Riba’s Underground Camping & Caravan Park – Coober Pedy, South Australia

Stay Underground in the Heart of Coober Pedy

Located just 5 km south of Coober Pedy in South Australia’s Outback, Riba’s Underground Camping & Caravan Park is a one-of-a-kind accommodation destination offering underground camping, underground rooms, and traditional caravan and camping sites.

If you're travelling the Stuart Highway, doing “the Big Lap,” or exploring the iconic Flinders Ranges and Outback SA, this unique caravan park in Coober Pedy offers an experience you won’t find anywhere else.

The World’s First Underground Campground

Riba’s is the only place in the world where you can pitch a tent or roll out a swag underground. Dug into the same sandstone hills that made Coober Pedy famous, the underground campground offers guests cool, quiet and fly-free camping—even in the peak of summer. The ambient underground temperature stays at a comfortable 22–24°C, perfect for escaping the desert heat.

The park also includes powered and unpowered caravan sites, shade structures, underground budget rooms, and essential traveller facilities like hot showers, camp kitchen, laundry, and Wi-Fi access.

Opal Mine Tours – Experience Coober Pedy’s History

Riba’s offers guided underground opal mine tours on-site. Guests can explore a retired opal mine, learn how opals are discovered, and see first-hand why Coober Pedy is the opal capital of the world. The tour includes stories about local geology and the life of an opal miner—and it’s often led by owner Jason Wright or his confident seven-year-old daughter Xoe, the park’s enthusiastic “safety officer.”

Guests who join the mine tour receive free unpowered camping or discounts on powered sites and rooms, making it a standout value compared to similar tours in town.

Coober Pedy – The Opal Capital of the World

Discovered in 1915, opals put Coober Pedy on the map. Today, Australia supplies 90% of the world’s opal, and Coober Pedy produces 90% of Australia’s supply—earning its title as the global opal capital. Visitors to Riba’s get a chance to connect with this rich mining history and enjoy a truly local, underground experience.

Riba’s uses RezExpert’s cloud-based reservation system to manage bookings across its underground camping sites, caravan sites, and rooms. The flexibility of RezExpert helps staff handle everything from seasonal offers to automated discounts for tour guests.

To keep their guest experience seamless from check-in to check-out (and beyond), Riba’s has also adopted automated post-stay email communication through RezExpert—allowing them to follow up with travellers, gather feedback, and build stronger guest relationships without needing to manually send each message.

Looking for caravan park accommodation in Coober Pedy?
Whether you're travelling through the Outback, heading north from Port Augusta, or planning a South Australian adventure, Riba’s Underground Camping & Caravan Park is a must-visit stop for an unforgettable underground experience.