Our rates are inclusive of Dinner, Bed and Breakfast.

How to be a more responsible traveller in the Kruger National Park

For a number of years, tourism businesses have been making great strides to become more environmentally friendly, better for the communities in which they operate and cleaner and greener in general.

While the industry is showing up in this regard, it should be noted that travellers also have a role to play. Especially when visiting nature-rich areas such as the Kruger National Park and surrounds. So, what can travellers do? How can tourists become more responsible in the way that they travel and explore nature?

Below are four effortless ways:

Research your Kruger National Park accommodation

When looking for places to stay in Kruger National Park a great place to start is to look at what initiatives your hotel has in place. For example, look into if the hotel encourages guests to reuse their towels rather than use a fresh one every day as a way of saving water and using less detergents.

If you are passionate and serious about being more responsible, you could also research additional information about the hotel when it comes to being an advocate for the environment.

“Tourism businesses today cannot operate without attempting to understand the impact that they have on the environment and the ecosystem,” says Anton Gillis, Kruger Gate Hotel CEO. “No industry is excused in this regard. And, for the hospitality industry, this is becoming increasingly important. What does this mean for hotels such as Kruger Gate Hotel and others located in national parks and nature reserves? For one, it means giving more than we take.

“Often what people may see is hotels using their surrounding areas – their location – as a marketing tool to sell more rooms and entice potential visitors to book. But what we at Kruger Gate Hotel are trying to do is to use the land around us and the natural environment to find potential solutions to environmental issues that we may face. Secondly, it means we need to adopt measures that not only improve guest experience but also mitigate waste across the supply chain and procurement, and this includes reducing wasteful expenditure.”

“For example,” adds Anton, “two thirds of the property is zoned for conservation. We have also cut down our electricity consumption by 25% through the use of environmentally friendly lighting and appliances. The hotel draws water from the river which is purified at the hotel for consumption and then returned back to the river. The system also cleans the water before it’s returned to the river. It is a 360 degrees system that ensures a sustainable relationship with the environment.”

“To add to this, we have rid ourselves of the use of plastic bottles throughout the hotel by using the Vivreau Water Purification system and coupled this process with the use of glass bottles for serving. Lastly, we have also ensured that all wet waste from the hotel is recycled through the local community pig farm. This waste is given to the farm free of charge.”

Support small businesses and the surrounding communities

You might visit the Kruger National Park to see all the animals and do a few game drives, but there are also communities outside of the Park that could use your support, too. As a tourist, the way in which you spend your money can have a direct impact on local communities if you choose to support small and local businesses. A lot of the money you use in these communities, at the local attractions and at local shops could go directly into the pockets of those who work there.

For those visiting the Kruger National Park and surrounding areas wanting to do some close-by Kruger National Park activities, consider Visiting Areas Such as Blyde River Canyon, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, God’s Window and Lydenburg Heads. All of these attractions employ mostly people from surrounding communities and tourism spending will go a long way in supporting local families.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle

This is a phrase we’ve seen across the world and it’s something that travellers can easily do while on holiday. It’s exceptionally important for travellers to the Kruger National Park to reduce waste, not litter and recycle as much as possible. “Leave only footprints” as the saying goes.

When you travel to places such as the Kruger National Park, consider taking reusable or recyclable bags along with you, as well as reusable water bottles and coffee cups. Reuse every time you need to refill your drinks. You can ask your hotel accommodation to top up your coffee in your own reusable travel mug.

Choose sustainable animal engagement activities

There are no animal engagement activities available in the Kruger National Park. Kruger National Park animals are wild and can be viewed from their vehicles or approved viewpoints. Should you wish to find an animal activity of sorts, look for ones that are run by people or organisations that are truly enthusiastic about animal welfare.

Avoid experiences that put humans directly in touch with animals, such as big cat encounters. This has been proven to place a huge amount of stress on the animals which often act in unpredictable ways as a result.

If you’re in the Kruger area and wish to learn more about animal conservation in the area, pop into the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre. This centre provides care and rehabilitation for rare, vulnerable, and endangered animals.

Guest Reviews

Wow! Just go.. such a beautiful location and wonderful service and food.

Posted on 23/04/2025 by Google

Amazing time here and my friends also loved it. We’ll definitely be coming back

Posted on 23/04/2025 by Google

(Translated by Google) Incredible hotel, with great facilities and exceptional service. In addition to the wonderful safaris, the dinner with a traditional show ends the night in the best way.

