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Little Kulala, Namibia © Dana Allen Wilderness

Namibia

Listening to the silence of the desert

Tailor-made journey to Namibia

A journey to Namibia means exceptional landscapes, a wild and untouched world, desert territories and towns with a Bavarian accent. In Namibia, you'll discover fascinating geological and prehistoric sites. You'll meet engaging and captivating peoples.

Here, the dunes are the highest in the world and the deserts the oldest. The reserves are the largest in Africa. The elephants are the biggest, the fur seal colonies the most numerous. The meteorites the largest, the underground lakes the deepest. The plants the oldest, and the rock paintings thousands of years old.
All the richness of the Namib Desert arises from scarcity. Here, every plant, every form of animal life is an exception, a challenge.
Add the light of dawn or dusk, and the effect is guaranteed.
The mineral landscape, usually cold and austere, here invites us on a geological adventure.

As you will have gathered, Namibia is a natural wonder of southern Africa, and a journey there is a genuine encounter with the Earth.
Here more than elsewhere, it becomes essential to observe, listen, and take in Nature. So that the desert reveals its secrets and lets the magic happen.

Unless you stay a long time or cover the tracks at a relentless pace (a speed that runs against our philosophy of travel), you'll need patience and humility, and should choose two or three regions to focus on for most of your trip.
Of course, for a first visit, the great classics should be included: safaris in Etosha and/or Damaraland to observe desert elephants and black rhinos, memorable encounters with the Himba in northern Kaokoland, near Epupa Falls; not to mention discovering the dunes of Sossusvlei in the Namib Desert, or the Fish River Canyon in the far south of the country and the fringes of the Kalahari to the east.

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We design your tailor-made journey

Why travel to Namibia

  • BREATHTAKING LANDSCAPES
  • A LIVING DESERT
  • KAOKOLAND, LAND OF THE HIMBA
  • THE EASE OF A SELF-DRIVE JOURNEY
  • ELEPHANTS, DESERT LIONS, BLACK RHINOS
  • EXCEPTIONAL LODGES

When to travel to Namibia

La Namibie peut se visiter toute l'année, mais nous recommandons la période d'avril à novembre, pour éviter les pluies qui rendent les pistes impraticables. Si l'intérêt de votre voyage se porte plus sur les safaris et Etosha, il est préférable de privilégier la saison sèche, de juin à octobre. L'hiver austral peut cependant se ...
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Budget to plan for

It all depends on the formula chosen:
– with a rental car: over about twelve days, in charming accommodations, from €4000 – 4500 / person;
– with a private French- or English-speaking driver/guide: from €7000 – 7500 / person;
– by light aircraft: over a week, from €9000 – 10000 / person. Noticeably more with Premium lodges such as Serra Cafema or Hoanib Camp.
These rates may vary depending on the season, the type of accommodation chosen and the number of travelers.

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Expert advice

To discover Namibia’s must-see sites by car, plan for at least 12/13 days on the ground, though we recommend allowing more time if you want to fully enjoy each site and spread out the days devoted to driving.
With flights between destinations, a minimum of 7 or 8 nights is feasible depending on your arrival and departure times in Windhoek.

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A critical note

The Himba of Kamanjab
Many travelers enjoy discovering the culture of the country they’re visiting.
In Namibia, the village of Kamanjab would seem the obvious place to satisfy that wish. It is a hamlet where a few Himba live — an emblematic Namibian people, originally semi-nomadic, who live in keeping with their traditions.

A visit to this village, however, is far removed from what it claims to be: a moment of genuine exchange with its inhabitants and a chance to learn more about this ancestral people.
In reality, it feels more like a tourist curiosity. The Himba are looked up and down — the jewelry, the hairstyles… There is no real communication and very little exchange. Only your guide will give you a few explanations about their way of life.
It is an undignified and disrespectful “visit.”
We have therefore decided not to offer this excursion.

