How to install GDAL 2.x on CentOS 7 without building from source?

We tend to install the Anaconda Python distribution, which also includes a fairly complete GDAL version in conda-forge. All you need to do to make it work is to add your anaconda directory to $PATH. You get the Python bindings, but also the binary executables (e.g. gdalinfo and friends).

You can also use the recipe on conda-forge to build your own version if you require drivers, as it's quite straightforward to modify and is designed for compiling without interaction.