Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park
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  • claudemaher07
    Saint-Basile-le-Grand, Canada1,160 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Elephants and more elephants!
    Wow! An extraordinary site to see elephants in their natural habitat. The guide crosses winding roads in the countryside with his jeep and parks directly near the elephant tracks. These gigantic animals walk a few meters from the jeep, we hear them blowing, breathing, chewing and the sound of their footsteps marks the rhythm on the ground. An extraordinary experience to live. In the little pond, it’s a refreshing break. A natural spectacle to watch. The jeep driver is careful and stops generously so that we can admire these animals up close, photos and videos, exceptional shots. A safe and spectacular hike. Good visit
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written February 10, 2024
  • Kardoesie
    South Africa4,273 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Abundant Elephants @ Addo
    We love SA’s National Parks and Addo Elephant National Park did not disappoint. We visited for a day only and it was well worth it. We entered at the main gate near the village of Addo, and then stopped briefly at the well-stocked shop for some refreshments to enjoy in the vehicle. We saw an abundance of elephants at a watering hole. Other animals too – zebra, kudu, blue wildebeest, warthog, several birds, etc. It was most rewarding. We visited Jack’s Picnic Site and were most impressed with the superb and clean facilities. Allow plenty time to travel at the lower speed limit. Ideal for nature lovers.
    Visited January 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written March 20, 2024
  • nevik017
    115 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Book the private guide
    Bucket list stuff, magical, extraordinary, wow etc. A MUST DO Track down Simni, hop on hop guide. He is on facebook and whatsapp. Book him. Sits in your car, guides you around, cracks some jokes, a terrific companion. Gives you confidence to continue yourself and help on routes to take.
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written April 10, 2024
  • CelticChick52
    117 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Surrounded by elephants!
    We almost missed this :( We had a few hours to kill before going to our safari camp and I thought this would be redundant.....but it was AWESOME!!! We self drove in from the south gate. At first, we saw nothing because of the tall shrubs but we eventually found one elephant. As we watched him, more came out of the shrubs. Soon we were surrounded by about 15 or 20 of all sizes!! So amazing! We had to move our car out of the way at one point. To be so close to these gentle giants was wonderful!
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written May 7, 2024
  • Stine Liknes
    Aksdal, Norway27 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Suitable for everyone
    We had two days of driving through the park. Very affordable to drive with your own car, all cars work! Nice lunch place in the middle of the park, have to bring your own food there. There's a restaurant at the entrance. Good for families. Guaranteed to see almost all the animals!
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written July 1, 2024
  • Eileen108
    Mount Shasta, California5,610 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great Experience!
    We were there in February 2024, unfortunately our group (several buses from the cruise ship) was too big to get the open-air vehicles so we had to remain in our closed-window 50-seater bus when we drove through the park! Still, we saw many elephants, ostriches, zebra, kudu antelopes, baboons and wild boars. It took 2 hours to get there from the cruise port, 3 hour safari (box lunch in the bus) and 90 min ride back to Port Elizabeth / Gqeberha.
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written July 14, 2024
  • daniel d
    Asse, Belgium89 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Elephants, elephants, elephants.....
    Drive the road from Cape Town to Ado and take your time. Once there, stay overnight. This allows you to combine the beautiful evening safari (when nature becomes active) with a more conventional safari overnight. It's an amazing experience to come nearby the large elephant herds and see the animals drinking together. Impressive! The park focuses on the elephants, but they house many other species. You won't get bored.
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written August 1, 2024
  • Mikek
    Earlston, United Kingdom93 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great experience
    The park is vast and quite busy with visiting vehicles of all descriptions as well as cottages in which to stay. We were up close with a family of elephants who were unbothered by our presence. There are some amazing viewpoints. The picnic area is also really well thought out- you drive through a gate into a fenced off area which has toilets, picnic tables and several bras is available to use- buy charcoal from the shop. The shop is expensive for souvenirs.
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written August 26, 2024
  • D D
    Samarate, Italy8,582 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    The Park of ELEPHANTS
    When you say Addo, you think of elephants. And I can guarantee you that we have seen a lot of them in the 2 days spent driving around the park. What's nice and 'that all the paths that cross the Addo Nat.Park are safely usable and without risk to the car and occupants (both dirt and asphalt) But in addition to elephants there are and you can easily see zebras, warthogs, hyenas, buffalo jackals and various antelopes. To get there, using well-paved roads, it is best to lengthen the road and pass by Colcester to get to the Main Gate (along the way you may already see animals over the fence). The park is fully traversable from north to south so you can exit the southern exit if you have to return to Port Elizabeth. Speed limit inside the park 40km/h (Rangers turn and check) Entrance 397 Ran p.p from sunrise to sunset 3 possibilities to turn in. The first is self drive with your car, the second is to drive around with your car "renting" at the price of 290 ran a Guide who goes up with you and explains you, the third going on 2 hours guided safaris with the car of the rangers (cost 450 ran).
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 15, 2024
  • Andre de Wet
    South Africa9 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wonderful stay at Addo
    What a nice park and congratulations to the management for a park well maintained. The check-in was easy and quick and we were allowed early into the park, although we only received our keys for our unit at 14h00. The unit was very neat and there was a daily room service. The unit contains everything to cook and braai with and it was neat. The park itself had a variety of animals and we saw all of them except a lion and buffalo. The roads, even the gravel ones were in perfect order and we enjoyed our time very much.
    Visited September 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written October 7, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles3,064 reviews
Excellent
2,043
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766
Average
192
Poor
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Terrible
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These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
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jim2006
Twickenham, UK726 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023 • Couples
I agree with the previous reviewer that the Reception staff are not welcoming. In fact, one of them was upset and crying when I returned with a query in front of me. As she was obviously upset, she should have gone to the back and let her colleague continue to serve customers. We weren’t provided with the normal Addo map. Just an A4 photocopy of the simpler park map. As there were 4 of us, I asked for a 2nd copy and I was refused.

