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Kruger Budget Safari Tours
South Africa’s Kruger National Park is undoubtedly one of the continent’s finest safari destinations. Unlike many other iconic African parks, it also ranks highly on the affordability front. This is because the park authorities regard Kruger as a national asset that should be accessible not only to a high-spending international clientele, but also to budget-conscious South Africans. As a result, the park is easily and inexpensively explored on a network of all-weather roads and unpretentious rest camps. And whether you self-drive or join a group safari, this 19,485km²/7,523mi² park offers the opportunity to see a wide variety of African wildlife, including the legendary Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino.
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4-Day Kruger Park and Panorama Adventure Safari
$643 to $707 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 9 people per vehicle)BudgetLodge
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Hazyview (Town), Kruger NP, Panorama Route (Highlight), Johannesburg (End)
The Kruger Safari Co.
4.9/5 – 301 Reviews
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3-Day Glamping Kruger Safari
$546 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 10 people per vehicle)BudgetTented Camp
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Kruger NP, Johannesburg (End)
MoAfrika Tours
4.9/5 – 4,453 Reviews
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5-Day Tremisana/Tent Kruger Park Safari
$936 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 9 people per vehicle)BudgetLodge & Tented Camp
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Balule NR (Greater Kruger), Olifants River, Kruger NP, Blyde River Canyon (Panorama Route), Johannesburg (End)
Viva Safaris
5.0/5 – 344 Reviews
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3-Day Dumela Glamping Affordable Adventure
$590 to $680 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 10 people per vehicle)BudgetTented Camp
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Moditlo GR (Blue Canyon GR), Kruger NP, O.R. Tambo Airport (Johannesburg), Johannesburg (End)
SafariLife
5.0/5 – 29 Reviews
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3-Day Budget Kruger Glamping Safari in Kruger Park
$531 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 10 people per vehicle)BudgetTented Camp
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Southern Kruger NP, Central Kruger NP, Kruger NP, Johannesburg (End)
Safarilink SA
4.9/5 – 1,094 Reviews
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![3-Day Kruger National Park Budget Tented Safari]()
3-Day Kruger National Park Budget Tented Safari
$537 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 8 people per vehicle)BudgetTented Camp
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Greater Kruger, Kruger NP, Johannesburg (End)
The Mzansi Experience
4.8/5 – 111 Reviews
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![4-Day Dumela Budget Camping Tour Fly-in Cape Town]()
4-Day Dumela Budget Camping Tour Fly-in Cape Town
$2,155 to $2,265 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 3 people per vehicle)BudgetTented Camp
You Visit: Cape Town (Start), Kruger NP, Johannesburg (End)
Knap Tours
4.8/5 – 44 Reviews
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4-Day Kruger Park Camping Safari
$1,104 pp (USD)
South Africa: Private tourBudgetCamping
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Kruger NP, Johannesburg (End)
Khalanga Safaris
4.8/5 – 108 Reviews
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![5-Day Kruger Budget Tented Safari]()
5-Day Kruger Budget Tented Safari
$761 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 10 people per vehicle)BudgetLodge
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Kruger NP, Panorama Route (Highlight), Johannesburg (End)
Big Bull Safaris
5.0/5 – 5 Reviews
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Best Seller
![5-Day Private Southern Kruger Camping Adventure]()
5-Day Private Southern Kruger Camping Adventure
$1,529 to $1,682 pp (USD)
South Africa: Private tourBudgetCamping
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Southern Kruger NP, Kruger NP, Central Kruger NP, Johannesburg Airport (End)
Wild Planet Safari
5.0/5 – 247 Reviews
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![3-Day Kruger National Park Budget Tour]()
3-Day Kruger National Park Budget Tour
$576 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 4 people per vehicle)BudgetLodge
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Kruger NP, Johannesburg Airport (End)
Tourgy Tourz
4.9/5 – 47 Reviews
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![3-Day Kruger Park Safari with Night Drive & Bush Walk]()
3-Day Kruger Park Safari with Night Drive & Bush Walk
$1,378 to $1,391 pp (USD)
South Africa: Private tourBudgetLodge & Guest House
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Kruger NP, Johannesburg (End)
Mmilo Tours
5.0/5 – 143 Reviews
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4-Day Budget Glamping Kruger Wild Adventure Safari
$723 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 10 people per vehicle)BudgetTented Camp
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Greater Kruger, Kruger NP, Panorama Route (Highlight), Johannesburg Airport (End)
MoAfrika Tours
4.9/5 – 4,453 Reviews
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4-Day Tremisana/Tent Kruger Park Safari
$865 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 9 people per vehicle)BudgetLodge & Tented Camp
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Balule NR (Greater Kruger), Kruger NP, Blyde River Canyon (Panorama Route), Johannesburg (End)
Viva Safaris
5.0/5 – 344 Reviews
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![4-Day Dumela Affordable Glamping Adventure]()
4-Day Dumela Affordable Glamping Adventure
$860 to $946 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 10 people per vehicle)BudgetTented Camp
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Moditlo GR (Blue Canyon GR), Kruger NP, O.R. Tambo Airport (Johannesburg), Johannesburg (End)
SafariLife
5.0/5 – 29 Reviews
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5-Day Kruger Park Classic Camping Safari
$1,037 to $1,114 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 9 people per vehicle)BudgetCamping
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Kruger NP, Johannesburg (End)
The Kruger Safari Co.
