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Namib-Naukluft Budget Safari Tours
Namib-Naukluft National Park is an extraordinary place, with some of the most beautiful sand dunes in southern Africa and rugged mountains waiting to be explored. There’s so much to see here, and one of the best things about visiting on a budget safari is that, unusually, some of the budget accommodations have really great locations. Yes, there are times when the main track through the sand dunes of Sossusvlei can get a little crowded, but that shouldn’t spoil your experience. It’s such a big place that a strong feeling of wilderness is easy to find amid all this beauty.
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16-Day Camping Namibia Self Drive Safari
$1,937 to $2,179 pp (USD)
Namibia: Self-driveBudgetCamping & Guest House
You Visit: Windhoek (Start), Mariental (Town), Fish River Canyon (|Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld TP), Aus (Town), Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes), Sesriem Canyon (Highlight), Swakopmund (City), Spitzkoppe (Damaraland), Twyfelfontein (Rock Art), Etosha NP, Waterberg Plateau, Okonjima NR, Windhoek (End)
Great Explorations Namibia
5.0/5 – 76 Reviews
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4-Day Standard Desert Dream Tour
$723 to $790 pp (USD)
Namibia: Shared tour (max 12 people per vehicle)BudgetChalet
You Visit: Windhoek (Start), Namib-Naukluft NP (Namib Desert), Namib Desert, Windhoek (End)
Getaway Africa
5.0/5 – 23 Reviews
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12-Day Classic Namibia Camping Tour
$2,564 to $2,938 pp (USD)
Scheduled Start DatesNamibia: Shared tour (max 10 people per vehicle)BudgetCamping & Hotel
You Visit: Windhoek (Start), Okonjati GR, Etosha NP, Damaraland, Skeleton Coast NP, Swakopmund (City), Sesriem (Town), Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes), Aus (Town), Kolmanskop (Highlight), Keetmanshoop (City), Windhoek (End)
Indigo Safaris
4.7/5 – 145 Reviews
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3-Day Standard Sossusvlei Tour from Windhoek
$595 to $651 pp (USD)
Namibia: Shared tour (max 12 people per vehicle)BudgetChalet
You Visit: Windhoek (Start), Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes), Windhoek (End)
Getaway Africa
5.0/5 – 23 Reviews
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Best Seller
6-Day Taste of Namibia
$990 to $1,293 pp (USD)
Scheduled Start DatesNamibia: Shared tour (max 9 people per vehicle)BudgetCamping & Guest House
You Visit: Windhoek (Start), Sesriem (Town), Namib-Naukluft NP (Namib Desert), Swakopmund (City), Etosha NP, Windhoek (End)
Indigo Safaris
4.7/5 – 145 Reviews
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9-Day Namibia's Best of North and South Safari
$2,091 to $2,448 pp (USD)
Scheduled Start DatesNamibia: Shared tour (max 10 people per vehicle)BudgetCamping & Lodge
You Visit: Windhoek (Start), Etosha NP, Swakopmund (City), Sesriem (Town), Namib-Naukluft NP (Namib Desert), Aus (Town), Keetmanshoop (City), Windhoek (End)
Indigo Safaris
4.7/5 – 145 Reviews
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9-Day Namibia's Wildlife, Coast and Dunes Safari
$2,118 to $2,448 pp (USD)
Scheduled Start DatesNamibia: Shared tour (max 12 people per vehicle)BudgetCamping & Hotel
You Visit: Windhoek (Start), Okonjati GR, Etosha NP, Palmwag Concession (Damaraland), Cape Cross (Seals), Swakopmund (City), Sesriem (Town), Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes), Windhoek (End)
Indigo Safaris
4.7/5 – 145 Reviews
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7-Day Southern Namibia Adventurer
$1,519 to $1,761 pp (USD)
Scheduled Start DatesNamibia: Shared tour (max 10 people per vehicle)BudgetCamping & Hotel
You Visit: Windhoek (Start), Swakopmund (City), Sesriem (Town), Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes), Aus (Town), Kolmanskop (Highlight), Keetmanshoop (City), Windhoek (End)
Indigo Safaris
4.7/5 – 145 Reviews
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3-Day Sossusvlei One-Way Express
$495 to $605 pp (USD)
Scheduled Start DatesNamibia: Shared tour (max 9 people per vehicle)BudgetCamping
You Visit: Windhoek (Start), Sesriem (Town), Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes), Swakopmund (End)
Indigo Safaris
4.7/5 – 145 Reviews
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![3-Day Sossusvlei Express]()
3-Day Sossusvlei Express
$495 to $605 pp (USD)
Scheduled Start DatesNamibia: Shared tour (max 9 people per vehicle)BudgetCamping
You Visit: Windhoek (Start), Sesriem (Town), Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes), Windhoek (End)
Indigo Safaris
4.7/5 – 145 Reviews
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Tour Operators Offering Custom Tours
Didn’t find the tour you were looking for? Get a free quote for a custom tour from the tour operators below. They can arrange private tours to any destination in Namibia.
