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Safaris in the Greater Kruger Park

Getting There and Away

Many people who go on safari in the Greater Kruger Park find that their journey begins and ends in Jo'burg, and driving there is a relatively easy journey, albeit long - you would need to allow anything up to 6 hours.

On Safari in Kruger The main advantage is that, if you have the time, you can take the scenic route via Dullstroom and the Long Tom Pass, which takes in some of the best scenery in South Africa.

Many visitors choose to do this route, and stop in Hazyview for a few nights either before or after their safari, to explore the beautiful Lowveld area around the Kruger Park.

The highly promoted 'Panorama Route' is a self-drive route, which takes in many of the scenic sights, and there are also several other attractions which makes a 2 or even 3 night stay plausible.

Daily Scheduled Flights

Lion - Sabi Sand If you don't have the luxury of time, there are daily flights from Johannesburg to the airports at Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP), Hoedspruit (HDS), or Phalaborwa (PHW-H. Van Eck), all of which are just outside the Park boundries.

You can either pick up a hire car from the Airport when you arrive, or if you are staying at a safari lodge, they will arrange to come and meet you from your flight and transfer you to the lodge.

The flight takes about an hour, and fares start from around R900 one way.

Impala - Kruger The journey time then from the airport to the lodge would be anything up to 2 - 3 hours (depending on which airport you flew into, and to which lodge you were going, etc), and the transfers costs start from R300 upwards per person, again depending on the time you arrive, the distance to the lodge, and so on.

There are one or 2 scheduled flights a day that go direct from Cape Town to Kruger, and these take just over 2 hours, or else you can go via Johannesburg, where you then have the choice of any of the above methods!

Leopard - Sabi Sand Fares from Cape Town direct to Kruger start from R1,700 per person one way, or from Cape Town to Jo’burg from R800 per person one way.

If you are travelling by air from another part of South Africa, your plane will almost certainly be routed via Johannesburg, and you may find you need to change planes.

From Jo'burg the flight itself takes around an hour, but once the travel time to the airport, check-in, waiting to board, etc are added together it is probably not much quicker than the 5 - 5½ hours it would take to drive.

Wherever possible, we would recommend driving this route as it gives you the opportunity of seeing some of the Lowveld during your journey.

Charter Flights

In addition to the regular scheduled flights from Jo'burg, there are also a number of charter flights to some of the safari lodges. The service is run by Federal Air or Nel Air, and it really does make the safari experience a totally luxurious treat.

You are met at Jo'burg airport and transported to their private, first class lounge where you can relax before boarding a plane again to the lodge.

The flights leave at 9.30am, 11.30am, 1.30pm, and there is a much later one at 4.15pm, so you can take the one which best fits in with your plans.

Giraffe - Kruger The rates are approximately R1,675 per person one way, but the advantage is that you land right in the reserve.

Some of the lodges have their own airstrip, other share an airstrip, but either way, you are met from the plane and transferred to the lodge by Land Rover.

There is, however, a baggage restriction of 20kg per person, and you have to have a 'soft' bag (for easy storage in the plane), but you can leave any excess baggage safetly at their office at the Airport which you can then pick up when you return.