Sesriem Campsite: Staying at Sossusvlei

If you want to discover the famous Sossusvlei, Deadvlei or Dune 45 in the Namib desert, you need somewhere to stay nearby. In the desert it quickly gets hot and the park only opens at sunrise. If you spend the night far away, you will have very little time before it becomes unbearably hot in the Namib. The state-run Sesriem Campsite offers somewhere to sleep inside the park. The big advantage: you are allowed and able to set off towards Sossusvlei and Deadvlei an hour before sunrise.

The small settlement of Sesriem

Sesriem Campsite is located, as the name suggests, directly in Sesriem, a small settlement on the edge of Namib-Naukluft National Park. The park lies in the middle of the Namib desert, a dry desert on the west coast of Africa. Because of its unusual proximity to the Atlantic, it is one of the earth’s rare coastal deserts and was therefore added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013 as the "Namib Sand Sea".

Sesriem itself is mainly known for the "Sesriem Gate", the official gate to the almost 50,000 km2 Namib-Naukluft National Park. In addition to the "Sesriem Gate", which only opens at sunrise, there is another gate to the national park behind it that already allows drivers to pass an hour before sunrise. So if you stay overnight in Sesriem, you can skip the first gate and set off for Sossusvlei, Deadvlei or Dune 45 an hour before sunrise. In the settlement itself you will mainly find campsites, a petrol station and a small kiosk.

We decided on Sesriem Campsite because we definitely wanted to stay directly in Sesriem (so behind the first gate). The prospect of being able to drive into the park an hour before sunrise is certainly tempting. After all, who doesn’t want to experience a sunrise in a desert at least once?

We reserved the site in advance because we were not sure how big the rush to Sesriem Campsite would be. We are lucky, there are a few people here but the site is huge so it still does not feel overcrowded. In peak travel season it is supposed to get really full, so reserving is probably more necessary then. When we are travelling we can see that people often only stay for one night. If you do not plan much more than seeing Sossusvlei once, one night is usually enough.

Facilities at Sesriem Campsite

The campsite itself is right in the middle of the desert. As far as the eye can see we spot nothing but sand, sand and more sand. Now and then the wind gets up and the fine sand sweeps across the whole site. While we had still been a bit cold at night the day before at Family Hideout, we are now sweating quite a lot. The sun beats down on the sand non-stop and it heats up quite early on. Only those who can run fast can now go barefoot. Fortunately almost every pitch has a tree that provides pleasant shade. Without the camel thorn trees it would be barely bearable. The sun really does beat down mercilessly from above.

Each pitch is marked off with a circle of stones and has separate rubbish bins (even with recycling!). And of course, typical for Namibia, there is also a decent braai area. The distance between the individual pitches is really very pleasant. Even though we would actually prefer to camp out in nature on our own, the level of privacy on this site is absolutely fine. We park our Toyota Hilux with roof tent for now and don’t put the tent up yet. The sun is still too strong and we want to head off again anyway.

The sanitary facilities are quite decent by African standards. Even though a few tiles are broken and the water pressure is not very high, everything is generally clean and the showers even have hot water – although we do not need that in this heat. As long as all campers remember to close the windows in the evening at dusk, there are hardly any insects in the wash block :-)

At the campsite check-in there is a restaurant and a small kiosk. The kiosk stocks basic groceries such as tins, pasta, etc., as well as cold drinks and ice cream. The ice cream was a real blessing in the heat.

While we are sweating away on the campsite, we keep seeing gemsbok right next to us. On unoccupied pitches the animals make themselves comfortable in the shade of the camel thorn trees, while the birds above them complain loudly. While the gemsbok and birds jostle for position, we get started on cooking something to eat. We are having pasta so that we will have enough energy later to drive to the dunes again once the temperatures allow it. We have got into the habit of eating early if we want to take photos in the beautiful light. With a rumbling stomach it really is not very relaxing :-)

Prices at Sesriem Campsite

You can find the current prices for Sesriem Campsite on the NWR website. At the moment (as of 2024) you have to pay 610 NAD (30 EUR) per person per night for a stay.

If you also want to reserve Sesriem Campsite in advance, you can do so using the online booking form. Camping in Namibia is a wonderful way to experience the country. This campsite is right at the gate to Namib-Naukluft Park, which is why we can really recommend it to you.