Before actually planning our safari in Kruger, I thought safaris required years and years of saving and cost thousands of dollars. And that can be true, but a safari in Kruger National Park can absolutely be done on a budget.

Yes, there are private reserves you can stay at where you’re living in the luxury many associate with going on safari, but there are also government run camps that are quite affordable. The public camps, plus the fact that Kruger allows self-drive through the park, means you have a lot of control over the total cost.

We opted to stay in Crocodile Bridget Rest Camp, in a permanent tent. This was the mid-range option, as you could rent a spot to pitch a tent, or a bungalow. When we arrived and I saw how cute the bungalows were, I felt a bit of regret, but our tent was actually really nice.

We stayed for three nights and it was 100 GBP total for both of us. However, there are conservation fees that depend on nationality – people from South Africa pay a much, much lower rate than people from the US or Europe, which I fully support. These fees were more than our accommodation, and were an additional 120 GPB. We booked two drives with a guide, and those were about 20 GBP per person.

There was a Super Spar just outside the nearest gate, and we used that to stock up on groceries. We ate out a few times, but even with that we spent about 100 GBP on food.

Basically, to break it down for you, two of us stayed in Kruger for three nights and went on two guided game drives for £400 total. Compared to the safaris you see listed for ten times that, we were so pleasantly surprised that it was actually affordable for us.

We also rented a car for four days for 50 pounds, which allowed us to do self-guided drives all the other times, which we ended up preferring. We may have missed a few things, but the best moments we had were all when it was just us, and even more magical for the quiet privacy.

I know I’m spending ages talking about the money side of this, but I feel like it’s not talked about enough! That going on safari can be affordable, that it’s something you can possibly do sooner rather than later. It’s so much more accessible than I thought and now that I know I want to do 100 more trips just like this one.