The service is a highlight, everyone is very friendly and helpful.

(Original)
Hotel incrível, com ótima estrutura e um serviço excepcional. Além dos safáris que são maravilhosos, o jantar com show típico encerra a noite da melhor forma.
Destaque para o serviço, todos são muito simpáticos e solicitos.

Posted on 21/04/2025 by Google

Great experience

Posted on 21/04/2025 by Google

Muito boa. Recomendo

Posted on 19/04/2025 by Hotels.com

My family and I stayed for 3 nights here, and it was great! We stayed in the Kruger Luxury Rooms, and they were spacious, clean, and very comfortable. The breakfast and dinners (that were included) were delicious, which were buffet-style and had many options on each day. Even on the days we did full-day safaris (which started at 5:30am, thus before breakfast time), the hotel packed to-go breakfast boxes for us to take on the safaris, which came with a sandwich, juice, apple, and a plethora of snacks. We also enjoyed massage treatments at the spa, which were reasonably priced and very relaxing. They were able to accommodate same-day reservations for us. The staff were all very polite and accommodating. We wished we had the time to extend our stay! Before booking Kruger Gate Hotel, we were considering whether we wanted to stay at various sites within the actual park, but we were very glad we chose Kruger Gate hotel. We would definitely stay here again.

For the safari:
My family and I did 2 full day safaris with Enock as our guide on both days. He was great! He was very knowledgeable about the animals and could answer all our questions. What really stood out about Enock was his enthusiasm - he seemed to genuinely enjoy his job, and sometimes even seemed more excited than we were to spot the animals. When we passed by other safari drivers or people in their own vehicles doing self-drives, he would stop them and let them know where the nearby animals were (we noticed that not all other safari drivers did this). We saw the Big Five, in addition to many other animals including cheetahs (which are super rare). Towards the end of our second day, we still hadn\'t seen a leopard and had almost given up hope, but Enock was relentless and drove around asking his colleagues until we indeed spotted one! He always listened to what we wanted to see and do and accommodated our requests. When we seemed tired, he would slow down and let us rest. Before our trip, we were debating doing a self-drive or a guided safari, and we\'re so glad we chose the guided safari! We will be recommending Enock to any of our friends who are interested in doing a Kruger safari.

Practical tip: bring layers! It was very hot on the days we did our safaris, but because of the wind, it still felt pretty chilly at times, especially the mornings.

Posted on 22/04/2025 by TripAdvisor

tshepo served us both nights,he was so attentive and provided amazing service. So kind and such a pleasure to talk to. Thank you!

Posted on 22/04/2025 by TripAdvisor

Perfect service from luggage and transport through guest relations to organize a golf trip to Skukuza GC, to the Safari guide Abraham (just perfect) and for the marvellous top breakfast buffet and dinner buffet. Perfect 3 night stay, strongly recommended!

Posted on 20/04/2025 by TripAdvisor

What a special place the Kruger Gate Hotel is. Right on the edge of the Kruger National Park so no time at all to go on game drives. We were fortunate enough to spend 7 days here in April 25 and it was magical. The staff are wonderfully friendly and welcoming, the rooms are spacious and the food is magnificent. This is one of the nicest places we’ve stayed.

Posted on 20/04/2025 by TripAdvisor

We had the best time at Kruger Gate Hotel. The space is beautiful and could not be closer to the park entrance. The staff was so lovely, and the spa and food were particular highlights. The safaris were absolutely spectacular — the guides were so knowledgeable and we learned so much about the animals and environment.

Posted on 17/04/2025 by TripAdvisor

We stayed here for 2 days this month and all I can say is..we will definitely come back. Beautiful hotel, great food, lovely entertainment during dinner, helpful staff, pool with a view (elephants came to visit us) and a fabulous game drive...what more can one ask for. Most importantly we found out...many guests keep coming back...that says it all. Thank you for everything

Posted on 19/04/2025 by TripAdvisor

The hotel is very good, I recommend it. We were two adults and two children in a room with two queen size beds and were very comfortable. Great breakfast and dinner buffet with lots of gluten-free options (the breakfast muffins great), and the friendly and very pending service.
The pool area is very nice and overlooks the river so you can see animals going there to drink.
The first night we had a problem as in the middle of the night there was a leak in the room just above the bed (by a bad pipe) and we had to change rooms, with the aggravation that the next day we had hired the sunrise safari at 4.45, so we did not sleep barely. As soon as they heard about it from the hotel management they offered us the refund that night, a sign that it is a good hotel concerned about providing good service.

