The roads leading there are terrible! If possible, do not drive there, rather use the lodge shuttle.

Xhosa hospitality at its best. No bells, no whistles... just simplicity and good vibes all around.

Stayed in January 2024

The road

The location. The breakfast was great!

Stayed in December 2023

Some of the community dogs that come around look sad and old

Bulungula has a pool of great and friendly staff (including the kitchen staff) and the community. Mr Mlungu is ever a helpful matured man and has become a friend. David and team accommodate us with all our whims with grace - thank you.

Stayed in August 2023

It is such a shame the regional government is not investing on the roads. Unfortunately the road to reach Bulungula is so bad that it takes 3 hours to make 68 km.

The fact that it is a community run, eco friendly place means so much. It is on a gorgeous piece of land overlooking the ocean. The staff and the community is very nice and friendly.

Stayed in July 2023

Andiswa the host was excellent, the rest of the staff and Mr Mlungu was awesome! All the staff are really nice and made my stay comfortable

Stayed in January 2023

Need 4x4 for this location, roads very bad.

Beautiful location

Stayed in January 2023

the prices of meals and especially beers are exorbitant

Stayed in July 2022

The 500 m walk to get to the lodge or the alternate route which was bordering on impossible to get your car around- if you have a lot of luggage it is a huge challenge

the magical location, authentic Xhosa experience, the amazing staff, the environment which fosters friendships and connection, the space which is slow and peaceful and beautiful

Stayed in April 2022

Staff, as lovely as they are, do not check booking.com bookings frequently. Easy to solve: just follow up with a phone call or insistent emails. Find details on their website.

Coming here is a life experience, not just a holiday. If you love broadening your mind, talking to diverse people and a community feeling, you will enjoy Bulungula. The community owns this lodge and everyone is friendly towards visitors. There is interaction with the community as vilagers are entitled to make use of the communal space and do so at times. There is also interaction with other travellers during optional communal meals. For these, expect hearty food, always catering for vegetarians too. And if you can get the cook to make Bulungula apple crumble (a unique version), your culinary experience will be well-rounded. The community offers several excursions according to skill and culture. The reception staff (always available, patien, helpfult and friendly) books these for you. It is best to rely on this process as getting into discussion and negotiations with proponents themselves can get sticky. I highly recommend visiting the traditional healer, a humble but vastly knowledgeable and wise man very much in tune with nature. In fact, emerging into an open yet secluded spot in the forest he frequents for medicine, left me with an 'Avatar'-feeling. He is very special. Thus is no luxury lodge, in fact, upon your return home you will be able boast being able to launch a rocket to get your own hot water, but your stay will show you a different outlook on life. To me, that's the point of travelling and Bulungula went a long way to satisfying my adventurous spirit at a time that overseas travel was impossible. The countryside around is breath-taking and our hikes were highly rewarding. You can always have a pristine bathroom again at home for countless days, but when will you have another hot shower in a large open-air bathroom at the edge of a forest, surrounded by abundant greenery while watching birds in the trees above you?

Stayed in October 2021

Despite booking & paying 3 months in advance, on arrival our booking could not be found. The lady on duty was not able to resolve. Finally we were assisted by guests (2 x bikers) who offered us their accommodation and opted for a tent instead.

The views are spectacular. The rocket showers are an experience and the Xhosa bread is divine! The staff are super friendly and you are made to feel at home.

Stayed in October 2021

location location location!!!

Stayed in September 2021

The drop toilets smelled really bad.

Stayed in October 2021

Difficult to reach the place if is ruining and roads bad expecially if not driving SUV

The location is perfect since is to deep rural and the rooms bring back that African sprit together with warm nice showers

Stayed in October 2021

No , that was all as we know and the reason about we come more times back in Bulungula lodges

Was nice to be there with a lot of our friends. The kitchen was good 😋 but not the quickest one 🤷‍♂️. But in holiday in South Africa 🇿🇦 you as a customer you have this time. At the end of our holiday when they create the invoice 🧾 they must think 🤔 💭 about to do a quicker strategy for it .

Stayed in September 2021

Nothing

Everything

Stayed in June 2021

The drive to it is hard and a 4x4 is recommended. Don’t drive at night.

Amazing location on the beach. So many cultural experiences to do. Wish we could have stayed longer

Stayed in July 2021

Relatively weak water pressure for hot water in some of the showers.

Incredible view, and by beautiful, authentic accommodation. Vert rural, with little signal in most places. Beautiful outdoor shower.

Stayed in July 2021

Nothing

We found Lebos Backpackers in Internet , we booked spontaneously and didn´t know what to expect. From the 1. Minute we felt very welcome, comfortable and safe !! The Bike tour with Zia was really a highlight !!! very informativ and interesting ! The Food was great and everybody from the staff were very friendly and helpful !!! Wholeheartedly we recommend this place !!!

Stayed in January 2024

This stay costed me an arm and a leg a leg trying to get there as when I asked if the place was reachable by car I was informed that it is, however it is not! You need a 4x4 and it’s gravel road. I was stuck on a gravel for 5 hours as I awaited help as my car hit a rock and all the oil leaked out the samp, property promised to send someone and no one came

They property was really ideal what I wanted to stay at and they refunded me

Stayed in December 2023

The weather was a bit rainy, but the place itself was great.

The activity options are fantastic and numerous. The food options are also great since we weren't able to take our own food. The showers and toilets were a wonderful adventure and works a little different than we're used to and they were clean. The beach around the living area is wonderful to explore and I wish we had more time to explore. The atmosphere was very restful and relaxing with various people to chat to and experiences to share.

Stayed in December 2023

It's very difficult to use the road to get there, if it's raining.

It's the perfect spot to relax, meet people, learn about Xhosa culture

Stayed in December 2023

They didn’t even warn us of the dangerous driving road conditions. Slippery road accessible only by 4x4

Nothing

Stayed in December 2023

Very rough road to arrive to the willage. Almost imposible when rainy weather with regular 2x2 17inch wheeler rental. But we managed. Somehow. Get the information of the road conditions ahead by the reception and advise which route is the best to take as tehere are 2 unpawed routs leading to willage. See the map picture of the roads quality (11/2023)

Perfect place to relax couple of days. Friendly laidback staff, plenty of activities and tours to do. Exceptional place. Not touristy. Welcomming and friendly locals.

Stayed in November 2023

It is a little tricky to get there from turn off road to Coffee Bay - some additional signage would be good

We did not have breakfast but location was excellent

Stayed in November 2023