The easiest way to choose your Karoo hostel. Our unique 3D map lets you filter vast semi-desert backpackers by stargazing vibe, safety, and great value.

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Filter backpackers hostels by digital nomad suitability, solo female traveller friendliness, safety, surfing, camping, value for money, party atmosphere, african culture experiences, adventure activities and nature experiences.

Interactive backpacker hostel map of the Karoo showing hostels that can be filtered by travel style, safety, digital nomad suitability, surfing, camping and budget travel preferences.

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Welcome to our backpacking guide of the Karoo!

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Karoo Backpackers Hostels

The Karoo's backpacker infrastructure is spread across a vast geographic area, and the hostels here fall naturally into two groups: those in the Great Karoo — the remote, deep interior operations at Nieu-Bethesda and the extraordinary Cedar Falls Base Camp in the Baviaanskloof — and those in the Little Karoo, clustered around Oudtshoorn. The two groups serve different trips and different travellers. What they share is a Karoo character: unhurried, personally managed, knowledgeable about the surrounding landscape, and without the social performance of a city hostel. These are places where conversations happen around fires and braais, where the owner can draw your hiking route from memory, and where the silence outside the property is the main amenity.

Hostels listed on Booking.com and Hostelworld

Booking.com HOSTELWORLD

All Hostels

Full contact details are included in case you want to book direct, plus useful info such as Safety Ratings and Value For Money, Solo Female Friendliness, and Digital Nomad scorecards.

Every listing below is independently researched and unsponsored. We review them all the same way -
the hostels do not pay us for advertising.

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LITTLE KAROO (OUDTSHOORN)

GREAT KAROO & BAVIAANSKLOOF

GO BAVIAANS — CEDAR FALLS BASE CAMP

AREA: Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area

ADDRESS: Cedar Falls Farm, Baviaanskloof, Willowmore, 6445, Eastern Cape

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PHONE: +27 74 939 4395

WHATSAPP: +27 74 939 4395

EMAIL: reservations@gobaviaans.co.za

WEBSITE: gobaviaans.co.za

SOCIAL: Facebook

ACCOMMODATION TYPE: Backpackers/Hikers House (self-catering, 12 bunk beds, bedding and towels NOT provided — bring your sleeping bag and towel); Cedar Farmhouse (sleeps 8, self-catering, bedding provided, min 4 people); Rietrivier Cottage (sleeps up to 8, self-catering, bedding provided); Cob Cottage (romantic, sleeps 2, bedding provided); Hueningbos Huis (sleeps 3, bedding provided). All accommodation is self-catering — bring all food and supplies.

PRICE RANGE: Budget to mid-range. Hikers House: ~R600 per room per night (bedding not included, min 4 people). Cedar Farmhouse: ~R320 per person (min 4, max 8). Cob Cottage: ~R980 per night. Confirm current pricing on the Go Baviaans website — rates are updated regularly.

OWLHOUSE BACKPACKERS

AREA: Great Karoo

STREET ADDRESS: Martins Street, Nieu-Bethesda, 6286
(note: Karoo Lamb restaurant is the reception for this property)

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PHONE: +27 49 841 1642 | +27 72 742 7113

WHATSAPP: +27 72 742 7113

EMAIL: backpackers@owlhouse.info

WEBSITE: owlhouse.info

SOCIAL: Facebook

See Photos & Reviews on:

Booking.com

ACCOMMODATION TYPE: En-suite private rooms; inside dormitory (6 bunks, shared bathroom); outside dormitory (4 bunks, shared bathroom); camping in the garden. Shared communal kitchen, braai facilities, lounge with wood-burner, permaculture garden. Meals available on request (breakfast, packed lunch, dinner with advance notice — Ian's lamb roast and veal are frequently named in reviews). Bedding and linen included for all rooms.

PRICE RANGE: Budget. Dorm beds from ~R200–R250; camping from ~R120 per person; en-suite private rooms from ~R450. Meals on request at additional cost.

Little Karoo: Oudtshoorn Hostels

Oudtshoorn has more backpacker options than any other town in the Karoo — a consequence of its position as the tourism hub of the Klein Karoo, its proximity to the Garden Route (and the Baz Bus route), and the volume of activities in the immediate vicinity. The four hostels below cover the full range: from a hilltop Tudor manor house with pool and sunset views (Karoo Soul) to the intimate garden character of Oasis Shanti, the en-suite precision of Lodge 96, and the extraordinary solar-powered eco-farm experience of Swartberg Backpackers, 45km out of town at the foot of the Pass itself.

LODGE 96

AREA: Little Karoo

STREET ADDRESS: 9696 Langenhoven Road, Oudtshoorn, 6620, Western Cape

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PHONE: +27 44 272 2996

WHATSAPP: +27 82 492 5815

EMAIL: matt@lodge96.co.za

WEBSITE: N/A

SOCIAL: Facebook

ACCOMMODATION TYPE: Dormitory rooms (8-person maximum, en-suite bathroom), private double rooms (en-suite). Swimming pool. Self-catering kitchen. Activities desk. Shuttles to/from Baz Bus stop in George arranged.

PRICE RANGE: Budget. Dorm beds from ~R200–R280; private doubles from ~R650. Confirm current pricing directly — rates change seasonally.

OASIS SHANTI BACKPACKERS

AREA: Little Karoo

STREET ADDRESS: 3 Church Street, Oudtshoorn, 6625, Western Cape, South Africa

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PHONE: +27 44 279 1163

EMAIL: oasis@mailbox.co.za

WEBSITE: oasisshanti.com

See Photos & Reviews on:

Booking.com

ACCOMMODATION TYPE: Single rooms, double rooms, triple rooms, family rooms (some en-suite), spacious dormitory, self-catering flat, shady camping spots in the garden. Large swimming pool (described as "totally essential in summer"). Lazy lounging terrace. Wood-burner in lounge for winter. On-site restaurant La Dolce Vita (ostrich and local cuisine). Big shady garden.

PRICE RANGE: Budget. Dorm from ~R160–R220; singles/doubles from ~R500; camping from ~R100 per person. Confirm current pricing directly.

SWARTBERG BACKPACKERS

AREA: Klein Karoo — Eco-farm at the foot of the Swartberg Pass, 45km outside Oudtshoorn

ADDRESS: Cango Valley, Swartberg Pass Road, ~45km north of Oudtshoorn (GPS essential — confirm with Louis on booking)

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PHONE: 27 82 896 3082

WHATSAPP: +27 82 896 3082

EMAIL: info@swartbergbackpackers.co.za

WEBSITE: swartbergbackpackers.co.za

See Photos & Reviews on:

Booking.com

ACCOMMODATION TYPE: Fully private, non-shared units — this is explicitly not a shared-backpacker operation. Two main units: The Ark (table tennis, mountain and farm dam views); Woodstock (private hot tub with Swartberg Mountain and waterfall views). No shared dorms. All units are self-catering with fully equipped kitchen (gas stove, gas oven, gas bar fridge, solar refrigerator), private braai facilities. Eco-farm: solar electricity, gas geysers, wood fires, organic gardening, free-range livestock. Swimming in the natural mountain pool (not a constructed pool).

PRICE RANGE: Mid-range by national standards, extremely good value for what it offers. Confirm current pricing directly — rates are per unit, not per person, and the property specifically does not share units between different guest groups.

Where Do You Want To Go Next?

THE GREAT KAROO - Photo: Moongateclimber Wikimedia Commons