Posted on 17/04/2025 by TripAdvisor

The hotel is located right in the Kruger park. It has a beautiful, modern African style. A rich breakfast buffet was provided with fine service. The terrace is surrounded by the beautiful garden. The staff is very friendly and helpful.
The bathroom could use an update.
Massages with a view of the wild animals if there are any. We enjoyed an African dinner with spectacle.

Posted on 17/04/2025 by TripAdvisor

We we're a family of five with three grown up kids and stayed in the chalet ...maybe a little modest for the family for size two beds are in the attic over the kitchen ...a pool beside the chalets was brilliant...the entertainment and dinner every night amazing ...safari drive was brilliant very cold at 5.30 but heated up after about two hours ...everything seemed to be no problem to make you more comfortable thank you

Posted on 22/04/2025 by Booking.com

Loved Everything / location , staff , & food were amazing - spa was gorgeous / lots of animals to be seen daily by pool - Fabulous!!!

Posted on 22/04/2025 by Booking.com

Fantastic property, fantastic location.
Excellent friendly staff.
Our third time here and we will be back again for sure.

Posted on 19/04/2025 by Booking.com

Atendimento desse hotel é incrível, a comida do café da manhã e do jantar são excelentes, com MUITA variedade. Staff mega educado, amigável e prestativo. Atendimento para os Safaris muito bom, muito organizado. Piscina, quadra de tenis e academia são todos excelentes. Não tem do que reclamar.

Posted on 17/04/2025 by Booking.com

Geweldig uitzicht vanuit het zwembad. Olifanten die door de rivier heen gaan, impala's, nijlpaarden(lopen savonds vaak echt op 15 meter afstand langs het zwembad. Het eten is echt top,

Posted on 23/04/2025 by Booking.com

Beautiful location and pool. Attention to detail and very spacious and comfortable room.

Posted on 22/04/2025 by Booking.com

Location is amazing and staff very friendly and helpfull

Posted on 22/04/2025 by Booking.com

It was a gorgeous place to stay with amenities galore. We upgraded to a premium room which was so worth the money. Our room was spacious with plenty of room to roam. The spa was fantastic with separate cabanas for most of the treatments facing the Kruger national park so you got to view some while life while being pampered. The food was spectacular and definitely pampered by the waiters. Very attentive to details.!

Posted on 21/04/2025 by Booking.com

The property was so unique and beautiful and worth every dime and more. The staff were so respectful and friendly and genuine in their interactions with visitors.

Posted on 19/04/2025 by Booking.com

The property is stunning and with a lot of activities. Our room was very spacious, clean and comfortable. The view from the pool is wonderful. We could swim while watching elephants and giraffes.
The location is perfect, very close to Paul Kruger Gate and we had a wonderful 3 days safari experience!
The food was excellent and the staff are very friendly, always with a welcoming smile. For my birthday we had a private dinner at the viewing deck and we could see the hippos. The dinner was delicious, the chef Zandre and his colleague Tshepo presented it beautifully. It was a memorable evening.
On our next trip to the Kruger, we will definitely stay here again.

Posted on 18/04/2025 by Booking.com

Locația este foarte bună, lângă poarta de intrare în parc, personalul extrem de amabil, mâncare bună, camerele foarte noi și mari

Posted on 17/04/2025 by Booking.com

Incredible hotel, amazing food and exceptional staff.

Perfect for couples and families.

10/10

To repeat for sure.

Posted on 17/04/2025 by Booking.com

Café da manhã e janta excelentes. Cardápio variado.
Funcionários muito simpáticos e atenciosos.
Quarto excelente, muito confortável e espaçoso.
Deck da piscina muito legal, vimos até elefantes de lá.

Posted on 19/04/2025 by Booking.com

Perfect stay to enjoy kruger Park ! We Will come back

Posted on 19/04/2025 by Booking.com

Poolbar & Ausblick

Posted on 18/04/2025 by Booking.com

Modernes Zimmer, tolles Abendessen, schöner Ausblick von einer der beiden Bars, direkt am Eingang des National Parks gelegen. Top Organisation!

Posted on 18/04/2025 by Booking.com