Visiting Kruger National Park in South Africa

Ultimate guide to plan your safari

My biggest bucket list item was going on a safari for a very long time! So, when we decided to go to South Africa as our very first African country, I was very excited! We wanted to get the most out of our trip and decided to stay 5 days in the game reserve called Kruger National Park . And we still were very sad that our last day came, as we had some of the most magical moments inside the park.

But, planning a trip to Kruger can be a bit overwhelming as it is a very huge park with a lot of biodiversity! Also, you want to see as much wildlife while visiting, especially the Big Five. That’s why I wrote this very extensive blog post so you can easily enjoy your safari without worries!

For your information, all these pictures were taken in December 2022.

Some facts about Kurger National Park

You probably already have heard about Kruger National Park in South Africa, as it is one of the most popular parks for safaris. But did you know that Kruger was first protected by the government in 1898 and that it was South Africa’s first national park in 1926? There are a lot of interesting facts about the park so I will share some here with you!

Kruger National Park is located in northeastern of South Africa, next to the border of Mozambique. The park actually doesn’t stop in South Africa and links the park with the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park in Mozambique. The park is one of the largest game reserves in whole Africa and has an area of almost 20.000 km² (7.500 sq mi)! That’s almost the whole area of my home country, Belgium. I think that’s really impressive.

The park itself is 360 km (220 mi) long and 65 km (40 mi) wide. If you would want to drive all the way from the north to the south, it will take you more than 8 hours! Also, in South Africa, you have a big chance to see the Big Five, which is a big bucket list item for many people.

But there is more, because before it became a national park, actual people lived there! Evidence is found that there was an occupation before modern times, but never for a very long period. The presence of predators (surprise) and the tsetse fly made it difficult to live. The history of the park way more back than I thought, as there is evidence that the prehistoric man, Homo erectus, roamed there between 500.000 and 100.000 years ago! You can still see the evidence in the park.

How to get to Kurger National Park?

There are three main options to get to Kruger National park, but they all request taking a plane and renting a car.

The first one is flying into Johannesburg (O.R. Tambo International Airport) and start your journey from there. It takes around 5h to get to the Malelane or Phabeni gate. Make sure you stop at the panoramic route along the way! This was how we got to Kruger park.
If you think the first option takes to long, you have another option. Fly directly from Johannesburg to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport to get to the south of the national park, which is only a 1h drive to Malelane Gate or Phabeni Gate. If you want to explore the north or the middle region of the national park, you have to take a flight to Phalaborwa airport or Hoedspruit airport. The Phalaborwa airport lies exactly at the entrance of the Phalaborwa gate and Hoedspruit airport only takes a 20 minute drive to get to Orpen gate. All the one-way flight will costs around €100.
The last option will get you into the national park immediately. You will fly from Johannesburg to Skukuza Airport inside the park. The price for a one-way flight will be on average above €100.

There are a lot of different rental car companies near the airports, so renting a car should not be a problem. Skukuza airport appointed Avis as the car hire provider so you can only rent with their company.

On a very important note, avoid getting in Kruger by the Numbi Gate. The area around this gate has been unsafe for a very long time, as there are constant fights over land rights and frequent protests.

Read more: Driving the panorama route in South Africa (coming soon)

When is the best month to visit Kruger National Park?

South Africa is always a good idea, but for a game drive in Kruger National Park, some months are better to visit than others. The park has two distinct seasons: the dry winter season from May to October and the wet summer season from November to April.

The best season to go for game viewing is in the dry winter season as the grass is low and the bushes and trees are sparse. This makes it much easier to spot animals from afar. Also, because it’s so dry, all the wildlife will migrate to waterholes. With that note, you can stay at those waterholes and just wait for the animals to come. The temperatures during the day are pleasant, but can turn cold in the evening/night.

As there is more rain in the wet summer season, the bushveld will look more lush. This makes it harder to spot wildlife between the dense vegetation. That doesn’t mean that you won’t have a good animal sighting in the wet summer season. We went in December and saw all of the Big Five (and many more animals)! Also, if you’re going between the end of November and the beginning of December, the park is filled with newborns. And if you are a fan of bird watching, this is the season to go, because all the summer migrant birds arrive. Just know that the temperatures can get very hot during the day, up to 30°C (or 86F)!

How many days are enough for Kruger National Park?

The longer you can stay, the better. And if you are worried about getting tired of safaris or seeing wildlife, you certainly will not! But it’s best to stay a minimum of 2 nights inside the park. This gives you the proper idea how the national park looks like and increases your chances of seeing all the different animals the African bush has to offer! We stayed for 5 days and were worried if it would be too much, but it really wasn’t! The last day was our favorite as we saw leopards very close on 2 different occasions!

Kruger National Park entrance fees

Every visitor must pay an entrance fee for every day spent inside the park. That way the park can raise funds to help conserve the natural and cultural heritage. The prices differ if you are an international visitor or a South African citizen. See the prices below:

For South African citizens and residents (with ID) is the entrance price:

R115 per adult, per day
R57 per child, per day

For SADC nationals (with passport) is the entrance price:

R230 per adult, per day
R115 per adult, per day

For international visitors is the entrance fee:

R460 per adult, per day
R230 per child, per day

You can apply for a Wild Card, where you can access to +80 National Parks and Reserves around Southern Africa for the price of R790 for one and R1.300 for a couple. Be aware that these are the prices for South African citizens and that the price for international visitors would be R3.575 for one or R5.585 for a couple.

