Just spent two hours reading about Namibian environmental law. The wording in the legislation I have read (the Nature Conservation Ordinance or 1975, the Environmental Management Act of 2007, and the National Heritage Act of 2004) is a little unclear about whether this conduct is punishable. Do any of you know if people have been punished for doing stuff like this?

Did you ever epxerience any kind food poisoning during your stay? Are there any restaurants I should take care of when ordering food? The only country I have visited so far in Africa is Uganda, where I got a horrible food poisoning right in my first week and couldn't leave to toilet for the next 3 days.

Thank you!

Hello Guys, we are preparing our self-drive trip to Namibia in a month with a 4x4 Jimmy. We will stay in budget friendly lodges and guest farms. Can you please have a look on our planned itinerary and tell me about your thoughts? If you have any suggestions, recommendations (mainly places to stop along the way), please feel free to let me know. I added 2-3 hours extra for the driving hours compared what Google Maps said. Thank you for your help

Seriously, if you’re wondering about visiting this country, do yourself a favor, book the damn trip

Just got back from my first trip to Namibia. Some very random observations that may be interesting to other travelers, especially first-timers:

Namibia is clearly one of the most beautiful countries I've been to. The daily sunrises and sunsets are just spectacular. It easily made it into my top three, probably even my top two. The scenery is absolutely stunning, and the country's sights are truly something special.

Immigration at Windhoek Airport was extremely slow, so make sure you're first in line when you get there. Flying Business Class definitely helped. The immigration staff always seemed to be in a bad mood and were somewhat snarky, including at Victoria Falls Airport. Most people in Namibia and Zimbabwe were really friendly, though, so no complaints. Be prepared for small talk. It was a bit annoying at first, particularly for us Germans, but you get used to it.

We did our first grocery run at Grove Mall, which was very convenient.

Vegan/vegetarian food was readily available at our lodges, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. I didn't have any tofu for three weeks—no way I could do that in Europe, lol.

Fish River Lodge has the best location, period. Getting there is, well, interesting, but the views make up for it. Dead Valley Lodge is very overpriced, but I'm still glad we booked a night there. Sunrise at Deadvlei and sunset at Dune 45 are really something. Etosha King Nehale was beautiful, too. Most lodges we stayed at were nice, but sometimes they felt a tad overpriced.

Etosha was nice, we saw lots of animals up close. However, the roads were rough and sometimes closed. We encountered a lone lioness strutting down the road near Stinkwater Waterhole. It was just us and the lioness, and it was really impressive. The staff at the gates seemed really bored—they even told us, lol.

We did a sunrise helicopter flight over Sossusvlei AND a sunset scenic flight from Sossusvlei all the way to the coast, just spectacular, and one of the highlights of the trip. Do these instead of a balloon flight

Get the full-day pass for Kolmanskop, totally worth it. The atmosphere and light are best at sunrise and sunset, and there are hardly any people around.

Windhoek and Swakopmund did nothing for us, Lüderitz was okayish. Still, Namibia's real beauty lies in its nature, not its cities IMO.

If you can, go to Victoria Falls for a few days, they're obviously worth visiting. Contrary to what I'd read online, the hawkers weren't too persistent and left us alone pretty quickly. There were baboons everywhere, interesting to watch, but keep an eye on your phone and your bags. The direct flight from Windhoek to Victoria Falls Airport was convenient, but outrageously overpriced IMO.

In summary, we loved Namibia and burned through a lot of cash (€12,000 per person for 3.5 weeks), but that's largely because we flew Business Class from Europe, had our own "Kalahari Ferrari," stayed at lodges, had to pay for visas, booked plenty of activities, etc. You can definitely do it for less, but it'll never be a cheap destination.

Namibia is an extremely beautiful country, and we'd love to return to Southern Africa one day—maybe Botswana.

My spouse and I (senior citizens but very fit) are planning a trip to Capetown and Namibia from the US. (We have to fly to JBurg and catch a connecting flight, so we'll be spending over a day in transit each way, and this is relevant because we are both still working and don't have unlimited time off.) We were thinking of spending three days in Capetown and then going to Namibia. Most of the itineraries people are posting are for two weeks there. If we had only eight days in Namibia, what are the essentials? It appears that the driving distances are great, and we have to build in time for that. We will be renting our own car and traveling on our own because we don't do tours and we've had private guides but based on all we have read, they aren't necessary in Namibia. (We have been to Africa before and only needed a guide in Ethiopia. We had a guide in Senegal, and that wasn't as necessary as we had imagined.)

Thank you!

Hi guys I hope this fits in here.

