How to book SANParks and Kruger rest camps

South African National Parks runs the rest camps, bush camps and campsites inside the country’s national parks, from Kruger and Addo to the Kgalagadi, the Garden Route and Table Mountain. Sleeping inside is the best way to see a park: camp gates open before the public gates do, and the roads are yours after the day visitors leave.

Booking them is simple once you know the rhythm. This guide covers when the booking window opens, what you pay on top of the room, and how to request SANParks camps on Spekboom alongside the lodges just outside the park.

SANParks opens bookings 11 months in advance, and each new month is released on the first working day of the month. Popular Kruger camps such as Skukuza, Lower Sabie, Satara and Olifants can sell out within days of opening for school holidays, long weekends and the dry winter months.

For peak dates, request as close to the window opening as you can. Outside peak, and in the smaller parks, there is often availability a few weeks out. When school holidays run across two months, SANParks announces a separate opening date for that period.