The Best Time To Visit The Kruger National Park For The Ultimate Safari Experience
One of the most frequently asked questions we get about the South African safari holidays we take is ‘when is the best time to visit the Kruger National Park?’
The Kruger National Park is one of our favorite places in Africa to go on safari.
We have taken lots of safaris in the Kruger at different times of the year. Some of them were pre-kids and other times we have taken our kids.
Read this post if you want to know more about taking kids on safari.
We have camped in our little two-man tent in the Lower Sabie Rest Camp. We have stayed in luxury accommodation in private game reserves in the Greater Kruger and we have stayed in mid-range accommodation just outside of the park.
Whilst you can visit the Kruger National Park at any time of the year, certain times are better than others for the ultimate safari experience.
This post talks about the best time to visit the Kruger National Park in terms of wildlife spotting. You may, however, want to take other factors into consideration when choosing when to visit the Kruger.
Like if you want to combine a safari with visiting Cape Town on a two-week South African holiday, for example.
- See here for things to do in Cape Town with kids.
- See here for family hotels in Cape Town.
Or maybe you want to end your trip with a stay at Sun City. See our Palace of the Lost City review. We should just quickly mention that the busiest time of year in the Kruger is mid-December to mid-January (South African school holidays).
This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and book something, we may earn a small commission but this is at no extra cost to you.
Our last safari was booked through Go2Africa – the leading luxury safari experts in Africa. They are great at advising where is best to go to see certain animals. For example, did you know that Sabi Sands Game Reserve is one of the best places in Africa to see leopards?
We stayed at Jackalberry Lodge (see our Jackalberry Lodge review here) and Thornybush Game Lodge (see our Thornybush Game Lodge review here).
Haven’t yet decided where to go on safari in South Africa? Before we tell you when is the best time to visit the Kruger National Park, here’s why we think you should choose the Kruger National Park.
Why visit the Kruger National Park?
The Kruger National Park is one of the largest National Parks in the world.
It is around 360 km long and 65 km wide (on average) and covers an area of around 7,500 sq mi (19,500km²) – made up mostly of woodland savannah. It has an incredible quantity and variety of wildlife and is home to the Big 5.
In recent years, South Africa has been working together with Mozambique and Zimbabwe to create an even bigger, Transfrontier National Park.
It will join the Kruger in South Africa with Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe and the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique. The area will span over an incredible 100,000 km² and animals will be able to wander freely across the borders.
You can do self-drive safaris in the Kruger National Park
That alone should be a good reason to visit but another reason we love to visit the Kruger National Park is because we can do self-drive safaris there.
There are paved roads in the park which makes it ideal for a self-drive safari. This means that you can do budget-friendly safaris.
Self-drive safaris are also great if you are taking kids on safari because you can tailor the length of the game drive to suit your child’s needs.
There are also lots of gravel roads that are perfectly fine for a standard 2WD.
You may not think that you will see great wildlife if you stick to the main paved roads, but actually there are still great wildlife spotting opportunities.
There are two reasons for this. Animals prefer the path of least resistance. You will often see animals on the road as they get from A to B.
There are also channels on the side of the roads that collect rain water which helps promote vegetation growth. Animals come to the roadside to drink and feed.
As you can see, we had no problem spotting animals on our self-drive safari in the Kruger!
So when is the best time to visit the Kruger National Park?
The best time to visit the Kruger National Park
For overall game viewing, April to October is the best time to visit the Kruger National Park. This is the dry season in the Kruger.
Visiting the Kruger in the dry season
- April to October are the winter months in the Kruger. Expect lower temperatures and dry days.
- Early morning and evening game drives can get chilly so we recommend layering up.
- The vegetation is more sparse so it is much easier to spot wildlife.
- It is easier to track animals in the dry season. Rain quickly washes animal tracks away.
- In some private game reserves, you are able to go off-road in the dry season. Off-roading gives you a better chance of wildlife spotting.
- There is a lower risk of malaria. This deserves more explanation so please see below…
Whilst the Kruger National Park is not a malaria-free area, there are lower numbers of mosquitoes in the dry season. Appropriate precautions should always be taken when visiting a malarial area.