If you’re looking for genuine exchange and more authentic encounters, we invite you to travel much further north in Kaokoland, notably to Serra Cafema, on the Angolan border. Here, respect comes before anything else. The long-standing relationship between Wilderness Safaris and the Himba communities of the region makes this small-group encounter a rich and, to some extent, useful moment for the villages visited.

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Our clients say it best

Your questions / Our answers

Is Namibia a safe country?

Namibia is one of the safest countries in Africa. While Namibians aren’t among the most welcoming people, you’ll generally feel safe in this beautiful country.
That said, don’t forget you’re a tourist. Namibia remains a poor country compared to European living standards, so basic precautions still apply, here as elsewhere.

How far apart are the different stops?

Namibia is a vast country, desert-like, almost lunar. We travel there to discover breathtaking landscapes and the sheer sense of space so rare in our overcrowded countries.
The sites to visit are spread far apart — all the better, as the drive between each one offers a chance to take in the full beauty of this country.
On average, count on 5-6 hours of driving per day for the longer legs, 3 to 4 hours for the others.
Here are a few examples:
Windhoek – Otjiwarongo: about 4h
Otjiwarongo – Etosha: about 6h
Etosha – Palmwag: about 4h30, and for Twyfelfontein: about 5h30
Twyfelfontein – Swakopmund: about 5h30
Swakopmund – Sesriem: about 6h
Sesriem – Windhoek: about 5h30

Keep in mind that it is essential to respect speed limits, on tarred roads and especially on gravel tracks.
The maximum speed allowed for tourists is lower than the maximum speed allowed for locals.

What additional costs should be planned for on the ground during a trip to Namibia?

It all depends on the type of trip chosen: a self-drive road trip with a rental car, a tour with a private guide, or a fly-in safari.
For self-drive tours, you’ll need to budget for park entrance fees, fuel, tips, and some meals.
Plan on roughly 400/500 euros per person, depending on the length of the trip and the type of vehicle rented.
Fuel does need to be budgeted for, and depending on the vehicle type, we’ll give you a more precise estimate. For a classic ten-day trip, plan on a budget of around 400/500 euros per vehicle.
Entrance fees for the main parks shouldn’t exceed 40 euros per person.
For tips to guides/drivers, we recommend between 5 and 10 euros per person per day. This amount should be adjusted to the number of people in the vehicle, so that the total tip doesn’t exceed 25/30 euros per day.
For lodge staff (including the cook, waitstaff, housekeeping, receptionist, etc. — the amount is then shared equally among them), a tip of between 5 and 10 euros per day per person is recommended.
For meals not included, plan on roughly 10 euros for a light lunch and around 20 euros for dinner, depending on appetite!
These estimates should of course be adjusted according to the service received and your satisfaction. The final amount remains entirely at your discretion.

Will you see a lot of wildlife in Namibia?

Namibia is clearly not the country to choose for a pure photo safari. That said, the landscapes are worthy of a master painter’s canvas, and you’ll come home with remarkable photographs!
Which animals will you see in Namibia, and where? Etosha National Park is without question where you’ll have the most encounters, thanks to its artificial waterholes.
Species found in the park include: lions, cheetahs, leopards, oryx, zebras, giraffes, elephants, rhinoceros, wildebeest, greater kudus, springboks, dik-diks, elands, jackals, bat-eared foxes, warthogs, and numerous bird species.
Aside from Etosha, Damaraland is where you can go in search of the remarkable desert elephants, as well as black rhinoceros.
Desert lions, for their part, are much harder to observe and are found only around the Hoanib River, which is less accessible.

To maximize your chances of seeing them: travel during the dry season between June and October, when all the animals gather around the park’s many waterholes.
If you’d rather prioritize the beauty of the landscape and its shifting colors, choose April or May, when the arid ochre land fills with golden grasses and scattered shrubs under the striking light that follows the end-of-storm season.