Whether to fly to Kruger or take a Road Trip
There are so many decisions involved when planning a nice South African Safari, whether to fly to Kruger or take a road trip? When enquiring there’s all these little details to keep in mind, and what a tiring process to go through!
Kruger Park Tours will assist with making your travelling arrangements run more smooth and eliminating the confusion of having too many decisions and to create stress-free planning.
You will still have to decide whether to fly to Kruger or make use of a road transfer so we’ve weighed up the “pro’s” and “con’s” to make it a little bit easier as both options are good however will depend on your time, budget and most importantly to get the best experience in the process. Filling your needs and expectations.
Some important differences between the choice if you should fly to Kruger or take a Road Trip
Fly to Kruger
Flying is always the most convenient option when travelling to your holiday or safari destination. Most people can only fit in a 3 or 4 day safari and to travel by road transfer for hours can take up precious time. The most important fact to remember is that the Kruger and Greater Kruger Area are very big and also widely spread over different provinces in South Africa. Almost all guests visiting South Africa will fly in to Johannesburg and do not always realize that there is another 600 to 700 Kilometer distance to travel to Kruger or their Luxury Lodge in the Greater Kruger region. Guests also combine their Kruger safari with a Cape Town holiday (for example) which is over a 1000 kilometer distance apart. So, why not rather book flights which reduces the time from a 7 hour drive to a 50 minute or 1 to 2 hour flight? Depending on where you go on safari, there are so many Private Game Reserves in the Greater Kruger and can become a very tiring drive, so it just depends on the Lodge/Accommodation or safari package you choose.
The benefit of the Kruger or Greater Kruger Safaris is that there are different airports to choose from however we do recommend the closest airport to your destination.
The following airports are highly recommended:
- Kruger National Park Safaris (inside Kruger) – Skukuza Airport – Flights can be booked from and back to Johannesburg as well as other airports for example Cape Town. Flight duration from Johannesburg and back – One way – 50 minutes. With most packages inside Kruger the transfer pickup and drop off from Skukuza Airport to your camp or accommodation are free of charge.
- Lodge and Luxury Lodge Safaris (normally in Private Game Reserves in Greater Kruger) – Hoedspruit Airport – Flights can also be booked from and back to Johannesburg as well as other airports. Flight duration from Johannesburg and back – One way – 1 hour 5 minutes. Depending on where you go on safari, there might be a small transfer cost from Hoedspruit Airport to your accommodation as some Private Game Reserves are very far in, however on most packages in this area pickup and drop off will also be free of charge.
- For all safari packages guests also like to choose KMIA (Nelspruit Airport). Flight duration from Johannesburg and back – One way – 45 minutes. When you choose this airport just note that there is still a travelling distance. It will take approximately another hour by road transfer to the Kruger National Park and another 2.5 hours approximately to the Greater Kruger Private Reserves (depending on where your safari will be).
The only thing regarding flights why guests rather prefer road transfers is that the cost of tickets are expensive, especially to the Kruger region and not many flight options as they only have about 2 flights every day, which can make planning tricky when having to catch an early flight or another flight the same day.
Road Trip to Kruger
Road transfers in South Africa, especially from Johannesburg to Kruger is more of a wonderful road trip as we have some of the most beautiful areas in the world. The sightings and view is mind-blowing and if you have appreciation for this, road trips is definitely something you should consider when doing a South African safari or holiday.
Johannesburg to Kruger and Greater Kruger area is a 6 to 7 hour drive and the change in scenery and landscape is out of this world. What more could you ask for than travelling in superb comfort, including air-conditioning whilst enjoying the beauty of this country and the interesting changes you might encounter as your trip proceeds.
You will be welcomed by your chauffeur either at the airport or hotel of your choice and the relaxing mindset of not having to travel yourself or worry about a thing, from here everything just falls into place while you enjoy your safari.
If you work on a tight budget you will realize that road transfers are the most affordable compared to booking flights and in some of our packages they are actually included in the safari price. You also have the option of private transfers, which are more expensive, however flexible to your needs.
The down part to road transfers is only time, to travel another 6 to 7 hours by road after a very long flight can become exhausting and very long or in the case where you have very limited time for your safari, you might feel that the road trips took up most of your time, wherewith flights you might be able to actually fit in another day on safari.
Both travelling options are dependent on each and every situation therefore it is always good to know what to expect and this way assist to plan better.
