Kruger National Park Safari
Kruger National Park Safari

Kruger National Park Safari

Visit the iconic Kruger National Park and enjoy superb game viewing while staying in safari lodges and other accommodation options. From Kruger camping safaris, luxury tented accommodation and splendid safari lodges, this is undoubtedly the jewel of Southern African game reserves.

Kruger National Park Highlights

The Kruger National Park is the flagship of the South African national parks and has been rated as one of the best wildlife parks in Africa, renowned for its incredible game viewing and Big 5 safaris. The best way to experience this untamed African bush is to get your feet on the ground and explore the magnificent region. The Kruger National Park offers an abundance of wildlife including approximately 507 bird species, 147 mammals as well as bushman rock paintings and archaeological sites like Masorini and Thulamela.

Apart from Big 5 game drives, guests can also enjoy bush walks, night drives, sleep-outs under the stars, bird-watching and off-road game drives in private areas of the Greater Kruger area. There are numerous private reserves bordering the Kruger National Park as well as within the national park. Within these private areas are safari lodges to suit all travellers and all budgets.

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Useful Information

Some of the best game viewing areas of the Greater Kruger Park are in the private concessions that share unfenced borders with the park, so wildlife flows freely between them. In these concessions, guests are taken on exciting off-road game drives and guided walks in the bush.

The most well known of these private reserves in the Sabi Sand , where phenomenal leopard sightings happen! North of Sabi is the Timbavati Game Reserve  and Klaserie Private Nature Reserves . The Manyelti Game Reserve links Sabi and Timbavati, allowing game to move freely between these havens.

Kapama Private Game Reserve is a fenced reserve and Thornybush Bush Game Reserve has started dropping fences between them and the Timbavati, both bordering the Timbavati with pristine bush and fantastic wildlife.

Within the borders of the Kruger National Park are a handful of private concessions , leased from the government. The general public is not allowed in these areas allowing for an exclusive safari experience.

After visiting the Kruger on numerous occasions, as well as having arranged hundreds of safaris for guests from all over the world, we believe we are well qualified to advise guests where to go on safari. So in a nutshell, below are the best safari options in the Kruger.

The private concessions and reserves in the Greater Kruger Park area are home to a wide range of safari lodges and camps. Active guests can enjoy a walking safari in comfort at Plains Tented Camp in the Kruger National Park. Family friendly safari lodges Kambaku Safari Lodge and Simbavati River Lodge are firm favourites. Arathusa Safari Lodge and Elephant Plains Game Lodge , both in the northern Sabi Sands, offer a fantastic safari.

For guests looking for luxury, award-winnig service and exceptional guiding, here are a few of our top lodges. From classic, to tented, to modern safari chic, the Greater Kruger Park has a wonderful luxury safari offering. Some of the best classic luxury options in our opinion are Tanda Tula Safari Camp in the Timbavati and Lion Sands River Lodge in the Sabi Sand. MalaMala Main Cam p is one of the oldest and best lodges in the Kruger offering amazing game viewing. Ulusaba Rock Lodge is an opulent offering with fantastic views across the Sabi Sand.

To top the lot are Lion Sands Ivory Lodge and Singita Lebombo , which are two of the most luxurious safari lodges in Africa and regularly win awards from the likes of Conde Naste.

How to Get there

The Kruger Park is accessible via either self-drive from Johannesburg or surrounding areas directly to the lodge; fly into the closest airports and then a short road transfer, or fly in directly to the lodge airstrips from Johannesburg Airport. There are daily flights from Johannesburg International airport (O.R. Tambo) to Hoedspruit Airport, Skukuza Airport and Kruger/Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA) located between Nelspruit and White River. There are also direct flights between Cape Town and Hoedspruit, Skukuza and Kruger Mpumalanga creating an easy link to the Mother City.

There are 3 ways of getting to your camp from any of the above airports. You can road transfer, light air transfer or self-drive. Depending on your lodge’s location, a road transfer can take between 45 minutes to 3 hours. An air transfer can take between 20 minutes to 1 hour and is from Skukuza, Kruger Mpumalanga as well as from Johannesburg directly into the private landing strip of your lodge. You can pick up rental cars from either of Hoedspruit, Skukuza and Kruger Mpumalanga and self-drive from there.

All the Kruger safari lodges are accessible via self-drive with a sedan rental car from anywhere in South Africa. Obviously, the drive time depends on where you are driving from! To self-drive from Johannesburg will take 6 hours. There are also daily shuttles from Johannesburg to the Greater Kruger area.

Guests wanting to explore  Victoria Falls  now also have a daily flight from Kruger Mpumalanga to  Livingstone , the gateway to Victoria Falls,  Hwange  and  a Botswana safari ! You can also fly directly to the tropical Vilanculous and  Bazaruto Archipelago  islands in Mozambique, and from there spend some time on a tropical beach creating the perfect bush and beach safari!

Kruger National Park Game Viewing and Activities

The game viewing in the Kruger National Park is phenomenal. The park is regarded as one of the best wildlife destinations in Africa; home to the Big 5 - lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino - as well as an abundance of general game, like the ever-present impala, zebra, and giraffe. A whole variety of smaller predators, feline and canine, as well as nocturnal critters, call the Kruger home.

Highlights include leopard viewing, particularly in the Sabi Sand, as well as off-road game drives in the private concessions, like the Klaserie. Impala are the most abundant antelope, with common waterbuck and grey duiker seen on a regular basis. Greater kudu, bushbuck and nyala prefer thickets and riverine forest, whilst buffalo herds graze in tall grasslands. Waterholes attract elephant, white rhino, giraffe and warthog and many other wildlife species during the dry season. The park offers a unique and unspoilt region promising a traditional African safari experience.

Walking Safaris are popular in the Greater Kruger. These range from a full walking safari in Kruger to a short walk after breakfast. Your guides will share their knowledge from animals, trees, grasses, insects and birds to the medicinal uses of plants, folklore and basic tracking and survival skills.

The longer walking safaris take guests out after breakfast for a walk and again in the afternoon. The walking is interspersed with a game drive and often guests will walk from one camp to another for a “sleep-out” in rustic tents. Walking safaris can be found at  Africa on Foot  in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve and  Rhino Post Safari camp , located in a private concession in the Kruger National Park.

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Sun Safaris organises African & South American safaris, holidays and honeymoons. We are based in Cape Town, South Africa. Both continents are specialized and complex, yet exciting destinations. For this reason, Sun Safaris aims to help you make well-informed travel decisions by calling on our extensive knowledge and first-hand experience, providing you with up-to-date travel information, and to ensure all your enquiries and bookings are handled efficiently.

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