Wildlife Safari Tour in Namibia
When going on to the beautiful country of Namibia, you want to make sure that you experience all the highlights and top attractions. Our celebrated 11-day Namibia Safari Tour will take to you to many of Namibia’s must-see natural wonders, allowing encounters with some of Africa’s iconic wildlife species and the opportunity to experience Namibia’s incredible scenic beauty, it truly is a wonderful country.
We will visit the vast Namib Desert, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, that includes iconic Sossusvlei, home to some of the highest sand dunes in the world. Then we move onto the unique, historical, seaside town of Swakopmund where the desert and the Atlantic coast come together. This is a very tourist-friendly town, with wonderful places to eat and with plenty of activities to choose from. The various activities on offer range from high adrenalin activities like sky-diving and quad-biking to city walking tours and scenic flights. It truly offers something for everyone! We will also visit nearby Walvis Bay, Namibia’s major harbour town, well known for the picturesque lagoon and its prolific birdlife.
We will then make our way up along the bleakly dramatic Skeleton Coast and turn inland into rugged and scenic Damaraland, with its ancient rock engraving sites and unique desert-adapted animals. Last but certainly not least we will move onto Etosha National Park, without doubt, one of Africa’s best game viewing destinations and a jewel in Namibia’s wildlife crown. Four of Africa’s Big Five can be seen here, along with amazing other fauna and flora species and the most amazing sunsets you can imagine.
Join us on this exciting tour, where you are guaranteed top wildlife viewing, breathtaking scenery and excellent service, all complemented by a safe and tourist-friendly environment. Incredible Namibia awaits!
Namibia Safari Tour - TOP 5 HIGHLIGHTS:
- Sossusvlei: iconic and photogenic, with spectacularly high sand dunes everywhere
- Living Desert Experience: witness some incredible fauna and flora that survive in the harsh Namib desert environment
- Skeleton Coast: a rugged coastline of shipwrecks and seals
- Damaraland: dramatically beautiful and home to unique, desert-adapted mammals
- Etosha National Park: one of the greatest wildlife reserves on the planet
How would you love to learn more about conservation and go on a conservation safari? If so, this can be made possible here Conservation Safari Tour in Namibia
Welcome to Namibia! After arriving at Hosea Kutako International Airport outside the country’s capital city of Windhoek, your Nature Travel Namibia guide will be waiting for you in the arrivals hall of the airport with your name on a signboard.
After loading your luggage into the vehicle, we will start making our way to our first destination; iconic Sossusvlei. We will drive through the Khomas Highland and down the escarpment via one of the many scenic mountains passes into the Namib Desert. This journey will take about 4 to 5 hours, depending on the number of stops for photographs. We will certainly start seeing some of Namibia’s fantastic fauna and flora along the way, including Common Ostrich, Gemsbok, Pale Chanting Goshawk, Sociable Weavers or even a Greater Kudu. The Namib is the oldest desert and boasts the highest sand dunes in the world. This area is one of the most spectacular in all of Namibia and always one of the highlights of any visit to the country.
We will reach our accommodation in the afternoon and if there is the time it might be fun to walk around the lodge grounds looking for interesting smaller fauna and local flora. Our accommodation for tonight is in an area perfectly situated to explore the surrounding desert and its many attractions.
After an early breakfast, we will depart for an exciting morning excursion to Sossusvlei and nearby Dead Vlei, where we will spend a couple of hours. Sossusvlei is where you will find the iconic red sand dunes of the Namib. The clear blue skies contrast with the giant red sand dunes to make this one of the natural wonders of Africa and a photographer's heaven.
