The Kruger Park rightly deserves its reputation as one of Africa’s top safari destinations. We tend to suggest staying in one of the concession areas adjacent to the main National Park area, most prominently the Sabi Sands which offers one of the best game viewing experiences in Africa. Responsible tourism has been a way of life here for decades so wildlife is both abundant and used to vehicles.  Unlike game viewing in the main National Park area, off-road and night drives are permitted in the Sabi Sands and the number of vehicles at each sighting is strictly controlled. It is hard to overstate the positive impact this has on your game viewing.

There is a wider range of accommodation options here than anywhere else in Africa, all meals and safari activities are generally included in your stay. We recommend a three or four night stay but the game-viewing is so good that you could get away with staying just two nights if time is pressing.

Less well-known and with fewer lodges than the Sabi Sands are two areas of African bush set aside for wildlife: Manyeleti and Timbavati. Since the 1990s, the fences separating these plots from the surrounding reserves have been removed to create the greater Kruger Park Conservancy, a wildlife area exceeding 3 million hectares. Pafuri, in the far north is perfect for walking safaris and makes a nice combination with the game-rich Sabi Sands.

Just outside the southern boundary of the Kruger is the town of Hazyview, a centre of adventure activities like abseiling, white-water rafting, quad biking and hot air ballooning. Many people choose to add a couple of nights here before or after their safari. This is also a good base for exploring the dramatic canyons and rock formations of the panorama route: God’s window, Borke’s potholes and the Blyde River Canyon and the historic villages of Pilgrim’s Rest and Graskop.

For information about places to stay, see Kruger Area accommodation. Our experienced consultants can easily build any of these experiences into a tailor-made South Africa holiday quote for you.