Monzi Safaris Backpackers
Backpackers with communal kitchen · St Lucia town, main road (no gate fee) · Monzi Safaris
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Budget
Inside the park
Ownership unconfirmed
A backpackers on the main road through St Lucia town with 14 units for 31 guests, a pool, a communal kitchen and wifi, listed on SA-Venues from R900 a room. It does not take guests under 18. It shares the Monzi Safaris name with a lodge and an urban glamping site on the same road. St Lucia town has no gate and no fee, and the estuary cruises, shops and ATMs are close; Cape Vidal is about 53 minutes north. The listing does not say who owns it. Choose it as a cheap adult base for day trips; skip it if you travel with children.
Pros and cons
Pros
- From about R900 a room
- Pool and communal kitchen
- Wifi
- No gate fee in town
Cons
- No under-18s
- Price is a directory 'from' figure, season not stated
- Ownership not stated
What's here
- Swimming pool
- Wi-Fi
- Self-catering
We could not reach a website for Monzi Safaris Backpackers, 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 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 Monzi Safaris Backpackers
From $28 pppn (reseller rate). SA-Venues, read 24 September 2026: from R900 per room (R855 discounted), season not stated; per person figure assumes two sharing. No gate fee to reach St Lucia town; gate fees apply when you drive into the Eastern or Western Shores. 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 Monzi Safaris Backpackers
Can children stay at Monzi Safaris Backpackers?
No. The SA-Venues listing says no under-18s.
What does it cost?
SA-Venues lists rooms from R900 a night (R855 discounted), season not stated.
Do you pay a park fee to stay in St Lucia?
No. The town has no gate. You pay at Bhangazi Gate if you drive to Cape Vidal.