You can check here to see which safaris in South Africa are actually malaria free.
Visiting the Kruger in the rainy season
- November to March are the summer months in the Kruger.
- The rainy season in the Kruger National Park starts in November. Expect high temperatures and rain.
- During the rainy season, vegetation can get very dense and the animals are easily camouflaged.
- Most animals tend to take cover from the rain so they are harder to spot.
- You cannot go off-road in the rainy season as it can damage the vegetation.
This is more speaking from personal experience but it isn’t that fun driving around for hours in the rain, especially if you are in an open jeep. We were soaked through after one game drive despite the ‘waterproof’ ponchos.
Photography can also be more of a challenge in the rain.
Even though it is rainy season, when the sun is out, it is intense. You should bring hats, sunglasses and suncream on your game drives.
As we said before, however, any time is a good time to visit the Kruger. To help plan your trip, here is a quick monthly guide to visiting the Kruger National Park.
Month by month guide to the Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park in January
Hot and humid with impressive thunderstorms. January is the height of the rainy season. It is also a lovely time to visit Cape Town. See also the best wine farm picnics in South Africa and the most child-friendly South African wine farms.
Kruger National Park in February
You will still experience the summer rains and warmer temperatures but they are less extreme than January. This is a good time for birders as the migratory birds settle.
Kruger National Park in March
Summer is over and the rains are coming to an end. The park is green with dense vegetation. This is breeding season for Kudu and buffalo.
Kruger National Park in April
Autumn has arrived and the dense, green vegetation starts to turn brown. Morning and evening temperatures are cooling down.
Kruger National Park in May
Mornings and evenings are becoming even cooler and trees are dropping their leaves. Animals start migrating to warmer areas. This is a good time to spot elephants migrating to Northern Kruger.
Kruger National Park in June
June is the coldest and driest month in the Kruger. Vegetation is totally brown and sparse, offering excellent game viewing.
Kruger National Park in July
The cold mornings and evenings of the winter months continue. Sparse vegetation means good game viewing.
Kruger National Park in August
Water levels are low but winter is coming to an end. Vegetation is sparse.
Kruger National Park in September
Spring is here and along with October, this is the ultimate time to visit the Kruger. Water levels are at their lowest and vegetation is sparse. Days are hot and humid.
Kruger National Park in October
October is much like September but the end of October sees the start of the rains.
Kruger National Park in November
This is the start of summer when the rains start and the temperatures rise. The park is filled with newborns.
Kruger National Park in December
The height of summer with hot days and spectacular thunderstorms. This, however, would be a good time to be visiting the beaches in Cape Town!
The best time of day to visit the Kruger National Park
We also get asked about the best time of day for a safari.
In our opinion, the best time of day to visit the Kruger is as early as possible in the morning or at sunset.
The gates to the Kruger National Park open at 5.30 so you should have your park ticket and be ready to enter at 5.30.
You can see here for Kruger National Park sunrise and sunset information.
Kruger National Park accommodation
You can book accommodation in the Kruger National Park through SanParks.
On the whole, the accommodation options are a bit dated although there are a few luxury lodges.
Some of the best rest camps in the Kruger are:
Lower Sabie Rest Camp – a great base to explore southern Kruger. There are lots of accommodation options here.
Olifants Rest Camp – with dramatic views of the Olifants River.
Skukuza Rest Camp – Kruger’s largest rest camp complete with unfenced 9-hole golf course.
Berg-en-Dal – one of the newest camps in the Kruger National Park.
If you are looking for luxury accommodation, your best bet is to look at the private game reserves on the fringes of the park. Some of them are open to the Kruger and the wildlife can come and go as they please.
See here for recommendations on luxury accommodation in the Kruger.
See here for family-friendly accommodation in the Kruger.
Some of our favourite private game reserves are Sabi Sands, Thornybush and Timbavati (see here for family-friendly accommodation in Timbavati).
Here are a couple of posts with helpful tips about going on safari.
You might also like to read about going on safari in Sri Lanka.
