The Sandscapes Essential Namibia Tour

Full Itinerary

 

The Essential Namibia Tour includes Namibia's most desirable destinations, such as Etosha National Park; the Fish River Canyon; Sossussvlei and Sesriem; Twyfelfontein; Waterberg National Park; and the Atlantic coast and the adjacent Namib Desert. However, the itinerary is flexible and can be adapted to your personal circumstances and interests. At Sandscapes, it is our business to assist you to translate your vision into reality in the combinations, modes, and schedules that suit you best.

The Essential Namibia Itinerary

This is a self-drive tour, for which a driver and/or guide can be arranged, if necessary.

DAYS 1 & 2: Windhoek - Upon arrival, we will meet you at the airport and will give you your travel portfolio. In addition, you will take possession of your hire vehicle. As Windhoek is the capital city of Namibia and offers a lot that is of cultural and historical interest, we recommend that you should spend one full day at leisure in the city. Because of its situation and the fact that it is the site of the country’s major airport, many visitors begin and end their Namibian holiday in Windhoek.

Accommodation: Olive Grove Guest House or Hotel Heinitzburg

Activities: General tour of the city; historical walking tour; township tour; craft centres; places of particular historical interest, such as those connected with the German period, the South African period, and the independence period; browsing the stores and bookshops; relaxing with a coffee or a beer at a cafe in or just off Independence Avenue, absorbing the ambience of Namibia.

DAY 3: Waterberg - Driving north from Windhoek, you pass through central Namibia's expansive bush-dotted grasslands that provide grazing for herds of cattle as well as for a wide variety of antelopes and other wild creatures. Motorists often see troops of baboons, small antelopes, and warthogs along the roadsides. Soon after leaving Windhoek, you can stop at the large open-air curio markets, featuring original carvings, that are situated at the northern and southern edges of Okahandja.

Accommodation: Waterberg Wilderness Lodge

Activities: Game viewing, walks and hikes, climbing to the top of the red sandstone Waterberg escarpment to enjoy the magnificent view.

DAYS 4, 5, & 6: Etosha National Park and vicinity - Today you drive to Ongava Safari Lodge, which is situated just outside the Andersson gate, the western entrance to the highly reputed Etosha National Park, a major destination for a holiday in Namibia. Your route takes you through Otjiwarongo and Outjo, towns that are typical of Namibia's central areas.

Accommodation: Ongava Safari Lodge

Activities: Game drives in Etosha as well as in Ongava's own reserve; guided walks with an armed guide to track white rhino; night game drives.

DAY 7: Twyfelfontein - Drive to Twyfelfontein, observing how the terrain becomes drier and more barren as you travel westwards and approach the desert proper. Between Khorixas and Twyfelfontein, stop at the Petrified Forest to marvel at the fossilised remains of huge trees that were deposited here by prehistoric floods. Continue to Twyfelfontein, which has some of the most renowned rock paintings and engravings in Southern Africa. Nearby, there are interesting rock formations and awe-inspiring evidence of prehistoric volcanic action in the Organ Pipes and Burnt Mountain.

Accommodation: Mowani Mountain Camp

Activities: Viewing rock art and unusual geological phenomena; walking and hiking; enjoying the impressive views across the Aba-Huab Valley; possibly sighting wild animals that have adapted to the harsh environment, such as giraffes, springboks, and ostriches - and, most renowned of all, the desert-dwelling elephants.

 

DAYS 8, 9 & 10: Atlantic Coast - Drive to Swakopmund, Namibia's premier holiday resort and the centre of the West Coast Recreational Area. Your route passes the massif of the Brandberg Mountain, Namibia's highest, which looms dramatically from the surrounding desert plains. The Brandberg contains the iconic 'White Lady' rock painting, as well as many other notable galleries.

Accommodation: Hansa Hotel

Activities: Set between dry desert and fertile ocean, with its German-era buildings and unusual misty climate, Swakopmund is well worth a visit in its own right. Swakopmund is a major destination for a holiday in Namibia! Stroll along the pleasant beachfront, relax at the chic Mole beach, visit the art galleries, and enjoy the good restaurants, most of which specialise in seafood. However, the town is also the springboard for, and site of, a host of other sights and activities, such as

• a slow trip down the coast, between dunes and ocean, to the nearby harbour and fishing port of Walvis Bay, visiting the lagoon - one of Southern Africa's premier wetlands - with its thousands of water birds, including flamingos and pelicans;

• a visit to the seal colony at Cape Cross;
  

• a desert tour that includes the ancient welwitschia plants;
  

• a day trip in a 4X4 vehicle to Sandwich Harbour, a desert-fringed marine lagoon that is fed by the underground waters of the Kuiseb River;
  

• a cruise to view dolphins, seals, and other marine life;
  

• deep-sea or shore-based fishing;

• a visit to the singular museum at Swakopmund;

• browsing for art works and bric-a-brac;

• a visit to the aquarium at Swakopmund;
  

• quad-biking, hang-gliding, and sand-boarding on the desert dunes.