It is one of the top tourist destinations in all of southern Africa and a must-see attraction when visiting Namibia. Sossusvlei itself is actually the pan or valley floor that we will park our vehicle on, and is surrounded by massive dunes on almost all sides. We will have plenty of time to enjoy some of the many highlights that surround Sossusvlei itself:
• Dune 45, the most photographed dune on earth (situated 45 km past Sesriem on the road to Sossusvlei)
• Hiddenvlei, perfect if you are looking for solitude in the desert
• The magnificently tall Big Daddy dune
• Deadvlei, a paradise for photographers, as it is punctuated by blackened, dead acacia trees, in vivid contrast to the shiny white of the salty floor of the pan and the intense orange of the dunes
• Sesriem Canyon, a narrow gorge of 1 km long and up to 30 m deep slashed into the earth by the Tsauchab river millions of years ago. The name derives from the Afrikaans for the 6 lengths of ropes that were needed to haul water out of the gorge to the top with containers in days gone by. After lunch and a well-earned siesta, we will join the lodge for a sundowner nature drive where we will look for anything from Gemsbok and Springbok to Black-backed Jackal, along with some interesting bird species and even reptiles and smaller creatures. We will return to the lodge in time for dinner and a good night’s rest.
After a relaxed breakfast at the lodge, we will depart for the coastal town of Swakopmund, driving through the vast Namib-Naukluft Park to get there. It is a beautiful drive of about 4 hours, and if time allows we will stop for the famous Apple Pie in the small desert oasis town of Solitaire, a true Namibian tradition that should not be missed.
Our entire drive today takes place in the Namib Sand Sea, one of Namibia’s two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is the only coastal desert in the world that includes extensive dune fields influenced by fog. Covering an area of over three million hectares, the site features gravel plains, coastal flats and rocky hills within the sand sea, a coastal lagoon and ephemeral rivers, resulting in a landscape of exceptional beauty.
Fog is the primary source of water in the site, accounting for a unique environment in which endemic invertebrates, reptiles and mammals adapt to an ever-changing variety of microhabitats and ecological niches. Swakopmund has made a name for itself as the activity and sports capital of Namibia, but this town offers so much more. Sandwiched between the hot, arid desert and the cold waters of the Atlantic, Swakop (as the locals call it) is one of the most fascinating colonial towns in all of Africa. It is a heady mix of South African, Namibian and German cultures, architecture, languages and cuisine. For the adventurous, there is quad-biking, sandboarding, kitesurfing, skydiving, angling, mountain biking, scenic flights over the coastline and much more. It is the most popular holiday destination in the country, with both locals and foreigners loving the laid-back atmosphere, good restaurants, top coffee shops, many activities and the temperate climate. Swakopmund will be our home for the next two nights.
We will reach our accommodation in Swakopmund in time for a stroll around the town or even an optional adventure activity. We will have dinner at one of the many excellent restaurants in town and a good night’s rest; tomorrow is another exciting day!
After breakfast in Swakopmund we will depart for a Living Desert Experience, a unique adventure indeed and a real eye-opener! We will encounter and learn more about the fascinating wildlife of the Namib Desert with the help of a local expert. This seemingly dead environment supports a wealth of animal and plant life that have adapted in wonderful ways to survive and thrive here.
We will look for geckos, scorpions, snakes, lizards, birds and beetles as well as the incredible plant life that survives in this harsh and seemingly inhospitable environment. Some of the special creatures we might see include Namib Sand Gecko, Namaqua Chameleon, Shovel-snouted Lizard, Tractrac Chat and even Peringuey’s Adder.
Once we are back in Swakopmund we will enjoy lunch and explore the town with optional activities like quad-biking or sandboarding. Other optional activities that could be arranged include scenic flights over the coastline and dunes or a boat cruise out of Walvis Bay harbour.
We will all return to our accommodation to freshen up and enjoy another dinner in Swakopmund before settling in for another good night’s sleep.
Today we continue our safari northwards along the Skeleton Coast. This bleak and evocatively named area is one of the most unusual coastal wildernesses on the planet, protecting about a third (500 km) of Namibia’s long coastline. It has a longstanding reputation of being a dangerous sea passage for sailors, and indeed the Portuguese sailors used to call this area the “Sand of Hell”, referring to the fact that even if one did survive a ship running aground, the harsh desert would almost certainly provide one’s final resting place.
