Namibia Desert & Etosha Safaris

Namibia is a big, dry country with few people and long open roads. It is known for the red dunes of Sossusvlei, the waterholes of Etosha National Park and the empty desert and coastline in between.

Most trips start in Windhoek. You can join a guided tour, or drive yourself with lodges and a route planned for you.

Main areas

Sossusvlei and Deadvlei

Red dunes in the Namib-Naukluft National Park, some over 300 m high. Deadvlei is a white clay pan with dead camel thorn trees thought to be several hundred years old. Staying inside the park gates lets you reach the dunes at sunrise. See Sossusvlei.

Etosha National Park

A huge salt pan surrounded by waterholes. In the dry season animals gather at the water, and floodlit waterholes at some rest camps let you watch elephant and black rhino after dark. See Etosha.

Swakopmund and Walvis Bay

A seaside town with German colonial buildings. Take a boat trip to see seals and dolphins, go sandboarding or quad biking, or drive to Sandwich Harbour. See Swakopmund.

Damaraland

Rocky mountains with desert-adapted elephants and the rock engravings at Twyfelfontein, listed by UNESCO.

Kalahari

Red sand and grassland east of the dunes, with sundowner drives and San walks.

Zambezi and Kavango rivers

Green river country in the north-east, good for birds, boats and fishing. See river fishing safaris.

Guided tour or self-drive?

• Guided. A guide drives, explains the wildlife and handles the long gravel roads, so you can watch the scenery.
• Self-drive. More freedom and lower cost. You need a 4x4 or high-clearance car and to be comfortable driving long distances on gravel.

If you drive yourself: travel only in daylight, keep to about 80 km/h on gravel, fill up whenever you can and expect a puncture or two.

How long you need

• 3 days. Sossusvlei or Etosha from Windhoek.
• 7 days. The north: Etosha, Damaraland and Swakopmund.
• 10 to 14 days. The full loop with Sossusvlei, the coast, Damaraland and Etosha.

Best time to go

May to October is dry, with warm days and cold nights; in the desert it can drop below freezing. This is the best time for Etosha. From November to April it is hot, with some rain in the north and east. The coast is often cool and foggy all year.

Good to know

• Most of Namibia has no malaria risk. The north-east has a risk, and the area around Etosha a lower seasonal risk; ask a travel clinic.
• Bring warm layers for early starts, a hat, sunscreen and a dust-proof bag for cameras.
• Distances are long, so allow at least two nights in each main area.