DAYS 11 & 12: Sossusvlei and Sesriem - Your drive today takes you eastwards into the Namib Desert, first across great plains and then into the rugged defiles of the Kuiseb Canyon. Emerging from the canyon, you enter the proto-Namib, a semi-fertile strip between the escarpment and the desert proper. Here there are wide vistas of golden grass against red soil, fringed by the craggy background of the escarpment mountains. Your destination is the famous red dunes of Sossusvlei, the highest in Namibia and reputed to be amongst the highest in the world.

Accommodation: Little Kulala Lodge

Activities: Early morning guided drive to the spectacular dunes, which are at their very best at sunrise; game drives and walks; simply enjoying the breath-taking views and colours; and an early morning balloon trip, soaring silently above the magnificent sand dunes and desert.

DAY 13: Aus - Today you drive southwards along the escarpment region, which separates the higher terrain of the interior from the Namib Desert. There are many fine vistas of golden-flaxen plains and distant grey-blue mountains. Your overnight stay is near the small town of Aus, reputedly so called because in the days of wagon transport it was the staging point for further travel after the rugged and dangerous trip from the coast across the sands of the desert.

Accommodation: Klein Aus Vista Lodge

Activities: Relax, enjoy the fine views, and use it as your own staging post for the rest of your journey!

[OPTIONAL EXTRA DAY]: Luderitz - drive from Aus to Luderitz through the colourful and wide vistas of the southern Namib. Luderitz is a unique fishing port with many well preserved German-era buildings, situated on a rocky, island-guarded bay between the desert sands and the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. Explore the environs, viewing flamingos, visiting historical Diaz Point, and perhaps taking a yacht cruise to get a close-up look at whales, dolphins, and penguins. If there is time while returning to Aus in the evening, stop off at a roadside hide to view the famous wild horses of the Namib while taking in the silence and spaciousness of the desert.

Accommodation: Klein Aus Vista Lodge (as for Day 13)

DAYS 14 & 15: Fish River Canyon - Today you drive across the vastness of what Namibians simply call 'The South', with its low population density and huge ranches. As you approach the Fish River Canyon, the terrain becomes more broken and wild, providing dramatic evidence of the geological upheavals that gave birth to this great rift in the Earth, reputedly the second largest in the world - superseded only by the Grand Canyon, of course!

Accommodation: Cañon Lodge

Activities: Viewing the canyon, in all of its different moods and prospects (unfortunately there won't be time to undertake the famous hike through the canyon); a short guided drive to a viewpoint, followed by a hike back to the lodge for breakfast; flights over the canyon; experience the splendour of the canyon landscape on horseback; sundowner drives.

 

DAY 16: Kalahari stop-over - Today you drive northwards across the vastness of 'The South', perhaps stopping for a look at Keetmanshoop, the main town of the region. At Mariental, you turn eastwards and enter the world of the Kalahari, with its waves of red dunes under golden grass.

Accommodation: Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch

Activities: A 'nature drive’ during the early morning and late afternoon to view the unique dune topography and vegetation, as well as the rich bird and animal life; sundowners on a red Kalahari sand dune; visiting the sheep and cattle farming operations; viewing cheetahs.

DAY 17: Windhoek - Today you drive to Windhoek, perhaps stopping to have a look at the town of Rehoboth, which has an unusual background and history.

Accommodation: Olive Grove Guest House or Heinitzburg Hotel

Activities: Preparing for your journey home; last minute shopping; a celebratory and reflective dinner at one of Windhoek's fine restaurants.

 

Extensions to the Essential Namibia Tour

Besides those that are included in the Essential Namibia Tour, we can also advise and assist you to visit other desirable destinations in Namibia. Kaokaland, the Caprivi, the Brandberg, the Spitzkoppe, the Kunene riverine belt, Ai-ais, Luderitz and the southern Namib – all it takes is one e-mail message to Sandscapes to begin making your arrangements to enjoy these and many other destinations.

Fly-in Safari Extensions to the Essential Namibia Tour

You might like to extend your Essential Namibia Tour itinerary by including one or more of the fly-in safaris that will take you to remote, spectacular, and otherwise inaccessible parts of Namibia such as the northern Skeleton Coast and the mouth of the Kunene River.