Best time to visit Kruger National Park on a budget

Best match

Quietest green-season month — lush, hot, humid, fewer crowds in public camps, lodge rates at year-low.

#1 for cheap travel

Best match

Green-season properly arrives — baby impala born en masse, dramatic skies, lodges 40% below peak, malaria risk rising.

#2 for cheap travel

Best match

Transition month — rains thinning, days still warm, bush starting to dry, prices still off-peak.

#3 for cheap travel

Best match

Excellent shoulder — bush drying, days 28C/16C, game viewing rapidly improving, Easter holidays push school crowds in.

#4 for cheap travel

Best match

Dry season begins — clear skies, vegetation thinning fast, mornings cool 11C, perfect game viewing window opens.

#5 for cheap travel

Best match

Peak green season — newborn impala, lush bush makes spotting hard, daily afternoon thunderstorms, malaria highest risk.

#6 for cheap travel

Best match

First spring rains start — landscape still dry, baby animals beginning to appear, prices starting to drop, sweet shoulder window.

#7 for cheap travel

Strong option

Pre-school-holiday sweet spot — cold mornings, clear days, dense bush gone, game-viewing in full prime mode.

#8 for cheap travel

Strong option

Hottest dry-season month — driest bush, waterholes at lowest, hands-down best game-viewing window with school crowds gone.

#9 for cheap travel

Worth considering

School summer holidays — Skukuza and Lower Sabie packed, hot, humid, daily storms, but dramatic skies and full green bush.

#10 for cheap travel

Worth considering

Peak month — clear, dry, sparse bush, game concentrated, but also most expensive and most crowded.

#11 for cheap travel

Worth considering

South African school winter holidays — public camps packed, lodge rates at peak, but the game viewing is unmatched.

#12 for cheap travel