Kruger from Marloth Park
Marloth Park sits on the south bank of the Crocodile River, with Kruger National Park on the other side. This is how guests here get into the park for the day.
Last checked 26 October 2026
Marloth Park isn't inside Kruger. The closest gate is Crocodile Bridge, 14-17 km away, or about 20 min by car. Kruger's gates open at 05:30 from October to March and 06:00 from April to September. You pay the daily conservation fee only on the days you go in: R140 for a South African adult from 1 November 2026.
The closest gate
Most guests use Crocodile Bridge gate, east of Marloth near Komatipoort. From there the H4-2 tar road runs 34 km north to Lower Sabie camp on the Sabie River.
Malelane gate is the other option, 35-39 km west along the N4. It's the better gate for Berg-en-Dal and the H3 to Skukuza, and the way in when Crocodile Bridge is closed, as it was after the January 2026 floods.
How a day in Kruger works
You drive to the gate, pay the conservation fee and spend the day on the park's roads in your own car, getting out only at camps, picnic sites and other marked spots. You need to be back out through the gate before it closes, which is 17:30 in winter and up to 18:30 in summer. A typical day is to leave Marloth half an hour before the gate opens, drive up to Lower Sabie and come back in the afternoon.
A Kruger day trip from Marloth has leave-by times for every month, routes, where to stop and the rules on the roads.
Gate times
All Kruger gates keep the same hours, which change through the year. Kruger gate times has the full table and a page for each month, with sunrise and sunset in Marloth and that month's holidays. In November, for example, Crocodile Bridge opens at 05:30.
Fees and the Wild Card
Staying in Marloth costs nothing in park fees. You pay at the gate for each day you go into Kruger, and a Wild Card covers the fee altogether. Kruger fees 2026/27 has every rate and works out when a Wild Card pays for itself.
School holidays and the festive season
In school holidays and over long weekends, SANParks limits how many day visitors each gate lets in, and in recent festive seasons it asked day visitors to pre-book for a small fee. Overnight guests in the park are exempt, but Marloth guests are day visitors. Quotas and pre-booking has what's known for 2026/27.
Marloth Park or inside Kruger
Staying inside the park gets you onto the roads earlier in summer and past the holiday quotas. Staying in Marloth gets you a whole house, often for less, with animals in the garden. Marloth Park or inside Kruger compares the two.
Hello Marloth is an independent guide and isn't part of SANParks. Book Kruger accommodation, activities and day visits with SANParks directly.
All our Kruger pages
Gate times by month, the two gates, fees, quotas and planning a day in the park.
Gate timesOpening and closing times for every month, camp gate times and the late-arrival rules.
Crocodile Bridge gateThe closest gate to Marloth: distance, hours, the camp shop, the road to Lower Sabie and holiday queues.
Fees 2026/27Kruger's daily conservation fees from 1 November 2026: R140 for South African adults, R70 for children. SADC and international rates, Wild Card and who pays when.
A day in KrugerRoutes from Crocodile Bridge, when to leave Marloth and Lower Sabie, where to stop and the road rules.
Quotas and pre-bookingDay-visitor limits in school holidays and the festive season, the pre-booking fee and what's known for 2026/27.
Malelane gateThe other gate from Marloth: the N4 drive, Berg-en-Dal, the H3 to Skukuza and when it beats Crocodile Bridge.