Compare Namibia Self Drive Adventure by Wayfairer vs 7-Day Luxury Namibia Fly-in & Private Guided Safari by Ker & Downey Africa

Day 1: Upon arrival you will be met by your driver and transferred to your lovely accommodation in the centre of Windhoek.

Your rental vehicle will be delivered to your hotel. Your vehicle will have a sat-nav and mobile phone, plus you will also be provided with an information pack which will include driving directions, accommodation details and contact phone numbers.
You can spend the rest of the day exploring Namibia’s capital city.
Overnight: Windhoek
Meals: (Breakfast)

Day 2 : Today you’ll drive south for approximately three hours to your lovely lodge just outside of the village of Stampriet in the fertile valley of the seasonal Auob River. Here you can relax by the lodge’s pool, or join a scenic drive in the Gondwana Kalahari Park which is just 30 km away. We also highly recommend joining a sunset walk with a local San bushman. The San are believed to be southern Africa's original inhabitants and around a third of the 90,000 remaining San live in Namibia.

Overnight: Kalahari Desert
Meals: (Breakfast/Dinner)

Day 3: After breakfast at your lodge you’ll drive south to the spectacular Fish River Canyon, with a stop at Quiver Tree Forest en route. You’ll arrive at your lodge mid-afternoon in time to join a sunset walk, before returning to the lodge for a delicious evening meal.

Overnight: Fish River Canyon
Meals: (Breakfast/Dinner)

Day 4: Today you’ll have a full day to explore the breathtaking Fish River Canyon. You may wish to go for a morning hike in the canyon, enjoy a scenic drive to marvel at the dramatic, arid landscape, join a guided sunset walk or kayak on the river.

Overnight: Fish River Canyon
Meals: (Breakfast/Dinner)

Day 5: This morning you’ll enjoy breakfast overlooking the canyon before making your way north and towards the coast. The landscape changes drastically en route as you arrive at the start of vast sandy dunes.

A highlight of this region is Kholmanskop Ghost Town. Once a small, but extremely rich mining village, Kholmanskop was hastily abandoned and is now a popular tourist spot with visitors intrigued by the eerie buildings which are half filled with sand.
Tonight you’ll stay in Luderitz for one night and enjoy your first view of the Atlantic Ocean.
Overnight: Luderitz
Meals: (Breakfast/Dinner)

Day 6: After breakfast you’ll drive to Sossusvlei in the Namib Desert in the southwest of the country. You’ll stay in Sossusvlei for the next two nights and you’ll have time to explore the iconic towering sand dunes, as well as other incredible geographical formations of the region, such as Sesriem Canyon.

Overnight: Sossusvlei
Meals: (Breakfast/Dinner)

Day 7: We recommend that you wake up early to climb the iconic sand dunes at sunrise, or if you prefer you can soar above this breathtaking landscape in a hot air balloon. Other activities you can enjoy today include a nature drive to spot the desert-adapted wildlife, a dune walk or an eco-sensitive guided quad bike excursion, sand boarding and horse riding. In the evening you can enjoy a gin and tonic on a sundowner tour, or after dark you can join a star gazing excursion with a knowledgeable guide.

Overnight: Sossusvlei
Meals: (Breakfast/Dinner)

Day 8: This morning you’ll leave the Namib Desert and you’ll drive north through beautiful canyons and striking scenery as you head towards to the lovely town of Swakopmund on the Skeleton Coast.

Walvis Bay is a stunning spot just outside Swakopmund and we highly recommend stopping off on your way into town. Sheltered by the Pelican Point sand spit, Walvis Bay’s tidal lagoon is home to abundant birdlife, including flamingos and pelicans.
Swakopmund itself is a former colonial town famous for its German architecture and culture - many residents speak German and there's even an Oktoberfest beer festival. It is an ideal place to spend a couple of days between visiting the dunes of Sossusvlei and exploring the attractions of northern Namibia.
Overnight: Swakopmund
Meals: (Breakfast)

Day 9: Today you’ll have a full day to explore Swakopmund and the surrounding area. You can search for Cape Fur seals and dolphins off Pelican Point on a boat cruise or guided kayaking trip, take a scenic flight over the desert, join a bird watching excursion or a living desert tour, or you may wish to visit the Swakopmund Lighthouse, the Swakopmund Museum and Sandwich Harbour.

Just outside Swakopmund several sand dunes have been set aside for adventure activities, including sand boarding, quad biking, camel riding and off-road driving.
Overnight: Swakopmund
Meals: (Breakfast)

Day 10: This morning you will resume your Namibian road trip and head further north up the Skeleton Coast to Damaraland. En route we recommend that you stop at Henties Bay to see the Cape Cross seal colony and you may wish to visit the shipwreck of MS Winston at Durissa Bay.

On arrival you’ll settle into your accommodation and you can spend the afternoon relaxing at your lodge, or if you wish you can take a walk in the surrounding area, stopping at viewpoints to marvel at the beautiful Damaraland landscape.
Overnight: Damaraland
Meals: (Breakfast/Dinner)

Day 11: Today you’ll have a full day to explore Damaraland. You can join a rhino tracking experience, plus there are also options for you to take an elephant nature drive in search of Namibia's desert-dwelling elephant, or you may wish to join the Twyfelfontein, Burnt Mountain and Organ Pipes excursion to see the rock engravings at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Twyfelfontein.

Overnight: Damaraland
Meals: (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)

Day 12: After breakfast you’ll get back in your vehicle and drive east towards Etosha Game Reserve.

