Wonderful wilderness
We loved Namibia, it was so remote in places we felt like we had the country to ourselves on the road and it has not been spoilt yet by tourism. The wildlife in Etosha was great, we had some lovely sightings. The campsites could be improved (some staff were a bit rude and toilet paper kept running out!) but the sites were lovely. The weather was lovely and warm with some rain overnight. Sussouvlei was amazing, Ive never seen a landscape like it and we loved the long drives through the remote mountain passes. We already miss this beautiful country.
Email Stefan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Just a beautiful place to travel to and you can find anything from desert to bush safari.
Email Saleha Ullah | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Namibia is a country with amazing wildlife and so much more. I was surprised at the abundance of wild animals we saw in Etosha, but also saw other wildlife along our journey travelling across the country. The country has so much to offer in addition to its wildlife, including some of the highest sand dunes in the world, traditional tribes and hiking opportunites.
Email Christian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
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.
Email Michele Bartlett | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
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.
Email Matt OZW | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
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.
Email Sterna999 | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
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!
Email Manami | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
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.