There are two quite different ways to sleep inside Kruger. SANParks runs the park’s own camps, and you book them directly with the park authority: twelve main rest camps, four satellite camps, five bushveld camps, two bush lodges and two overnight hides, all listed below. Separately, a small number of private lodges hold concessions inside the park, booked with the operator instead and usually fully inclusive of meals and guided drives. Click any name to visit its own page.
All 25 camps at a glance
Listed roughly south to north. Unit counts are as published in SANParks’ 2024/25 tariff schedule — their camp pages don’t list them.
| Camp | Type | Where | Nearest gate | Accommodation & facilities | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skukuza | Main rest camp | South, on the Sabie River | Paul Kruger, 12 km | ~225 units · 85 campsites · restaurant, shop, fuel | The park’s headquarters and effectively a small town — bank, golf course, airport, nursery, workshop, memorial library |
| Lower Sabie | Main rest camp | South, on the Sabie River | Crocodile Bridge, 34 km | ~100 units · 34 campsites · restaurant, shop, fuel | Sweet grass on basalt draws grazers; the restaurant deck looks straight over the river |
| Berg-en-Dal | Main rest camp | Far south, on the Matjulu Spruit | Malelane, 12 km | ~94 units · 82 campsites · restaurant, shop, fuel | The only camp set in mountain country. Natural bush deliberately left standing between the units |
| Pretoriuskop | Main rest camp | Far south, granite outcrop country | Numbi, 9 km | ~136 units · 43 campsites · restaurant, shop, fuel | The park’s oldest rest camp, on the old Voortrekker road. Natural rock swimming pool. Sourveld holds sable and eland |
| Crocodile Bridge | Main rest camp | Far south, on the Crocodile River | At the gate | 28 units · 20 campsites · shop with take-aways, no restaurant | One of only two camps that double as a park entrance gate |
| Malelane | Satellite camp | Far south, on the Crocodile River | Malelane, 5 km | 5 bungalows · 15 campsites · communal kitchen only | The only camp placed on a park boundary; it looks across the river at sugar cane farms |
| Biyamiti | Bushveld camp | Far south, on the Mbiyamiti River | Malelane, 39 km | 15 cottages · no camping · self-catering | Residents only, including the access road. Wild fig and jackalberry on a sand river; good for wild dog, leopard and cheetah |
| Satara | Main rest camp | Central, on the open basalt plains | Orpen, 48 km | ~165 units · 103 campsites · restaurant, shop, fuel | Second largest camp, laid out as lettered circles. The largest campsite in Kruger. Not on a river |
| Orpen | Main rest camp | Central, at the gate | At the gate | 15 units · no camping · shop and pool, no restaurant | The smallest main camp. Named for Eileen Orpen, who bought and donated the land in the 1930s and 40s |
| Maroela | Satellite camp | Central, on the Timbavati River | Orpen, 3 km | No built units · 24 campsites · communal kitchen | Campers and caravans only. Viewing platform over the river; activities run out of Orpen |
| Tamboti | Satellite camp | Central, on the Timbavati River | Orpen, 4 km | 40 safari tents · no camping · two communal kitchens | Walk-in tents on stilted decks under tamboti trees, with a bird hide in camp |
| Talamati | Bushveld camp | Central, in an open valley | Orpen, 30 km | 15 units · no camping · self-catering | Residents only. The name means “lots of water” — the riverbed is dry, but clay soil holds water underground and keeps the valley green |
| Roodewal | Bush lodge | Central, on the Timbavati River | Orpen, 75 km | Whole lodge only, sleeps 18 · self-catering | Booked as one unit by one party. Private deck over the river |
| Olifants | Main rest camp | Central, on a clifftop above the Olifants River | Phalaborwa, 83 km | ~113 units · no camping · restaurant, shop, fuel | Sits several hundred feet above the river. Bungalows are graded by outlook. No pool listed |
| Balule | Satellite camp | Central, on the Olifants River | Phalaborwa, 85 km | 6 huts · 15 campsites · communal kitchen | No mains electricity at all — lanterns provided. A low fence is the only barrier. No day visitors; check in at Olifants or Satara |
| Letaba | Main rest camp | North, on a bend of the Letaba River | Phalaborwa, 51 km | ~123 units · 60 campsites · restaurant, shop, fuel | The Elephant Hall museum, holding the tusks of the Magnificent Seven. Riverine trees inside a mopane landscape |
