Camping is the cheapest accommodation option in Namibia and the country has no shortage of incredible campsites, from the Namib Desert in the south to the wetlands in the north. Some of the campsites are truly unique and offer amazing experiences you won’t find anywhere else. Here is a comprehensive list of the 15 most memorable campsites you can visit in Namibia.
Etosha Safari Campsite
Etosha Safari Campsite is an exceptional find for adventurous travelers who prefer to pitch a tent and sleep under the stars. Just south of the park’s Andersson Gate, it’s just a short drive from Etosha National Park and provides the perfect base from which to travel.
The campsite features an inviting green lawn surrounded by mopane savanna. After a long day spent in the national park, you can look forward to a barbeque on the fire and the peaceful sounds of the surrounding wilderness before falling asleep to the breeze rustling through the mopane trees.
Etosha Safari Campsite costs NAD 287 per person per night and is a four-hour drive from Windhoek.
Sesriem Campsite
The Sesriem Campsite is one of only two camps inside the Namib Naukluft Reserve and a mere four kilometers from the astonishing Sesriem Canyon. Visitors here have the advantage of being able to drive to the dunes before sunrise to catch dawn breaking over the magnificent terrain.
Sossusvlei and Deadvlei are 60 km from the campsite. The camp features electricity, a shop, a restaurant, a pool, and a fuel station. Sesriem Campsite charges NAD 550 per person per night and is a five-hour drive from Windhoek.
Waterberg Campsite
Waterberg Plateau Park is a national park in central Namibia encompassing the Waterberg Plateau, 68 km east of the town of Otjiwarango. Waterberg Resort offers 45 campsites in this beautiful Nature Reserve, and facilities include a restaurant, bar, kiosk, shop, and swimming pool.
Campsites offer secluded pitches on the soft, red sand of the Kalahari, separated by bushes and trees.
Each pitch has its own shower/toilet in the central ablution block, with hot and cold water. There is also free WLAN in the restaurant of the Waterberg Valley Lodge. The campsite charges NAD 380 per person per night and is a four-hour drive from Windhoek.
Okaukuejo Campsite
Located just 17 km from the southern entrance of the Etosha National Park, Okaukuejo is famous for its flood-lit waterhole, where you can observe at close quarters a spectacle of wildlife congregating and interacting. Facilities include electricity, hot water, a communal kitchen, restaurant, bar, shop, swimming pool, kiosk, and filling station.
You can opt to go on a game drive here too. Peak season camping rates are NAD 460 and NAD 390 in the low season. Okaukuejo Campsite is a five-hour drive from Windhoek.
Hobas Campsite
Hobas Campsite is 10 km from the Fish River Canyon, the second-largest canyon in the world. The campsite features a shaded area and some grass lawns. Each pitch has a BBQ facility and a power supply with a light fixture. Because the campsite runs on generator power, there is no electricity after 10 PM.
One advantage of the Hobas Campsite is that you are already within the conservation area and you can watch the sunset and sunrise over the canyon. It’s not uncommon to encounter klipspringer, springbok, and even mountain zebra towards the canyon.
Facilities include a restaurant, swimming pool, an ablution block, shop, braai area, and bar. Hobas Campsite charges NAD 4000 per person per night and is a seven-hour drive from Windhoek.
Spitzkoppe Campsite
Ideally situated only one kilometer outside Spitzkoppe Mountain Reserve, this campsite is perfect for families, self-drive travelers, overlanders or tour groups. The majestic Namibian “Matterhorn” serves as a glorious backdrop for your stay here. Facilities include hot water showers, an electrical point, a private BBQ area, and flush toilets.
The restaurant offers pre-packed braai packs you can buy and braai back at your campsite. Enjoy a Bushmen Paradise Tour, Spitzkoppe by night, Sunset and Sunrise Tours, and bicycle rental. Rates are NAD 210 per person per night and the campsite is a three-hour drive from Windhoek.
Opuwo Country Lodge
Situated on a hill just outside Opuwo, these campsites offer great views of Opuwo and its surrounding areas and are great for capturing magnificent sunsets and sunrises. Activities include game viewing, bird watching, and 4×4 trails such as the well known Van Zyl’s Pass and Swartbooisdrift Route.
Camp facilities include 24-hour electricity, ablution facilities with hot and cold water, a BBQ area, and wash-up facilities. Campers are welcome to use the swimming pool, bar, restaurant and curio shop as well as the Rare Scent Spa.
Although there’s no shop, provisions and fuel are available from suppliers in Opuwo Town. Rates are NAD 190 per person per night and the campsite is a seven-hour drive from Windhoek.
