SANParks Rest Camps: How to Book, What It Costs and the Rules

Last reviewed 19 September 2026.

What a SANParks rest camp is, and what this guide covers

A rest camp is a fenced, SANParks-run camp inside the park. You sleep there, cook or eat there, and drive the park's roads yourself between the gates' opening and closing times. This guide covers the five main Kruger National Park camps this site lists — Skukuza, Berg-en-Dal, Lower Sabie, Satara and Olifants — and the main camp of Addo Elephant National Park, which SANParks titles "Addo Rest Camp" and says is known as "Main Camp" (our Addo page).

It does not cover Hilltop Camp in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, which is run by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, or Etosha, run by Namibia Wildlife Resorts: those agencies have their own booking systems and rules. For the wider choice between driving yourself and staying in a private reserve, see Self-Drive Kruger vs a Private Reserve. For the Namibian equivalent of this guide, see the Etosha and Sossusvlei NWR camps guide.

How this page was checked. sanparks.org blocks automated access, so we read its official pages through dated web-archive captures; the capture dates are in the Sources list. Where a figure could be read on only one page, or a tariff document could not be opened, this page says so rather than filling the gap.

The camps at a glance

* SANParks labels no Kruger region for these camps; the south, south-west and centre placement comes from krugerpark.co.za, an unofficial reference, and is a single source. The accommodation types come from SANParks camp pages captured in 2023 and are the types SANParks has listed, not a current count of units — the booking system shows what can actually be booked. Berg-en-Dal's newest capture of its own camp page is from September 2024. SANParks and one reference site give two swimming pools at Skukuza; another reference site says three.

Two practical differences fall straight out of the table. SANParks lists campsites at Skukuza, Berg-en-Dal, Lower Sabie and Satara but not at Olifants, and safari tents at Skukuza and Lower Sabie but not at Berg-en-Dal, Satara or Olifants. For cash, SANParks lists a mini ATM only at Satara and a bank facility at Skukuza, and says Berg-en-Dal, Lower Sabie and Olifants have no ATM.

How to book

SANParks takes accommodation and activity bookings through its online booking system, through Central Reservations (email reservations@sanparks.org, telephone +27 (0)12 428 9111, open Monday to Friday 07:30–16:00 South African time, closed weekends) or over the counter at its head office. Bookings made by telephone, email or through an agent do not appear in the online system's "Existing Reservations" view.

• The booking window is 11 months. SANParks accepts requests only 11 months or less in advance; bookings for the 11th month open on the first working day of each new month. Its published "Booking Periods" table lists the dates the reservation offices and online bookings open; the row current in September 2026 shows reservation offices opening on 1 September 2026, online bookings on 2 September 2026 and the period ending on 31 August 2027, with the next row opening on 13 and 14 October 2026.
• Some camps go on opening day. SANParks says Lower Sabie and Satara (and Kgalagadi and Tsitsikamma) are always full on booking-opening days, that it works first come, first served, and that it does not limit how many units a guest may book.
• A basket is not a booking. Adding an item to the basket does not reserve it; the basket expires after 120 minutes and the booking is secured only when you have checked out and paid. Online payment takes Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express (with 3D Secure) and online-enabled debit cards, not cash or EFT.
• Availability is not guaranteed. It updates in real time, but a daily reconciliation starting at 12:00am South African time runs for about two hours, and no bookings can be made while it does.
• A 1% community fund is added to all accommodation and activity reservations, but not to daily conservation fees.

Cancelling and changing

SANParks states these cancellation fees, as a percentage of the total reservation cost: cancelling 30 to 15 days before arrival costs 25%, 14 to 7 days costs 50%, and 6 days or fewer costs 100%. Downgrading a reservation attracts the same percentages on the difference. The schedule appears in SANParks' 2026 online-bookings FAQ. The most recent conditions document we could find is a 2015/16 PDF that gives the same percentages but says it excludes web bookings, so read the terms shown at checkout for your own booking.

Check-in and check-out

At Kruger, SANParks says accommodation and camping sites may be occupied from 14:00 on the day of arrival (not guaranteed) and must be vacated by 10:00 on the day of departure. Addo gives the same 14:00 and 10:00, but its own visitor-information page says caravan and tent sites check out at 12:00, while SANParks' park-wide rule says all sites are vacated by 10:00. If you are camping at Addo, confirm the time when you book.

Gates, hours and arriving late

Visitors must be inside a camp, or out of the gate, by the published gate times, and may not travel before or after them. Kruger publishes a monthly table of times. SANParks adds that times may change without notice and should be confirmed with the park before arrival.

• Arriving late at Kruger is allowed only in an emergency, with proof and a valid reason, until 21:00, for guests with pre-booked accommodation at certain camps within 10 km of the gate. SANParks says latecomers at entrance gates are refused entry, that a late-entry escort fee applies (R500 per vehicle, on a page that says "currently"), and that there is no late admission at Phabeni, Phalaborwa or Pafuri.
• Addo's main entrance gate is open 07:00 to 19:00 in every month and Matyholweni Gate 07:00 to 18:30. Addo's game-area gates follow the seasons and SANParks does not publish them as a table, so ask at reception. Guests with accommodation bookings may enter or leave after closing time but before 22:00 if they inform reception, and you may not drive in the game area after the gate hours.
• Documents at the gate: Addo scans a driver's licence, ID or passport and the vehicle licence disc at the gate and says that no document means no entry.

