Namibia Travel Guide

Awesome destination with beautiful Wildlife.

We were 4 days camping in Etosha with a private guide. The guide was good and the wildlife was beautiful. We were lucky to see lots of animals very close (e.g. 50+ elephants at a waterhole and a leopard next to the car) and always felt safe. I would always recommend a guided tour as the guides know at what time to be certain places to see the animals you want to get.
The camping part of the tour was not that good (which was organized by an organization for us).We were staying just outside the park in a camp which was quite good. Unfortunately our sleeping bags were to thin so that we were freezing at night. Additionally the food was really ‘basic’ (packet soup, backed beans, packet salat etc.) so that we ended up buying a bigger lunches by ourself at the camp when stoping there for a break at noon. We only got a ‘normal’ car (not a 4x4) to drive around the park. A 4x4 is not absolutely necessary, but I would recommend it because is a lot for comfortable (with luggage and camping gear we needed to squeeze in) and there are some places we had to skip as you need a 4x4 to get there.
To sum it up I would give 5 stars to the wildlife and the park itself. The overall impression for us was only diminished by the not properly organized camping experience.

spectacular scenery, but not a soft option safari

We saw a wide variety of wildlife, including rare black rhino and desert adapted elephant and giraffe. The scenery was beautiful, in a rugged, harsh way. The dunes at Sossusvlei are a highlight.
Travelling for hours on dirt roads can be tiring. The vehicle was substandard, as the air conditioning didn't work. This is such a vast country that it might be worth considering a fly-in safari to cut down time on the road. Some lodges and hotels were good, but the camping options were not "glamping". These are not like tented camps in other parts of Africa, such as Botswana - a bit more rustic.

Namibia is a safe country to visit and contains a variety of stunning scenery from desert and sand dunes at Sossusvlei, mountains, coastal towns with old German colonial architecture such as Swakopmund, great game reserves like Etosha and Daan Viljoen and others. Bird life is exceptional as are the animals. It is sparsely populated and the people are friendly.

We have seen a lot of animals and spectacular scenery

We have booked two different tours:7 days Etosha Explorer Tour (Wild Wind Safaris) and 4 day Swakopmund and Sossusvlei Adventure with Chamelon safaris.Weather was very good,dry and a lot of sun, no clouds.Our guides (Leslie Joseph and Griffith) were excellent.We have seen a lot of different animals, the accommodations have been very confortable and the food delicious.We will recommend these safaris to our friends and family.

It is just great. Great animals (big, small, reptiles, ... and of course: birds! great mountains and rock formations, and the clouds added a lot of atmosphere - see my photos to know what I mean!

The safari in Namibia is absolute one of the best choices in Africa!

I attended 10-day camping safari conducted by Wild Dog Safari with my husband in the middle of April 2017, which was just before the peak season. Weather was generally good, good sunshine in daytime and a bit cooler in evening. So good for tourist as we just needed light clothes(short sleeves with light jacket).
What I impressed firstly was the special safari truck which is remodelled the 4t truck for camping use. All camping equipment such as tents, cooking equipment, tables & chairs are well packed. Basically the camping life is to look around safari or sightseeing spots by the truck, park camping site, put tents, spend overnight, shut down tents, then move to another location. It was a bit busy, but we could have short rests during driving in the truck, which is one of the advantages to join such a group tour.
As for transportation, Namibia's main roads are mostly asphalt paved (though we passed some rattled roads), it was quite OK even for senior people, over 60 years old. Every two hours, we had a short break for washroom. If there are no proper facilities, we sometimes used bush washroom :)
During these 10 days, we visited the most of major spots. Namibia, not like other African countries, has varieties of beautiful sceneries such as desert, coast, rocky mountain and bush. Especially I was so impressed by the beauty of Namib desert, its colour and scale. We had also some joyful activities. Quad bike and Camel riding in Namib desert, chatting and playing with Himba tribe children and women.
In the middle of 10 days, we lodged at the hotel for 2 nights, that gave us a break to sleep in bed, time for washing clothes and eating in restaurants as all meals during camping are cooked by the camping staff. It was also good for the camping staff to have a rest to survive the rest of camping days.
Our tour main guide and the assistant were wonderful and friendly. All the time, they gave us the sufficient information and lovely chatting. For me or may all tourists, they are almost representative of Namibian as there was less opportunities to talk with local people during the camping tour. It was also benefit to have interactions with the camping tour mates from different countries, then expand network around the world.

Skip the rainy season

Andersson's Camp was fine, though the absence of field guide books in the common area was disappointing. The food was good, cabin comfy. The private park around it was good value for animal viewing, despite downpours. Etosha in the rainy season was disappointing at several levels. Few animals, military vehicles speeding down the main road, dismal little museum. It was hard to grasp the history of the place, like which animals are native, which are introduced. Guide seemed reticent to handle questions of context. And be forewarned: there are no meerkats in Namibia.

The grand tour of Namibia

The tour Nature Travel Namibia put together for us was undoubtedly one of the best touring holidays we have ever had, helped no end by the fact that I wasnt doing any driving!
Namibia is a fascinating country of so many contrasts, and stunning scenery. Having lived in South Africa for many years, and understanding weather and drought conditions, it was wonderful to see the country looking so green and lush, and even a river or two with water in them! We also understood why there was so remarkably little game to be seen in the Etosha. (A first time visitor wanting to see game would have been very disappointed) But we also knew when we booked it was not the prime time of year to be coming. I was not convinced about doing the 'Living Desert Tour' but it was the most fascinating and informative morning!
Jakes was in all respects a marvellous guide, safe driver, and so attentive and considerate of all our needs before we even realised we had any. He is passionate about the country, and with his farming background, so knowledgeable and interested in all aspects of ecology, flora and fauna. He is a very interesting dinner conversationalist; we tend to have an insatiable curiosity about countries we visit, not just what we are looking at, but also about the people and their thoughts, politics and attitudes and history.
He is also obviously a very popular guide and visitor to all the lodges we stayed in, Always a great welcome on our arrival, all the staff know him and would go out of their way to do anything for him and for us.
The Belvedere was in all respects far more comfortable than the Hilton, and as we joined up with another guest, we had a most amusing evening at the 'Stellenbosch Wine Bar and Restaurant'
All the other hotels and lodges were excellent, rooms comfortable, food good and all situated in amazing environments.

We drove from cape town all along the coast to Namibia. As we left SA behind us trees and bushes slowly disappeared and made place for the vast desert of Namibia. Heading north the scenery changed back again as it became more green.
No matter the landscape you will find wildlife like Oryxes and Zebra’s everywhere.

For the nature lover there isn't many other destinations that provide it all - wildlife, birding, scenic beauty and the bush experience. A vast country with arid landscape of the Namib, forested areas in the northeast and the unique bush experience of the Kalahari.