After visiting one of the many shipwrecks along the coast for some dramatic photographs, we will turn inland towards spectacular Damaraland. We will drive past the Brandberg Namibia’s highest mountain. In the distance, we will also see the Spitzkoppe, one of Namibia's most recognizable landmarks.
This beautiful mountainous region is home to an assortment of scientifically important desert-adapted wildlife such as African Elephant, Black Rhinoceros and Lion, which somehow survive and thrive in this near-barren landscape. We hope to see some of them; a special treat indeed! We will be at our lodge in time for a sundowner drink while we enjoy the view over this rugged but beautiful landscape.
After breakfast, we will visit the famous Twyfelfontein. Meaning “uncertain spring” in Afrikaans, it is a massive open-air art gallery that is of great interest to international rock art connoisseurs, and another of Namibia’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The 2,000-plus rock petroglyphs, estimated to be 6,000 years old, represent one of Africa’s largest and most noteworthy concentrations of rock art. Most of these well-preserved engravings represent rhinoceros.
The site also includes depictions of elephant, ostrich and giraffe, as well as drawings of human and animal footprints, all done in red ochre. Here we will also look out for the Namib Desert’s weird-looking living fossil plant, the Welwitschia. Damaraland is also famous for its several important geological rock formations that are not to be missed, including the “organ pipes” arrangement (a distinctive series of dolerite pillars that have been exposed by erosion), the “petrified forest” (believed to be more than 200 million years old) and the much-photographed “burnt mountain” (a flat-topped mountain that derives its name from the piles of blackened limestone at its base).
We will visit some of these today while keeping an eye out for the desert-adapted animals of the area. There is also the option today of going our for a game drive specifically looking for the desert-adapted animals; this will be communicated by your guide. We will return to our beautifully situated lodge for dinner. Tomorrow we are off to Etosha!
After an early breakfast, we will depart for Etosha National Park, about 4 hours’ drive away to the northeast. The landscape here, as in most parts of the country, is truly dramatic and we will stop for regular photographic opportunities.
We will arrive at our lodge on the southwestern side of Etosha late in the afternoon and settle into our accommodation. Undoubtedly one of the great parks of Africa, the huge Etosha National Park in north-central Namibia is synonymous with big game and wide-open spaces.
We will enjoy dinner and sit around the campfire reminiscing about our wonderful trip so far. Remember to look up before settling into your bed tonight – the African night sky, undisturbed by city lights out here in the bush, is truly amazing.
We will enjoy morning and afternoon game drives in Etosha today, returning to our lodge in the heat of the day for lunch and to relax. Your guide will decide, with your input as to your fauna and flora sighting preferences, what the best routes will be to follow. All our guides know Etosha intimately and will make sure you see all that this great African wildlife park has to offer.
Etosha is home to a staggering amount of wildlife, both common and rare, including several threatened and endangered species. The mammal list is at over 110 species, including four of Africa’s Big Five, Cheetah, Giraffe, Spotted Hyaena, Zebra (2 species), Greater Kudu, Springbok, Gemsbok (Namibia’s national animal), Common Warthog, Honey Badger and many more. In the drier months of the year, almost all the animals tend to congregate around the waterholes dotted around the massive park. They come to drink water and are inevitably followed by predators; this allows us to sit and wait at some of the waterholes and wait for the action to come to us. This is what sets Etosha apart from other parks in southern or east Africa; unique indeed!
Tonight we will again sit around a fire after dinner, chat about the day’s sightings and enjoy another spectacular African night sky.
We have another full day to enjoy Etosha today, but we will also slowly make our way to the eastern side of the park, where we will overnight for the next two evenings. Etosha not only boasts some fantastic mammals, but also has a bird list of more than 350 species, including regional specials like Kori Bustard, Blue Crane, Violet Woodhoopoe, Ruppell’s Parrot, Pygmy and Red-necked Falcon, Bare-cheeked and Southern Pied Babbler, and Burchell’s and Double-banded Courser.
