Cape Vidal camp
Log cabins, bush lodge and campsite · Eastern Shores section, Cape Vidal beach, 34 km north of St Lucia · iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority (Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife until 28 February 2026)
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (iSimangaliso Authority)
The only state camp where you can drive the Eastern Shores loops in the morning and snorkel the sheltered reef off the beach in the afternoon without leaving the park. It has log cabins, the 8-bed Bhangazi bush lodge, Mbabala and a campsite, with fuel, a shop and boat launching. The campsite is fenced against elephants only, and iSimangaliso has recorded three hyena attacks in 15 years: zip tents shut and put food away. A 30-year concession that would replace the cabins was due to go to tender in March 2026. The camp is state-owned; Ezemvelo ran it until 28 February 2026, the Authority since. Choose it for beach and bush together.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Beach and Eastern Shores game drive from one camp
- Sheltered reef for snorkelling at the beach
- Whales from June and turtles from November
- Fuel and a shop on site
- Tar road from St Lucia, so a sedan is fine
Cons
- Books out months ahead in school holidays and December
- Campsite fenced only against elephants; hyenas have bitten campers
- Tariff dates from 2023/24 and a new operator may change prices
- About 53 minutes from St Lucia, longer with game viewing
What's here
- Campsite
- Self-catering
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
- Guided walks
- Birding
- Fishing
Read from Cape Vidal camp's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
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 Cape Vidal camp
From R340 per site for two (2023/24 tariff). Ezemvelo 2023/24 tariff: campsite R340 for a minimum of two (high season R1,000 for a minimum of four); 4-bed log cabin R1,890 for a minimum of three plus R630 (high R2,610); 6-bed cabin R2,520 (high R3,480); Bhangazi bush lodge R4,020 for a minimum of six; Mbabala R1,360 for a minimum of eight. No later official tariff. The Bhangazi Gate fee is extra: R62 per South African adult and R130 per international adult on the 2024/25 table, plus a R7 conservation levy and R12 accommodation levy per person per night. VAT treatment is not stated.
Self-catering. You cook. Nothing else is included unless the entry says so.
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 Cape Vidal camp
How much does Cape Vidal camp cost?
On Ezemvelo's 2023/24 tariff a campsite was R340 for two and a 4-bed log cabin R1,890 for three, with high-season rates of R1,000 and R2,610. No newer official tariff has been published. The Bhangazi Gate fee and levies are extra.
Is Cape Vidal camp safe for camping with children?
iSimangaliso and Ezemvelo have said there were three hyena attacks at Cape Vidal in 15 years and that the camp is fenced only against elephants. Keep tents zipped, store all food, never feed animals and watch children after dark. We found no published child policy.
Will Cape Vidal camp still be there?
A 30-year concession that would replace the log cabins was scheduled for tender in March 2026. No award had been reported by September 2026, but dates and prices may change once a concessionaire takes over.