How do you get a booking on the Otter Trail?
By Linda, Linda Hikes South Africa · Updated 14 November 2026
The short answer
The Otter Trail is booked through SANParks, and with a small group allowed to start each day it fills up far ahead. Book as early as bookings open for your dates, and if it's full, watch for cancellations: places come free regularly as other groups drop out.
Why it's so hard to get a place
Only one small group starts the trail each day, and it's South Africa's best-known coastal hike. Popular dates, school holidays and weekends especially, go almost as soon as they open.
What helps
- Be flexible on dates: midweek starts and the quieter months are far easier to get.
- Decide your group before bookings open, so one person can book for everyone straight away.
- Keep checking for cancellations: groups shrink or drop out, and their places go back on sale.
- If you can't get the Otter, the Tsitsikamma Trail runs through the same area, higher in the mountains, and is much easier to book.
More questions
- Who runs the Otter Trail?
- SANParks: it runs through the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park, from Storms River Mouth to Nature's Valley.
- How long is the Otter Trail?
- About 45 km over five days and four nights, sleeping in huts along the coast.
- Can I book just one place?
- Bookings are made for the group, so solo hikers usually join friends' bookings or look for single places that come free through cancellations.