12-Day Classic Namibia Camping Tour

• You'll be collected from the airport.
• Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.

Windhoek to Okonjati Game Reserve

You will be collected from your accommodation in Windhoek or the airport by 07:15 and transferred to a short pre-departure meeting. Heading north we will make our first stop in the small town of Okahandja where we will find Namibia’s largest wood carving market. Onwards to our overnight destination at Mount Etjo Campsite in the heart of the Okonjati Game Reserve. We aim to arrive at Mount Etjo around midday giving plenty of time to set up our camp and enjoy a picnic lunch. Later in the afternoon we will be taken on our first game drive in open game viewing vehicles, for about 3 hours. The reserve is big, 36,000 ha, and it is as abundant in magnificent scenery as it is in wildlife. Big game can be seen, elephant and rhino but we also keep an eye out for giraffe and other smaller mammals and birdlife. Our dinner will be cooked by our guide over an open fire. After dinner we head back to the lodge to watch some of the resident lion enjoy their evening meal.

Driving time - 3 hours.

Main Destination:

Okonjati Game Reserve

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• In or near Okonjati GR

Meals & Drinks:

• Lunch & dinner (Breakfast not included)
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Okonjati Game Reserve to Etosha National Park

Departing after breakfast we head back to the main road to continue our journey north, en-route to Etosha National Park. We make a short stop for supplies in the small town of Otjwarongo before continuing on to Etosha’s main camp at Okaukuejo. We are introduced to the park with a short game drive between the main entrance gate and Okaukuejo Camp with a good chance to spot big game right from the very start. After setting up our campsite we will head out into Etosha in search of big game. All visitors must be back in camp at sunset, but the ‘game show’ doesn’t stop when the sun goes down. Assessable on foot and only a short walk from our campsite, Okaukuejo is justly famous for its flood lit waterhole where we are afforded the chance to see all of Etosha’s treasures.

Driving time - 4 hours.

Main Destination:

Etosha National Park

Best Time To Visit July to September (Animals come to water)

High Season July to November (The park gets crowded)

Best Weather May to August (Less hot during the day)

Wildlife in Etosha NP

ElephantAbundant

GiraffeCommon

ZebraAbundant

WildebeestAbundant

LionOccasional

HyenaOccasional

Show more

White RhinoVery Rare

Black RhinoRare

LeopardVery Rare

CheetahVery Rare

BuffaloNone

HippoNone

Wild DogNone

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• In or near Etosha NP

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Etosha National Park

We have the whole day to explore Etosha. The park gates open at sunrise and we will aim to be on our way as the sun breaches the horizon. Early morning is usually a productive time for game viewing and first thing in the morning is a good time to catch big cats returning from the hunt. Etosha is desert landscape and water is the most scarce natural resource. There are however numerous waterholes here, both natural and man-made, and our game driving technique is to take in as many as of these possible. Along the way we will make a stop at a designated picnic area for a quick breakfast before continuing our game drive en-route to the camp at Halali. We will have lunch at Halali. There is time to visit the Halali camp waterhole. On our way back to Okaukuejo we will stop to have a closer look at the Etosha Pan.

Main Destination:

Etosha National Park

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• In or near Etosha NP

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Etosha National Park to Palmwag

Time to leave Etosha and concentrate on some of Namibia’s other highlights. We have an early breakfast and game drive our way out of the park. Our first stop is a fascinating cultural visit the Otjikandero Himba Village located close to the small town of Kamanjab. After our visit to Otjikandero we will have a short stop in Kamanjab before continuing on with our journey. The next leg of our journey today is truly spectacular, we turn to the west and head towards the mighty Etendeka Mountains and the Grootberg Pass. Palmwag is set out abreast of the Uniab River and under waving makalani palm trees which often provide a refuge for Namibia’s unique desert adapted elephants. Sometimes coming very close to our camp, and sometimes coming right in for a visit, the elephants have been known to drink water from the swimming pools. We arrive in the late afternoon and set up our camp in time to enjoy a sundowner and to hopefully see some of the resident elephant herds.

Driving times - 4-5 hours.

