17 Night Luxurious Namibian Safari

Night 2: Mariental - Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch

This morning you will make your way towards the south with your next stop the Kalahari offering you a first taste of the natural highlights that await you on your journey!

Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch lays surrounded by the sands of the Kalahari, which is famous for the intense red colour of its sand. Explore the Kalahari on a morning or sunset drive and enjoy the beauty of this special place and its magical colours. The best time to experience it is when the sun dips in the late afternoon lighting up the sand as if glowing from an inner fire.

Nights 3 and 4: NamibRand - Wolwedans Dunes Lodge

The next part of your route will be truly magical, and you’ll experience many different landscapes. The further you’ll drive the sandier and redder your surroundings will become. Your destination is the NamibRand Nature Reserve – an area that offers a visual utopia you probably have never seen before!

The diversity in the park offers contrasting colours and shapes that leave you inspired. The reserve is rich with history, flora and fauna and unusual phenomena like the fields of mysterious fairy circles.

Wolwedans Dunes Lodge offers a breath-taking location capturing the beauty of the desert in an unforgettable way. To top it all off the ecolodge is built to minimize the environmental impact whilst using sustainable technologies. Spend your time exploring true wilderness and join a variety of activities: soar the desert skies in a hot air balloon, learn about small and large desert dwellers on a scenic drive, or explore the desert on foot on a walking safari. One of our favourite locations in Africa!

Nights 5 and 6: Namib Desert - Sossusvlei Desert Lodge

It is hard to surpass the experiences of the last days, but the next stop can definitely compete with it!

Making your way further through the desert towards the world’s highest sand dunes in Sossusvlei, which is a memorable sight not to be missed when visiting Namibia. The national park boasts towering waves of deep red sand as far as the eye can see and captures nature in its absolute purest and simplest form. Fascinating desert animals and plants have adapted to the harsh conditions and now thrive in this arid environment. Experience the beauty first-hand by climbing the dunes, although quite a challenging and sandy hike, the view from the top is unforgettable and really puts the size and vastness of the desert in perspective.

Deadvlei is another magnificent site to see in the area and is a photographer’s paradise. The contrasting colours of the white clay pan filled with dark, dead trees, surrounded by the deep red dunes and under the crisp blue skies is an unusual and spectacular sight.

Sossusvlei Desert Lodge lays surrounded by mountains and sand dunes of the Namib Desert – a luxurious escape to the wilderness. To top it all off take a helicopter or hot air balloon flight over the desert for an unforgettable experience!

Nights 7 and 8: Swakopmund - Strand Hotel

Passing through the desert along the Naukluft Mountains and beautiful landscapes you’ll reach Swakopmund, a small town on the Atlantic Ocean. Enjoy the breeze!

Swakopmund is a town full of contrast: the colonial German architecture seems surreal in its surroundings and the hot desert winds collide with the breeze of the ocean. Spend your day strolling through this fascinating place where palm trees line the promenade, visit some cosy cafés or spend time in the bustling markets.

Swakopmund and the surrounding areas offer a variety of interesting activities – on land, at sea or in the air. You can book some marine activities on the Atlantic Ocean like kite surfing, kayaking or join a seal and dolphin boat cruise. Explore the desert on special tours to learn more about the fascinating variety of desert adapted animals. If you are seeking adrenaline you can also go quad biking, try sand boarding or take a scenic flight to have the ideal view of this unique place, where the desert meets the ocean.

Swakopmund offers a variety of excellent sea-food restaurant. You could have dinner at “The Tug” or “Jetty 1905”, which are both located at the shore, so you can watch the sun set over the ocean and enjoy some delicious food.

Night 9: Erongo Mountains - Erongo Wilderness Lodge

Today you’ll leave the coast behind you and drive towards the Erongo Mountains and you’ll see that the scenery will once again change drastically!

The Erongo Mountains are a circular massif, which is an eroded relic of a volcano that was active 150 million years ago. The area is characterized by many huge granite boulders that are scattered around the landscape and a variety of pre-historic rock paintings and engravings.