| Shimuwini | Bushveld camp | North, on a dam on the Letaba River | Phalaborwa, 50 km | 15 units · no camping · self-catering | Residents only. “Place of the baobab tree” — one in camp is estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 years old. Has a pool, but no plug points in the units |
| Mopani | Main rest camp | North, above Pioneer Dam | Phalaborwa, 74 km | ~103 units · no camping · restaurant, shop, fuel | A huge old baobab stands in the middle of camp. Stone-and-thatch units stepped down the hillside |
| Boulders | Bush lodge | North, on a granite hill south of Mopani | Phalaborwa, 55 km | Whole lodge only, sleeps 12 · self-catering | Booked as one unit by one party. Units on stilts, linked by boardwalks between the boulders. Private waterhole |
| Shipandani | Overnight hide | North, on the Tsendze River | Phalaborwa, 70 km | The whole hide, sleeping up to 6 | A public bird hide by day, yours alone at night. No water and no electricity |
| Sable | Overnight hide | North, overlooking Sable Dam | Phalaborwa, 10 km | The whole hide, sleeping up to 9 | Same arrangement as Shipandani and far easier to reach. No water and no electricity |
| Shingwedzi | Main rest camp | North, on the Shingwedzi River | Punda Maria, 71 km | ~80 units · 60 campsites · restaurant, shop, fuel | Rustic by SANParks’ own description. Big riverine trees against surrounding mopane scrub |
| Sirheni | Bushveld camp | Far north, on the Mphongolo River | Punda Maria, 54 km | 15 units · no camping · self-catering | Residents only. No electricity in the units and no cellphone reception. Two bird hides. Roan, sable and tsessebe occur here |
| Punda Maria | Main rest camp | Far north, in the sandveld | Punda Maria, 8 km | ~32 units · 61 campsites · restaurant, shop, fuel | The sandveld holds species found nowhere else in the park. Strong birding |
| Bateleur | Bushveld camp | Far north, on the Mashokwe spruit | Phalaborwa, 140 km | 7 units — the smallest camp in the park · self-catering | Residents only. The oldest and smallest bushveld camp. Two dams are reserved for its guests |
Two things worth knowing before you pick. Bushveld camps take overnight residents only — and that extends to their access roads, so nobody else drives past. And the two bush lodges and both overnight hides can only be booked whole, by one party; there are no individual units to reserve.
The camps in detail
Skukuza
The park’s headquarters and its largest camp, on the south bank of the Sabie River under sycamore figs and jackalberries. It’s less a rest camp than a small town — bank, filling station, workshop, golf course, an airport with scheduled flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the Stevenson-Hamilton Memorial Library, named for Kruger’s first warden. Accommodation runs from campsites through safari tents and bungalows to guest houses, with fifteen bungalows set directly above the river. Paul Kruger Gate is twelve kilometres away. If you want quiet, this isn’t it; if you want everything on hand, nothing else in the park comes close.
Lower Sabie
Thirty-four kilometres up from Crocodile Bridge on the Sabie River, looking across to the Lebombo mountains. The restaurant deck over the water is the reason many people book here in the first place. The camp sits on basalt, which gives sweet grass, which brings grazers — the surrounding game density is a function of the geology rather than luck. Bungalows, huts and safari tents, plus a campsite and one guest house.
Berg-en-Dal
Twelve kilometres in from Malelane Gate, on the Matjulu Spruit, and the only Kruger camp set in genuinely mountainous country. The natural bush between the units was deliberately left standing when the camp was built, so the bungalows sit in red bush-willow and magic guarri rather than mown lawn. Bungalows and family cottages, two guest houses, and a large campsite.
Pretoriuskop
The oldest rest camp in the park, nine kilometres from Numbi Gate on the old Voortrekker road, among granite domes. The swimming pool is a natural rock pool. It holds more basic communal-facility huts than any other camp, which makes it one of the cheapest ways to sleep in Kruger. The surrounding sourveld is unpalatable to most grazers, which is exactly why sable, eland and Lichtenstein’s hartebeest turn up here and rarely elsewhere.
Crocodile Bridge
Small, on the north bank of the Crocodile River in the south-eastern corner, and one of only two camps that are also a park entrance gate. Twenty bungalows, eight safari tents, twenty campsites. There’s a shop with a take-away counter but no restaurant. Handy as a first or last night rather than a base.