I am from Europe and want to travel to Namibia in December for about 2-4 months but I have not enough money for a such long vaccation trip so work & travel it is.

Do you have any recommendations for agencies or places before I start a random google search?

Which areas are suitable for work&travel?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I will be doing a self drive 4x4 trip through the Namib, Kalahari, Etosha, Damaraland, Walvis Bay, the Okavango Delta (Botswana), and Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe).
I know some areas are very remote. Do I truly need a satellite phone or PLB, or is it mainly extra peace of mind? If you think it is necessary, what would you recommend (Garmin inReach, PLB, etc.)?
Would appreciate advice from locals and people who have done similar routes. Thanks!

Dear Tourists Visiting Namibia, Watch Out for Scammers.

I know many of you are fascinated by Himba culture and want to meet the Himba people of Namibia, as many tourists have done before.

I regret to inform you that our country has been invaded by parasitic scammers who entered Namibia from Angola, masquerading as Himba people and fleecing tourists of their hard-earned money.

Here are some hints to help you avoid being scammed:

Himbas have thin and long hair locks.

Himbas do not wear hut like necklace around their necks.

Himba children do not beg from tourists. In fact, they are usually shy and afraid of strangers. They are in schools not at traffic lights begging.

If you hear the words "Penge Ondora," which translate to "Give me a dollar," know that they are scammers.

Hello! My wife and I just had a two weeks trip around Namibia and Victoria Falls, and I decided to write down my experience hoping it may help other people who go for the first time and are nervous as I was.

Roads are in better shape than I thought

It is true that you need to be prepared in case of punctured tires, being stuck in the sand and so on, but don't get scared. The main roads (A and B) are tarred and you can easily go to 120 km/h (the speed limit), and the gravel roads (C) are wide and well kept. Almost every day we saw a plower at work. We rented a Toyota Hilux 4x4 (you will see a lot of them across the country) and we went comfortably everywhere. Our renter even told us we didn't need to adjust the tire pressure, and indeed we didn't.

A big exception: Etosha National Park. For obvious reasons the roads are much cruder than outside, and many animals could cross the road, so drive very cautiously.

However, remember to check the crossing range of your car and refuel as soon as you can. You can easily drive for 500 km before finding another city.

Internet is easy to find

We both bought a physical roadmap and used the website track4africa (which is really useful because it marks the position of markets and fuel stations), but turned out we really didn't need them. We bought a physical sim at the Windhoek airport (not in the shop near the baggage drop, outside near the entrance) with the MTC company and it has good coverage everywhere except in the middle of the desert (where there is just one road anyway). Google Maps distances are actually quite accurate and you will need fresh road trip songs sooner than you think!

Nights are COLD

If you, like me, can't stand the cold, and visit Namibia in winter (May to September for us), be prepared. Temperatures plummet quick after the sunset (and rise quick in the morning), so even in a lodge you may feel cold. Bring the warmest pajamas and a couple of sweaters too. Even in the day, you will hardly need short trousers.

Provisions

Once arrived in Windhoek, we bought an absurdly large supply of water and food, but you don't need to do that. All campsites and lodges have small markets and sometimes even restaurants (with valid options for vegetarian people). The exception is once again Etosha: bring food entering the park, lest you have to resort to eat popcorn for lunch.

But mind that both the park gates and the country border posts will confiscate food for health reasons, so eat what you have before crossing.

Border Crossing

We decided to go from Namibia to Zimbabwe through Botswana to visit Victoria Falls, but crossing the borders is not an easy task. Make Visas online whenever you can, but you will need also permit for the car and other papers (we needed a total of four). Contact your car renter for help: ours gave us some of the paperwork and arranged for the help of a local agent whose job is helping you with the paperwork (remember to ask in advance for a presentation letter). Bring also cash with you, because there are fees to be paid on the spot and there is no guarantee you can do it with an electronic payment (although VISA is accepted everywhere, network could be offline). US dollars are accepted by everyone in Zimbabwe and is the de facto currency.

Everyone wants to help you

As a westerner, sadly I'm accustomed to have to fend for myself. Nobody wants to waste their time helping you. In southern Africa is the opposite. If you ask for help, you will get it immediately. They will ask how are you, they indicate the best road, they lend things. Sometimes they expect a tip, most of the time they don't. When we punctured a tire (luckily in the parking of a mall) no less than five people showed up to help us changing it.

Hello everyone,
My boyfriend and I are planning to take a vacation to Namibia, giving priority to safaris. He is passionate about photography and therefore it is a trip he has been dreaming of for a long time, but the agencies are definitely above our budget and we were therefore thinking of renting a car with a tent and organizing the itinerary independently. Do you say it's feasible? I'm a little worried that your camera might attract the wrong attention..