Is Kruger National Park expensive?

So, obviously you ask yourself the question whether a safari to Kruger National park is expensive. And to be honest, the safari wasn’t what made this trip so expensive. I counted everything we spend inside the park (food, fuel, accommodation, rental car and entrance of the park), it was quit ok. I will break down everything we spend here for 5 days per person, so you can see what the biggest cost was:

Entrance: R2.300 or €120
Accommodation: R3.850 or €192.5
Fuel: R1.700 or €85
Food: R1.450 or €72.5
Rental car: R4.795 or €240

The total was around €1400 for 2 people so that would be a total of €700 per person. But keep in mind that we went outside the high season and you should expect the prices to go up. Also, our accommodation in Kruger Park was one of the cheapest places you could rent, so this price would be calculated for travellers on a budget.

Can you bring your kids to Kruger National Park?

Yes, you can bring your children along for a lifetime experience! Kruger National Park is a perfect place to introduce your kids to the wildlife. Just know that, for safety reasons, children under 6 years aren’t allowed on various game drives and children under 12 years aren’t allowed on bush walks. This is to keep the children and the bystanders safe. A baby’s cry can attract predators and make a very real danger for game drives. Also, almost all game drives are in the early morning or at the late evening and takes +3 hours, which isn’t a great fit for a young child. If you want to know if the activity or the accomodation is a fit for your child, consult before you book!

Gate opening and closing times

There is a difference between camp gates and entry gates. If you decide to sleep inside Kruger park itself, you will get to start your safari earlier, than when you sleep outside the park. This was one of my biggest reasons to sleep inside the park, instead of finding an accommodation outside.

In the winter months (April to September), both the camp gates and entry gates open from 6:00 AM and closes at 18:00 PM. Between May and July, it closes at 17:30 PM. In the summer months (October to March), the entry gates open from 05:30 AM, while the camp gates open one hour earlier at 04:30 AM. In these months, it would be better to sleep inside the park. Both the gates closes at 18:30 PM, except in October and March, which closes at 18:00 PM. Keep an eye out on this website for the up to date times.

Where to stay in Kruger National Park?

This was the most tricky part of planning my itinerary to Kruger National Park. The park is gigantic and you want to stay where there are a lot of animals (even though you just need to be lucky). Also, there is so many accommodation options to choose from. It just took me a long time to figure out where I wanted to stay, but I’m going to try my best to help you as much as possible!

First of all, the best part of Kruger park would be the south as there is far more wildlife than there is in the north of the park. The south is also well-known for cat sightings (and everybody wants to see a wild cat once), in contrary to the north, were you will see localized mammals and some typical bird species.

In the north of the park, you will also need a 4×4 car, while you absolutly don’t need that in the south. We only stayed at Skukuza, Pretoriuskop and Lower Sabi as these are the most popular rest camps. Try not to book rest camps too far from each other, as you need to be there before the gates closes.

1 | Skukuza

Skukuza is located in the southwestern part, close to Pretoriuskop and the Paul Kruger gate. It’s a very popular rest camp, which is located in the Big Five territory. The camp has everything you can imagine, from a post office to a golf course or a swimming pool. This is also the place where the airport is located. We stayed twice here, because it had a central location and a lot of cats can be spotted from here. I would definitly recommend staying here.

2 | Pretoriuskop

Pretoriuskop is situated in the southwestern part, close to the Numbi and Paul Kruger gate. It is apparently the best place to see leopards, but on our stay here, we didn’t see any. It was also my least favorite stay, as there was only one fast food restaurant (not the best) and the camp site was small. The advantage is that it is probably still available in high season.

3 | Satara

Satara is apparantly the best place to see lions, cheetah and leopards. Especially on the S100 route that passes the camp. Even though we read that a few times online, we still didn’t spent the night here as it is quite out of the way. It’s the third largest camp and is located in the center of the park.

4 | Lower Sabie

Lower Sabie, like Skukuza is a very popular camp site located in eastwestern part of the park. This rest camp can be fully booked very early in advance, so be aware of that. The restaurant, Mugg & Bean, have a very beautiful river view, where you can spot many animals while eating lunch or dinner. So if you don’t have an accommodation here, don’t forget to grab a quick bite here.

What to do with food and gas when in Kruger National Park?

While inside the park, you don’t need to worry that you will run out of gas or food. All the main rest camps have a a shop or a restaurant where you can buy food. On some rest camps, don’t expect to much from it.

Pretoriuskop, for example, had a fast food chain Wimpy as their restaurant, but other rest camps had much better restaurants. Skukuza has two restaurant, Kruger Station and Cattle Baron. They had vegetarian and vegan options, so I would suggest you would look into eash rest camp.