Halali Campsite
Situated at the base of a dolomite hill under the shade of mopane trees in Etosha National Park, Halali Camp is easily accessible through the Anderson or Von Lindequist entrance gates. The center features a floodlit waterhole with raised seating for exceptional game sightings throughout the day and into the night.
It’s the perfect location for sunsets and wildlife photography. Your pitch is supplied with electricity, water, and a braai area. Other facilities include a restaurant, bar, shop, swimming pool, fuel station, and kiosk.
Guided morning, afternoon, and night games drives arranged at the resort provide flexible opportunities to see the wildlife. Halali Campsite charges NAD 450 per person per night during peak season, NAD 380 for the off season, and is a six-hour drive from Windhoek.
Sossus Oasis
Sossus Oasis offers exclusive camping at the entrance gate to the Namib Naukluft Park and Sossusvlei, famous for its towering red sand dunes, the iconic scorched trees of Deadvlei, and the remarkable depths of the Sesriem Canyon. The campsite offers 12 individual sites arranged in a semi-circle surrounding the relaxing pool area.
Each site has a paved patch shaded by a slatted wooden canopy, its own toilet and shower facilities, kitchen wash-up facility, barbeque and electricity points. The Sossus Oasis Group Campsites are ideal for larger groups traveling together.
A fuel and service station, tire workshop, stocked utility shop, and Internet cafe is available at the adjacent Sossus Oasis Service Station. Exciting desert activities like guided excursions to Sossusvlei, Sundowner drives, and scenic flights over the dunes and coast can be booked at the Sossusvlei Lodge Adventure Center.
The nearest restaurant is at the nearby Sossusvlei Lodge. Sossus Oasis charges NAD 250 per person per night for Individual Campsites and NAD 175 for the Group Campsite. Sossus Oasis is a five-hour drive from Windhoek.
Namutoni Resort
Built into an old German Historic Fort constructed in 1897, Namutoni Resort is located in the eastern part of the Etosha National Park and in close proximity to Fisher’s Pan, a hotspot for birders. The flood-lit King Nehale Waterhole gives visitors the opportunity to spot wildlife without even leaving the resort.
Features and facilities include a museum, restaurant, bar, tourist shop, swimming pool, fuel station, and kiosk. Guided game drives can be arranged. Namutoni Resort charges NAD 450 per person per night during peak season, NAD 380 in the off season and is a six-hour drive from Windhoek.
Otjiwa Safari Lodge
Otjiwa Safari Lodge is one of the oldest private game farms in Namibia and offers the chance to see about 25 different game species, such as giraffes, zebras, springbok, white rhino and, if you’re lucky enough to see one, leopards. Otjiwa is 12,000 hectares in total and has 21 water dams, each with its own natural habitat and bird life.
The lodge offers popular activities like sundowner game drives, game walks, rhino tracking, night drives, horse riding, cycling, and spa treatments.
Eagle’s Rest Lodge camping features and facilities include large spacious campsites with perfect views and shading, water basins, a BBQ area, electrical points, and two ablution blocks with hot water.
Each campsite has capacity for three cars and three tents. Otjiwa Safari Lodge charges NAD 350 per person per night camping and is a three-hour drive from Windhoek.
Duwisib Castle Campsite
Built by the German army officer Baron von Wolf for his American bride, Jayta, in the early 1900s, Duwisib Castle is the ideal stopover for visitors en route to the southern Namibia. This charming destination features 10 campsites. The museum inside the castle houses a collection of 18th and 19th century antiques, armor, and paintings.
Facilities include a restaurant, picnic sites, a tourist shop, and the underground Baron’s bar. Duwisib Castle charges NAD 161 per person per night and is located in Helmeringhausen, a five-hour drive from Windhoek.
Khowarib Lodge and Safari Campsite
Khowarib Lodge nestles on the banks of the Hoanib River in the magnificent Khowarib Gorge in northwest Namibia. On the fringe of Kaokoland, the lodge offers a perfect jumping off point to explore the remote north west of the country, either independently or on one of the lodge’s extensive guided tours.
Each campsite has a shade veranda, braai-pitch, wash-up basin, and 24/7 electricity with shared ablutions. Campers can take part in lodge activities.
Activities include searching for desert elephants, morning and afternoon nature drives, nature walks, cultural village tours, half day birding walks, and rock art excursions in Kaokoland and Damaraland. Khowarib Lodge charges NAD 300 per person per night and is located in Sesfontein, about a seven-hour drive from Windhoek.
Author: Antoinette van Heerden
Published: 18 August 2023
Last Update: 23 September 2024