We will naturally look for these on our drives in the park, as well as around our lodge grounds. Furthermore, Etosha is a photographer’s dream, with the contrasts in light, colour and textures particularly dramatic. Many a guest’s “lifer shots” of African animal and bird species were taken in this park. The sunrises and sunsets are particularly spectacular, so better get those cameras and phones ready! After another fantastic day in the park, we will return to our lodge for dinner and a good night’s rest.
Today is our last day in exciting Etosha. We will again do morning and afternoon game drives and return to the lodge for lunch and a siesta in the heat of the day, when the animals are less active. Although Etosha is best known today as a spectacular refuge for an abundance of animals, it is also a part of the world that is providing critical evidence for the existence and evolution of ancestral animals. The rocks in the hills near Halali camp have revealed fossil life as old as 650 million years! We will arrive at our accommodation in the late afternoon, freshen up and enjoy our last dinner together.
After an early morning game drive or a relaxing final breakfast together we will depart for Windhoek. It is a 5 to 6 hour drive southwards to the capital. In Windhoek we will take you to the Hosea Kutako International Airport for your homeward flight or for your connecting flight if you decide to combine this safari with an extension to the Caprivi, Victoria Falls, Botswana, Zambia or South Africa. We will gladly assist with accommodation in Windhoek should you need to stay over.
On this tour we expect to see a good mix of mammals and birds. Mammal highlights include African Elephant, Black and White Rhinoceros, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Gemsbok, South African Fur Seal, Black-faced Impala, Giraffe, Greater Kudu, Springbok, Spotted Hyaena, Zebra (2 species), Common Warthog, Honey Badger and Common Wildebeest.
Some of the top bird species we expect to spot on this tour are Kori Bustard, Secretarybird, Ruppell’s and Northern Black Korhaan, Burchell’s Courser, Damara Red-billed and Monteiro’s Hornbill, Sociable Weaver, Rosy-faced Lovebird, Common Ostrich, Pale Chanting Goshawk, Blue Crane, Violet Woodhoopoe, Ruppell’s Parrot, Pygmy and Red-necked Falcon, Bare-cheeked and Southern Pied Babbler, Double-banded Courser, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Martial Eagle and Tawny Eagle
What is included?
- Accommodation as per itinerary
- Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner (Except for dinner in Swakopmund)
- All activities mentioned as included in the itinerary
- Private air-conditioned vehicle
- Fuel
- Private guide
- Park entry fees
- Drinking water in the vehicle
What is not included?
- International and Domestic Flights
- Visa Fees
- Comprehensive Travel Insurance
- Dinner in Swakopmund
- Drinks
- Extra optional activities
- Gratuities
- Items of a personal nature
- Other unspecified cost in the itinerary.
Namibia offers many amazing highlights and this Namibia Safari Tour, explores some of the best highlights Namibia has to offer. Your Nature Travel guide will be with you for the full duration of the safari, so you can sit back, relax and be amazed by our beautiful country Namibia!
All accommodation is mid-range with en-suite ablutions. Depending on availability, the vehicles used for this safari are either an air-conditioned minivan (Toyota Quantum or similar) or a safari vehicle. (Accommodation can be changed to more luxury or budget accommodation according to the client's preferences)
All travel is done via road (tar and dirt road) and some activities could be in open safari vehicles.
Our groups have a maximum of 6 travellers to ensure an exclusive safari experience. Private safaris can be arranged for 2-6 travellers.
Yes we can arrange airport pick up and drop off.
If your flight arrives on the morning of departure, please arrange that the flight do no arrive later than 11am. If your international flight arrives after 11am, we suggest that you overnight in Windhoek. Flights arriving after 11am becomes a challenge to reach our destination on time.
On the final day of your safari you will need to travel for about 5-6 hours to get to the airport. Please do no book a flight that departs before 17h00 in order for you to reach the airport in time.
We allocate a specialist guide to your safari at the time of booking. We only change guides should something happen at short notice i.e illness or emergency and will let the client know immediately. Itineraries are normally not changed except if a lodge or reserve is closed for a specific reason (renovations etc). Should this happen, we will contact the client immediately with the updated itinerary.