Etosha offers fantastic wildlife viewing opportunities, particularly around the waterholes. You can expect to see elephant, giraffe, lion, leopard, zebra, springbok and gemsbok and it’s also one of the best places in Southern Africa to see the endangered cheetah, black rhino and rare antelope species such as black-faced impala, Damara dik dik and roan antelope.
We offer a choice of superb lodges, both in the park and on its borders.
Overnight: Etosha
Meals: (Breakfast/Dinner)

Day 13: Today you’ll have a full day to explore Etosha.

Despite being one of Africa's largest national parks, Etosha is easy to drive around yourself as all roads lead back to the main road. This means you can take your time visiting the many different waterholes such as Halali, Okondeka and Okaukuejo, where large concentrations of wildlife congregate.
Almost a quarter of Etosha consists of salt pans, including the Etosha Pan which is undoubtedly the park’s most distinctive and dramatic feature. The Etosha Pan is the only known mass breeding ground for flamingos in Namibia and at times there can be up to a million flamingos here.
Overnight: Etosha
Meals: (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)

Day 14: This morning you’ll leave Etosha and head south to the Okonjima Nature Reserve which is home of the famous Africat Foundation - an education and research facility dedicated to the rehabilitation of Namibia's big cats, particularly cheetah and leopard.

Overnight: Okonjima
Meals: (Breakfast/Dinner)

Day 15: During your time here you’ll have an opportunity to observe and learn about Africat’s conservation work. Depending on your interests you can also go mountain biking or hike up the mountains to watch the sunrise, join a bird-watching excursion to spot some of the 250+ species of birdlife in the area , enjoy a nocturnal game drive, or you can experience a day in the life of a San Bushman on a bushman trail.

Overnight: Okonjima
Meals: (Breakfast/Dinner)

Day 16: Sadly your Namibian adventure is coming to an end. This morning you’ll drive back to Windhoek which should take approximately three hours. On arrival you’ll have time to get some lunch and drop off your hire car, before heading to the airport to catch your international flight home.

Overnight: International flight
Meals: (Breakfast)

Days 1 - 2: Namibrand Nature Reserve

You'll be collected from the airport.

Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.

This morning you will be collected from your guesthouse or hotel of choice in Windhoek and taken to Eros Airport, for your

scheduled light aircraft flight to the Sossusvlei area. The flight will take you over the central highlands of Namibia before descending after the escarpment and on over the Namib Desert to land at the Sossusvlei Desert Lodge airstrip situated in the NamibRand Nature Reserve. Upon arrival you will be met by your local guide who will transfer you to your lodge with time to settle in. The afternoon can be spent enjoying many of the activities offered by the lodge.

The next morning you will rise early for a magical excursion into the Namib Naukluft National Park, entering the Park gates at sunrise to capture the dunes whilst the light is soft and shadows accentuate their towering shapes and curves. This area boasts some of the highest free-standing sand dunes in the world.

Days 3 - 4: Twyfelfontein

After a leisurely breakfast you are transferred back to the airstrip for your light aircraft flight north up to Mowani Mountain

Camp for a two nights stay. This flight includes flying over the Namib Sea Sand two shipwrecks, seal colonies along the Atlantic Ocean, abandoned diamond camps and Walvis Bay lagoon and salt works. This is a scheduled seat rate and not private charter, but a scenic route will be flown.

The rest of the afternoon can be spent on a guided excursion to visit the rock engravings at Twyfelfontein (a World Heritage

Site) and the interesting geological sites of the local area around the lodge. After an early breakfast you will be treated to an exciting 4x4 excursion along the ephemeral Aba Huab River valley to explore this remarkable region and to search for game, especially the elusive desert adapted elephants if they are in the area. Damaraland is home to a variety of desert adapted wildlife and hidden desert treasures.

Days 5 - 6: Ongava Private Game Reserve

This morning you will have an early departure from Mowani Mountain Camp as you make your way north deeper into the heart of Damaraland, having a picnic lunch en route, and you will arrive at Ongava Lodge on the southern border of Etosha in the late afternoon.

You will be treated to an exciting morning guided game drive into the Etosha National Park, to see more of the wide

variety of game and bird species that are to be found there before returning to Ongava Lodge for a late lunch. There is then time to relax by the refreshing swimming pool before you head out again for an afternoon game drive before exiting the park before sunset.

Activities and Services:

Ongava Lodge - Game drives on Ongava Game Reserve

Ongava Lodge - Excursions into Etosha National Park

Ongava Lodge - Guided Nature Walks

Ongava Information System and Visitor Centre

Recommended:

Ongava Lodge - Camp Hide

Day 7: End of Itinerary

After breakfast this morning you will make your way south from the Etosha National Park through the small towns of Outjo and Otjiwarongo before stopping at the Okonjima AfriCat Day Centre, a wonderful highlight with which to conclude your safari. Okonjima is home to the AfriCat Foundation, a wildlife sanctuary which focuses on the research and rehabilitation of Africa's big cat. You arrive in time for the late morning departure and tour of the centre. Here you will learn about the function and vision of the AfriCat Foundation and will also get to meet some of the Foundation’s special captive carnivore ambassadors. You enjoy lunch afterward.

After the excursion and freshening up, the journey continues further south to arrive back in Windhoek in the late afternoon, just as the sun is setting. Upon your arrival in Windhoek you will be transferred to your accommodation establishment of choice, or out to the Windhoek International Airport.

Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.

You'll be dropped off at the airport.