Malelane
A small satellite camp five kilometres in from Malelane Gate, and the only Kruger camp built on the park boundary — it looks straight across the Crocodile River at sugar cane farms on the far bank. Five bungalows and fifteen campsites, one communal kitchen, no shop and no reception office. Leopard are seen regularly along the river, and wild dog pass through.
Biyamiti
A bushveld camp on the Mbiyamiti sand river in the far south, thirty-nine kilometres in from Malelane. Fifteen self-catering cottages under wild fig and jackalberry, no shop and no restaurant, and a long private access road that only residents may drive. That road is most of the appeal — the camp is genuinely quiet, and the area is good for wild dog, leopard and cheetah.
Satara
Central Kruger, out on the basalt plains rather than on a river, and the second largest camp in the park. The accommodation is laid out as a series of lettered circles around a central shop and restaurant complex, which is either charmingly orderly or a bit institutional depending on your mood. It has the largest campsite in Kruger at 103 stands. The surrounding knob thorn and marula country is well known for lion.
Orpen
The smallest of the main rest camps — twelve bungalows and three guest cottages, right at Orpen Gate on the western boundary. There’s a shop and a pool but no restaurant, so you cook. Named after Eileen Orpen, who bought several farms in the 1930s and 40s and gave them to the park. Aloes and Barberton daisies grow in rock gardens between the huts.
Maroela
Three kilometres past Orpen on the Timbavati River, and one of only two Kruger camps given over entirely to campers and caravans — there are no built units at all. Twenty-four stands, a communal kitchen and a rustic viewing platform over the riverbed. Guided walks and drives run out of Orpen.
Tamboti
A satellite camp of Orpen, four kilometres in, made up entirely of walk-in safari tents on stilted decks along the Timbavati sand river. No restaurant or shop — two communal kitchens and a bird hide in camp. Popular well out of proportion to its size, so it books up early.
Talamati
A bushveld camp thirty kilometres in from Orpen, in a wide open valley on the N’waswitsontso. The name means “lots of water”, which reads oddly next to a dry riverbed; the explanation is underground, where clay soil holds water like a sponge and keeps the valley green when the surface sand is bone dry. Fifteen self-catering units, a bird hide in camp, and access roads only residents may drive.
Roodewal
A bush lodge on the Timbavati River forty-four kilometres north of Satara, booked whole by one party rather than by the unit. It sleeps eighteen, with the sleeping units spread out for privacy and a private deck over the river. Self-catering, no shop and no reception — you check in at Satara or Orpen on the way through.
Olifants
Built on a hilltop several hundred feet above the Olifants River, with a viewpoint that is the main reason to stay. Bungalows are graded by outlook, and the ten river-view and five best-river-view units are worth the difference. There’s a restaurant, shop and filling station but no campsite, and SANParks doesn’t list a swimming pool. Vegetation around the camp includes aloes and tree euphorbia; sjambok pod and weeping boerboon flower in early spring.
Balule
The most basic camp in Kruger, and deliberately so. Six huts and fifteen campsites on the Olifants River, with no mains electricity anywhere — lanterns are issued instead — a communal kitchen, one ablution block, and no shop, restaurant or reception. A low fence is the only thing between the camp and the bush. Day visitors aren’t admitted, and you check in at Olifants or Satara first.
Letaba
On a wide bend of the Letaba River, midway up the park. The camp is thickly planted — sycamore fig, lala palm, impala lily — and reads as an oasis inside surrounding mopane shrubland. The Elephant Hall here is the park’s elephant museum and holds the tusks of the Magnificent Seven. Bungalows, safari tents, huts, guest cottages and a large campsite.
Shimuwini
A bushveld camp on a dam on the Letaba River, fifty kilometres in from Phalaborwa. The name is Shangaan for “place of the baobab tree”, and one of the baobabs in camp is estimated at two to three thousand years old. Fifteen self-catering cottages face the water. It has a swimming pool, unusual for a bushveld camp, but no plug points in the units — charging happens at reception.
Mopani
North of Letaba, above Pioneer Dam, in mopane country. A gnarled old baobab stands in the middle of camp and the vegetation inside the fence was left as found. The units are stone and thatch, stepped down the hillside so most look out over the water. There’s no campsite here — the rustic Tsendze site nearby covers that, with no power and no generators.