Main Destination:

Damaraland

Best Time To Visit May to September (Animals are easier to see)

High Season July to November (Some places can get quite busy)

Best Weather May to August (Less hot during the day)

Wildlife in Damaraland

ElephantOccasional

GiraffeRare

Black RhinoRare

LionVery Rare

LeopardVery Rare

ZebraRare

Show more

CheetahVery Rare

HyenaVery Rare

White RhinoNone

BuffaloNone

WildebeestNone

HippoNone

Wild DogNone

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• In or near Damaraland

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Palmwag to Cape Cross

We have reached the limit of our northern adventure and today we first head west to the Atlantic Ocean and then directly south, following the coastline to Cape Cross. We enter the Skeleton Coast National Park through the northern Springbokwasser Gate and soon afterwards we meet the chilly Atlantic Ocean. Exiting the park at the Ugab River crossing with its Instagram worthy iconic gates, we continue onto one of the largest seal colonies in the world. Nobody knows exactly why the seals chose Cape Cross as their home, but there must be a good reason as there are usually upwards of 100,000 seals basking on the rocks or swimming just off the beach. Cape Cross takes its name from the stone crosses that proudly sit close to the seal colony. After visiting the seal colony it is only a short drive to our overnight stop at Cape Cross. We aim to arrive in the late afternoon and there should be time for a sunset walk on the beach.

Driving time - 5 hours.

Main Destination:

Skeleton Coast National Park

Best Time To Visit October to March (Warmer nights and less fog)

High Season July to October (Busier and higher rates apply)

Best Weather October to March (Warmer nights and less fog)

Wildlife in Skeleton Coast NP

HyenaOccasional

ElephantVery Rare

Black RhinoVery Rare

LeopardVery Rare

ZebraRare

HippoRare

Show more

GiraffeNone

White RhinoNone

LionRare to None

CheetahNone

BuffaloNone

WildebeestNone

Wild DogNone

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• In or near Skeleton Coast NP

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Cape Cross to Swakopmund

We have a leisurely start today and after breakfast we head south along the coast to Swakopmund. Our first stop is a more recent shipwreck. Namibia is home to a world-record number of lichen and along the coast we find vast lichen fields. We complete the final leg of our journey into Swakopmund, no tents tonight we check into our accommodation. Swakopmund is an interesting place to say the least and offers many optional activities. The town centre is small and easily explored on foot. Scenic flights over the desert, sky diving or quad biking over and in the Namib dunes. Our guide will discuss all the options with you. For the more leisurely minded there are bicycle tours and the ‘living desert’ excursions. Lunch and dinner tonight are for your own account, Swakopmund boasts some truly excellent restaurants and again our guide will be able to help you with recommendations and bookings.

Driving time - 2-3 hours.

Main Destination:

Swakopmund (City)

Accommodation:

Hotel Pension A la Mer

• Mid-range hotel located in Swakopmund (City)

+2 Photos

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Swakopmund to Sesriem

Making the most of our time at the coast we leave Swakopmund this morning at 11:30, giving us time to wander around town. Alternatively, there are optional activities available. For those with a love of adrenaline sand boarding is also a very popular. Departing Swakopmund at 11:30 we head east into the desert. We have two mountain passes to traverse this afternoon, first is the mighty Kuiseb Pass and we follow the road from the top of the mountains, dropping steeply down into the canyon carved over eons by the Kuiseb River on its way to debouch into the ocean at the port town of Walvis Bay. From here we continue through the desert landscape to the tiny town of Solitaire where we can stretch our legs and sample the apple pie that has made this homestead famous. Our destination for today, the gateway to the dunes and Sossusvlei at Sesriem. We make our campsite in the shadow of the towering red dunes of the world’s oldest desert.

Driving time - 5 hours.

Main Destination:

Sesriem (Town)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• In or near Sesriem (Town)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Sossusvlei

Sunrise in the dunes is our aim and that means a pre-dawn start. Our first stop will be at Dune 45. This is when you can see towering sand dunes illuminated a glowing orange, apricot red on one side and swathed in shadow on the other. We will visit Dead Vlei on foot led by our guide, an ancient pan completely surrounded by sand, that is strikingly populated with dead, skeletal camelthorn trees. We have time to explore the area on foot and to climb one of the highest dunes in the world. We drive back to Sesriem for lunch and perhaps a dip in the swimming pool and in the afternoon we take a short excursion to see the Sesriem Canyon. In the late afternoon there is one further option with which to close our time in the world’s oldest desert. A short drive will take us to Elim Dune, for the best golden light before sunset.

