Bib's International Backpackers
Backpackers: dorms, camping and en-suite units · St Lucia town, 310 McKenzie Street (no gate fee) · Bib's International Backpackers
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Budget
Inside the park
Ownership unconfirmed
St Lucia's backpackers at 310 McKenzie Street, with dorms, camping, en-suite units and two family units, a pool, wifi, a restaurant, a tour desk, a beach shuttle and free morning walks. It is the obvious choice if you are travelling without a car: the tour desk books Cape Vidal days, cruises and night drives, and the shuttle covers the beach. Hostelworld shows prices only with dates, so no rate is listed here. Choose it on a backpacker budget or without a car.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Tour desk and beach shuttle
- Restaurant and pool
- Dorms, camping and family units
- Good without a car
Cons
- No rate captured
- Backpacker atmosphere will not suit everyone
What's here
- Swimming pool
- Wi-Fi
- Restaurant
- Family rooms
- Campsite
Arranged from the lodge:
- Guided walks
We could not reach a website for Bib's International Backpackers, so this list is incomplete by definition. Ask them directly.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. iSimangaliso Wetland Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryGate fee and conservation levy plus the R12 accommodation levy, counted per day because no official document says whether multi-night guests pay the gate fee once.
- $9per person, per day
- VehicleR74 car fee, counted per day for the same reason.
- $5per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $69 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Sleeping inside the boundary is what keeps that low. Overnight guests add the R12 accommodation levy per night, against $8 a day for anyone driving in from outside.
These are the 2024/25 rates, which expired on 30 November 2025; no newer table has been published. Sodwana, the Coastal Forest and Kosi Bay charge about half (R71 per international adult). Lodges in St Lucia town are outside every gate.
The full fee schedule for iSimangaliso Wetland ParkRates at Bib's International Backpackers
Rates on request. Hostelworld shows prices only once you enter dates; no rate was captured. No gate fee to reach St Lucia town. Ask whether VAT is included.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked against the research dossier of 24 September 2026. State-camp prices come from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife's 2023/24 tariff (1 November 2023 to 31 October 2024), the last official camp tariff that could be read; treat them as a floor, because iSimangaliso has published none since it took the camps over on 1 March 2026. Thonga Beach Lodge, Kosi Forest Lodge, Coral Divers, Mabibi Beach Camp and Umlilo Lodge are priced from their own sites. Every figure marked 'reseller rate' comes from SA-Venues, LekkeSlaap, Siyabona or a booking agent, uses that site's 'from' price, and usually prices a room for two; we halve it to give a per-person figure. Dollar figures use R16.36 to the dollar (24 September 2026) and are rounded. Gate fees are extra everywhere except in St Lucia town: R62 per South African adult and R130 per international adult at the dearest gates on the 2024/25 table, which expired on 30 November 2025 with no successor published.
Questions about Bib's International Backpackers
What does Bib's cost?
Hostelworld shows prices only once you enter dates. Check there or with the backpackers.
Is Bib's the same as 'BiBi's'?
Yes, 'BiBi's' is a common misspelling of Bib's International Backpackers.
Is Bib's good for families?
It has two family units. We found no published child policy.