Self-drive camping
Inside the park, Eastern Shores; R340 for two, 2023/24
…
… per person
Money, honestly
What a visit to iSimangaliso actually costs
Two of you, your own car, three nights at the Cape Vidal campsite: about R2,136, or $131, in camping and park fees. The gate fee is small next to the bed, so where you sleep decides the budget. This page shows where each rand goes, then prices the same three nights in a St Lucia guesthouse and at a community-owned beach lodge.
If you only want the answer
For two international visitors with a car, three nights at the Cape Vidal campsite come to about R2,136 ($131): R1,020 for the site on Ezemvelo's 2023/24 tariff and R1,116 in gate fees, levies and the car fee on the 2024/25 table, counted daily. The same three nights cost about R9,831 ($601) in a St Lucia guesthouse with two park day trips, and about R42,672 ($2,608) at Thonga Beach Lodge with all meals. Food and fuel come on top.
Price your own trip
Set your party, your nights and your rates, and pick a place per budget. Everything recalculates from the dated rates on this page.
Travellers
Nights in the park
Your rates
Guesthouse in St Lucia
On the estuary; R900 pp sharing, 8 Aug to 31 Oct 2026
…
… per person
All meals, inside the park
Kosi Bay; from R3,500 pp, meals, canoeing and a boat trip
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… per person
Estimates in US dollars at R16.36 = $1, rounded, at the dated rates sourced at the bottom of this page. Food, fuel and getting to the park are not included. State-camp prices are Ezemvelo's 2023/24 tariff, the latest readable. Gate fees include the R7 conservation levy and are counted for every day; the R12 accommodation levy (about $0.70 per person per night) is left out. St Lucia guesthouses are outside every gate, so their park fee applies only on the days you drive in. The residency switch changes only the gate fees; lodge rates are published rates.
Budget one: self-drive camping at Cape Vidal
About R2,136, or $131, for two people over three nights. A Cape Vidal campsite cost R340 a night for a minimum of two on the Ezemvelo 2023/24 tariff, the latest camp tariff that can be read; iSimangaliso has published none since it took the camps over on 1 March 2026, so treat it as a floor. The gate fee at Bhangazi is R130 per international adult on the 2024/25 table, plus a R7 conservation levy, a R12 accommodation levy per person per night and R74 for a car of up to five seats.
We count the gate fee, the levy and the car fee for each of the three days. No official document says whether a guest who stays inside pays once or daily; if the gate charges you once, the trip comes to about R1,440, or $88.
| Line item | Per day (2 people) | 3 nights (2 people) |
|---|---|---|
| Cape Vidal campsite, minimum 2 (Ezemvelo 2023/24) | R340 | R1,020 |
| Gate fee, 2 × R130 international adult (2024/25) | R260 | R780 |
| Conservation levy, 2 × R7 (2024/25) | R14 | R42 |
| Accommodation levy, 2 × R12 per night (2024/25) | R24 | R72 |
| Car up to 5 seats, Bhangazi Gate (2024/25) | R74 | R222 |
| Total | R712 | ±R2,136 (about $131) |
Food, drink and fuel are extra; Cape Vidal has a small shop and fuel, St Lucia has supermarkets and two fuel stations. In high season the same site cost R1,000 for a minimum of four (2023/24). South Africans pay R62 at the gate, which brings the trip to about R1,728.
Budget two: a St Lucia guesthouse with two park day trips
About R9,831, or $601, for two people over three nights. Umlilo Lodge in St Lucia town charges R3,045 to R3,190 a room for two with breakfast on its own 2026/27 rates; we use the lower figure. St Lucia town has no gate, so you pay park fees only on the days you drive in: one day to Cape Vidal and the Eastern Shores, one to the Western Shores and the uMthoma boardwalk, each R348 for two adults and a car on the 2024/25 table.