4.9/5 – 301 Reviews
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5-Day Budget Kruger Glamping Safari in Kruger Park
$892 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 10 people per vehicle)BudgetTented Camp
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Southern Kruger NP, Kruger NP, Panorama Route (Highlight), Central Kruger NP, Johannesburg (End)
Safarilink SA
4.9/5 – 1,094 Reviews
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![5-Day Kruger National Park Budget Tented Safari]()
5-Day Kruger National Park Budget Tented Safari
$903 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 8 people per vehicle)BudgetTented Camp
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Greater Kruger, Kruger NP, Panorama Route (Highlight), Johannesburg (End)
The Mzansi Experience
4.8/5 – 111 Reviews
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![3-Day Dumela Budget Safari Camping Fly-in Cape Town]()
3-Day Dumela Budget Safari Camping Fly-in Cape Town
$1,775 to $1,885 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 6 people per vehicle)BudgetTented Camp
You Visit: Hoedspruit (Start), Kruger NP, Hoedspruit (End)
Knap Tours
4.8/5 – 44 Reviews
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3-Day Kruger National Park Camping Safari
$957 pp (USD)
South Africa: Private tourBudgetCamping
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Kruger NP, O.R. Tambo Airport (Johannesburg), Johannesburg (End)
Khalanga Safaris
4.8/5 – 108 Reviews
Related Searches
6 Questions About Kruger Budget Safaris
Answered by
Philip Briggs
Philip Briggs is an Africa-specialized travel writer who grew up and lives in South Africa. He first visited Kruger as a child in the 1970s, and has explored its every accessible corner on countless subsequent visits.› More about Philip
6 Questions About Kruger Budget Safaris
Philip Briggs
Are there affordable budget safaris available to Kruger National Park?
“Yes, depending to some extent on your definition of ‘affordable’. Kruger is very cheap by comparison to most other major safari destinations in Africa, and this relative affordability is reflected in the price of cheaper packages to the park. Kruger is also unusually well suited to self-drive safaris, an option that may appeal to more independently minded travelers, and that will generally cost less than the cheapest safari package.”
1What is included in a budget trip?
“The price of a Kruger budget safari will usually include accommodation or camping, some or all meals, transport, the services of a registered driver-guide, national park entrance fees, game drives and any fees associated with non-optional activities. Rates quoted in South Africa are invariably inclusive of VAT and other taxes. The price should also include transport from/to the designated start/end point, which is usually but not always Johannesburg. Some packages include a day exploring the scenic Panorama Route on the escarpment outside the park. Most safari rates are exclusive of the following: international flights, visas, travel insurance, drinks, souvenirs and other personal purchases, optional activities (such as the night drives and guided walks offered out of some rest camps) and tips. These are general guidelines only. It is important to check the fine print of your safari itinerary, to see what’s included and excluded, before you make a booking.”
2What type of accommodation can I expect?
“Most cheap Kruger packages will camp or stay in hutted accommodation at one (or more) of several affordable state-run rest camps scattered around the national park. These rest camps offer accommodation in comfortable self-catering huts and bungalows, most of which have en suite bathrooms and toilets (though cheaper units may use communal ablution blocks). Most rest camps also have well-organized campsites with communal kitchens and ablution blocks. On an organized budget safari, rates will usually include meals. If you are self-driving, most of the larger rest camps have restaurants. A popular alternative is to braai (barbecue) outside your tent or bungalow. Most rest camps also have adequate supermarkets selling frozen meat and other provisions. Some budget Kruger safaris stay outside the park. There’s no shortage of campsites close to the main entrance gates, or in nearby towns such as Mbombela and Hazyview. There are also a few backpacker lodges in the vicinity. If you have the choice, it is generally nicer to stay in the park, so you can soak up the bush atmosphere at night. Rest camp gates also generally open earlier and close later than entrance gates, which makes it easier to be out and about during prime wildlife-viewing hours.”