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6 Questions About Namib-Naukluft Budget Safaris
Answered by
Anthony Ham
Anthony has written more than 150 Lonely Planet guidebooks, including ‘Botswana & Namibia’ and ‘Southern Africa’. He writes about safaris and Namibia, as well as the wider region, for magazines and newspapers around the world. He is the author of ‘The Last Lions of Africa’.› More about Anthony
6 Questions About Namib-Naukluft Budget Safaris
Anthony Ham
How do I get to Sossusvlei on a budget?
“There are lots of tours and packages that make it possible to visit Sossusvlei in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a budget safari. Most involve driving along Namibia’s excellent road network (both sealed and unsealed) from the coastal city of Swakopmund or elsewhere in the country. If you’re on a group budget safari, you will probably travel in a 4WD vehicle or minibus along with other travelers in the group, as well as a driver and guide. It may be part of a wider Namibian safari, or possibly one organized out of Swakopmund or Walvis Bay. If you’re on a self-drive budget safari, you’ll do the driving and you won’t have a guide. The roads and tracks shouldn’t pose too many difficulties. And as long as you have a reliable GPS navigation unit (or paper maps, for those of you who prefer that), you should be fine. The major destinations are well signposted.”
1Which other parks should I visit on a Namib-Naukluft budget safari?
“Before thinking about where else to visit on your Namib-Naukluft budget safari, make sure that your itinerary really explores this park to its full potential. Almost everyone who comes here visits the dunes of Sossusvlei. But far fewer visitors explore the Naukluft Mountains, with their oases, hiking trails and deliciously remote camps. Looking farther afield, there are so many places to see, although not all of them are protected as national parks. You should explore as much as possible of the Skeleton Coast, which has shipwrecks, seals and sand dunes all the way along the country’s Atlantic shore. Damaraland is another personal favorite of mine, with its stunning mountains, rock art and desert-adapted wildlife (including lions, elephants and rhinos). If you’re willing to travel farther, there’s the world-class wildlife of Etosha National Park. Although the smaller private reserves of Okonjima and Erindi are closer and easier to reach. Down south, Fish River Canyon is often described as Africa’s Grand Canyon.”
2What are the campsite facilities like on a Namib-Naukluft budget trip?
“Namib-Naukluft has good camping facilities. The main campsite is just inside the main Sossusvlei gate at Sesriem, and is one of very few places actually inside the park gate. This means you can get a head start on exploring the dunes while everyone else is waiting in a queue to get in the gate at first light. Facilities at this and other campsites include toilets and hot-water showers, and there’s a small shop and park booking office on-site. The main (probably only) disadvantage of the public campsites is that they can get really crowded during high season, which runs from July to November. Assuming that you’re able to make a reservation (or your safari tour operator is able to do this for you), you can expect it all to feel a little busy, especially in the evenings. Just outside the gate, in the small settlement of Sesriem, there are also privately run campsites. These have facilities that are usually slightly better and less crowded than those at the public campsites.”
3How do I avoid the crowds on a budget trip to Namib-Naukluft?