We had a great experience with viewing wildlife and I would recommend Simni, the hop on hop off guide who sat with us in our car for 2 hrs at R295 for the car. He is very knowledgeable and it was an excellent experience.

In terms of animals, it was disappointing that we only saw 2 of the big 5 - A few buffaloes and loads of elephants. We were informed that there are only 5 lions left, no leopards. We didn’t see any rhinos either. We enjoyed what we saw but after reading that the big 5 were present there, it was disappointing to learn that it’s not entirely true. They need to introduce more predators as you could see large nos of herbivores.

Addo is no comparison to Kruger in terms of game and I’m glad we cut our 2 days of safari to 1 day and went to visit Kraga Kama game park instead as it was different.
Written March 5, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

M@rtial
Brussels, Belgium20 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Couples
We arrived at the end of the day around 5:00 p.m., we had booked accommodation there for 2 nights. The same evening, we ate at the camp restaurant (very, very good). A stone's throw away is a place where you can observe a point of view hidden behind fences and we saw our first elephant there! The next morning we got up very early to get ahead of the park visitors. 6 a.m., here we go.... we took all possible routes... and we were not disappointed. Loads of animals (zebras, buffaloes, warthogs, elephants,...) around noon we returned to the accommodation for lunch then we left to explore the southern part of the park and there again... animals in abundance ( especially elephants and zebras), we hung around so much that we almost passed the closing time of the gates. New evening at the restaurant. The next day, after check-out, we decided to spend a few more hours, but given the weather conditions (it had rained at night) quite a few roads were closed and some, despite our large car, remained impassable... we hoped exit through the south gate, but we had to turn around, it was impossible to climb the hill as the mud was so intense and slippery. It was a great adventure that we will remember for a long time... Little advice, take your time, drive slowly, the place is incredible...
Google
Written November 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Donbrewerone
Brembate, Italy951 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
Lots of elephants indeed!
As well as zebras, gazelles, buffaloes, lemurs, warthogs and lions!
The roads can all be traveled easily with a small car without a 4x4.
I recommend the sunset tour with a ranger and/or if you sleep there to get up at dawn and take a tour when the gates open in the morning,
Google
Written September 6, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sylvia A
Garching bei Munchen, Germany106 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2024 • Solo
I had booked a full-day drive through the park.
My driver Mostaf is very professional and with a lot of enthusiasm he explained everything worth seeing. He also offered coffee and snack at a beautiful vantage point.
There are an incredible number of elephants to see: off-road, rolling in the waterhole, unafraid with their young of all ages. In addition to the usual: Giraffes, zebras, ostriches...
Lunch was grilled over the oven fire; the tables were already prepared and decorated very tastefully. However, this break lasted 90 minutes. If I hadn't urged you to leave, it would have gone on even longer.
After all, they paid mainly for animal watching - and not for barbecues.
Even the afternoon went very interesting.
However, you should not expect lions - there are only 5 in this vast area.
Due to the too long lunch break there are only 3 stars = too expensive for this horrendous price
Automatically translated
Written December 21, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Global20746374894
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2025 • Family
As far we know the animals in each park are the most active in the mornings between 5:30-11:00. Unfortunately this park does not open its reception untill 7:00. Me and my family went to this park at 5:30 when the gates open, the problem is that we went early in the morning to see the most. We are currently waiting and sitting 1 and a half hrs for the reception to open and there is no way into the park unless u wait and sign in. As we talked to the gate keeper (the woman to actually let us into the park) we get told we need to either buy a ticket a day upfront or wait till 7:00 till the reception is open.

