Sun City & Pilanesberg

Africa's Las Vegas, northwest of Johannesburg, with the Palace of the Lost City and the Valley of Waves, right next to the Big Five reserve in the Pilanesberg volcanic crater.

Sun City & Pilanesberg lies in South Africa's North West Province, about 170 km (roughly 2.5 hours' drive) northwest of Johannesburg and about 2 hours from Pretoria. It has two parts. To the south, Sun City is a large resort and entertainment complex that opened in 1979, comprising the Sun City Hotel, the Cascades, the Cabanas and The Palace of the Lost City, themed on an imaginary ancient African civilization. With a casino, the Valley of Waves water park, a maze and two Gary Player-designed golf courses, it is often called Africa's Las Vegas. Immediately to the north, Pilanesberg National Park sits in the crater of a volcano extinct for some 1.2 billion years, where concentric rings of hills surround grasslands and waterholes. It has all of the Big Five, is malaria-free, and is the closest major safari destination to Gauteng.

The climate is highveld grassland: May–September is the dry season, with clear, mild days and mornings and evenings that can drop below 5°C — the best time for game viewing. November–February is hot with frequent afternoon thunderstorms, the best time for the Valley of Waves.

A typical visit is 1–2 nights at Sun City: one day with a Pilanesberg game drive at dawn and another at dusk (self-drive or an open-vehicle tour, or a sunrise hot-air balloon flight), returning to the resort at midday for the Valley of Waves, the Bridge of Time and the Palace; the other day for golf, the zip line or the entertainment center. Most visitors drive themselves or hire a car and driver; day tours from Johannesburg are also available, but the round trip is rushed. Nearby Pilanesberg International Airport has a few flights. Non-resident visitors pay an entry fee to the resort, and free shuttles run within the complex. On game drives, stay in your vehicle (except at designated viewpoints) and note the park gate closing times.

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Itineraries