Boulders
A bush lodge built into a granite hill about twenty-five kilometres south of Mopani, booked whole by one party. The units stand on stilts and are linked by raised boardwalks threading between the boulders, with a deck over a private waterhole. It sleeps twelve, self-catering, with no electricity for appliances and no cellphone reception. Walks and drives are arranged through Mopani.
Shipandani
An overnight hide on the Tsendze River, three kilometres south of Mopani. It’s a public bird hide by day and yours alone at night, sleeping up to six on bunks that fold down from the day benches. There’s no water and no electricity — a couple of lamps are issued on request. Buffalo herds and elephant bulls drink within metres of where you sleep.
Sable
The same arrangement as Shipandani — a public bird hide by day, booked whole overnight — but overlooking Sable Dam, and only ten kilometres from Phalaborwa Gate, which makes it the one overnight hide you can reach without a long drive. It sleeps up to nine on fold-down beds. No water, no electricity, no cellphone reception.
Shingwedzi
Deep in mopane country on the Shingwedzi River, seventy-one kilometres from Punda Maria Gate. SANParks describe it as rustic, and mean it. Accommodation sits in two circles; the day visitor area overlooks the river. Big riverine trees — sausage tree, Natal mahogany, weeping boer-bean — stand out sharply against the mopane scrub around them. It’s a long drive from anywhere, which is the point.
Sirheni
A bushveld camp on the Mphongolo River in the far north, fifty-four kilometres from Punda Maria, deep in mopane country. Fifteen self-catering cottages, two bird hides over the water and a boma looking out on the river. There’s no electricity in the units and no cellphone reception. The name is Tsonga for “cemetery”, after an elephant graveyard. Roan, sable, tsessebe and Lichtenstein’s hartebeest all occur in this part of the park.
Punda Maria
The northernmost rest camp, eight kilometres in from Punda Maria Gate, in the sandveld — which SANParks call the botanical garden of the Kruger, and it earns the description. White syringa, mahogany and baobab grow here alongside species found nowhere else in the park, and the sandy soil drains well enough that natural springs surface nearby. Bungalows, safari tents, family cottages and a large campsite. Birding is the reason most people make the drive.
Bateleur
The oldest and smallest of the bushveld camps — seven units on the Mashokwe spruit, a hundred and forty kilometres in from Phalaborwa, which makes it the most remote place to sleep in the park. There’s a game-viewing hide over a waterhole, and two dams, Silwervis and Rooibosrand, are reserved for Bateleur’s guests alone. Self-catering, residents only, no shop or restaurant.
Private and concession lodges
A small number of privately run lodges hold concessions inside the park itself. They are booked with the operator rather than with SANParks, and rates are generally fully inclusive of meals and guided drives. Click through their name to visit their own website directly.
Kruger Shalati, The Train on the Bridge
Kruger Shalati is a converted train standing on the Selati Bridge over the Sabie River at Skukuza, on the line that once carried the railway into the park. Twenty-four carriage suites run the length of the bridge, with a pool cantilevered out over the water and a deck alongside, and they take guests of twelve and over. Seven further rooms sit on land at the Bridge House, among them three suites with a private pool and garden, and a fully accessible family unit that takes children from eight. Rates include all meals, house drinks and two game drives a day. Skukuza airstrip is five kilometres away with complimentary transfers, the Paul Kruger Gate fourteen, and the camp sits in the middle of Kruger’s Big Five country. Read more in our feature Is This the Most Unusual Safari Lodge in Africa?
Kruger Untamed: Satara Plains Camp
Satara Plains Camp is a seasonal tented camp on the basalt grasslands near Satara Rest Camp, in the part of Kruger long known as cat country. Thirty canvas tents, each with an en-suite safari shower, a dressing area and a small patio, stand on open savannah near a natural spring. The camp is put up for the South African winter, from 1 May to 30 September, and taken down again for the rest of the year. One game drive a day is included in the rate, with extra drives, guided walks and a tracking experience bookable on site. Communal areas run to a pool, hot tubs, fire pits and a Bedouin dining tent, with buffet-style South African cooking and house drinks included. The camp is fenced, runs on solar and generator power, has wifi in the communal areas only and takes children from twelve.