Hi, I've been planning to camp at Spitzkoppe but came across some reports of car break-ins and even an attempted tent intrusion with a knife. I love Namibia and have had great experiences so far, so I'd love some recent firsthand input. Is the campsite currently safe? Any precautions you'd recommend? Thanks!

Hi I will be visiting Namibia soon - this will include Windhoek, the coast and Etosha.

In terms of packing is there anything in particular that might not be obvious that would be vital?

Also how usual is it for places to cut electric at night/are outages common?

I've spent a bit of time in other parts of Southern Africa and very excited to return and see Namibia

I’ve been soloing in Namibia for just over 2 weeks so far and have met exactly 1 other solo traveler. I was the only solo tourist he met as well. Do people not come here alone? Is anyone currently solo traveling here as well?

Hi everyone!

Next sunday we are flying to Windhoek and I want to order a e-sim before arrival so we have a network when we land.

What is recommended?

Hi all, we are planning a 15day trip to Namibia with a 4x4 (with tent), trying to maximise what we see but also not rushing around. There are some things we have planned in but not sure how to best organise buffers around it. We will be going late October early November.

Question is do you add more times in Etosha, Damaraland or Sossusvlei. Any and all feedback is welcome. If there is something we should do that we are not please tell us :) This is our first safari / visit to southern africa, we would be interested in maximising seeing animals and where possible do tracking such as Rhino / elephant etc.

Thank you

Day 1: Windhoek / arrival

Day 2: Sossusvlei

Day 3: Sossusvlei

Day 4: Sossusvlei (Potential Buffer: TBD extra day here or Damaraland)

Day 5: Swakopmund

Day 6: Swakopmund

Day 7: Spitzkoppe

Day 8: Damaraland

Day 9: Damaraland

Day 10: Etosha (Okaukuejo)

Day 11: Etosha (Okaukuejo) (Potential Buffer: TBD if extra day is required to maximise what you see)

Day 12: Etosha (Halali)

Day 13: Etosha (Namutoni)

Day 14: Okinjoma / Waterberg

Day 15: Windhoek

My daughter of 19 is looking to start her career in Yachts. Unfortunatly Namibia has little to no yachts or even recreational boats. Any idea where she can go for 6months to a year to gain the needed experience(working only for a bed and food will be fine) to be able to apply for a job. She all ready has all the needed qualifications and seamansbook.

Disclaimer: this post is targeted towards tourists. I’m sure locals are fully aware of everything I will say, and might find most of it obvious. Also please forgive any spelling mistakes, I did my best but I’m sure I will have made some errors.

Hello fellow Redditors, having just completed a 10 day Nambibian self drive tour with my wife (as our honeymoon) and I am writing here a trip report to hopefully give some info to those about to organise or do the same.
The country is incredibly beautiful and has so much amazing places to visit and discover.

We travelled in the first half of June 26, which is the last days of autumn for Namibia, and this is the “anti-clockwise” route we followed (we were told many people do it in the opposite direction though):

Day 1: Windhoek.
Day 2: Okonjima.
Day 3: Namutoni (Etosha east).
Day 4: Okuakejo (Etosha west).
Day 5: Twyfelfontein (Damaraland).
Days 6-7: Swakopmund & Walvis Bai.
Days 8-9: Naukluft region (close to Sesriem and Sossusvlei).
Day 10: Kalahari region.
Day 11: departure from Windhoek.

We traveled by car, a Toyota Fortuner 4x4 rented through Europcar at Windhoek airport.
The total distance covered was nearly 3000 km, with an average of about 3.5 hours driving per day.
On the map everything looks nice and close, but you soon realise that distances in Namibia are very big.

Roads:
Only the roads closest to the bigger cities are tarred (speed limit 120 km/h), while all other roads are gravel ones (a bit bumpy sometimes, and with a speed limit between 80 and 100 km/h). I would say that 70% of our trip was on gravel ones.
You drive on the left side of the road, just like in Anglo-Saxon countries.
There are police outposts outside Swakopmund and outside the main parks, where you need to stop and if asked show your licence. (They usually don’t if they see you are a tourist).

Fuel:
Since distances are very big, you must refuel every time you can, to avoid risking not finding a fueling station when you need one. There are various ones around the main towns and cities, but there are also long stretches of road with absolutely nothing. The cost of diesel was about 28.5 NAD per litre, which is more or less 1.4 €/l. When you refuel you will often be targeted by one or more of the workers who will vigorously shake their arms gesturing for you to go to their pump hoping to receive a tip. It is normal to leave a small tip (I often left 10 NAD) specially if they clean your windshield. You can nearly always pay by card, but make sure to ask beforehand.