This has to be dumb right? No where this is told, the gates (first ones to check ur car) open at 5:30 but u need to wait till 7:00 to enter?

All animals are most active now and we are sitting here waiting. What a joke, an unorganized park, that is unclear and therefore we got up early for no reason.

Great Addo, thanks!
Written January 29, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sweetgems
United Kingdom237 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023 • Family
This sanctuary is an absolute gem in South Africa. Close to the town of Colchester, you can drive it yourself without a guide and see so much wildlife it is incredible. That said, smaller vehicles would struggle on some of the dirt roads, only small sections are paved.

Be aware staff at the gate wanted to take copies of ID for all visitors, including children. There was also a manual form to complete, no online forms or booking available, and only 1 photocopied map per vehicle.

It takes about 1.5 hours to drive the length of Addo, without stopping to admire the scenery or the animals. We stopped frequently to admire both, and on more than one occasion the elephants decided when we would move on again, not us!

You need to remain in your vehicle for the majority of the route, but there are two stops where you can exit the car, stretch your legs and use toilets. We had a lovely picnic - you take your rubbish with you. There is also a shop at the north end of Addo which sells water, snacks, and souvenirs.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time elephant-watching, and also saw ostrich, warthogs, a jackal, lots of zebra, dung beetles collecting their dung, and birds. It was really special.

Under 16s can't stay within Addo overnight, so we booked a BnB close by. We spent 7 hours in the park quite happily.

Absolutely wonderful experience that will always stay with us.
Written April 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

kgalagadidreaming
London, UK23 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022
Covid delayed our visit to Africa for three years, so it was with great excitement we finally arrived at Addo Elephant Park. That excitement soon disappeared! What rude, unwelcoming staff. Even though we greeted the three sullen ladies working at the reception, not one of them looked at us or greeted us back. Their whole attitude was to all of us tourists waiting to check into Main Camp was absolutely disgusting.we were made to feel that it was an absolute effort and chore for them to book us in. If this is how tourists are treated at this National Park, then they only have themselves to blame when the tourists stop arriving. The only person who made us feel welcome…. The lovely lady who came every day to service the chalet we were staying in. So friendly, greeting us every morning with a smile, and queries on how we slept and how we were enjoying our drives into the Park. Even though we said we did not need her to clean the chalet that day, she still went in and made sure we had what we needed. What a contrast to the those rude people at the reception desk. I really hope that future visitors to this Park get a much friendlier reception then the one we received.
Written December 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dolly
United Kingdom913 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023 • Couples
We’ve been fortunate in the past to go to other SA national parks (sabi sabi, umfalozi) to know you that there no guarantee what animals you’ll see on that day / moment in time.
We took our own car and were advised (safety issues) to enter by the south gate (@ Colchester). It was a 35 min drive from PE - there’s a petrol station on the main road from PE, for snacks / water / petrol top up).
Entrance to the park was quite formal with forms to complete.
If you’re even going for a day trip you have to take ID for everyone in the vehicle, even for small children ( driving licence / passport).
The roads were ok (we had a smallish Toyota SUV) and we coped with the unpaved roads (mud) even in the rain, however if you were in a smaller car you’d have to stick to the paved roads.
We were there from 10 - 2pm and saw Elephants, zebra, various species of antelope, wart hogs, and loads of birds.
Written April 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sabine S
Robertson, South Africa17 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2024 • Couples
We were once again completely enthusiastic and regularly come to this magnificent park as visitors. It is always fun to look for and watch the animals in the park. This year we have seen and observed at least over 400 elephants. Hammer, there were many groups on the road at each waterhole, just fantastic.
Automatically translated
Written January 2, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bea
Western Shore, Canada298 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2020 • Friends
On a 6 night family stay we stayed in the Safari tents, Rondavels and Forest Huts. The accommodation is in a shocking state. Lack of basic maintenance. Cutlery missing, lights broken, dirt under beds, communal showers with no privacey curtains, blocked drains, mould in showers and no mop to clean up after yourself for the next guest. Staff friendly and animals plentiful... But is this enouth to keep people returning? This is not the standard that we expect. No wonder small private affordable lodges are popping up outside the park.
Written December 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Addo Elephant National Park - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

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