Christmas & New Year Tours & Trips in Sabi Sand National Park

This December-January trip has you heading out twice daily in open vehicles through Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve and Kruger National Park to track the Big Five, including the world's largest leopard population. The luxury tented camp sits just outside Shaw's Gate, and after each drive there's three-course dinners in the outdoor boma under the stars plus night drives to spot nocturnal wildlife.

Lion Sands Ivory Lodge in Sabi Sand Game Reserve offers morning and afternoon game drives across 7,000 hectares where you can track leopards and lions through the 65,000-hectare Sabi Sand area, with southern Kruger National Park as your backdrop. Your suite includes all meals and drinks, then you'll head to the Zambezi River for a New Year's Eve sundowner cruise before touring Victoria Falls and finishing at The Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel in the Victoria Falls Private Game Reserve.

Daily game drives at Savanna Lodge in Sabi Sand Game Reserve let you track the Big Five, wild dogs, and over 400 bird species while staying 5 nights in the two-bedroom Savanna Suite with private pools and waterhole views. After that you'll catch a flight to Mozambique for beach time at Villa Santorini's Chapel Villa overlooking the Bazaruto Archipelago, then wrap up with a snorkeling trip to Magaruque Island.

Spend Christmas and New Year under the African stars at Dulini Lodge, set beneath ebony trees along the Mabrak River, then move to Chitwa Chitwa Lodge overlooking an active waterhole. Ring in the new year with sundowners in the bush, watching elephants and buffalo gather at the floodlit waterhole while having gourmet all-inclusive dining. See the Big Five during twice-daily game drives through Sabi Sand Game Reserve's private concession, famous for unrivaled leopard sightings and off-road tracking.

You'll spend 5 nights at andBeyond Tengile River Lodge in Sabi Sand Game Reserve, where twice-daily game drives and early morning bush walks let you see the Big Five roaming near your 200-square-meter suite overlooking the Sand River. Then it's off to Benguerra Island for 5 nights at andBeyond Benguerra Island Lodge, where beachfront cabanas have private plunge pools and you can take sunset dhow cruises plus guided snorkeling through coral reefs in the Bazaruto marine reserve.

Game drives at Arathusa Safari Lodge in Sabi Sand Game Reserve let you see leopards and lions wandering freely next to the unfenced Kruger National Park, with morning and afternoon safaris guided by expert Shangaan trackers who help spot the Big Five. Then you'll head to Ilala Lodge Hotel just 8 minutes from Victoria Falls before the trip wraps up with wine tastings at Franschhoek's 42 estates and free time around Cape Town's Table Mountain.

Twice-daily game drives through Sabi Sand's wildlife corridors let you track leopards and the Big Five, with festive boma dinners under the stars at Nottens Bush Camp. Open Land Rovers give you 360-degree views during sunset safaris with sundowners, followed by spotlight night drives that show nocturnal species you won't see during the day, then the trip ends with a flight to Cape Town for Table Mountain Aerial Cableway visits.

Between December and January you'll track the Big 5 through Sabi Sand and Kruger during the festive season, with morning game drives where you might spot elephants and wild dogs followed by sundowners overlooking the Biyamiti River at Jock Safari Lodge. Two nights at Arathusa Safari Lodge include premium game viewing in Sabi Sand, then two more nights checking out Kruger's southern plains with gourmet dinners throughout.