Andre
CrissCross Namibia Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2003)
- Member Of:
- NTB & TASA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $450 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Ron and Kathy | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thanks to Crisscross Namibia Safaris for a fantastic experience
We recently completed a 20-day trip guided by CrissCross Namibia Safaris that started at Victoria Falls and ended in Windhoek. Our itinerary, which covered about 3000 miles of road travel and game drives, was developed to meet our interests and abilities with outstanding input and advice from CrissCross Namibia Safaris. All aspects of the trip were excellent: the game drives and wildlife watching spectacular, exposure to cultural diversity of southern Africa engaging and informative, the transportation comfortable, and the accommodations outstanding. This was all thanks to the extensive experience and knowledge of the company and our well-seasoned guide. I would recommend this company without qualification to anyone planning a trip to southern Africa.
Email julie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Experienced Tour Operator
We very much enjoyed Namibia especially the landscape and wildlife. Thinus was on another tour so he engaged Marcus as driver and guide for our tour. Marcus was a very good driver and at all times we felt safe with his driving. Over the 16 days we covered over 4300 kilometres without an issue despite many kilometres on gravel roads and I feel we would have been very tired without a driver, so I’m glad we engaged Criss Cross for an escorted tour.
Thinus, was very patient in putting the final itinerary together (after four iterations). The quality and hospitality of the lodges we chose was exceptional. We did depart from Thinus' accommodation recommendations for most nights as we were looking for luxury accommodation which is not usually the places Thinus stays in. We also like walking / hiking and had to push for these changes to the itinerary to accommodate this, but once Thinus was on board with our requirements he was very responsive. Best experiences – 2 day hike in the Fish River Canyon, walking in the Naukluft area, hiking big daddy in Sossuvlei, Swakopmund and the cheetah foundation. Least Favourite – The “staged” tribe experiences in the Kalahari & Himba. Organ pipes was also a waste of time. However, the absolute worst was the Lake Oshikoto stop – poor signage, unkept trails around what is really just a quarry. We chose not to do the Damara Living museum and ran out of time to do the Quiver tree forest & Giants Playground as well as Hardap Dam on the way down to Fish River Lodge but I’m not sure we missed much going by the trip advisor reviews. All of our least favourite activities and those we chose not to do require an entrance fee - which is fairly substantial, we would have excluded these if we knew more about them before we travelled.
FR
Email James | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A fabulous way to discover Namibia
For our family holiday in Namibia in July/August 2018, we opted for the 11-Day Self Drive 4x4 Tour offered by Criss Cross Namibia Safaris. It was a perfect way to discover this beautiful country. We had been dreaming of visiting Namibia for a number of years and I am pleased to say that it more than matched up to our expectations. I can highly recommend Criss Cross Namibia Safaris – Thinus and his colleagues were extremely efficient and helpful in organising the details of our itinerary, which involved changing a few details compared to the sample programme. This was due in part to the fact that we reserved rather late (booking early is clearly *very* important when travelling to Namibia), so alternative accommodation had to be found at a couple of points on the circuit. I am happy to say though that we were very pleased with our accommodation. The collection and dropping off of the 4WD vehicle went very smoothly too and the firm who took care of this were efficient and friendly. For me the biggest attraction of Namibia is its incredible diversity of breathtaking landscapes, but we also got to chance to see some fabulous animals in the wild and learn about the history of Namibia and its cultures. It was the holiday of a lifetime: thanks Criss Cross!
ES
Email Peter Vriethoff\Marlies Gollner | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely fantastic experience,highly recommended
We booked a three week trip starting at the Victoria falls (2 days) ,Chobe in Botswana,flying from Kasane into the Okavango delta and driving through Namibia visiting Caprivi gamepark,lodges on the Okavango and Cuando riverside,Bushmanland,Damaraland,Etosha national Park,Grootberglodge,Swakopmund,Sossusvlei (Namib-Naukluft) and Windhoek.CrissCross provided a Guide-driver,an airconditioned 4x4,reserved all our accomodationes,and visits.