3Which animals am I likely to see?
“You can expect to see a wide variety of African wildlife on any trip to Kruger, irrespective of the cost. Indeed, the price of a Kruger safari is less of a factor in determining how much wildlife you’ll see than its duration, the extent to which game drives are tailored to the most productive hours (early morning and late afternoon), and plain old luck. Animals you’re almost certain to see on any given game drive in southern Kruger include hippo, giraffe, zebra, crocodile, vervet monkey, chacma baboon, wildebeest, waterbuck, greater kudu and impala. Over the course of a 2- or 3-day safari, you are also very likely to encounter elephant, buffalo, white rhino, lion, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal and various mongooses. Sightings of black rhino, leopard, cheetah and African wild dog are more unusual, but the odds improve as you spend longer in the park. If a guided night drive is included in your itinerary, you might well also see nocturnal creatures such as bush baby, genet, civet and various small cats. You’ll get the most from Kruger by paying attention to smaller creatures. Kruger is a fabulous bird-watching destination, with more than 500 species recorded, and you don’t need to have a specific interest to be dazzled by the likes of African fish eagle, lilac-breasted roller and ostrich. Insects range from colorful butterflies to oddball mantises and armored dung beetles, while conspicuous reptiles include lizards, tortoises and terrapins.”
4How long do I need in Kruger?
“That depends greatly on your level of interest in seeing and photographing wildlife, but for most visitors, a 3- to 5-day trip would be about right. This is sufficient to give you a good chance of seeing most or all of the Big Five, but not so long that game drives might start to feel repetitive. Having said that, if you only have time or money to spend a half day or full day in Kruger, we would still recommend that over not visiting at all. If luck is on your side, you can see plenty of wildlife in a single game drive! At the other extreme, if you are a serious wildlife enthusiast, bird-watcher or photographer, you might well want to extend your Kruger safari to a week or even longer. This is a vast national park, and at least 2 weeks are required to explore it thoroughly from south to north. This is a highly recommended option for cost-conscious self-drivers whose main interest in visiting South Africa is wildlife photography or bird watching.”
5How much will a Kruger budget safari cost?
“The price of a Kruger budget tour package is typically in the ballpark of US$150 to US$300 per person per day. This will depend to some extent on the group size, whether you camp or stay in a room, and if the latter, the quality of the accommodation. The alternative to a budget package is a self-drive safari. This might sound like a daunting option to first-time visitors to Africa, but Kruger is actually quite a straightforward self-drive destination. The internal road network is excellent and navigable in almost any saloon car, detailed map books are available cheaply locally, and accommodation at the well-equipped rest camps can easily be booked online. Several variables will be involved in costing a self-drive safari, but two people sharing should be able to work on a budget of US$100 per person per day camping or US$150 per person per day staying in the cheapest rest camp bungalows.”
6Kruger Reviews
Lizzie authored many guidebooks, including Footprint guides to South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
South Africa’s Flagship Park with Excellent Facilities and Unrivalled Game-viewing
South Africa’s largest park most certainly fulfils most visitors’ expectations of seeing magnificent herds of game roaming across acacia-studded savannah. After countless visits at different times of the year, I have found it can get a...
Mike is an award-winning wildlife writer, former editor of Travel Zambia magazine and author of the Bradt Guide to Southern African Wildlife.
Africa’s Best DIY Safari
In 2026, Kruger’s centenary year, South Africa’s flagship national park continues to divide opinion. On the one hand, some argue that its developed infrastructure – complete with paved roads and large public camps – undermines the...
Fabulous place especially if it is your first safari It is a long day from 5.00 am to 3.30 pm and the dirt track roads were being paired because of extensive rain two weeks before we arrived. Some roads were closed. The guides were very...
IT
We only had 1 day available to explore the park due to very important rainfall. We would have love to have more time.
Our tour operator did not perform as expected and completely ruined our experience.
I though we would need binocculars to see most animals, but I was wrong. So many animals, so close to us, just dling their thing. We spent 3 nights in Kruger Park and 1 in Sungula, which was perfect. Kruger had alot, but we were not able...
On several occasions we saw the big five as well as many other beautiful animals. We enjoyed the fact that these animals are protected and hope that tourism will bring in more money to support employment of South Africa’s people.