Kosi Bay Casitas
Chalets and campsites · 10 km from Manguzi, 3 km from the third Kosi lake · Kosi Bay Casitas
Budget
Outside the gate
Owner/family-run
An owner-run place 10 km from Manguzi and 3 km from the third Kosi lake, with nine chalets, fifteen campsites, a pool and a restaurant serving Mozambican food. It is outside the park, and it is one of the turtle operators on iSimangaliso's list: an eight-hour three-lake and turtle tour with dinner, a four-hour cultural and fish-trap tour, and three-lake cruises. SA-Venues lists rooms from R940 for two. Choose it as a cheap Kosi base with tours sold on site.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Rooms from R940 for two
- Restaurant and pool
- Licensed turtle tours
- Fish-trap and lake tours
Cons
- Outside the park
- Turtle tours only in season
- Directory price, season not stated
What's here
- Swimming pool
- Restaurant
- Campsite
Arranged from the lodge:
- Boat trips
- Community visits
We could not reach a website for Kosi Bay Casitas, so this list is incomplete by definition. Ask them directly.
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 entryR130 gate fee plus R7 conservation levy per international adult at Cape Vidal, the Western Shores or uMkhuze, R16.36 = US$1, 2024/25 tariff (the last confirmed).
- $8per person, per day
- VehicleR74 for a car of up to 5 seats at the Eastern Shores, Western Shores or uMkhuze gates; R30 at Sodwana, R40 at Kosi Bay.
- $5per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $63 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
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 Kosi Bay Casitas
From $29 pppn (reseller rate). SA-Venues, read 24 September 2026: R940 per room for two. The Kosi Bay gate fee is extra when you enter the section: R34 per South African adult and R71 per international adult on the 2024/25 table, plus levies. VAT treatment is not stated.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
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 Kosi Bay Casitas
Is Kosi Bay Casitas inside the park?
No. It is 10 km from Manguzi and 3 km from the third lake, outside the park.
Does Kosi Bay Casitas run turtle tours?
Yes. iSimangaliso lists it among the turtle operators; its tour is eight hours with the three lakes and an al fresco dinner. Nesting runs November to March.
Is it good for families?
We found no published child policy. Ask about age limits on the turtle tour.