This experience totally exceeded our expectationes.During the safaris we saw the big five, sometimes hundreds of animals together, in Etosha fighting rhinoceros,a hippo in the garden of the Xakanaxa camp where we received the unexpected visit
of a waterbuffel during the night.In between this animal festival we visited the bushmenvillage,the Damara people and the
engravings in Twyfelfontein.We searched for hours in the desert for the desert-elephants and found them.We drove over the dunes near Swakopmund( hundred meters high) ,admired thousands of sea lions in Walvisbaai some of them jumped onto the boat
meanwhile we ate the marvelous oysters cultivated in the bay.What a beautiful coast,thousands of flamingos,pelicans,whales,
and schools of dolphins. CrissCross continued surprising us.On our way to Sossusvlei we slept in the desert under the starlit sky
and the accommodations had organized fantastic sunset parties.We climbed the dunes and enjoyed the valley of Sossusvlei.
We did not expect a lot of Windhoek ,but even here our guide surprised us with a great city trip (our regards to Maria) and
a lovely dinner at Joe’s Beerbar.
Thanks once again to CrissCross,it’s fantastic guides and organization.
BE
Email Gino and Carine Verdonck-Ragolle | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic !
Dear Thinus ,
Thanks a lot for the great time we shared together during our recent trip in Namibia.
We were extremely impressed by learning that you and your family are part of the history of this lovely country and this puts you in a position to explain better than anyone else the evolution of the last decades. You are better than any “travelguide” since you can explain things you really experienced yourself and therefore listening to your stories give a real image of the history which is very important to know backgrounds and present situation of a country.
Because of your background you also know the most lovely and interesting places to visit and each time you came up with a nice surprise.
We booked a 19 days roundtrip arriving from Cape town and starting in Windhoek. After a short “recuperation” we started our trip exploring the Kalahari desert . After that we went to Fish river canyon (amazing views) and Luderitz ( a must visit here is Kolmankop , a town conquered by the sand).
More sand in the Namib desert but special experience when going to Sossusvlei and the huge dunes .
Quite an experience for belgian people, knowing that the sand dunes in Belgium are only +/- 30 meter high !
Next stop : Swakopmund , a lovely town . Must do here: Marine Dune Day starting from Walvisbay (Marine Cruise + 4X4 dune excusrsion) .
Damaraland ( Twyfelfontein ) : Thinus explained the complete history of past and present of this region– most interesting . Thank you once again Thinus for organising the champagne , cake and live performance for Gino's birthday which we celebrated at the Twyfelfontein lodge!
Etosha National Park : Amazing the variety of wildlife and how close you can get. Try to stay in the park instead of looking for a lodge outside the park. Much more to see/experience because of the waterholes.
Erindi Private Game reserve : A MUST !!!!!!! Great lodge , food and game drive !
We ended this fantastic tour with a nice dinner and drink at Joe’s beerhouse , a very interesting and cosy please ,
a must visit when in Windhoek !!!
19 days seem an eternity but when you are having a good time – and good company – time flies. We have seen a great part of this lovely country but there is still a lot to discover. We rely on Thinus to prepare a next vist for next year.
Warm regards also to our friend Barney !!!
Gino and Carine
BE
Email Gino and Carine Verdonck-Ragolle | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic !
Dear Thinus ,
Thanks a lot for the great time we shared together during our recent trip in Namibia.
We were extremely impressed by learning that you and your family are part of the history of this lovely country and this puts you in a position to explain better than anyone else the evolution of the last decades. You are better than any “travelguide” since you can explain things you really experienced yourself and therefore listening to your stories give a real image of the history which is very important to know backgrounds and present situation of a country.
Because of your background you also know the most lovely and interesting places to visit and each time you came up with a nice surprise.
We booked a 19 days roundtrip arriving from Cape town and starting in Windhoek. After a short “recuperation” we started our trip exploring the Kalahari desert . After that we went to Fish river canyon (amazing views) and Luderitz ( a must visit here is Kolmankop , a town conquered by the sand).
More sand in the Namib desert but special experience when going to Sossusvlei and the huge dunes .
Quite an experience for belgian people, knowing that the sand dunes in Belgium are only +/- 30 meter high !
Next stop : Swakopmund , a lovely town . Must do here: Marine Dune Day starting from Walvisbay (Marine Cruise + 4X4 dune excusrsion) .
Damaraland ( Twyfelfontein ) : Thinus explained the complete history of past and present of this region– most interesting . Thank you once again Thinus for organising the champagne , cake and live performance for Gino's birthday which we celebrated at the Twyfelfontein lodge!
Etosha National Park : Amazing the variety of wildlife and how close you can get. Try to stay in the park instead of looking for a lodge outside the park. Much more to see/experience because of the waterholes.
Erindi Private Game reserve : A MUST !!!!!!! Great lodge , food and game drive !
