Marloth Park or inside Kruger?
Sleeping inside Kruger buys you time on the game roads. Sleeping in Marloth Park buys you a whole house for less. Here is what each costs from 1 November 2026, and who should pick which.
Last checked 26 October 2026
Stay inside Kruger if you want to be on the game roads first. From November to January the rest-camp gates open at 04:30, an hour before the entrance gates, and overnight guests don't count towards the holiday day-visitor quotas. Stay in Marloth Park if you want a whole house with a kitchen and often a pool for less money. A couple's unit in Marloth was asking about R1,500 a night for mid-November 2026, against R2,225 for a Lower Sabie bungalow, and you pay Kruger's daily fee only on the days you drive in.
Choose inside Kruger or Marloth Park
Choose a rest camp inside Kruger if:
- this is your first safari and you want to wake up in the park
- you're travelling in the December holidays or another school holiday and don't want to depend on a day-visitor booking
- you want the extra hour at dawn from November to January for photography
- you're camping, because a campsite inside costs less than almost any house in Marloth
Choose Marloth Park if:
- you're a family or a group and want a house with a kitchen and a pool
- your children are under 6, because they can't join SANParks guided drives but will enjoy the kudu and zebra in the garden
- you're from overseas and want rest days, because the international fee of R692 a day is only paid on the days you go in
- the rest camps are full for your dates
What 4 nights cost each way
These totals are for 4 nights at 2026/27 rates, accommodation plus Kruger conservation fees. They leave out fuel, food and the once-off cleaning fees some Marloth houses charge.
How we worked them out:
- Marloth prices are the middle and upper-quarter asking prices for Monday 16 to Friday 20 November 2026, from our check of Marloth listings on 26 October 2026.
- Marloth guests drive into Kruger on 3 of the 4 days.
- Inside guests pay the daily fee for 5 days if arrival and departure days both count, and 4 days if they don't. We haven't been able to confirm which applies, so the 4-day total is in brackets.
- Kruger adds a 1% community fund to accommodation bookings, so that is added to the camp prices.
- Camp prices are guideline rates. The official 2026/27 camp rates hadn't been released when we checked on 26 October 2026, and are quoted on request.
| Who | Where | 4 nights | Kruger fees | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA couple | Marloth, middle price (R1,500 a night) | R6,000 | 2 x R140 x 3 days = R840 | R6,840 |
| SA couple | Marloth, upper quarter (R2,100) | R8,400 | R840 | R9,240 |
| SA couple | Lower Sabie bungalow (R2,225) | R8,989 | R1,400 (R1,120) | R10,389 (R10,109) |
| SA couple | Crocodile Bridge bungalow (R2,312) | R9,340 | R1,400 (R1,120) | R10,740 (R10,460) |
| SA couple | Crocodile Bridge safari tent (R1,011) | R4,084 | R1,400 (R1,120) | R5,484 (R5,204) |
| SA couple | Crocodile Bridge campsite (R488) | R1,972 | R1,400 (R1,120) | R3,372 (R3,092) |
| SA family of 4 | Marloth, sleeps 4-6, middle price (R1,700) | R6,800 | (2 x R140 + 2 x R70) x 3 = R1,260 | R8,060 |
| SA family of 4 | Marloth, sleeps 4-6, upper quarter (R2,400) | R9,600 | R1,260 | R10,860 |
| SA family of 4 | Lower Sabie family cottage (R3,980) | R16,079 | R2,100 (R1,680) | R18,179 (R17,759) |
| SA family of 4 | Berg-en-Dal family cottage (R3,984) | R16,095 | R2,100 (R1,680) | R18,195 (R17,775) |
| Overseas couple | Marloth, middle price | R6,000 | 2 x R692 x 3 = R4,152 | R10,152 |
| Overseas couple | Lower Sabie bungalow | R8,989 | R6,920 (R5,536) | R15,909 (R14,525) |
| Overseas family of 4 | Marloth, sleeps 4-6, middle price | R6,800 | (2 x R692 + 2 x R345) x 3 = R6,222 | R13,022 |
| Overseas family of 4 | Lower Sabie family cottage | R16,079 | R10,370 (R8,296) | R26,449 (R24,375) |
The family rows assume two children aged 2 to 11. The Crocodile Bridge campsite price is for 1 November to 8 December 2026.
For a couple, a mid-range Marloth house and a Kruger bungalow come out a few thousand rand apart over 4 nights. The gap opens up for families, because Marloth rents whole houses, and for overseas visitors, because every extra day inside the park costs an international couple R1,384 in fees alone. With a Wild Card, the fee column drops to R0 either way. The current fees are on our Kruger fees for 2026/27 page, and the trip cost page adds fuel, tolls and three full budgets.
Time in the park: gate hours, distance and queues
From November to January, rest-camp gates open at 04:30 and the entrance gates, including Crocodile Bridge, at 05:30. A Lower Sabie guest can be out on the road an hour before a Marloth guest reaches the gate. In October, February and March both open at the same time, and from April to September both open at 06:00. Everyone has to be back through a gate by closing time, which is 18:30 from November to February. The full monthly list is on our Kruger gate times page.
From Marloth it is about 14-17 km to Crocodile Bridge gate, depending on where your house is, and then 34 km from the gate to Lower Sabie. SANParks suggests planning on an average of 30 km/h inside the park, so the Lower Sabie area is a bit over an hour in from the gate.