“There will be some times when it simply won’t be possible to avoid the crowds. This is true if you’re staying in one of the public campsites, or if you’re waiting in a queue to get into the park early in the morning. Such moments will be an unavoidable part of your trip. But once you’re inside the park proper, you can do a few things to get away and enjoy the solitude. Climb a sand dune that no one else is climbing, for example. Or drive right to the end of the Sossusvlei valley and get an hour or two alone while everyone else is working their way up the valley, stopping as they go. For the rest of the park, plan to hike one of the trails through the Naukluft Mountains. These mountains, and the trails that cross them, see a small fraction of the visitors who go to Sossusvlei. You could also visit outside of high season, which means visiting between December and June. It rarely rains out here in the desert, so you might get the benefit of fine weather without the crowds.”
4What are the pros and cons of a self-drive budget safari to Namib-Naukluft?
“Even though you’re on a cheap or budget self-drive safari, you can still have the same experiences once you enter the park gate as those visitors who pay hundreds of dollars more. That’s because this is one park where everyone gets to see the same things. The only difference is the level of accommodations. On a self-drive safari, you’re the boss, the one who decides when and where you go. You don’t have to keep other people in the group happy because there is no group. If you want to stop and take a photograph, you can do it. If you just want to rest and enjoy the view, no one’s going to stop you. In short, a self-drive safari gives you so much freedom. The main drawback of a self-drive safari is that you won’t have the benefit of a guide, either for advice or for any explanation of what you’re seeing. Some of that you can get from your own research. But a good guide can quickly become a friend and can provide you with so many insights into local life and the natural world that you simply can’t find out for yourself. You also won’t get to share the road with other like-minded travelers. Although whether you consider that a good thing or a bad thing depends on your perspective and personality.”
5How much does a Namib-Naukluft budget trip cost?
“Costs vary greatly, and when planning your holiday, you’ll find a wide range of prices among the many tours and packages available. That said, as a starting point, you can expect to pay at least US$150 to US$175 per person per day. Whether or not that sounds affordable to you, remember that this cost for a group safari should include a guide, driver, vehicle, meals, water and some drinks, park entry fees, guided game drives and accommodations (including camping equipment). It may or may not include transfers at the beginning or end of your trip. If you’re on a self-drive safari, the quoted prices won’t include a guide or a driver, and you will be expected to pay for your own food and other supplies, as well as fuel. It should include the cost of any accommodations (e.g. campsites). Always ask your operator what is and what isn’t included in any prices quoted to you. There’s nothing worse than finding a nasty surprise when it comes time to pay.”
6Namib-Naukluft Reviews
Lizzie is a reputed guidebook writer and author of the Footprint guides to South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
One of the world’s oldest and most scenic deserts, famous for its majestic giant dunes
I am always blown-away by the beauty of Sossusvlei; the Namib Desert’s towering rust-red sand dunes blown into razor-sharp ridges by the wind is easily one of the most spectacular and powerful landscapes in Africa. The best time to visit...
Christopher is a British travel writer and has contributed to various Fodor's guidebooks and a range of travel magazines.
A desert dream
The highlight of this barren but breathtaking national park is the majestic dunes of Sossusvlei, which rise like giant waves above the parched salt pans that punctuate the desert floor. At sunrise and sunset the changing colours and...
PT
The scenery is amazing and very pleasant. This is not a crowded area bringing the tranquility atnosphere that we were looking for.
The birds are all over the place and at night you can easly observe the starts.
SE
The beauty of the Namibian desert
My first experience in a desert environment, the Namib-Naukluft National Park offers amazing scenic panoramas, dune climbing, desert wildlife, great weather and excellent accommodations. A must if you visit Namibia.
CA
I loved the big open sky with blue sunny days and dark, stary nights. I was surprised at the variety of animals I saw during my drive to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei. The dunes are just as I had imagined based on photos I had seen, particularly...
A Drive on the Wild Side
The Namib-Naukluft National Park is one of the most impressive places I've visited in a life full of travel. The wildlife, the stunning desert scapes and dunes, the Sesriem area, Sossussvlei and The Dead Vlei, Kolmanskuppe with its houses...