Main Destination:

Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes)

Best Time To Visit May to September (Less hot)

High Season July to November (Busy and high rates apply)

Best Weather May to September (Cooler during the day)

Wildlife in Namib-Naukluft NP

LeopardRare

ZebraRare

HyenaRare

White RhinoNone

Black RhinoNone

LionNone

Show more

ElephantNone

GiraffeNone

CheetahNone

BuffaloNone

WildebeestNone

HippoNone

Wild DogNone

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• In or near Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Sesriem to Klein Aus Vista

We have a scenic drive today through ever changing desert scenery, mountains and open grassland. We are continuing our long drive south and our destination is the tiny community of Aus, located in the Aus Mountains above the plains of the Namib Desert. Aus was formally the site of a prisoner of war camp set up by the South African army to house German prisoners during the second world war. Our actual destination today is Klein Aus Vista located just outside Aus and just inside the private Gondwana Sperrgebiet Rand Park. We aim to arrive in the early afternoon and set up camp, giving us time to stretch our legs on the un-guided hiking trails on the property. The landscape is wide open vistas and we are hoping for a spectacular sunset - 5 hours.

Driving time - 5 hours.

Main Destination:

Aus (Town)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• In or near Aus (Town)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Kolmanskop and Luderitz

We start early but with the luxury of a proper sealed tar road today. Desert adapted horses run wild in this area and we need to keep a good look out for these amazing creatures. We are en-route to the ghost town at Kolmanskop, located about 15 km from the port town of Luderitz. On departure from Kolmanskop we quickly cover the last few kilometres to Luderitz itself, well known for its unique and colourful colonial-style buildings. We drive out on to the Luderitz peninsula and enjoy the scenery on way to the historical monument at Diaz Point. Luderitz is still today one of the windiest places on planet earth, so some things at least have not changed over the centuries. We head back to our accommodation at Klein Aus Vista, taking a second opportunity to see the desert horses and arriving in time for a sundowner.

Driving time - 3 hours return.

Main Destination:

Kolmanskop (Highlight)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• In or near Kolmanskop (Highlight)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Klein Aus Vista to Keetmanshoop

A long drive today but we take advantage of the tar road for the first part of the morning. We are heading east but we will soon turn south again to complete our traverse of Namibia’s southern region. Our first main stop will be the incredible Fish River Canyon located in the /Ai-/Ais Richtersveldt Transfrontier National Park. We enter the park at the Hobas gate and from there it is only a short drive to the main lookout point over the Fish River Canyon. It is hard to leave such an impressive sight but we journey onwards, turning our heads to once again to the north as the canyon marks the end of the southern leg of our trip. We are en-route to Keetmanshoop. A short stop here and then on to our overnight camp at the Quiver Tree Forrest. This is the last night of our safari and time to reflect on our amazing adventure as we sit around our camp-fire one last time.

Driving time - 6 hours.

Main Destination:

Keetmanshoop (City)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• In or near Keetmanshoop (City)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Keetmanshoop to Windhoek

We head north today and we have the luxury of the main tar road for our whole journey, no gravel road ‘African Massage ’to contend with, as we head back to Windhoek. Namibia is so rich in interesting things that it is impossible drive for any great distance without passing places of interest and there are several worth mentioning along the way today.
Still heading ever north our journey today takes us through the small centres of Mariental and Rehoboth and we will stop along the road today for a light lunch. We aim to be back in Windhoek in the late afternoon. There will be a shuttle service to take you to your accommodation within the Windhoek City limits or the airport.

We recommend that departure flights are not scheduled for today.

Driving time - 5 hours.

Main Destination:

Windhoek (City)

Accommodation:

No accommodation (End of tour)

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast & lunch (Dinner not included)
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

• Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.
• You'll be dropped off at the airport.