Kruger Untamed: Tshokwane River Camp
Tshokwane River Camp is the smaller and more considered of Kruger Untamed’s two seasonal camps, twenty canvas tents along the seasonal Ripape River near the Tshokwane picnic site in central Kruger. Four geological formations meet here and the permanent water of Mazithi Dam is close by, which is why the area holds elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard and cheetah in the numbers it does. Like its sister camp it stands only from 1 May to 30 September. Rates are fully inclusive: game drives with a maximum of six guests to a vehicle, walking safaris and a tracking experience, chef-led menus plated rather than served from a buffet while the camp is under twenty guests, and a bar with house drinks included. Tents have an en-suite safari shower, a dressing room and a patio. There is a pool, hot tubs and fire pits, the camp is fenced with escorts to the tents after dark, it runs on solar and generator power, wifi reaches the communal areas only and children are taken from twelve. Skukuza airport is about an hour away.
Singita Lebombo Lodge
Singita Lebombo Lodge sits on a private concession inside the Kruger National Park, on a ridge above the N’wanetsi River. Its 13 glass-walled suites have a contemporary design that opens onto the river and the plains beyond. The lodge has a swimming pool, a fitness centre, a wine studio, a conservation lounge and a boutique. Guests go on wildlife drives and guided bush walks, with wine tastings, yoga and stargazing also on offer.
Singita Sweni Lodge
Singita Sweni Lodge stands on the bank of the Sweni River in the eastern part of Kruger National Park, with private access to about 33,000 acres of wilderness. The suites are raised on wooden decks among riverine forest, with open-plan living and outdoor showers that look onto the river. A pool, a wine cellar, a fitness centre and a boutique and gallery make up the common areas. Wildlife drives and guided bush walks start from the lodge, with a photography hide and stargazing among the other activities.
Nkuhlu Tented Camp
Nkuhlu Tented Camp is a small, unfenced camp of seven tents on the Sabie River, halfway between Skukuza and Lower Sabie on the H4-1, a well-known game-viewing road. Elephants and hippos are often seen in the river from the camp. The stay is self-catering. Each tent has an en-suite bathroom, a kitchenette and a private patio with a gas braai, and you can choose between River and Bush Tented Suites. The camp runs on solar power and gas, and children under 12 are not permitted. No activities are included: you explore Kruger in your own vehicle, and guided wildlife drives can be booked at extra cost from Skukuza or Lower Sabie. It suits self-drive visitors who want a quieter base than the large rest camps.
Nkambeni Safari Camp
Nkambeni Safari Camp sits on an 11,500-hectare private concession inside Kruger National Park, close to Numbi Gate on the park’s south-western edge, about four hours by road from Johannesburg and near Hazyview and White River. It is a large camp of 150 air-conditioned timber-and-canvas tents, each with an en-suite bathroom and a private deck. The pool looks over a dam where hippos and other animals come to drink, and dinner is often served at the boma. Rates include breakfast or breakfast and dinner. Wildlife drives (morning, afternoon, full day and night) and guided bush walks are booked at extra cost. Families are welcome.
Buffalo Rock Tented Camp
Buffalo Rock Tented Camp is a small, unfenced camp of 12 tents for up to 24 guests, on the same 11,500-hectare Nkambeni concession inside Kruger National Park and about a kilometre from its much larger sister, Nkambeni Safari Camp. It takes its name from the rocky outcrop beside the camp, where lion and leopard are often seen, and animals walk through the camp itself. The permanent tents stand on wooden decks, each with an en-suite shower and toilet, and the camp runs entirely on solar power. Days are built around wildlife drives on the concession and in the open parts of the park and guided walks with armed guides, with boma dinners around the fire in the evening.
Skukuza Safari Lodge
Skukuza Safari Lodge is a full-service hotel inside Skukuza Rest Camp, Kruger’s headquarters on the Sabie River, and the most hotel-like way to sleep in the park. It has 128 air-conditioned rooms, from standard doubles and family rooms to suites with a lounge and kitchenette, plus seven accessible rooms. There is a restaurant, a bar, a pool and a spa, and the Skukuza golf course sits on the edge of the camp. Rates include breakfast. Morning, sunset and night wildlife drives, guided walks and bush braais are booked at extra cost. It suits first-time visitors, families who want hotel comforts, and fly-in guests arriving at Skukuza airport.
