Explore Namibia, a safari favorite with incredible landscapes and activity offerings, on a 15 day self-guided and self-drive tour through the country.
Namibia is the second least populated country in the world, home to the oldest desert, and offers fascinating landscapes with incredible wildlife. On our 15-day self-driving trip through the country, we explore the Etosha National Park in the north with its incredible wildlife, visit some of Namibia’s oldest rock engravings in the dry Damaraland, make our way down to Swakopmund where impressive sand dunes meet the ocean, and then wrap our trip up in the world’s oldest desert in Sossusvlei, part of the Namib-Naukluft Park.
Here is what you need to know to prepare for the trip, including Covid travel information.
Our itinerary: Windhoek – Okonjima – Etosha National Park – Twyfelfontein – Sandwich Harbour (Swakopmund) – Sossusvlei (Namib-Naukluft National Park)
What You Need To Know
What to see in Namibia: Namibia has incredible landscapes with massive sand dunes, an impressive coastline, vast deserts, and is great for safari. I enjoyed Namibia most for its diverse scenery and wildlife with limitless options for an active, fun and engaging trip. We enjoyed a variety of different game drives, hikes, hot air ballooning, quad biking and sand dune adventures. Namibia offers activities for any taste.
When to visit: Namibia is a year-round destination; however, it is recommended to visit outside of the rainy season, between April and November. The winter months between July and September are the driest, but also the coldest. Our trip in May was just perfect, with mild temperatures, great visibility for safari, no rain and landscapes that were still relatively green from the recent wet season.
Wildlife: throughout our trip we saw different antelopes including oryx, springbok, steenbok, dik-dik, impala, kudu, red hartebeest, as well as blue and black wildebeest, giraffes, elephants, cheetahs, ostriches, black and white rhinos, lions and leopards, and much more. *The Oryx is Namibia’s National antelope, and you will see quite a few of these beautiful animals.
What to pack: day temperatures are quite warm, ranging between 18-30 C; however, nights and early mornings can get quite chilly. Pack practical clothes with different layers, and anything that is comfortable when doing small hikes or sitting in a safari vehicle for an extended time. Mosquito repellent, sunscreen, first aid kit and reusable water bottles are also highly recommended.
How to get there: Windhoek can best be reached through direct flights from Germany, Ethiopia, and South Africa. Traveling from the US is a 30+ hour journey with the current situation of limited flight options; however, the destination is worth the extended travel.
How to get around: Traveling within Namibia is safe and easy; however, a proper vehicle is a must, as not all roads are paved. We rented an automatic 4×4 Toyota Hilux with Desert Car Hire, and drove approximately 1,500 miles throughout the country. Traffic drives on the left side of the road and navigation is quite simple as there are very few roads. We regularly filled up the tank with gas to avoid any risk of getting stuck and stocked up with some water and snacks. No international driver license was needed for US citizens and the team at Desert Car Hire provided us with all the needed information on site to ensure a smooth and safe journey through Namibia.
What to eat: Lodges offer the option to eat on site and offer half or full-pension options. Everything you eat will be fresh and local and we enjoyed different game meats, such as Oryx, Springbok, Kudu and Eland.
Short on time: explore the option of a fly-in safari as all parts of Namibia can be reached by private charter planes and many lodges can make these arrangements on your behalf. As an alternative, you can also hire a private driver to take you around.
Budget: Namibia is as expensive as you want it to be. I personally prefer a mix of different types of lodges and experiences, and we spent around USD$10,000 for the trip for 2 adults, not including airfare.
Covid: Travel restrictions may change rapidly and it is recommended to verify updated regulations prior to traveling. At the time of our trip we needed a negative Covid test, that was not older than 7 days. Before our departure we scheduled the Covid test with Pathcare in Windhoek and booked the Rapid Antigen test ($35 / results within 5 hours). Updated information for US travelers is here.
Namibia Self-Guided Safari Itinerary
Day 1 – Windhoek
- After arriving in Windhoek, the Desert Car Hire team picked us up at the airport to get us our booked rental car and briefed us on the driving conditions across Namibia.
- Hotel: Voigtland Guest House is close to Windhoek airport, has 3 giraffes living on property and was a fantastic location to kick-off our Namibia trip.
