Help & how it works

From dates to a booked Kruger trip

Build a complete multi-camp itinerary in minutes, then choose how to book it — or set a Notify Me alert and let us watch for availability on your behalf.

Part 1

Build your itinerary

  1. Step 1

    Pick your dates and search

    On the Plan a Trip page, choose an arrival and departure date, then hit Search Dates. We pull live availability across all 25 Kruger camps in one go.

  2. Step 2

    Read the availability ledger

    Every camp and unit type appears side by side, day by day. Green means plenty of units free, amber means only a few left, and blank means that night is fully booked — so you can spot open windows at a glance instead of checking sanparks.org one camp at a time.

  3. Step 3

    Start the Itinerary Planner

    Click Start Itinerary Planner and work through five steps: Trip Essentials (lodging type and max drive time), Your Group (size and sleeping arrangement), Route Anchors (optional start/end camp), Camp Preferences (must-include or must-exclude), and Fine-Tune (price, distance, nights per camp). Each step is explained in detail below.

  4. Step 4

    Let the planner chart your routes

    The planner chains camps into complete routes using real road distances and live availability. Each result shows the full route on a map, a leg-by-leg breakdown with drive times, and a total price estimate. If nothing is found, it tells you exactly which setting to relax — for example fewer must-visit camps or a longer Max Drive/Leg.

  5. Step 5

    Save and share your favourites

    Save any itinerary to your account to come back to it later, or share it with your travel group on WhatsApp. Saved itineraries show whether their availability data is still fresh — if it has expired, one click re-runs the planner with the same dates.

The planner's five steps — field by field

Click any step below to see exactly what each field does. Sensible defaults are pre-set — you only need to change what matters for your specific trip.

Part 2

Book it — two ways

Every itinerary card has both options side by side. Availability can change at any time — whichever path you choose, the sooner you book, the better.

Option A · Free

Book it yourself

You book directly on sanparks.org — we prepare everything so each booking is a few clicks.

  1. 1

    Open your itinerary and click Book on SANParks.org.

  2. 2

    SANParks requires each camp to be booked separately — you get a checklist with one Book on SANParks button per camp.

  3. 3

    Each button opens that exact camp, unit type, and dates on the official sanparks.org reservation page.

  4. 4

    Complete and pay for each reservation on sanparks.org. Work down the list until every camp is booked.

Booking completes on sanparks.org — we never process payments or hold reservations. Every booking sits directly in the official SANParks system under your name.

Option B · Paid service

We book for you

Not comfortable navigating sanparks.org? Our team books your exact itinerary on your behalf.

  1. 1

    Open your itinerary and click Help me Book.

  2. 2

    Fill in your contact details and send the request — your exact route and dates come through to us automatically.

  3. 3

    We contact you personally to confirm availability, discuss alternatives if anything has filled up, and agree the booking assistance fee upfront.

  4. 4

    Once you approve, our team completes the SANParks bookings on your behalf.

Subject to availability — we confirm your camps and dates are still open when we process your request.

Direct communication — nothing is booked before we have spoken to you.

The booking assistance fee is agreed with you upfront. No surprises.

A note on freshness: itineraries are built from live availability, but Kruger books up fast. Saved itineraries show a Valid or Expired badge based on how old their data is — if yours has expired, use “Re-run planner with these dates” to confirm current availability before booking.

KrugerCamps is a planning layer on top of the official SANParks system. Whether you book yourself or we book for you, every reservation is logged directly with SANParks.

Part 3

Notify Me — watch for availability

Can't find the dates or camps you want right now? Set a Notify Me alert and we'll email you the moment availability opens up — no need to keep checking manually.

Free · Registered users

How it works

You tell us what to watch; we email you when a spot appears.

  1. 1

    Go to Notify Me in the navigation bar (you'll need a free account).

  2. 2

    Choose the camp(s) you're interested in. Optionally tick specific unit types — leave unticked to watch any unit at that camp.

  3. 3

    Set the date range you're hoping for and the minimum number of consecutive nights you need.

  4. 4

    Save the alert. Every time a fresh SANParks search brings in new availability data, we check it against your alert.

  5. 5

    When a match is found, you get one email with a direct link to book on SANParks.org. The alert keeps watching — you'll get at most one email per 24 hours.

Emails only fire on real availability

We never send on a timer. An email is triggered only when a fresh availability payload from SANParks actually shows your camp/unit open for your minimum nights inside your date range. Stale or cached data is never used.

24-hour cooldown per alert

Once an email goes out for a specific alert, that alert won't send another email for 24 hours — even if the same availability keeps showing up. This prevents your inbox from being flooded when a popular camp repeatedly appears available.

Whole camp or specific unit types

Leave all unit types unticked to be notified about any opening at that camp. Or expand the camp and tick specific types (e.g. only Guest Cottages at Satara) to narrow the alert. The same unit-type selection from the Trip Planner's Must Include list is used here.

Cancel from any email

Every notification email includes a "Cancel this notification" link that takes you directly to your Notify Me page — no digging through settings required. Alerts stay paused (not deleted) so the page can confirm the cancellation.

You can have up to 3 active alerts at a time. Cancel one to make room for another. Alerts on date ranges that have fully passed are deactivated automatically.