Where to stay near Kruger: Marloth Park or another town?
Five towns sell themselves as a base for Kruger. They lead into different parts of the park, and the choice of places to stay differs a lot between them.
Last checked 26 October 2026
Marloth Park is the base for south-eastern Kruger. Crocodile Bridge gate is about 14-17 km away, and we counted 552 places to stay there, far more than any other town near the southern gates. Hazyview suits you better if you want restaurants, three gates to choose from and the Panorama Route close by. Malelane is the shortest drive from Johannesburg. Hoedspruit is the town for private reserves, but its usual way into Kruger, Orpen gate, was cut off by a bridge washaway in April 2026.
The five bases at a glance
| Town | Gate you'd use | Town to gate | Part of Kruger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marloth Park | Crocodile Bridge, or Malelane as a second option (35-39 km) | 14-17 km | South-east: Lower Sabie is 34 km from the gate |
| Komatipoort | Crocodile Bridge | - | South-east |
| Malelane | Malelane | about 6 km | South: Berg-en-Dal is 12 km from the gate |
| Hazyview | Phabeni, Paul Kruger or Numbi | Phabeni about 19 km, Paul Kruger about 42 km | South-west: Skukuza is 39 km from Phabeni |
| Hoedspruit | Orpen (see closures below), or Phalaborwa | Orpen about 70 km | Central: Satara is 48 km from Orpen |
Town-to-gate distances vary with where in town you stay. Driving inside Kruger is slow: plan on an average of 30 km/h.
Places to stay and what they cost
The number of places listed gives a fair idea of how much self-catering choice each town has. These are the middle asking prices we found on 26 October 2026, with no dates set and before any specials.
| Town | Places listed | Sleeps 2 | Sleeps 5-6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marloth Park | 552 | R1,500 | R2,000 |
| KomatipoortToo few large units to give a price | 26 | R1,200 | - |
| MalelaneToo few large units to give a price | 31 | R1,365 | - |
| Hazyview | 167 | R1,804 | R3,600 |
| HoedspruitIncludes full-board lodges, which push the middle price up | 202 | R3,820 | R5,788 |
Last checked 26 October 2026
Treat the small-town figures with care. Komatipoort's search results mix in places up to 200 km away, and some Hazyview and Hoedspruit listings couldn't be read. Marloth has the most houses to choose from, and a house for a family costs well under what it does in Hazyview or Hoedspruit. Komatipoort and Malelane are a little cheaper for couples but have far fewer places. For Marloth prices by house size and season, see where to stay in Marloth Park.
Which part of Kruger each town gets you into
Marloth Park, Komatipoort and Malelane all lead into the southern part of the park. From Crocodile Bridge the main road runs up to Lower Sabie along the Crocodile and Sabie rivers, one of the most productive game-viewing areas in the park. From Malelane gate you're close to Berg-en-Dal in the south-west corner of the park.
Hazyview's gates lead to Skukuza and Pretoriuskop, and with three gates you can pick the one with the shortest queue. Hoedspruit normally leads through Orpen to the Satara plains in central Kruger, one of the best areas for lions and general game in the dry season.
Closures and road problems in 2026
| Where | What we found |
|---|---|
| Orpen gate (Hoedspruit) | Inaccessible from 20 Apr 2026 after a bridge on the R531 washed away; SANParks advised Paul Kruger or Phalaborwa gate. No reopening notice on sanparks.org when we checked on 26 Oct 2026 |
| Crocodile Bridge gate (Marloth, Komatipoort) | Closed to day visitors by floods 14-21 Jan 2026; reopened 22 Jan 2026 |
| N4 near Malelane | Stop-go roadworks on the N4 near Malelane reported in July 2026 |
| R40, Hazyview to White River | Hazyview-White River repair, damaged again by January 2026 landslides; completion target 12 Dec 2026 (per a political party's release, Mar 2026) |
| R536 in Hazyview | Called nearly impassable near the Lowveld Mall circle in Hazyview (26 Feb 2026) |
| Roads inside Kruger | Many dirt roads closed and several tar sections under repair after the 2026 floods (July 2026) |
Last checked 26 October 2026
Orpen was cut off on 20 April 2026, and Crocodile Bridge closed to day visitors in January. The N4 and park-road notes are from July 2026. Check the latest Kruger news before you book a Hoedspruit stay for self-drive trips into Kruger.
From Hazyview, use Phabeni or Paul Kruger rather than Numbi gate, unless you're staying at Pretoriuskop, after a tourist was killed in a carjacking on the Numbi road in 2022.
In the school holidays SANParks puts day-visitor quotas on all the main gates, from Crocodile Bridge and Malelane to Phabeni and Paul Kruger, so no town avoids them. Hazyview's advantage is a choice of gates, and Marloth's is Malelane gate as a fallback. See quotas and pre-booking.
What each town is like on a day off
Marloth Park is a village in the bush. Kudu, zebra and giraffe walk past the houses, you can drive through the Lionspruit reserve, and there are spots to watch the Crocodile River and the Kruger bank on the other side. It has small shops, a filling station and a few restaurants. Guests say the shops have the basics, and the bigger stores, banks and pharmacies are in Komatipoort and Malelane.
Hazyview has plenty of restaurants and shops, plus rafting and hiking nearby, and the Panorama Route is much closer from there than from Marloth. Malelane has lodges on the Crocodile River looking into Kruger. Komatipoort is the shopping town for the far south and the last stop before the Lebombo border into Mozambique. Hoedspruit is surrounded by private reserves and wildlife estates and is close to the Blyde River Canyon.
Komatipoort and Mjejane
Komatipoort uses the same gate as Marloth, and we counted 26 places to stay there, mostly smaller units. It suits a couple on a tight budget, or anyone heading on to Mozambique.
Mjejane is a private reserve on the Crocodile River between Malelane and Komatipoort, with its own lodges that sell guided game drives. It's a different kind of stay from a Marloth house, closer to a lodge holiday.
When Marloth isn't the right base
Hazyview is the better base if it's your first time and you'd like a town around you: more places to eat, a choice of gates and the Panorama Route on your doorstep for the days you don't go into the park. It's also closer to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA): about 40 km to Phabeni gate, against 100-106 km from KMIA to Marloth Park. Check the R40 and R536 before you drive.
Malelane suits you if you want the shortest drive from Johannesburg, a lodge on the river, or easy access to Berg-en-Dal. It has far fewer places to stay than Marloth.
Hoedspruit is where to go for a guided safari in a private reserve, or if you're flying into Hoedspruit's Eastgate airport. While Orpen is cut off it's a poor base for driving yourself into Kruger; Phalaborwa gate is about 74 km from the airport.
If you want guided drives twice a day in an unfenced reserve and the budget allows, a lodge in the Sabi Sand or Timbavati gives you more than any of these towns. The private reserves are by far the most expensive option.
Getting to each town
From Johannesburg, Malelane is the closest of the southern bases. Marloth Park is 420-440 km by road, and the N4 passes Malelane on the way, 40-45 km before you reach Marloth. You pay four tolls on the way from Pretoria (three from Johannesburg if you take the N12), including the Nkomazi plaza just west of Malelane. From KMIA, Hazyview and Malelane are the quickest to reach. Our getting here page covers the drive to Marloth, and the trip cost page has the toll and fuel figures.
If you're still deciding between a town and a camp inside the park, read Marloth Park or inside Kruger.