Kruger gate times
When Kruger's gates open and close in each month of the year, why the camp gates open earlier in summer, and what happens if you're late.
Last checked 26 October 2026
Kruger's entrance gates open at 05:30 from October to March and at 06:00 from April to September. They close at 18:30 from November to February, 17:30 from May to July and 18:00 in the other months. Crocodile Bridge and Malelane keep the same hours as every other gate.
Gate times by month
| Month | Entrance gates open | Camp gates open | All gates close |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 05:30 | 04:30 | 18:30 |
| February | 05:30 | 05:30 | 18:30 |
| March | 05:30 | 05:30 | 18:00 |
| April | 06:00 | 06:00 | 18:00 |
| May | 06:00 | 06:00 | 17:30 |
| June | 06:00 | 06:00 | 17:30 |
| July | 06:00 | 06:00 | 17:30 |
| August | 06:00 | 06:00 | 18:00 |
| September | 06:00 | 06:00 | 18:00 |
| October | 05:30 | 05:30 | 18:00 |
| November | 05:30 | 04:30 | 18:30 |
| December | 05:30 | 04:30 | 18:30 |
Last checked 26 October 2026
SANParks can change the times without notice. If your plans hang on a few minutes, phone the gate to check.
Camp gates and entrance gates
Entrance gates are on the park boundary, and they're where day visitors come in. Crocodile Bridge and Malelane are both entrance gates. Camp gates belong to the rest camps inside the park and let overnight guests out onto the roads.
For most of the year they open together. In November, December and January the camp gates open at 04:30, an hour before the entrance gates, so someone staying at Lower Sabie can be out on the road while you're still driving to Crocodile Bridge.
Both close at the same time. By then you need to be out of the park or inside your camp.
Be out before the gates close
Give yourself plenty of time to get back. Plan on an average of 30 km/h, well under the 50 km/h limit on tar, because you'll stop for animals. At that speed the 34 km from Lower Sabie to Crocodile Bridge takes a little over an hour, and then it's about 20-30 min home to Marloth.
- Entrance gates turn latecomers away. They only let someone in late for an emergency, and only if that person has booked accommodation at a camp within 10 km of the gate.
- In those cases an escort leaves every half hour until 21:00, from Crocodile Bridge gate to Crocodile Bridge camp and from Malelane gate to Berg-en-Dal and Malelane camps. It costs R500 per vehicle.
- If you reach a rest camp after closing, you'll get a warning the first time and a fine if it happens again.
None of the late-entry options apply when you're staying in Marloth Park, so plan to be out through the gate before it closes.
Gate phone numbers
Crocodile Bridge gate is on +27 13 735 6012 and Malelane gate on +27 13 735 6152.
Last checked 26 October 2026
One page for each month
Each month has its own page with sunrise and sunset in Marloth, that month's holidays and when to leave Lower Sabie.
- JanuaryGates 05:30-18:30, camp gates from 04:30. The wettest month, with school holidays until 12 January.
- FebruaryGates 05:30-18:30, and the camp gates open with them. Hot and wet, with no school holidays.
- MarchGates 05:30-18:00, closing half an hour earlier. Easter and the school holidays fill the end of the month.
- AprilGates 06:00-18:00, opening half an hour later. The Easter school holidays end on 5 April.
- MayGates 06:00-17:30, the earliest closing of the year. Dry and mild, with no school holidays.
- JuneGates 06:00-17:30, opening half an hour before sunrise. Cold mornings and thin bush, with holidays from 26 June.
- JulyGates 06:00-17:30. Clear, dry days and good game viewing, with school holidays until 19 July.
- AugustGates 06:00-18:00, closing half an hour later than in July. The driest month, with game at the waterholes.
- SeptemberGates 06:00-18:00. Dry and warming up, with school holidays from 23 September and the Heritage Day weekend.
- OctoberGates 05:30-18:00, back to the early summer opening. Hot, with the first rains.
- NovemberGates 05:30-18:30, camp gates 04:30. New fees from 1 November and no school holidays.
- DecemberGates 05:30-18:30, camp gates 04:30. School holidays from 10 December, and quotas for day visitors at the gates.
Read next
All Kruger pages
Crocodile Bridge gateThe closest gate to Marloth: distance, hours, the camp shop, the road to Lower Sabie and holiday queues.
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.