Reservations

The Otter Trail is one of the most sought after trails in South Africa. Advanced booking is essential. Bookings open 12 months in advance and are usually taken up soon after bookings open. Only 12 hikers are permitted per day which leads to the scarcity in bookings. The reason for this is to maintain the ecosystem of the trail. In addition facilities accommodate a maximum of 12 people viz. two overnight huts sleeping 6 each.

Availability can be checked from the website by selecting a range of start dates you are interested  in. Departure date does not refer to the end date of the hike but rather the last possible date you would like to start the hike. Bookings open 12 months in advance.Availability is regularly updated, and cancellations are likely closer to start dates. The probability of cancellations therefore make it possible to get a booking for a small group 2-4 people much closer to the start date - obviously there is no guarantee of this. Once you have decided on a range of start dates, you can move on to booking the Otter Trail.


Below is an example of an availability check for between the 15th and 24th of May 2012. The result indicates that there are no places available on the 15th, 6 available on the 16th, 2 avaialable on the 17th and so on. Again these dates refer to the start date for the 5 day hike.

Booking must be done via email since there is no on-line booking facility.  Booking is on a first come first serve basis, with preference given to larger groups (max 12 people). Therefore the likely-hood of receiving your preferred date is increased if booking for a full compliment of hikers.

The reservations office will contact you via email with a deposit request form for the dates closest to your preferred start date. A deposit (50%) must be paid at the time of reservation, and the remainder paid at least 3 months prior to start date. The full cost per person is R850 for the complete 5 day hike. If there is uncertainty in your group, a good idea is to pay the 50% deposit for all 12 spots, and then only pay the total outstanding balance calculated for the number of confirmed participants at the confirmation date (3 months prior). In this way if you do not have a full compliment, the deposit amount will contribute to the full booking cost for the reduced number of hikers.