Language:
English is spoken by everyone, and is the official language together with Africaans. German is widely spoken due to the huge number of German tourists.

Food:
As a vegetarian I wasn’t able to enjoy all of the meat offering that I heard of, so I’m not the best person for general food advice.
I can say that vegetarian options aren’t super easy to come by, apart from in hotels and more fancy restaurants. So if you are vegetarian you may have to rely on tomato and cheese sandwiches.
Coming from a Mediterranean country, I noticed that there is a very big use of butter in most preparations, which I am less used to as we mostly use oil.

Here is a quick recap of the various places that I visited:

Windhoek: the capital, I didn’t get to see much, since it was basically my first night stop before leaving for the north. The impressions I gathered were of a quite well developed city, with a bit of a German feel, not too big, with good traffic lore. Some interesting restaurants and shops, but I didn’t see downtown so I don’t know if there are any big sights that I missed (I was told that there wasn’t much, I admit).

Okonjima: a private game reserve with small huts aligned in the middle of the savana. It was lovely to have aperitif on a terrace next to nature, with sunset colouring all the surroundings and it was spectacular to wake up to dawn rising over the savana and pouring in through the huge windows all around the bedroom. The area is well known for the AfriCat foundation and where they research and monitor the activities of the leopards in the area. We did a guided tour around the reserve to track the leopards and actually got to see two of them mating! Great experience and great service.

Namutoni camp: this camp is on the east of the Etosha park. It’s built into and next to an old fortress. It was a nice stop and base to drive around searching for animals. The camp is less luxurious and also the service felt like they deal with hundreds of people everyday, which is not surprising, but all in all I have no complaints, it suited perfectly our needs. There is also a waterhole next to the camp where you can sit and watch animals go and drink.

Okuakejo: this camp is located on the west side of the Etosha park, and it’s about a 150 km drive from Namutoni. The drive took nearly all day because obviously the goal was to go in search of wildlife while we crossed the park. The first part (between Namutoni and Halali camp - another lodge, halfway, where we stopped for lunch), was incredible with loads of zebras, springbok, elephants, giraffes and wildebeest. Also great landscapes and an alien like panorama, specially at the observation spot where we stopped. The second part of the road towards Okuakejo was sadly closed for renovations and we had to take a detour (well signalled) which unfortunately passed further south and had many fewer animal spottings.
The Okuakejo camp was nice, had a similar vibe to Namutoni, but in my opinion nicer housing (we stayed in a small stone cottage). It also had another incredible water hole which allowed great sightings.

Other Etosha info:
For all camps inside the park (also for Halali), there are strict rules regarding opening and closing of gates: the gates open at dawn and close at sunset and no exceptions are to be made.
Before leaving the Etosha park, you must stop and pay the park fee (I seem to remember about 20€ per person per day). I was lucky to do this the first day, avoiding a very long queue on my second and last day in the park.
In the park you are also not allowed to exit your vehicle, except for specifically designed “picnic areas” that have a toilet and that are protected by a closed fence.

Twyfelfontein (Damaraland): we stayed in the Twyfelfontein Adventure Camp, a small “glamping” area behind a Rocky Mountain, with tents instead of rooms. It was a wonderful sensation to be sleeping so immersed in nature but at the same time feeling safe. The camp also has a small swimming pool, and a staircase that takes you up the mountain to a lovely terrace area over the valley where every evening at sunset they have a beverage hut where you can get something to eat and drink as an aperitif while you sit waiting for sunset: absolutely magical. In the same area there are supposedly various petrified forests and ancient wall paintings, but we didn’t have time to stop and look at them. We did do a very nice game drive in the wild, following the tracks of desert elephants and finding a while heard (more than 20!) and driving amongst them. We tryed to immerse ourselves in the Damara people culture, learning a few details of the clicking sounds language and some traditional dances and chants.

Swakopmund and Walvis Bai: the drive there was quite long, passing through Uis, a monetary town where people tried to sell us gemstones illegally at every stop, through the desert (on a newly constructed tar road, luckily), and to the coast, stopping for a quick picture of the relict just before Swakopmund.
Swakopmund and Walvis Bai are two coastal towns, quite big, that have the same vibe as the capital, Windhoek. During daytime they seemed quite pleasant to walk around, but we were strongly advised against walking after dark and told to use taxis, since some parts were less safe. We did various activities while here, like quad rides in the dunes, a boat tour of the Walvis bai harbour and surroundings (with sightings of pelicans, sea lions, dolphins and also a whale!), and a 4x4 ride on the dunes up to Sandwhich Harbour with a very experienced guide as a driver. The restaurants in Swakopmund were very good and had a European feel.