School holidays are when the queue matters. In school holidays Crocodile Bridge can reach its day quota almost every day, sometimes by 7am, and getting in can take an hour. Outside the holidays there are seldom big delays. Floods also closed Crocodile Bridge to day visitors from 14 to 21 January 2026, which left Marloth guests with Malelane gate, 35-39 km away.
The rest camps closest to Marloth
These are the southern camps closest to Marloth. Rates are per unit per night, accommodation only, for 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2027.
| Camp and unit | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Crocodile Bridge bungalowAt the gate. One room, 2-3 single beds, kitchenette on the veranda | R2,312 |
| Crocodile Bridge safari tent2 single beds, shared kitchen and bathrooms | R1,011 |
| Crocodile Bridge campsite1 Nov-8 Dec 2026; R552 from 9 Dec to 12 Jan | R488 |
| Lower Sabie hutShared kitchen and bathrooms | R607 |
| Lower Sabie bungalow34 km from Crocodile Bridge gate, on the Sabie River | R2,225 |
| Lower Sabie family cottage2 bedrooms with 4 beds, 2 bathrooms | R3,980 |
| Berg-en-Dal bungalow12 km from Malelane gate; R1,850 from 13 Jan to 18 Mar 2027 | R2,123 |
| Berg-en-Dal family cottageR3,273 from 13 Jan to 18 Mar 2027 | R3,984 |
| Biyamiti Cottage 1Small bushveld camp, 39 km from Malelane gate | R2,363 |
| Skukuza bungalowAbout 77 km from Crocodile Bridge gate | R2,220 |
Last checked 26 October 2026
These are guideline rates, not the official price list. You get a quote when you book through the SANParks online booking site or reservations line, and that's the rate that counts. Bookings open 11 months ahead, and popular camps fill early: Lower Sabie was fully booked over both April 2026 long weekends.
On food, Crocodile Bridge camp has a shop but no restaurant. At Lower Sabie, the restaurant is due to reopen as the Sabie River Café, with temporary dining and limited menus while it's refurbished.
What a Marloth house gives you that a rest camp doesn't
A Crocodile Bridge bungalow is one room with a kitchenette on the veranda. A Marloth house is a whole house, often with a pool and a braai, and kudu, zebra, giraffe and warthog walk freely between the houses. The dangerous species are kept apart in the Lionspruit reserve. Guests rate Marloth stays 4.6 out of 5 from 1,797 reviews on average, and most of the praise is for the animals at the house.
Many of Marloth's roads are gravel, some houses have patchy Wi-Fi, and not every house has backup power or aircon in every room. Our before you book checklist covers what to ask. Marloth can feel more like a town in the bush than a wildlife park, so if being in the wild is what you came for, staying inside Kruger may suit you better.
Holidays and quotas change the answer
In busy periods SANParks limits how many day visitors can enter each gate. In the 2025/26 festive season, day visitors were asked to book a time slot online and pay a non-refundable fee of R59 per adult and R29 per child, on top of the conservation fee. Wild Card holders paid it too. Once a gate's quota was reached, only pre-booked visitors got in. The quota didn't apply to overnight guests.
So in the December holidays, Easter and the July school holidays, staying inside takes the gate worry away. Staying in Marloth still works, but you'll need to pre-book your Kruger days as soon as bookings open. The 2026/27 festive arrangements hadn't been announced when we checked on 26 October 2026; we'll add them to our quotas and pre-booking page when they are.
Travelling with children
SANParks guided drives and walks don't take children under 6, so a rest camp's drives are no use to a family with toddlers. In Marloth, small children can watch warthogs and bushbabies from the stoep and swim between Kruger days. Children aged 2 to 11 pay the child fee of R70 a day (South Africans) and under-2s are free, whichever side of the river you sleep on. See things to do with kids for more.
Both sides of the river are in a malaria area. Read our malaria page before you travel with children, whichever you choose.
Who should stay inside Kruger instead
If it's your first safari and you can get a booking, stay inside, at least for part of the trip. You'll hear the bush at night, you'll be on the road at first light from November to January, and you won't depend on a day-visitor slot in the holidays. If you're camping, inside also wins on price: a Crocodile Bridge campsite costs R488 a night from 1 November to 8 December 2026. Book as early as you can, because SANParks opens bookings 11 months ahead and the southern camps fill up.
Or split the trip
If you can get a booking, you could spend two nights at Lower Sabie or Biyamiti and then three or four in Marloth. You get the dawn starts and the night sounds first, then a house and a pool for the rest of the stay, and you only pay daily fees in Marloth on the days you go back in.
Questions people ask
Is Marloth Park inside Kruger?
No. Marloth Park is on the south bank of the Crocodile River, and Kruger is on the north bank. You enter Kruger through a gate, usually Crocodile Bridge.
Do I pay Kruger fees if I stay in Marloth Park?
Only on the days you drive into Kruger. Staying in Marloth itself costs nothing in park fees. Guests inside Kruger pay for every day they're in the park.
Is it cheaper to stay inside Kruger?
For campers and safari-tent guests, yes. For a couple in a bungalow, it costs more than a middle-priced Marloth house and about the same as one at the upper end. For families and overseas visitors, Marloth usually works out cheaper by a wide margin. The table above shows the working.