to ensure that they were given the respect they deserved. How he managed to drive, look out for any wildlife whilst also being so funny and entertaining we do not know but we do know we were soo lucky to have Stuart as the leader of our A Team 👍🏻 Our spotter Mpilo was awesome, he even spotted a small chameleon on a bush in the dark on the way back to the Lodge…how on earth he spotted that I do not know! He went looking for lions nearby on foot 🫣 and we literally didn’t pick him back up for at least 30 minutes whilst we watched these beautiful animals in their natural habitat.! Then on our very last safari drive he spotted the very elusive leopard 🐆 and we gazed at it in awe for around 15 minutes from a distance but this just completely topped our holiday. There are so many memories made from this holiday, the outdoor shower, the giraffes walking past the pool area, monkeys trying to steal food, the warthog family and their babies within the ground, so many lovely guests we spent time with over 5 days, the early ‘Good moorrnniinnggg’ knock on the doors from Benjamin and Floyd who escorted us from our rooms in the dark, the drinks at the bar throughout the day and evening from Clive and Clyde and the housekeeping team Gloria, Gladys and Remember, Jan with his care and attention every day. This has honestly been a holiday of a lifetime and we felt very emotional leaving and can’t wait to return 💕 Tips/extra info: We went the last week of March and I wish I’d taken some warmer clothes. Both drives are cold before sunris

First of all this lodge is fantastic, the staff are truly amazing in making your stay the best it can be. The safari team are excellent in the way they conduct the drives, and try the very best to make the experience great, our guide Stewart and tracker mpilo (hope I’ve spelt this name correctly) made our drives so entertaining even when the animals were hard to track. Our holiday was only marred by the airline delaying our holiday and also our baggage, but the booking team of Emily and Johan were exceptional in helping by arranging connecting flights for us, and offering to replace our lost day with a stay at the safari lodge which we loved. The food was varied and great every night and breakfast too, the lodges were very good and equipped with all you need, and finally lloyd who woke us up every morning with such charm. I really would recommend this as the perfect place to go and have an awesome holiday.

Having visited vuyani safari lodge back in 2017, it was only right to bring my partner to experience the magic of this place. We decided to go to the river lodge this time and the location and rooms where fantastic, a truly different experience being off the ground and having nature underneath and around you was fantastic and the outdoor shower was an extra bonus. All the staff there are incredible and so attentive, and the food was incredible. Not one part of the trip could we fault. But a special shout out to our amazing guides Jarrod and Direct, without their incredible skills and knowledge we wouldn’t have had so many incredible moments on the drive! The drives are spectacular but their friendliness and determination to find the animals you are wanting to see just makes them all the more special ! They are a massive credit to the vuyani team! We will certainly be back again I hope

Fantastic place to visit. The game drives were top notch and we managed to see the big 5. The staff were very attentive and knowledgeable about the animals and they took the time to explain. I’ve learnt so much. It’s one of the best holidays I’ve had.

I'm not sure words can do justice to just how wonderful our stay at Vuyani was - I could use every superlative and still not come close to painting an accurate picture. Because it's a feeling and the warmth that the staff and community at Vuyani create that you just have to experience for yourself. For context, we had booked a week-long stay at Vuyani pre-pandemic to celebrate my father in law's 70th birthday. After 2 years of delays and many guest line-up changes along the way, we finally made it, and couldn't be happier with our decision. The service was impeccable - Ulani, Siyabi and Clive were on hand for anything we desired, Richard and Lloyd escorted us to our cabins in the morning and evenings and the game drives with Stuart and Mpilo were without a doubt some of the best experiences of my life - coming face to face with the big 5 was exhilarating, humbling and gratifying. Their expertise as a guide and tracker was exceptional, from deciphering animal tracks in the mud, and listening to various animal's alarm calls in the surroundings, they are connected to the environment and nature in a way I could only hope to be, living in busy London! I learnt so much being in their orbit and the entire trip was a reset and will give you the biggest appreciation for nature's beauty and wonder. Vuyani as a place is gorgeous, the outdoor showers are incredible, the food was delicious and the chefs and kitchen staff clearly take great pride in what they do. Many of the travellers we met during our stay (who were also lovely!) were repeat visitors and it's not hard to see why. I thought this trip would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience but with the joy we had and the hospitality and warmth we received from Vuyani, I am already longing to return. If you are after a charming, community-centred experience in the most beautiful setting, look no further. All I can offer is the biggest endorsement to stay here and the hugest THANK YOU to everyone at Vuyani who made the trip a truly special experience.

If you are looking for a true safari experience it is the place to go. Games, food, wine are excellent. The small size of the Vuyani River lodge is making the staff taking a great care of you, both hospitality and game drive. The car will not be overcrowded which is definitely a +. Sharing meals with the other guests was amazing, we can all talked about what we saw during the game and what we were dreaming about for the next one. I really hope to get back one day !!!

We have just returned from a 7 day stay at the River lodge. From the collection at the airport until you get dropped back off the amazing staff can not do enough for you and they are all determined to give everyone the best experience possible. The whole site is really good, the tents are fabulous but it is the wonderful people there that make this the best safari experience anyone could wish for. Kelly made us feel like family and nothing was to much trouble. Having never been on a safari we did not really know what to expect but there were several other guests there that had previous experiences and they all said this was by far the best adventure they had ever had. Every drive left us speechless, I counted 14 different animals on our first trip out including a couple of the big five. By the 4th drive we had seen 4 of the big five, some of them several times! The Buffalo took a bit of time to locate but we did see them completing our big 5. All the guides work closely together to track and find the animals and they then try to ensure everyone in the reserve gets to see them. Of course they are all wild animals so there are no guarantees but the guides definitely try their best and everyone we spoke to had seen everything they had hoped for and more. We have to many amazing experiences to list but to see Lions and Elephants strolling pass our vehicle was unbelievable! We did the trip to kruger and even in the pouring rain it ended up being a really good day, seeing the animals in such a vast area. I would not hesitate to recommend the River Lodges to anyone, as others have said the only downside is that you have to leave. A very big thank you to Paul and Direct for the experiences we have had. You should both be really proud of the amazing jobs you do. We will never forget this fantastic trip. I think it is hard to really get over in a review how brilliant this place is. It should definitely be on everyone's wishlist.