Kaia Tani Guest House — Hotel in Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality

Kaia Tani is run by Barbara and Paolo, a passionate Italian couple who offer a very hands-on and friendly experience. The place is located fantastically near the entrance to Kruger park. Paolo leads incredible safari drives with deep knowledge and tireless dedication — he’ll track animals until the very last minute of park hours! Barbara organizes gentler, charming outings like the Jessica the Hippo visit, the Moholoholo Rescue Centre, a lovely local fabric shop (suggested by her based on our interests), as well as a boat ride and night tour, which are all definitely worth doing. We were also given great and personalized tips for our journey onward like a restaurant in Johannesburg and stops to visit on the road there.

The rooms are very clean, small but cozy, furnished and well-kept — the cleaning lady does a fantastic job. That said, the rooms are close together, and since people walk right in front, you’ll likely want to keep your curtains closed for privacy.

Meals are great: a set dinner adapted to your preferences and a generous breakfast. Their motto is “you arrive as a guest, leave as a friend” — and that really sums up the vibe. Perfect for those who enjoy a warm,...

Visited the Kruger for the first time with my mom and we stayed here. Our stay was incredibly pleasant. The owners have hearts of gold and went out of their way to make us feel at home and incredibly welcome. Thanks to the entire staff for their warm welcome and their kindness. The guesthouse is very clean, the rooms are a bit small but very well furnished. We really enjoyed the dinners, breakfasts and the sunset boat cruise. Our morning game drive arranged by the owners was incredibly special and by far our favorite experience. Highly recommend if you are looking for good accommodation (pool, WiFi, bar, ...) close...

We had an incredible stay at Kaia Tani. We stayed for a few nights and wouldn't change a thing. Daniella arranged everything for us from Safari Guides to personal massages in our rooms! The food was great and the service felt like we were staying at our families house. Very clean, great bathrooms, nice pool at the end of the day. Despite not being from South Africa I think we got really lucky finding this place, there were a lot of "shady" places around that we are glad we didn't stay in. Only thing we would change is to stay for a couple more...