Every main rest camp has a fuel station, but you must pay in cash or with a local petro card. Skukuza and Letaba rest camp has an ATM machine, but you can also get cash at all main rest camps at the shop or restaurant. But certainly don’t wait until your money runs out to collect!

Things to do in Kruger National Park

One of the biggest reasons why you should sleep inside the park, is because you would be able to go on morning, sunset and night drives, aswell as walking safaris. Otherwise it wouldn’t be possible! My all time favorite was the walking tour! Every rest camp has their own activities, so make sure you’ll check them beforehand.

1 | Guided game drives

While we did drive ourself most of the time, we still booked guided game drives! It was nice to relax for a bit and not have to drive ourselves. In addition, these guides know how to find animals and sometimes speak with each other over the radio.

There are different guided game drives you can choose between: sunrise, sunset and night drives. The morning and the afternoon drive both take 3h, while the night drive only takes 2h. A sunrise/sunset tour costs R380 or €20, while a night drive costs R290 or €15.

We did all of them and my favorite has to be the sunrise tour. We saw the most animals and the guide really took his time to spot the best animals. The night drive was also very admirable, but because we woke up very early every day, the night drive was too late for us (Mel even fell asleep for quite some time..). Also, you need to hurry up for dinner and that was quite the stress. But I still recommend doing all these tours.

2 | Walking safaris

I would 100% recommend going on a walking tour, even though the chance of seeing an animal is smaller. It’s such a nice experience to walk between the bush and learn so much more about the fauna and flora.

These walking safaris are done with a guide and armed rangers, so there is nothing to be scared of. You have the option to choose between a morning or an afternoon walk. The morning walk costs R650 or €35 and the afternoon costs R520 or €27, but it’s so worth it! This takes around 4h and you must wear neutral colored clothing with good walking shoes.

Additionally, there is an age limit between 12 – 65 years and if you are above 65 years old, you need to have a fitness certificate to prove you’re fit enough. I would maybe suggest taking the morning walk instead of the afternoon walk, like we did, as the temperatures won’t be to hot.

Rules inside Kruger National Park

There are a few rules in Kruger National Park that you need to be aware off, while on a self-drive through the park:

Visitors must remain in their vehicles at all times, unless in a designated area. Also, no part of your body can come out of the window or sunroof. Obviously, don’t forget to pee before you start your self-drive!
Obviously, you can’t drive too fast inside the park. The maximum speed limit is 50 km/u on tar and 40 km/u on gravel roads. There are speed checks in the park and you can get fined. But just for the sake of the safety of the animals, don’t speed. We saw a dead baby impala that was hit by a car, so please don’t speed in the park. Besides speeding, there are roads with a ‘no entry’ sign, so don’t go in there.
The gate times need to be respected. You must be inside the camp site or outside the park before gate closing times. You are definitly not allowed to drive before or after these times and you may be subjected to a fine!

Safety in Kruger National Park

Now I will discuss some safety rules to keep yourself safe inside the park as you are still with wild animals:

It is absolutley forbidden to feed any wildlife! If you do, you are signing their death warrant, because they might become aggressive towards humans, resulting in them being put down! There can be that there are monkeys in the camp sites as they know that there is food, but don’t feed them!
You need to be very wary of elephants, especially when they are with small calves. Keep a safe distance with them and if they get to close, drive off slowly.
Kruger National Park is in a malaria zone, so it’s best to ask for medical advice with your doctor, before coming to South Africa. The highest risk period for malaria is between November and April (or the end of the rainy summer season).
Last but not least, there is no cell service in the park. So, once you get out of the camp site, you have no service the whole time. Either you get a map to navigate or you use the signs at the intersections. We did just fine without a map.
Kruger National Park is a pet-free zone, so don’t bring your pet into the park! You want to keep your pet safe aswell.

What to pack for your safari?

There are a few must haves that you need to pack for your safari trip to Kruger National Park:

Insect repellent as this can be a malaria zone
Suncreen and After Sun
Sunglasses and a hat
Binoculars: this is so important as we spotted so many animals with it
Neutral colored clothes if you want to do a walking safari
Camera gear with a good zoom lens (read about our camera gear here). We rented a 200 – 600 mm.

Which animals can you see in Kruger National Park?

There are a lot of animals that you can see in the park itself, but most people really want to see the Big Five to tick that off their bucket list. And I can say that you definitely can do that in Kruger National Park as we saw all five of them on our 5 day safari! But there are a lot more fascinating animals and birds that you can look out for on your safari as there are aproximately 147 mammal species in the park. That’s why Kruger is one of the best game-watching destinations!

You can see a lot of predators, carnivores, grazers, primates, reptiles, birds and many more! Some of the most famous animals are the buffalo, antelopes, rhino, wildebeest, zebra, baboon, elephant, giraffe, impala, hippo, lion and leopard. If you want to know which animal we all saw on our 5 day safari, make sure to read my blog post about it!

Read more: Which animal can you spot in Kruger National Park? (coming soon)

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Hello, I’m Ellen and welcome to this blog! I’m in love with exploring the world and hopefully I get to inspire you with these blog posts and pictures to feel the same. You will find detailed itineraries, hidden gems, tips and so much more!

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