Vryburg is situated on the N14 National Road, which runs from Johannesburg in the Gauteng Province in a southwesterly direction to Vryburg. When the Republic of Stellaland was established in 1882, Vryburg was it's first capital.

The first and only president was G.J. van Niekerk because in 1885 the British seized the town and incorporated the area into British Bechuanaland.

In 1895 Vryburg became part of the Cape Colony. During the Second Boer War, the British built a concentration camp in Vryburg to house Boer women and children.Later the Cape Colony became the Cape Province, one of the four provinces of the Republic of South Africa. In 1994 nine provinces were established and Vryburg became part of the North West Province.The town of Vryburg has lots of bed and breakfast options available. There is also a municipal caravan park and camping site in town.

Just north of Vryburg is the Leon Taljaart Nature reserve. The reserve is home to more than 100 species of birds. Also in the reserve you will find blue and black wildebeest, some mountain and Burchell's zebra, white rhino, buffalo, duiker, giraffe, eland, gemsbok, springbok, red hartebeest and some blesbok.