Camping in Namibia: The Complete Guide

Namibia is one of the last great self-drive camping destinations on earth: a country more than twice the size of Germany with under three million people, where a single tank of fuel can carry you from towering red dunes to a desert coastline littered with shipwrecks to a wildlife-rich salt pan without ever leaving a gravel road. Camping is the way most visitors actually experience it — whether that means a fully-serviced site with a pool and a braai area, or a basic pitch on a dry riverbed with nothing but a long-drop toilet and the stars.

This guide pulls together every campsite in our directory — currently 436 and growing — organised by the landmarks and regions travellers actually plan trips around, so you can go straight to the part of the country you’re heading to next.

Camping by landmark

Namibia’s best-known destinations each have their own dedicated guide, pulling together every campsite near that specific park, coastline or mountain range:

• Etosha National Park Camping — Namibia’s premier wildlife destination, floodlit waterholes and self-drive game viewing.
• Sossusvlei & Namib-Naukluft Camping — the world’s tallest dunes, Deadvlei, and Sesriem Canyon.
• Skeleton Coast Camping & Fishing — shipwrecks, seal colonies and Namibia’s best surf angling.
• Fish River Canyon Camping — the world’s second-largest canyon and a classic multi-day hike.
• Damaraland Camping — desert-adapted elephants, ancient rock art and Twyfelfontein.
• Caprivi / Zambezi Region Camping — Namibia’s lush river panhandle bordering Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
• Kalahari Desert Camping — red dunes, camelthorn trees and cheetah conservation country.
• Waterberg Plateau Camping — a sandstone table mountain and rhino conservation stronghold.

Camping by region

Prefer to plan by Namibia’s administrative regions instead? Each region page lists every campsite we have on file there:

• Erongo Region (coast, Swakopmund, Spitzkoppe)
• Kunene Region (Etosha, Damaraland, Kaokoland)
• Hardap Region (Sossusvlei, Mariental)
• Khomas Region (Windhoek and surrounds)
• Otjozondjupa Region (Waterberg, Otjiwarongo)
• //Karas Region (Fish River Canyon, the deep south)
• Caprivi Region (rivers and Bwabwata)
• Kavango Region (Okavango River)

Planning your trip

Most self-drive Namibia itineraries follow some version of a loop out of Windhoek: south to Sossusvlei, west to the Skeleton Coast, north through Damaraland to Etosha, and back — with the Kalahari, Fish River Canyon and the Caprivi/Zambezi Region as detours depending on how much time you have. Road conditions vary widely, from tarred national roads to rough gravel and sand tracks, so check the route to each campsite before you travel, especially in the wetter northern regions between January and April.

Browse the full, searchable list of all 436 campsites in our campsite directory, or use the interactive map to plan a route.