Safari park fees by country (2026)
Park and conservation fees are one of the largest and most misunderstood parts of a safari quote. Each country runs its own authority, its own fee types and its own resident rules. This reference explains how the fees are structured country by country so you know exactly what to build into a costing. Exact current amounts change from year to year, so treat the figures as something to confirm against a live source.
8 min read · Updated 24 July 2026
How park fees are usually structured
Before the country breakdown, it helps to know the shapes a park fee can take. Most authorities combine several of these:
- Entry / conservation fee: per person, per day (or per 24 hours from entry).
- Vehicle fee: per vehicle, per day, separate from the per-person entry.
- Concession or community fee: per person, per night, charged by some camps on private land.
- Special-area service fee: e.g. a crater service fee at Ngorongoro, on top of the conservation fee.
- Activity permits: per person, per activity, for high-demand experiences such as gorilla or chimp trekking.
- Residency tiers: different rates for non-residents, residents and (in East Africa) East African citizens.
Fees are kept live in the product
Itero Desk ships a country-aware park-fee library so the current figures load into every quote for the country your workspace is set to. This guide explains the structure; the live amounts belong in your library, not hard-coded into a blog post.
Country by country
The table below maps each supported country to its main authority and the fee types you should expect to cost. It is the structure that matters here; confirm the current rate for each before you quote.
| Country | Main authority | Typical fee types | Hub airport |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanzania | TANAPA (national parks), NCAA (Ngorongoro), SENAPA (Serengeti) | Per-person entry, vehicle fee, Ngorongoro crater service fee, concession fees | JRO (Kilimanjaro) |
| Kenya | KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service) + Maasai Mara conservancies | Per-person entry, separate conservancy fees on private land | NBO (Nairobi) |
| Uganda | UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority) | Per-person entry, high-value gorilla & chimp trekking permits | EBB (Entebbe) |
| Zimbabwe | ZimParks | Per-person entry, vehicle fee | HRE (Harare) |
| South Africa | SANParks + private reserves | Daily conservation fee, private-reserve levies | JNB (Johannesburg) |
| Botswana | DWNP (Dept of Wildlife & National Parks) | Per-person park fee, vehicle fee, community/concession fees | MUB (Maun) |
| Namibia | NWR (Namibia Wildlife Resorts) | Per-person park entry, per-day structure | WDH (Windhoek) |
Practical costing notes
Gate times, not calendar days
Several authorities charge per 24 hours from the time you enter the gate, not per calendar day. A late-afternoon entry and a full next day can count as one or two fee days depending on the exit time. Read the rule for each park; it changes the fee count on short stays.
Concessions bill on top
Camps on private concessions often add a per-person, per-night concession or community fee that is separate from both the park entry and the bed-night rate. It is easy to miss because it does not appear on the park tariff or the room rate.
Permits book early
High-demand permits, gorilla trekking in Uganda being the clearest example, are limited in number, expensive, and often sold out months ahead. Build them into both the price and the booking timeline early, not as an afterthought.
Keep fees current without the spreadsheet
Itero Desk keeps the park-fee library aligned per country so quotes reflect current fees, including per-vehicle scaling and concession rules. See the guide on pricing a safari itinerary for how park fees fit the wider cost stack.