We ended this fantastic tour with a nice dinner and drink at Joe’s beerhouse , a very interesting and cosy please ,
a must visit when in Windhoek !!!
19 days seem an eternity but when you are having a good time – and good company – time flies. We have seen a great part of this lovely country but there is still a lot to discover. We rely on Thinus to prepare a next vist for next year.
Warm regards also to our friend Barney !!!
Gino and Carine
Email Judith Crawford | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unbelievably brilliant holiday which surpassed our expectations by being full of variety.
We booked a 14 day self- drive safari from UK and all communication with Thinus and his team were excellent.
We celebrated our 30th Wedding Anniversary during our trip and stayed at the amazing, Erindi Private Game Reserve for a couple of days. The safari organised by the lodge was superb and we saw lots of game on our early morning and sundowner drives.
Everything went like clockwork; we stayed at different lodges but all had character and were excellent.
The route Thinus planned was just what we wanted and took us on a great tour of Namibia, incorporating Damaraland, The Skeleton Coast and the Namib Nauluft Park.
We didn’t have time to seeFish River Canyon or Luderitz but are hoping to return at some point to visit this area.
In summary I could not recommend Cross Cross Tours highly enough and would most certainly use them again!
BG
Email Desislava Ivanova | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Thank you, CrissCross
It was an unbelievable two-week journey. Accommodation, food and service were at a very high level. The tour operator's organization was perfect. I hope to return to this part of the world again and use their services.
Email Karen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
We did a 3 week tour from Victoria Falls to Botswana then Namibia with Thinus as our wonderful guide.
it was an amazing trip. Chobe in Botswana was fantastic for wildlife, especially elephants. Moremi game reserve in the Okavango was beautiful for bird life and a resident hippo at our lodge was a bit of a thrill!
Namibia was beautiful also. Damaraland was spectacular and unexpected! Soussovlei was incredible too. Was great to incorporate beautiful landscapes into the trip instead of just focusing on game viewing
In terms of travel, accommodation and food the trip exceeded our expectations. The lodges (3-5star) were fantastic- interesting locations and unique styles.
Everything went perfectly smoothly thanks to the superb organization and attention to detail of our guide Thinus. Thinus was more than a “guide” - he was a born and bred Namibian with an interesting history and unique perspective and knowledge of the country.
We highly recommend Crisscross!!
CN
Email Peter Willemsen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Namibia experience for the whole family - Guided by a true insider
We had overall a wonderful experience - as first comers to the country traveling with a 10 year old daughter we were a bit anxious but found traveling and arrangements were a breeze from start to end.
We picked Criss Cross from Safari booking based on mixture of reviews, proposed itinerary and feedback received by mail (we contacted 3-4 operators).
Communication was fast and efficient - downpayment via credit card not a problem and further payments via money order.
Two weeks prior to the trip we clarified last details about pick up (and got very patient answers to our probably very naive questions)
Thinus (owner and manager of Cross Cross who was our guide for the trip) picked us up at the airport in Windhoek and brought us to the hotel for the first night.
We had booked a proposed 12 day guided tour (our family only) itinerary through Namibia only and then adjusted that with 2 additional days (which fit our flight schedule). Planning and proposals was very convenient. Cross cross asked us about our preferences regarding what we would like to see, accommodation style etc and made proposals based on that. We got a detailed travel plan with daily schedule and links to the respective lodges.
Traveling was done in a comfortable car (4 people traveling including Thinus who was driving us).
The most amazing thing was the many stories and backgrounds he could share about his country, it’s people and it’s flora and fauna.
There was a lot of traveling involved (more than 4000km (!)) but with a talking guidebook next to us it never got boring - we felt like traveling with a friend that knows every corner and every stone in his country.
Namibia is a fantastic country to travel for families. It offers all the adventures of genuine safari experience while being safe and comfortable to travel. It is incredibly faceted. We saw all the “Big 5” animals (on our first day), the fantastic wildlife in Etosha (though it is VERY dry this year), dramatic landscapes (Waterberg, damaraland, soussevlei, fish river canyon) different types of desert (incl kalahari) and coast aren (Swakopmund where we did an amazing Boat/Dune Combo Tour).
As they say - once you have Namibian dust on your shoes (and you will have lots of dust if traveling during winter as it is one of the driest countries in the world) you will always return... we are already planning our next trip to the region ....
Heartfelt thanks again to Criss Cross team and especially to Thinus for making this the best vacation ever !
Any questions please feel free to contact under [email protected]
BR,
Peter
