Marlin Lodge
Guest lodge · St Lucia town (no gate fee) · Marlin Lodge
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Budget
Inside the park
Ownership unconfirmed
A five-room lodge in St Lucia town sleeping up to 17, so some rooms take families or small groups. SA-Venues lists it from R1,507 a room; the listing gives no address, meal plan or facilities, and does not name an owner. St Lucia is the practical base for the estuary cruises, Cape Vidal and Charter's Creek, but not for Sodwana or Kosi Bay, which are close to three and four hours away. Choose it if price matters most; check what the rate includes before booking.
Pros and cons
Pros
- From R1,507 a room
- Larger rooms for families or groups
- No gate fee in town
Cons
- No facility or meal detail 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 Marlin Lodge
From $46 pppn (reseller rate). SA-Venues, read 24 September 2026: from R1,507 per room (R1,432 discounted), basis two people, season not stated. No gate fee to reach St Lucia town. 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 Marlin Lodge
What does Marlin Lodge cost?
SA-Venues lists rooms from R1,507 a night (R1,432 discounted), season not stated.
Is Marlin Lodge good for families?
Five rooms sleep 17, so some take more than two. We found no published child policy.
Can you day-trip to Sodwana from St Lucia?
Not sensibly: Sodwana is 173 km and about 2h49 each way.