Forest Villas
Self-catering villas · St Lucia town (no gate fee) · Forest Villas
A drawing, because nobody has sent us a photograph of Forest Villas yet. Send five and this page changes the same week.
Budget
Inside the park
Ownership unconfirmed
A self-catering complex of 17 units for up to 68 guests in St Lucia town, listed on SA-Venues from R1,500 a unit. The listing gives no address or facility detail, and does not say who owns it. Its size makes it one of the few places in town where a large family or group can take several units together. St Lucia has ATMs for the main banks, two fuel stations and car hire, and Bhangazi Gate for Cape Vidal is about 2 km north of town. Choose it for a group self-catering base; ask for the facility list before you pay.
Pros and cons
Pros
- From R1,500 a unit
- 17 units, so groups fit
- Self-catering
- No gate fee in town
Cons
- No facility list in our sources
- Directory price, season not stated
- Ownership not stated
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. iSimangaliso Wetland Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryGate fee and conservation levy plus the R12 accommodation levy, counted per day because no official document says whether multi-night guests pay the gate fee once.
- $9per person, per day
- VehicleR74 car fee, counted per day for the same reason.
- $5per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $69 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Sleeping inside the boundary is what keeps that low. Overnight guests add the R12 accommodation levy per night, against $8 a day for anyone driving in from outside.
These are the 2024/25 rates, which expired on 30 November 2025; no newer table has been published. Sodwana, the Coastal Forest and Kosi Bay charge about half (R71 per international adult). Lodges in St Lucia town are outside every gate.
The full fee schedule for iSimangaliso Wetland ParkRates at Forest Villas
From $46 pppn (reseller rate). SA-Venues, read 24 September 2026: from R1,500 per unit (R1,425 discounted), basis two people, season not stated. No gate fee to reach St Lucia town; gate fees apply in the gated sections. VAT treatment is not stated.
Self-catering. You cook. Nothing else is included unless the entry says so.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked against the research dossier of 24 September 2026. State-camp prices come from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife's 2023/24 tariff (1 November 2023 to 31 October 2024), the last official camp tariff that could be read; treat them as a floor, because iSimangaliso has published none since it took the camps over on 1 March 2026. Thonga Beach Lodge, Kosi Forest Lodge, Coral Divers, Mabibi Beach Camp and Umlilo Lodge are priced from their own sites. Every figure marked 'reseller rate' comes from SA-Venues, LekkeSlaap, Siyabona or a booking agent, uses that site's 'from' price, and usually prices a room for two; we halve it to give a per-person figure. Dollar figures use R16.36 to the dollar (24 September 2026) and are rounded. Gate fees are extra everywhere except in St Lucia town: R62 per South African adult and R130 per international adult at the dearest gates on the 2024/25 table, which expired on 30 November 2025 with no successor published.
Questions about Forest Villas
What does Forest Villas cost?
SA-Venues lists units from R1,500 a night (R1,425 discounted), season not stated.
Is Forest Villas good for groups?
With 17 units for 68 guests it is one of the larger complexes in town. We found no published child policy.
How far is Forest Villas from Cape Vidal?
Cape Vidal is 34 km from St Lucia, about 53 minutes, through Bhangazi Gate.