Some lodges have rooms that can accommodate three adults in a room (depending on availability). We will advise on which lodges can accommodated three adults in one room at the time of booking. Should a lodge not offer triple accommodation, two rooms will be booked and the single supplement will be applicable Most lodges can accommodate two adults and 1 child under the age of 10 in one room. Please enquire about this option at the time of booking.
All meals are included on this safari except for dinner in Swakopmund. Our office and your guide will assist with arranging dinner reservations in Swakopmund.
Enjoying a safari in Namibia is good all year round. Between November and April, the bush is usually green and there are lots of baby animals around. Between May and October the game watching in Etosha National Park is generally good when animals congregate at the waterholes.
The tour is not strenuous but a basic level of general fitness is needed as some of the days are long and a basic level of fitness can be helpful.
We can accommodate clients with limited mobility, please let us know in advance to make the necessary arrangements.
We welcome clients of all ages on our safaris. If you have children under 12 years, we do recommend to book a private tour in order for us to adjust the itinerary slightly to accommodate them in all the activities. We offer private safaris to families with children.
Most lodges offer Wi-Fi but it cannot be guaranteed as it is not very reliable. A local simcard can be obtained at the airport on arrival. A package with airtime and data can be bought with the simcard. Please note that there are areas on this safari where there is no phone reception or Wi-Fi.
Yes, we can arrange accommodation as well as day trips/extension as part of your tour.
It is compulsory for each client to obtain comprehensive travel insurance for their tour at the time of booking. Nature Travel Namibia offers emergency evacuation (E-med Rescue) to all of our clients in Namibia. This service does not include repatriation and should be covered by die client's comprehensive travel insurance. We highly recommend that you purchase comprehensive travel insurance at the time of paying a deposit. The policy should provide cover for loss of deposit, cancellation and additional expenses, medical expenses and repatriation and loss or damage to baggage and valuables. You are responsible for making any special or increased insurance arrangements which you deem are necessary.
A 30% deposit is needed to confirm the safari. Payments can be made by bank transfer or credit card. (Mastercard and Visa) Please note there is a bank charge applicable to all credit card payments. The final payment is due 60 days before the safari commences.
We will send a comprehensive packing list once the tour has been booked but to give you an idea of the general items to bring, see the list below. General packing: • Neutral coloured clothing • Warm jacket for early morning activities • Sturdy closed walking shoes (trainer type shoes are fine) • No need for any formal clothing, most dinners are casual and informal • Binoculars • Camera • A small daypack • A refillable waterbottle • Suncreen • Insect Repellant Medical: • Please bring some basic medication for headache, nausea etc with you as well as any prescription medication you might need during your safari. • All of our guides carry a basic first-aid kit with them but it is best to bring your personal medication with you. • Please contact your closest travel clinic for information on malaria and other medical information you might need. • Currently no yellow fever certificate is needed to travel to Namibia except for clients travelling from a country where yellow fever is prevalent.
Citizens of some countries need a visa to enter Namibia. Please enquire at the time of booking for up to date information on visa requirements.
Drinks are not included (except for drinking water in the vehicle) but your guide will assist you with arranging to buy some drinks during the day en-route. Lunches are usually either packed or your guide will stop at a small restaurant/deli en-route where you will be able to enjoy a meal of your choice. The only meals that are not included are the two dinners in Swakopmund.
Most lodges cater for special dietary requirements, please let us know at the time of booking and we will let each lodge know in advance. Should you have a severe food allergy, please carry the necessary medication with you at all times in case this is needed.
Credit Cards (Mastercard and Visa) are accepted at most lodges but we advise to bring a small amount of cash should this facility not be working as well as for smaller purchases like drinks, tips etc. Your guide can also assist with arranging a stop at an ATM in the bigger towns should this be necessary. For this tour you will need Namibian Dollar (NAD) or South African Rand (ZAR)
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