Make sure you carry the latest map of the park, enough to munch and drink, a litter bag, cameras, binoculars and reference books. It is customary to exchange information about game sightings with other visitors in the park.

Use our Western Kruger Transportation Guide below to plan your travel to and around Western Kruger. A great option for getting around exploring the area is on a fascinating Western Kruger tour. More general information about getting to and from South Africa, as well as travelling around the country, can be found in our South Africa Transportation Guide.

Western Kruger Transportation Guide

Getting to Western Kruger

By Air

There are many airports near the Kruger National Park. Phalaborwa Airport is just 2 km from the park's Phalaborwa gate. It serves as an entry point to the camps in the north, such as Olifants, Shingwedzi, Letaba and Punda Maria. The airport is also connected to Johannesburg International Airport. In fact, there are two flights everyday on weekdays and one flight each on Saturdays and Sundays. The airport has car rental kiosks from where tourists can hire vehicles.

Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA) has flights coming in from Cape Town, Johannesburg International Airport, Durban and Vilanculos. Malelane Regional Airport, which is close to the Malelane Gate and is used primarily for private flights and business aircraft.

Then there is the Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport, a small domestic airport, which is located in Limpopo Province, 14km south of Hoedspruit. While most of the travellers passing through this airport are on their way to reserves such as Manyeleti, Kruger or Timbavati, some tourists also pass through to drive through the Panorama Route.

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By Road

There are several gates to Kruger National Park. At Nelspruit you will need to decide which gate you want to enter from. The closest gates are: Numbi (south west), Malelane (south east) and Kruger Gate (south west, north of Numbi gate). If you want to use the N4, you will have to pay the toll. Based on the gate you want to enter from, add an hour or two from Nelspruit to know exactly how long your journey is going to be. Remember, all the gates close after dark and no one is allowed to drive into the park at night.

You could also drive up the mountains, go through White River (keep looking out for the signs in Nelspruit) and then take the R538 to Hazyview Town. Before reaching Hazyview, you could also take the R569, enter the park from Numbi gate and reach Pretoriuskop camp. Or you could leave Hazyview on the R536 and enter from the Paul Kruger gate, which is close to Skukuza camp. The area around Graskop, White River, Sabie and Hazyview is beautiful, and well worth a few days of your time.

While there are many other gates into the park, they are far from the camps and not as useful. If, however, you plan to spend all your time in the central and northern parts of the park, then the Phalaborwa gate is worth driving to. If you are driving, take the Pretoria / R21 route from Johannesburg airport. Turn onto the N1 (for Pretoria and Pietersburg) and keep going till you are almost in Pietersburg; this will take three hours - look out for a huge service area that is conveniently located just before you have to turn off! Then take the R71 to Phalaborwa and the gate, which is another three-hour drive.

There are no signs at Phalaborwa, but if you have crossed Tzaneen and Gravelotte then you know you are headed in the right direction. The Letaba camp is an hour from the gate; Olifants is about two hours. Considering the sights and sounds along the way, this route makes for a more interesting journey than just driving to Nelspruit. Keep in mind, however, that it is only useful if you would like to visit Olifants northwards.

Getting Around Western Kruger

Hoedspruit is a small town that serves as a railway and a road junction. It is a convenient place to make a stop before heading to a private game reserve or the Kruger National Park.
The only car rental company that has an office within the premises of the Kruger Park (at Skukuza camp) is Avis. But there are others who operate from Nelspruit and the airports. You might want to consider an air-conditioned car during the summer. While it is possible to go on guided walking tours through the Kruger Park, unauthorised walking is not allowed. Besides, it would be extremely foolish as well.