South Africa—1 Nov 2025

The South African hotel ranked as one of the best experiences in the world

Suspended above the Sabie River on a centuries-old railway bridge, the Kruger Shalati hotel has been nominated as one of Lonely Planet’s Best Travel Experiences for 2026.

One of the world’s most well-known travel guide publishers, Lonely Planet’s Best Experiences list for the coming year includes 25 bucket-list experiences from all over the globe.

The list is Lonely Planet’s “love letter to travel” and is compiled to advise world travellers on their next destination.

Other experiences on the list include staying in a traditional Japanese Inn and watching a Premier League Football match in England.

The Kruger Shalati Hotel is uniquely built inside the structure of an old steam train, forever suspended over the Sabie River.

The location and floor-to-ceiling glass windows allow guests to watch from their train-carriage-inspired rooms as animals roam by.

Reminiscent of a 1920s rail safari, the train is permanently stationed on the bridge where the Kruger Park’s first visitors would have stopped overnight on their journey.

The Selati Bridge was first built as a temporary wooden structure to support the railway line between Komatiepoort and Newington, which is now in the Sabie Sand Game Reserve.

In 1900, a British Military unit took charge of the line and established a permanent post at the Sabie Bridge; however, the bridge was washed away shortly after in a 1901 flood.

Work on a more permanent structure began in 1909, and the line was soon opened to the public. In the 1920s, safari train trips that departed and returned to Johannesburg proved very popular.

The train trip grew in popularity when the Kruger National Park was proclaimed in 1926.

However, in 1973, train traffic was halted on the line. Trains were diverted to a new line running alongside the park.

The bridge then stood empty, serving only as a landmark of the past until 2016.

At this point, a tender process was announced for interested parties to submit proposals for tourism uses for the Selati bridge and Station.

From a mothballed Transnet train to an award-winning hotel

The Kruger Shelati opened its doors to its first guests in 2020. “The idea for us was to re-enact the experience in some form or another,” said CEO of Motsamayi Tourism Group, who owns the hotel.

“When we had the opportunity to buy mothballed old carriages from Transnet, we couldn’t say no,” he added.

Lonely Planet said that the hotel avoids tired Safari tropes, and guests don’t even have to go on long game drives to experience the wildlife.

“Some travellers will still rise before dawn to seek the Big Five on guided drives, and that’s wonderful. But at Kruger Shalati, you can have both – the magic of a safari and the quiet joy of staying put while the wildlife comes to you,” Lonely Planet writes.

The travel guide was particularly impressed by the thoughtfulness and detail of the hotel, with Bosotho-inspired blankets draped over large king-size beds, and soaking tubs and rainfall showers angled towards the view, with silky handmade robes hanging nearby.

The travel guide recommends visiting the lodge’s wood-encased infinity pool to watch the wildlife or visiting the restored carriage bar to watch the sunset.

A one-night stay in one of Shelati’s carriage suites costs South Africans R9,550 per person sharing.

This includes meals at its on-site restaurant and two daily game drives. The hotel is less than 5km away from Skukuza Airport.

In addition to this latest accolade, the hotel has also recently received two Michelin keys by the Michelin guide, one of the first properties in Africa to receive the honour.

It was also voted South Africa’s Leading Safari Lodge at the 2025 World Travel Awards.