Driving rules

• Speed: in Kruger, 50 km/h on tar roads and 40 km/h on gravel, and 20 km/h inside rest camps. At Addo the limit is 40 km/h, and SANParks advises 20–30 km/h for game viewing.
• Stay in the vehicle except at designated places; no part of the body may protrude from a window or sunroof, and doors stay closed.
• Stay on the roads: off-road driving and driving on closed or no-entry roads is prohibited.
• Vehicle size: at Kruger, vehicles with a carrying capacity over 4 000 kg, buses and vehicles with more than 25 seats are restricted to tar roads.
• In camp: Kruger enforces a noise restriction from 21:30 to 06:00, does not allow pets, and prohibits drones, roller skates, skateboards, bicycles and motorbikes. Feeding animals is a serious offence.

Guided drives and walks

At Kruger, sunrise drives leave half an hour before the official gate opening time and last three to three and a half hours, sunset drives last about three hours, and night drives depart at 19:30 or 20:00 and last about two hours. Most camps also offer daily early-morning and afternoon guided walks for up to eight guests with two armed field guides; children under 12 may not join. SANParks links its online system for booking these and says to enquire at the reservations office; we found no stated lead time for booking them.

At Addo, SANParks says booking in advance is essential and lists sunrise (06:30), morning (09:00), midday (12:00), afternoon (15:00), sundowner (17:00) and night (19:00) drives of about two hours. It also states that no refunds are given.

What it costs

Two separate charges apply: the daily conservation fee to be in the park, and the accommodation. SANParks states that its rates and fees are in South African rand and inclusive of VAT.

Daily conservation fee at Kruger

Children under 2 are free. The fee is charged per person per day; the official page shows no separate fee for a private car. These figures are from SANParks' Kruger rates page (captured 18 September 2026); we could not open the tariff PDF itself, so they rest on that one official page.

The tariff year changes on 1 November 2026. SANParks has published a 2026/27 conservation-fee document. We could not open it, so we do not quote 2026/27 figures, and any trip that includes a day after 31 October 2026 should be costed from the 2026/27 tariff on sanparks.org. To be charged the South African rate you must show proof, such as a South African ID, driver's licence or passport.

Addo: the only official Addo fee table we could read is for 2024/25, which is out of date, so we do not quote an Addo figure. Check the current table on the Addo page of sanparks.org.

The Wild Card

A Wild Card replaces the daily conservation fee for the parks in its cluster: you pay an annual fee instead. It is valid for 365 days from purchase, and an Individual card covers one adult, a Couple card up to two people and a Family card up to seven. It covers conservation fees only: accommodation is booked separately, and SANParks says Wild Card members who pre-book a Kruger day visit still pay the advance-booking fee. At the gate you need valid proof of identity together with the Wild Card (or its confirmation letter); ID alone is not enough.

SANParks says the International All Parks Cluster is the only cluster international visitors may buy, unless they hold valid South African residency or a work permit. As arithmetic on the two published figures, not a SANParks statement: R4,680 is about 7.8 days of the R602 international adult Kruger fee, so the card pays for itself only on a long stay or across several parks. The prices above are 2025/26 and were confirmed on SANParks' pricing page and on a partner's copy of the cluster price list; we found no 2026/27 price.

Accommodation prices

We could not find a rest-camp accommodation price on any SANParks page we could read: the Kruger page tells visitors to request a quote through the online system or Central Reservations, and the camp pages show no prices. SANParks publishes accommodation tariff PDFs that we could not open, so we quote no camp price. Any price you see elsewhere should be checked against the booking system.

Health: malaria at Kruger, none at Addo

SANParks lists Kruger as a malaria-risk area. Its Kruger page says the risk is usually low, even in the summer months, and that whether to take anti-malarial medication is a decision for each traveller with a doctor; the same page also still carries an older notice advising all travellers to take preventive medication, so the page is not consistent with itself. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases gives the malaria season in the risk provinces as roughly September to May, and SANParks gives November to April as the highest-risk period. SANParks says Addo Elephant National Park is in a malaria-free area and that no immunisations are needed there. This is a summary of what official sources say, not medical advice: see Malaria on Safari: What Official Guidance Says.

Choosing between the camps

• If you want to camp, SANParks lists campsites at Skukuza, Berg-en-Dal, Lower Sabie, Satara and Addo, but not at Olifants.
• If you want a camp that books out on the first day, plan for Lower Sabie and Satara: SANParks itself says they are always full on opening days.
• Berg-en-Dal is the only Kruger camp SANParks describes as set in a rugged mountain environment; Lower Sabie sits on the Sabie River; Olifants is on a hill above the Olifants River; Satara is in an area noted for big cats.
• The seasonal picture — when the bush is dry and the roads are quiet — is in Best Time to Go on Safari in South Africa.

What we could not verify

• The SANParks 2025/26 and 2026/27 conservation-fee PDFs and accommodation tariff PDFs: sanparks.org returned an access challenge for every document, so the Kruger fees rest on one official web page.
• Any 2026/27 fee or Wild Card price.
• The current Addo daily fee, and any rest-camp accommodation price.
• How far ahead a Kruger guided drive or walk can be booked, per-camp reception hours, and the seasonal Addo game-area gate times.
• Current unit counts at each camp; the accommodation types above come from 2023 SANParks pages.