{"id":870344,"date":"2026-08-15T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=870344"},"modified":"2026-08-14T17:47:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T15:47:01","slug":"how-much-it-costs-to-visit-south-africas-most-expensive-national-park-with-locals-getting-a-78-discount","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/870344\/how-much-it-costs-to-visit-south-africas-most-expensive-national-park-with-locals-getting-a-78-discount\/","title":{"rendered":"How much it costs to visit South Africa’s most expensive national park – with locals getting a 78% discount"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A South African adult entering Kruger National Park must pay R134 per day\u201478% cheaper than the R602 rate charged to foreigners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By contrast, the lowest standard entry fee for a national park is R44 for an adult, which is a R90 difference before accounting for travel, food, or activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a family of two adults and two children, the difference in entry costs is even more significant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entry to the Kruger National Park costs R402, while a national park with a R44 entry fee and a R22 fee for each child comes to R132. This creates a disparity of R270 for the same basic access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These rates are applicable from November 1, 2025, to October 31, 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the rates, adults are defined as visitors aged 12 and older, children as those aged two to 11, and infants under two are admitted free of charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

West Coast National Park is excluded from the main ranking since its fees fluctuate with the seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the resident adult price is R121 in August and September, compared to R82 outside the flower season. Mixing these two rates would make a standard year-round comparison less consistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kruger National Park is one of South Africa’s Big Five destinations, with entry fees set at R134 for adults, R67 for children, and R402 for two adults and two children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another notable park is Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, renowned for its red dunes and iconic black-maned Kalahari lions, where the pricing is R129 for adults, R64 for children, and R386 for families of two adults and two children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table Mountain National Park, particularly the Cape of Good Hope section, charges R110 for adults and R55 for children, which comes to R330 for a family of four. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Addo Elephant National Park, which is a significant reserve for elephants and the Big Five in the Eastern Cape, the entry fees are R110 for adults, R54 for children, and R328 for two adults and two children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country home to 21 national parks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a prominent conservation authority, SANParks is a public entity governed by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its central focus is on inclusive conservation, in contrast to past policies that emphasised exclusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SANParks said the shift supports advancing policies aligned with the National Development Framework for Sustainable Development and the National Development Plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 21 national parks in South Africa, which feature three UNESCO World Heritage Sites and ten marine protected areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is outlined in the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act No. 57 of 2003. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These parks represent approximately 70% of state-owned terrestrial protected areas and 22% of state-managed marine protected areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These parks cover more than four million hectares (ha) of land and nearly 370,000 ha of sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five of these parks are essential components of Transfrontier Conservation Areas that collaborate with Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Lesotho.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SANParks said rates are in South African Rand and include VAT, but they can change without advance notice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors should also check which proof of South African status is accepted before travelling, as resident rates require qualifying identification, such as valid ID’s or passports etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The figures cover daily conservation entry only. Accommodation, travel, food, activities, parking and separately operated attractions are not included in the family totals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South African National Parks Entry Fees<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa is home to 21 national parks, and each charges a conservation fee to enter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":870373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"failed","_sma_x_autopost_error":"Instagram publishing failed: Instagram returned HTTP 400: Media ID is not available","_sma_x_post_id":"2088536430947512684","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2176722836481449","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[18751,18498,12164],"class_list":["post-870344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-dffe","tag-kruger-national-park","tag-sanparks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870344"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":870390,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870344\/revisions\/870390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}