Looking for off grid campsites in South Africa? From private bush camps and remote farm stays to secluded campsites far from the crowds, South Africa has plenty of places where getting away from it all is still possible
Sometimes the best campsite isn’t the one with the biggest swimming pool, the busiest restaurant or a hundred stands packed together.
It’s the one where the road gets quieter, the phone signal disappears and there’s enough space between you and the next campsite to remember why you went camping in the first place.
South Africa has no shortage of beautiful camping destinations, but finding genuinely off-grid campsites and private campsites can take a little more digging. They’re often on farms, private reserves and remote properties away from the country’s better-known holiday resorts.
That’s exactly the kind of place we’re interested in at Off-Grid Adventures.
This guide will help you discover secluded camping options around South Africa, understand what to look for before booking, and find more remote places through our growing accommodation directory.
Looking for somewhere to go now? Find off-grid accommodation in our accommodation finder.
What Do We Mean by Off-Grid Camping?
“Off-grid” can mean different things depending on where you stay.
For some campers, it’s a completely remote bush camp with no electricity, no mobile reception and little more than a place to pitch a tent. For others, it might be a small private campsite with solar power, basic ablutions and enough distance from town to enjoy a genuinely quiet weekend.
For us, the important part isn’t how primitive the campsite is.
It’s the experience of getting away from the crowds and closer to the landscape around you.
That can include:
- Remote bush camps
- Private or exclusive-use campsites
- Farm camps
- Wilderness camps
- Small eco-camps
- Campsites reached by gravel or 4×4 tracks
- Places with limited electricity or mobile reception
- Campsites where privacy and nature matter more than resort facilities
You don’t necessarily need a heavily modified 4×4 or expedition trailer either. Some off-grid destinations are surprisingly accessible, while others require proper preparation and a capable vehicle.
Why Choose a Private or Secluded Campsite?
There is something very different about arriving at a campsite and realising that, for the next night or two, this little piece of wilderness is yours.
No neighbouring television.
No generator firing up next to your tent.
No queue for the braai.
And hopefully nobody deciding that 06:00 is the perfect time to test their new sound system. 😂
Private and smaller off-grid campsites can offer something increasingly difficult to find at popular destinations: space.
For families and groups of friends, an exclusive campsite can also mean being able to relax without worrying about disturbing neighbouring campers. For photographers, birders and nature lovers, fewer people can mean a much quieter experience.
And for many of us, sitting around a fire underneath a genuinely dark sky is worth considerably more than another row of resort facilities.
Finding Off-Grid Campsites in South Africa
This is one of the reasons we rebuilt the accommodation section of Off-Grid Adventures.
Interesting campsites are frequently discovered through recommendations, Facebook posts and conversations between travellers. The problem is that a great recommendation posted today can disappear down a social-media feed within days.
So we’re building something more permanent.
Our Find Accommodation tool brings campsites and other off-grid stays together in a searchable directory where travellers can explore properties and contact accommodation owners directly.
As more property owners join and claim their listings, the directory will continue to grow.
Where to Look for Your Next Off-Grid Escape
Rather than pretending there are only ten campsites in South Africa worth visiting, we’d rather help you explore by region.
Western Cape
The Western Cape offers an enormous variety of landscapes, from mountains and fynbos to the dry interior and rugged West Coast.
It’s particularly well suited to travellers looking for weekend escapes from Cape Town as well as longer trips into more isolated areas.
Searches for off-grid camping in the Western Cape are already among the ways travellers discover Off-Grid Adventures, so we’ll be expanding this part of our directory considerably.
Northern Cape
If your idea of camping involves big skies, long gravel roads and plenty of empty space, the Northern Cape deserves attention.
The province lends itself particularly well to remote travel, with enormous distances and landscapes ranging from the Kalahari to Namaqualand and the Richtersveld.
Preparation becomes more important as you travel farther from towns, particularly when it comes to fuel, water and communications.
Limpopo
Bushveld, wildlife areas and proximity to some of South Africa’s most popular overlanding regions make Limpopo an obvious destination for off-grid travellers.
There are also smaller camps and privately operated properties outside the major tourism centres that can offer a very different experience from conventional resorts.
Gauteng and Surrounding Areas
You don’t always need a two-day drive to escape the city.
Gauteng and the surrounding regions have bush camps, farms and nature properties that can work particularly well for a quick weekend away or even as a shakedown trip before a longer overland journey.
They’re also useful for testing new camping equipment before discovering, 700 km from home, that something doesn’t work.
Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Beyond
South Africa’s eastern regions offer another completely different style of off-grid travel: mountains, forests, rivers, coastal areas and extensive rural landscapes.
Our directory is still growing, so some provinces currently have considerably more listings than others.
That’s something we intend to change.
Before You Book a Remote Campsite
Remote camping rewards preparation.
Before leaving, check directly with the property owner about current road conditions, vehicle requirements, water, ablutions, electricity, firewood, mobile reception and whether pets are permitted.
Also establish whether the campsite is truly exclusive or simply described as “private” because the stands are spaced farther apart.
If you’re travelling into genuinely remote areas, don’t rely entirely on mobile connectivity. Download maps before departure, let somebody know your plans and carry sufficient water and emergency supplies for the conditions.
And remember that conditions change. A road that is easy in the dry season may be very different after heavy rain.
Off-Grid Doesn’t Mean Uncomfortable
There’s also a misconception that off-grid camping means deliberately making yourself miserable.
It doesn’t.
Solar systems, portable fridges, good lighting, modern tents and capable camping equipment mean it’s possible to be remarkably comfortable without needing a conventional powered campsite.
The objective isn’t suffering.
It’s independence.
Being able to stay somewhere because you want to be there rather than because there’s an electrical socket next to the braai is one of the great freedoms of off-grid travel.
Know a Campsite We Should Add?
This is where we’d like the Off-Grid Adventures community to help.
If you’ve discovered a private campsite, remote farm camp, bush camp or unusual off-grid place somewhere in South Africa, tell us about it.
And if you own or manage one, you can list your accommodation on Off-Grid Adventures for free.
Our goal is to build a useful, searchable collection of the places that are normally difficult to find — and keep those recommendations available long after a social-media post has disappeared down the feed.
Find Your Next Off-Grid Campsite
South Africa is far too large and varied for a single article to contain every worthwhile campsite — and that’s exactly what makes exploring it interesting.
Use this guide as a starting point, browse our growing accommodation directory and keep checking back as new properties are added.
Whether you’re looking for a private campsite for the weekend, a remote stop on an overland journey or somewhere completely off the beaten track, there is probably another little patch of South Africa waiting to be discovered.