Naukluft region: This was probably one of the most interesting drives, very long but with a constantly changing landscape. We arrived in Neuras Wine and Wildlife Estate, our accomodation. We chose it as a base for Sossusvlei because all the ones closer were either fully booked or out of our budget. The accomodation was more of a wine making company than a proper hotel, but they had two flats on site for guests. Excellent service and good wine. We also did their “Cheetah feeding activity” which allowed us to see cheetahs up close, another great experience.
The following morning we visited Sossusvlei.

Sossusvlei: maybe Namibia’s most iconic sight. It’s an area at the end of a 60km “dune tunnel” where there are some of the highest dunes (Big Daddy) of the Namib desert and the famous Dead Vlei, with the fossilized black trees in a white valley with orange dunes all around. Very vivid and spectacular colours and contrasts.
Along the drive from the Sesriem Gate (it’s a natural park, and you need to pay before exiting, just like Etosha), you can stop at some of the dunes and climb them for some spectacular views. We did Dune 40 and Dune 45 (named after their distance from the gate).
Some people told us that seeing the sun rise from on top of a dune is a magical experience, but as we were trying to organize it we realised it would have been possible ONLY if we had stayed for the night inside the park, since the park’s external gates only open at sunrise and there would have not been time to get to the dunes before the dawn was over. (For people staying inside the park -there are a couple of lodges- the internal gates to the dunes open one hour before sunrise, giving them time to get to the dunes and climb them). Nonetheless, even without seeing the sunrise it was still an incredible experience.

Kalahari region: the drive from Neuras to Kalahari was the most challenging, mainly because of bad weather. Being nearly winter, in fact, we had very heavy rain and thunderstorms which made the journey challenging. We took a detour, passing through Rehoboth, to try and avoid the thunderstorm and driving through lightning. The Kalahari is Africa’s oldest desert, and the scenery is very different from the Namib desert. Bright orange dunes mix with a more savanna like landscape. We stayed at Jensen Kalahari guestfarm, in a small house in the middle of the farm, with giraffes, zebras and other animals roaming freely. It was quite a sight seeing a giraffe eating just a few meters away from our door. We did a tour of the farm with the owner, a delightful person who told us all about the farm and region’s history, and gave us an aperitif on the dunes at sunset, in the company of a quite domesticated Ostrich named Hannah, whom we were invited to feed if we wanted.
Another incredible experience.

Okay, I think I might have gone a bit long, but in case I have forgotten anything, feel free to ask!

Cheers

Hello All! We would like to book a tour from Swakopmund to Sandwich harbor and I just want to check if you have any good recommendations based on your experience. I was checking M.A.D. Tours which seems really good but maybe you have some better suggestions. Also, wanted to ask how in advance we should book this tour? Are they sold out quickly, or is it okay to book 2-3 days before? We would go in early October.

Planning to visit the BEAUTIFUL Namibia in Jan+Feb. Has anybody here done a self-drive tour of Namibia in recent years? If so, what was your experience? :-)

.

I'm thinking of driving around in Jan + Feb as I said, but a little apprehensive about it being rainy season as apparently the roads can disappear a little and it's easy to get lost or stranded. I don't know how to change a tyre and can imagine myself ruining my own trip by being a little anxious the whole time lol.

.

Any experiences to either put me at ease or push me to get a private driver please share!!! I'd be likely working from a town (probably Windhoek) for a couple of weeks, and then setting off on safari for 14 days. That's the part where I'd be self driving. Am a confident driver with a lot of experience driving rental cars in different countries, but not a huge amount of off road experience.

Hello everyone,

Looking to rent a 4x4, and while most places recommend a fortuner for driving around ethosha national park, I want to know if a Toyota Cross would do the trick as well?

I know it's lower than the fortuner but is it like a big no, with great risk or is it still something that can go through the park without being damaged?

Simulating a lap around Tony Rust Race Track in Namibia (game: Assetto Corsa)

I’m back in Yekaterinburg now after spending three weeks in Namibia. I travelled from the capital to the south, then to the west, and finally up north to Etosha National Park.
It was an absolutely incredible experience. You have a beautiful country and wonderful people. I truly believe Namibia is a hidden gem of Africa. 🇳🇦❤️
Thank you so much for your hospitality and for making my trip so special.
Greetings from Yekaterinburg, Russia! 🇷🇺

As the title says; what is a better option when travelling through Namibia and Botswana with a car and rooftop tent?

We are travelling by plane and both have additional luggage booked.