Marula Gardens
Guesthouse · Mtubatuba, 25 km from St Lucia · Marula Gardens
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Budget
Outside the gate
Ownership unconfirmed
A seven-room guesthouse in Mtubatuba for 18 guests, listed on SA-Venues from R950 a night for two. Mtubatuba is the N2 junction for St Lucia, 25 km east on the R618, so you add about half an hour each way to every St Lucia outing compared with staying in town. The listing gives no facility detail and does not name an owner. Choose it if St Lucia is full or you arrive late off the N2. Richards Bay airport is about 1h20 from St Lucia.
Pros and cons
Pros
- From R950 for two
- On the N2, easy for late arrivals
- Rooms for up to 18
Cons
- 25 km from St Lucia
- No facility detail in our sources
- 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 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 Marula Gardens
From $29 pppn (reseller rate). SA-Venues, read 24 September 2026: R950 per night for two. iSimangaliso gate fees apply when you enter a gated section. 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 Marula Gardens
How far is Marula Gardens from St Lucia?
Mtubatuba is 25 km west of St Lucia on the R618.
What does it cost?
SA-Venues lists R950 a night for two.
Is it good for families?
We found no published child policy.