Recommended Destimations
The most beautiful spots and the best for adventure and activities include Windhoek, Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei, Skeleton Coast, Etosha National Park, Swakopmund, and the Caprivi Strip.
Safari Essentials
What to see
The roads to the park are paved well and a variety of options are available for accommodations, from campsites to luxury, from bush camps to those around waterholes for closer wildlife viewing. The park is a wildlife and bird lover’s dream, and popular with photographers and adventurers alike. The best times to visit are June to November. The area is low-risk for malaria with only isolated cases during rainy season (November to May). Safaris are possible morning, afternoon, and evening. In June to August, afternoons are best for wildlife viewing as the mornings and nights are still cold so animals are more active mid-day. September to November, the mornings and evenings are better as the days are too hot so animals are more active at those times.
This area is located in the largest conservation area in Namibia. Some of the dunes here have been recorded at over 400 m tall! Despite the dry conditions, occasionally rain will fall, creating a glassy lake that is slow to evaporate. A wide variety of plants and animals have adapted to the harsh desert life. All but the last 5 km of the 65 km drive in is paved road. Attractions here include Dune 45, Bid Daddy, Deadvlei, and Sesreim Canyon. Some dunes are petrified, aged at about 1 billion years old. Accommodation ranges from camping and mid-range lodges to luxury lodges. There’s something to suit everyone. And all the sights here can be seen from a hot air balloon! The stark contrast of the dunes and the pan make for stunning photos.
Visit a craft centre that features fresh food, known for some amazing apple crumble, grilled meat, and great coffee, and local artisan products ranging from carved roots and handmade jewelry. The craft centre includes Namibian micro and small businesses and encourages the use of environmentally friendly products and sustainable use of Namibian natural resources and 95% of all products there are Namibian, and the rest must come from the continent. Take a city tour and visit Katutura township’s not-for-profit organization that teaches new skills to women so that they can support themselves and learn about the history of the town and the culture.
The coast runs along the northern Atlantic coast of Namibia, bordered on the south by the Swakop River filled with dunes and gravel dry river beds. The name was coined by an author John Henry Marsh when chronicling the shipwreck of the Dunedin Star, which ran aground in the heavy fogs common in the region in 1942. The surf is constant and heavy, as the wind blows out from land to the sea. The area includes an area of 16,000 km2 that has been declared a national park. The inland areas are home to baboons, elephants, giraffes, lions, black rhinoceros, and springbok. The animals can only get water from wells dug by baboons or elephants, and are adapted to the extreme dry. Stay nearby in Swakopmund with lovely beaches that still retains its strong German colonial architectural influences. Many activities are possible here including skydiving, quad biking, desert golf, small marine cruises, and visit the old picturesque jetty built by the Germans in the 1914.
Receiving its UNESCO World Heritage Site designation in 2007, and meaning “uncertain spring” in Afrikaans, the area includes a spring in a valley of sandstone. The site has been inhabited for over 6000 years and has been used as a place of worship for much of that time, giving rise to over 2,500 rock carvings—the most dense accumulation of petroglyphs in Africa. Accommodations here include a three-star lodge and campsite.
The strip is crossed by the Okavango Delta and the Chobe river forms part of its border, and the Zambezi forms part of the border with Zambia. This area provides a crucial habitat for the endangered Wild African Dog. Elephants constantly move through the area and it is home to three national parks. View the Popa Falls and visit a traditional village, or stop at a small game reserve on your way through to Zambia, Botswana, or Zimbabwe!