Erongo Wilderness Lodge lays surrounded by a breath-taking mountain backdrop and is an ideal location to explore the area. Spend your day hiking and find some bushman rock-art at Paula’s Cave. As the region also has a high wildlife population you can join a nature drive, on which you’ll also see some game such as oryx, kudu, mountain zebra, eland and giraffe. If you’re very lucky you might even find some leopard, which thrive in this mountainous and rocky environment.

Nights 10 and 11: Twyfelfontein - Mowani Mountain Camp

Travelling further into Damaraland, through a region that is known for its endless and untouched landscapes – you might even get a feeling of having arrived on another planet.

Experience the meaning of true wilderness in Damaraland with rugged, rocky landscapes, rolling hills, ancient riverbeds and deep gorges. The wildlife can be scarce, but even more special and unique, offering a once in a lifetime experience, as you can be sure to have any wildlife-sighting completely to yourself.

Damaraland also boasts the geologically fascinating Twyfelfontein World Heritage Site, which is home to thousands of ancient Bushman rock engravings. Explore Damaraland on an early morning game drive in search of elusive desert dwelling elephants, hike in the ancient surroundings of the Aba Huab River or travel back in time at Twyfelfontein, Namibia’s first World Heritage Site.

Nights 12 and 13: Koakoveld - Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp

The dry Hoanib River in the northern part of Palmwag Concession will be the next stop en route.

Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp lays in one of the most remote areas of Kaokoveld and you’ll get a greater sense of the camps unique location, when being flown in by light aircraft from Doro Nawas. Surrounded by gravel plains, trees, mountains and sand dunes – a place that can only be described as hauntingly beautiful!

Spend your days on morning and afternoon game drives along the dry riverbed, in search of desert-adapted elephant, gemsbok, giraffe, and even lion. A very different experience is an excursion to the bordering Skeleton Coast National Park.

Nights 14, 15 and 16: Etosha - Ongava and Onguma Tented Camps

Continuing your route northbound you’ll reach a highlight of this trip: Etosha National Park – the place to go when wanting to truly experience everything Namibia has to offer in terms of wildlife.

You’ll be accommodated in two private game reserves directly bordering Etosha, which offer game drives in Etosha as well as in the private reserves. Enjoy an authentic Etosha experience with many private game sightings. The first night is at Ongava in the central part of Etosha and the last two nights at Onguma on the eastern boundary of the Park. The drive through the Park from Ongava to Onguma will be a highlight!

Especially during the dry winter month you’ll have fantastic game sightings. Spanning over an area of over 22,270 km2 Etosha is one of the most accessible game reserves in Southern Africa and ideal for self-driving.

You can visit the park’s various waterholes and observe animals in their natural state and get up close with its healthy population of predators such as lion, cheetah and leopard, as well as different herbivore species such as kudu, giraffe, eland, oryx and zebra.

Take your time while driving: you’ll have the best chance of seeing wildlife by doing things slowly, being observant and paying attention to the small things. The park is named after the huge salt pan – it’s most distinctive and dramatic feature, visible even from space.

Night 17: Erindi - Old Traders Lodge

Leaving Etosha behind you, you’ll make your way southbound.

Before returning to Windhoek, you’ll have one night at Erindi Private Game Reserve, which offers 70,1 00 hectares of pristine wilderness and wildlife. Enjoy varied activities such as cultural village tours, educational trips around the reserve, guided bush walks and game drives encountering elephants, giraffes, rhinos, lions, hyenas, zebras, kudu, wildebeest and many other animals.

Do not miss the opportunity to take a night drive to catch a glimpse of the nocturnal species. Alternatively, you could spend your afternoon enjoying the view over the lodge’s highly frequented waterhole.

The next morning make your way to Windhoek, check in at the airport for your flight home or the next adventure. The memories made on this tour will stay with you for a very long time!