- Most memorable: Stargazing from the room through the window in the ceiling and having breakfast on the patio, while feeding giraffes.
Day 2 – Okonjima
- Drive to Okonjima Nature Reserve
- Hotel: Okonjima Camp
- Activity: 3:30pm Leopard Safari Game Drive
- Most memorable: beautiful lodge with waterhole in front of the main building and amazing views from our “view room”, with large glass window. The leopard safari was an adventure, and we finished the day with a proper Namibian sundowner.
Day 3 – Okonjima
- Activity: 6:30am Sunrise Endangered Species Game Drive
- Drive to Etosha National Park
- Hotel: Mokuti Etosha Lodge
- Most memorable: Sunrise endangered species safari with many of our wild friends.
Day 4 – Etosha National Park
- Activity: 6:30am Sunrise Game Drive in Etosha National Park
- Most memorable: Full-day safari in Etosha National Park with our awesome tour guide Emma, who spotted wild cheetahs, rhinos, elephants, and much more.
Day 5 – Etosha National Park
- Drive to the west side of the park
- Hotel: Etosha Village
- Most memorable: driving with our own vehicle through the national park, looking out for wildlife and adventures. Enjoying one of our best meals of this trip at Etosha Village – Oryx steak.
Day 6 – Etosha National Park
- We started our day with an early morning sunrise game drive. Our highlight was seeing 15 lions and a dead elephant.
- Drive to Twyfelfontein
- Hotel: Twyfelfontein Country Lodge
Day 7 – Twyfelfontein
- Activity: 8am morning hike, the Real Adam & Eve, Rock Engravings and an afternoon game drive seeing desert elephants.
- Most memorable: Feeling very remote at Twyfelfontein, a UNESCO world heritage site, famous for its up to 10,000 year old rock engravings. This stay was extra special as we encountered desert adapted elephants and an only 3 month old elephant carcass that was almost completely consumed by Africa’s circle of life.
Day 8 – Twyfelfontein
- Drive to Swakopmund
- Hotel: Strand Hotel
- Most memorable: On our drive to Swakopmund, we saw local Damaraland tribes in their small clay villages and a shipwreck as soon as we reached Skeleton Coast.
Day 9 – Sandwich Harbour
- Activity: 8am tour to Sandwich Harbour from Swakopmund
- Most memorable: Sandwich Harbour was one of the most scenic landscapes on this trip, as the dramatic sand dunes meet the ocean. On our tour we drove in low tide along the beach, enjoyed stunning views on top of the dunes and got to run around in the sand.
Day 10 – Sossusvlei
- Drive to Sossusvlei
- Hotel: andBeyond
- Activity: Evening Desert Game Drive with Sundowner
- Most memorable: The landscapes of Sossusvlei are one of a kind, with their different shades of color and sand formations. Our stay at the superb andBeyond lodge elevated the entire experience to the next level.
Day 11 – Sossusvlei
- Activity: Sossusvlei all-day excursion
- Most memorable: Exploring the heart of Sossuslvei, climbing the “Big Daddy” sand dune, standing on top of an incredible desert scenery, running down a dune and walking through Deadvlei, with its 900+ year old dead trees, locked into the clay ground and protected by the surrounding sand dunes.
Day 12 – Sossusvlei
- Activity: Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Safari with Champagne breakfast and sunset Quad biking with sundowner.
- Most memorable: The hot air balloon sunrise tour over the world’s oldest desert was certainly one of my Namibia highlights. The ride was smooth, and we explored the landscape from different altitudes and angles and celebrated our safe arrival with a breakfast in the desert.
Day 13 – Sossusvlei
- Activity: Desert people morning hike.
- Drive to Windhoek.
- Most memorable: Quad biking, hiking, desert sundowners and spa treatments – andBeyond was a pure treat.
Day 14 – Habitas Lodge
- Hotel: Habitas Namibia
- Activity: 4pm Sunset Safari
- Most memorable: Habitas is a very special lodge, with focus on your mind & body, culinary and cultural experience. Glamping in a luxurious tent, overlooking an amazing landscape, never felt better. At night we had a bushman talk about their century old traditions while sitting around a campfire and gazing up to the stars.
Day 15 – Habitas Lodge
- Activity: 6am Sunrise Safari
- Departure…
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