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Great wildlife sightseeing and infrastructure
There is abundant wildlife in the park: elephants, leopards, hippopotamuses, rhinos, giraffes, buffalos, zebras, waterbucks, just to name some of them.
Early spring is a great time to visit the park, as it is the start of the rainy season, so vegetation is green and there are lots of new-born animals to see.
The Park infrastructure for tourists is great, plenty of accommodation options in the various camps, reasonably good restaurants/markets.
If you want to enjoy the place, I would recommend a longer stay (5-7 days) with 2-3 nights in a camp.
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I strongly recommend to visit different regions of the park, as vegetation / wildlife / landscape quickly changes from one area of the park to another. Just be careful that searching for animals in the landscape can be quite exhausting, especially for people who are expecting something like a visit to a zoo.The Park was not very busy, even in Skukuza, as we went during the low season.
Two final tips: get a binocular for every 1-2 person in the group ('any' binocular is better than no binocular) and buy the map/guide from SANS park that is sold in the gates, it has a lot of useful information and it has a better layout than most travel guides sold in bookstores.
An incredibly humbling and rewarding adventure I WILL do again with my son when he is of age.
Kruger is a breathtaking and surreal place, I cannot effectively describe it but I will try. From the moment (and in the way) you arrive you Kruger you will feel like you're in a fairy tale, each camp receives you with such care and kindness, it even seems as if the animals all follow suit. The feeling you get while walking through the African wilderness with nothing but a guide and a bottle of water will drive you wild, you will begin to feel like prey and you will really grasp a better understanding of how big and beautiful the world is. The accommodation we stayed at (Tanda Tula) made you feel like you arrived in heaven. The home made local food, the interaction with all of the staff and the beautiful decor and provisions were always top notch, not to mention the drinks ;). A tour at 530am and then again at 4pm allowed you to see all angles and aspects of the wild. Our guides were so personable, and geared their tours to suit our personalities and needs. If you go - pray you get stuck in a down pour, its the most romantic experience.
neill_scog
GB
Visited:
October 2015
Reviewed: Apr 18, 2016
Email neill_scog | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic place needs more cats.
When i went the weather was fine in the mornings, not too cold. Throughout the day it got very warm so sunscreen and a hat is vital in a tour jeep. The animals were amazing. The first time we saw an elephant we were over the moon. We then came to learn how common they were. The cats were very illusive and in 3 days we saw lions at a distance once and a single leopard walking through dense bush. The boards in the camps and park facilities saying where the animals were was very helpful. I understand why rhino's were not allowed but a little frustrating from a tourist perspective. I would recommend always using the jeeps. One day we had to travel through the park and used a minibus the glass made pictures a lower quality and it was hard to get a good view.
Kruger National Park is breathtaking.
The accommodations are just fine as the concept is a rest camp in a wilderness environment. There are several camps located throughout the park.
You can eat in the rest camps. A lot of visitors love to braai, especially the South Africans. Food can be bought in the shops. You can also buy your food supply outside the park which is cheaper.
Being a photographer, I travelled alone and I hired a car. If Johannesburg is your starting point in South Africa you can drive
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from there to Kruger National Park. But I took a flight to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport where I could pick up my car.I'm sure a guide might be very interesting in terms of learning aspects and so forth but as my goal was to take pictures, I preferred to do most things alone. I did a guided bush walk though which you should do also.
Finally there are always surprises. I figured out I hadn't seen a leopard and had two more days to go. But it was okay. And then suddenly the last day as a kind of goodbye present, I saw a mom leopard with two cubs. Superb.
I could go home now. But I went back...
Allen Holmes Wildlife
GB
Visited:
May 2015
Reviewed: Jul 5, 2015
Email Allen Holmes Wildlife | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A self drive safari experience, a lifetime of memories, Kruger is amazing!