The third day is for the estuary hippo and crocodile cruise, which leaves from town. No operator price was verified for it, so it is not in the total. Elephant Lake Hotel on the estuary is the cheaper alternative, R900 per person sharing with breakfast from 8 August to 31 October 2026, which brings the trip to about R6,096.
| Line item | Per day (2 people) | 3 nights (2 people) |
|---|---|---|
| Umlilo Lodge, room for two, B&B (own site, 2026/27) | R3,045 | R9,135 |
| Day at Cape Vidal: 2 × R130 + 2 × R7 + R74 car (2024/25) | R348 | |
| Day on the Western Shores, same rates (2024/25) | R348 | |
| Total | ±R9,831 (about $601) |
Dinner at Umlilo is R490 on request; the lodge takes 25% off stays of five nights or more. The estuary cruise, lunches and fuel are extra.
Budget three: all meals at Thonga Beach Lodge
About R42,672, or $2,608, for two people over three nights. Thonga Beach Lodge at Mabibi charges R6,840 per person sharing for a Forest View room with all meals from 1 July 2026 to 30 April 2027, including snorkelling, kayaking, forest walks, a Lake Sibaya sundowner and turtle walks from November to February. The Mabibi community owns 66% of the lodge, which Isibindi leases from them.
The lodge adds an Isibindi Foundation levy of R182 a night, with no basis stated; we count it per person. The Coastal Forest gate fee of R71 per international adult plus the R7 levy is extra, counted daily here as in budget one, and the R12 accommodation levy applies. The lodge is reached by 4x4 or its own transfer, which has no published price.
| Line item | Per day (2 people) | 3 nights (2 people) |
|---|---|---|
| Thonga Beach Lodge, Forest View, 2 × R6,840, all meals (2026/27) | R13,680 | R41,040 |
| Isibindi Foundation levy, R182, counted per person | R364 | R1,092 |
| Coastal Forest gate, 2 × R71 + 2 × R7 levy (2024/25) | R156 | R468 |
| Accommodation levy, 2 × R12 per night (2024/25) | R24 | R72 |
| Total | R14,224 | ±R42,672 (about $2,608) |
Minimum stay two nights, three from 15 December to 15 January. The 4x4 turtle drive is R1,200 extra. Kosi Forest Lodge, further north, starts at R3,500 per person with all meals, canoeing and a boat trip, about half the price.
How much is the gate fee compared with the bed?
Small. Two international adults and a car pay R348 for a day at Cape Vidal, about $21, on the 2024/25 table. Sodwana, the Coastal Forest and Kosi Bay charge R71 per international adult, and St Lucia town and Lake Sibaya have no gate at all. Over three nights the park fees are about half of a camping budget, less than a tenth of a guesthouse budget and under 2% of a lodge budget.
Where the money surprises people
- The 2024/25 gate table expired on 30 November 2025 and nothing newer has been published. Gate-side sources report about 3% more, for example R64 per South African adult at Cape Vidal.
- Older sites still print R51 at Cape Vidal and R23 at Sodwana: those are pre-December-2022 rates.
- The R2,000 'scuba diving' permit in the tariff is paid by dive operators, not by you. A diver pays the R71 Sodwana gate fee and the dive price, R460 to R570 for a 2-Mile Reef dive at Coral Divers in 2026.
- Camp prices on this site are Ezemvelo's 2023/24 tariff. One later figure for the Sodwana cabins suggests about 7% more, and the camps are being leased to private operators during 2026/27.
- Each section has its own gate. Drive from Cape Vidal to uMkhuze and you pay again at Ophansi or eMshopi.
- Keep your gate slip: a R500 penalty for a lost permit is reported, though it is not in any official document.
Sources
- iSimangaliso Approved Gate Fees 2024-2025, archived (read 24 Sep 2026)
- Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife tariff 2023/24, mirror copy (read 24 Sep 2026)
- Umlilo Lodge accommodation and rates 2026/27 (read 24 Sep 2026)
- Elephant Lake Hotel prices via Siyabona Africa (read 24 Sep 2026)
- Thonga Beach Lodge rates 2026/27 (read 24 Sep 2026)
- Kosi Forest Lodge rates (read 24 Sep 2026)
- Exchange rate R16.36 = US$1, open.er-api.com (24 Sep 2026)