Thornybush

Thornybush Safari Trips & Tours

Thornybush

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4.9/5 (911 reviews)

Travel and Leisure Worlds Best Awards for number 1 tour operator in the world 2024 and number 2 tour operator in the world 2025
We're one of the World's Best Tour Operators!
Voted No.1 in 2024 and No.2 in 2025 by Travel+Leisure

Thornybush Safari Trips & Tours

A sensational wilderness with unfenced wildlife routes and a selection of stellar properties to choose from.
One of the original nature reserves within the Greater Kruger region, Thornybush is wonderfully diverse in its landscape, a beautiful open savannah dotted with acacia trees that merge into riverine forest and offer a home to a whole host of wildlife. Thornybush has begun to rival the Sabi Sands in its leopard encounters and African-painted dogs are regularly sighted. Thornybush is also deeply committed to conservation efforts including in-depth studies on pangolins, the most endangered animal on Earth, while also working hand-in-hand with local communities. The reserve boasts a collection of gorgeous, high-end properties, which promise unparalleled hospitality and style, and expert guides who will unveil the hidden secrets of the bush.
Things to do

What to do in Thornybush

This enchanting reserve showcases a dramatic landscape of open savannah and riverine thickets, where leopards and wild dogs make regular appearances. The wildlife viewing delivers constant surprises, while groundbreaking conservation projects - including vital pangolin research - work alongside meaningful community partnerships to protect this precious ecosystem. Elegant lodges are thoughtfully placed throughout the reserve, with expert guides revealing the land's subtle secrets. Game drives wind through diverse terrain while walking safaris bring intimate wildlife encounters with the smaller species you might miss on a game drive.

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Why travel with Timbuktu?

We design tailor-made journeys for travellers who want more than a holiday, from first-time safaris, gorilla treks and multi-generational family adventures to once-in-a-lifetime honeymoons - and everything in between. And here's why so many choose us to plan them.

Tailor-Made Since 2014

Tailor-Made Since 2014

We've been crafting one-of-a-kind journeys since 2014 — over 2,500 trips across 40+ countries, each one built from scratch around your interests and dreams.

Specialists Who've Been There

Specialists Who've Been There

Our team only recommends places they've slept in, eaten in, and happily keep going back to. Condé Nast Traveler named 11 of them Top Travel Specialists in 2026, and Travel+Leisure made three A-List Advisors.

The World's No 1 Tour Operator

The World's No 1 Tour Operator

Travel+Leisure's readers voted us the World's No.1 Tour Operator in 2024 and No.2 in 2025 — the travel industry's biggest readers' award, judged by people who actually travel.

Every Trip Makes A Difference

Every Trip Makes A Difference

$50 from every booking goes to female empowerment, tech education, and conservation projects across the countries we love. We have donated $78,000 so far – and it's going up!

Collaboration Is Key

Collaboration Is Key

Your travel specialist is with you the whole way, dreaming up the trip, building the itinerary, checking you in, and answering the 2am question from the other side of the world..

Loved By Our Guests

Loved By Our Guests

We are rated 4.9 out of 5 from 911 verified Feefo reviews. And these are the words of people who actually went, not us talking about ourselves.

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11 Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialists 2026

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No. 1 & No. 2 Tour Operator in Travel + Leisure's Best Awards 2024 & 2025

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"Timbuktu can take relatively complex and slightly amorphous travel plans and transform them into a well-organized, perfectly tailored trip."

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