So when I was planning a photographic safari holiday on a tight budget, I considered my options carefully. The thing is safari holidays, are for some a once in a lifetime experience, so I wanted to get this right. The memory of that single day in Kruger, just kept popping back into my head, the roads, the rest camps, the weather and the wildlife, were all positives. So I opted for Kruger as my two week Safari destination.
Kruger National Park is exactly that, a national park! Not a safari park or a zoo, the wildlife isn't looked after, it looks after its self. This means it can be unpredictable. So if you are considering a self drive safari in Kruger, it's worth researching the behaviour of the game, especially the Elephants and Rhino's, as you will come into contact with these animals
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on the roads. So how good is Kruger as a safari destination? Well the main issue here is the wildlife and apparently Kruger has one of the largest bio-diversity's of life, of anywhere in Africa and plenty of large animals to keep your shutters clicking all day long. One particular morning we had seen the Big 5 by 9.30am. The birdlife here requires a mention too, it really is amazing, especially the raptors.One thing to remember is that although you are not allowed out of your vehicle within the park, there are places where you can get out. there are some excellent hides, usually overlooking watering holes (great places for viewing game and birds). Some of the larger bridges also allow you to alight from your vehicle, theses can be great too. Rest camps are fantastic places, whether you are staying the night or not. Restaurants, toilets, shops, petrol stations and launderettes can be found at most. You can even continue your days wildlife watching here at the rest camps, with surprising success.
Our choice of time of year to visit was May, earlier would have given us a greater number of bird species, but still it was fantastic in May for birds. the weather was sunny nearly all of the time, yet not too hot!
Food and fuel was reasonably priced.
One thing I should mention is that we had a slow puncture in our hire car. After stopping at a rest camp for some food, a garage attendant advised us on our slowly deflating tyre and repaired it for us. 20minutes later we were on our way, with the knowledge that we weren't about to get stuck in the middle of the park.
If you are considering a self drive safari, I can't imagine a better place. the roads a fantastic, even the dirt roads. They are regularly maintained, which may cause some delay, but who's in a hurry whilst on holiday? There are speed traps, so do stick to the speed limits, remember the park is for the animals and we are just guests.
Another question you may ask is, do we stay in the park or outside the park? We stayed outside the park, but if I was to visit again, I would stay inside. The reason for this is, the entry gates can be busy and a little disorganised (Although, some are better than others.). Staying inside the park means you only have to enter once.
Will we see the animals close enough to get decent photographs? This is a question I asked myself before booking the trip, especially as you have to stay inside the vehicle and stick to the roads. Well, I need not have worried as the game was so relaxed and used to the vehicles, that it behaved as if they weren't even there. Hyaenas did come up to my drivers window, which was a bit unnerving and Bull Elephants in musth should be treated with total respect. Elephants with young, should also be given space, you wouldn't want to upset an animal that is bigger than your car.
Follow the rules and you should have a trouble free trip, the main thing is to enjoy it!
David Seymour
AE
Visited:
May 2026
Reviewed: Jun 15, 2026
Email David Seymour | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We saw four of the Big 5 during our day trip (we didn't see a leopard here, but we did at the private nature reserve where we were staying). We saw lots of other animals too at Kruger, including wild dogs, hyenas, giraffes, wart hogs, jackals and cheetahs.
Muhammad Khurram Javeed
CA
Visited:
March 2026
Reviewed: May 4, 2026
Email Muhammad Khurram Javeed | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ashley
US
Visited:
April 2026
Reviewed: Apr 28, 2026
Email Ashley | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kruger is so beautiful, so many animal spotting opportunities the weather was beautiful for being end of rainy season.
Lee Vallett
GB
Visited:
April 2026
Reviewed: Apr 19, 2026
Email Lee Vallett | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nature everywhere but done right! There is just so much life! So many elephants, giraffes, zebra, antelope, wildebeast! On top of that, we saw all the big predators except leopards! It was amazing! And the animals come first!
Austin Mader
US
Visited:
March 2026
Reviewed: Apr 11, 2026
Email Austin Mader | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari