Nature Travel Namibia
Nature Travel Namibia
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2005)
- Member Of:
- TASA & Namibia Tourism Board
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $81 to $649 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
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for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
VN
Email George Kung | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
amassing journal. the classical tour in Namibia is very good. i have a lot of fun with my parents.
it is accessible for old people as well. my parents are 70+. they also enjoy the tour.
US
Email David Drake & Deborah Jaffe | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review of Fantastic NBZ Private Nature/Birding Tour Led by Cronje of Nature Birding Travel
This is a belated review of a private 14 day nature trip of Northern Namibia in December 2018 that was led by Marc Cronje of Nature Birding Travel, who served as our superlative and indefatigable host, guide, driver, fixer and companion throughout.
Beginning with an airport pick-up at Livingstone in Southern Zambia, the tour encompassed a brief stop in Zimbabwe to visit Victoria Falls; two days in Zambia to bird the Zambezi River; two days in Botswana to bird the Zambezi floodplains and Okavango River, and the remainder of the time in Namibia, with a route that took us through the Okavango to Etosha for 4 days; a day in the spectacular, other-worldly Damaraland region; two days in the Erongo Mountains, where we stayed at the amazing Erongo Widerness Lodge; and a final morning of coastal birding in Walvis Bay.
We are experienced, well-travelled birders with an equally strong interest in all other forms of wildlife, as well as in natural landscapes and ecosystems, so our hope for this tour — which was fully realized — was to experience a wide range of Southern African flora, fauna and avian life at an unhurried pace that would allow for full immersion. As this is a review rather than a trip report, we do not provide here a detailed account of species sighted, but the birding and wildlife experience was richly rewarding and exceeded expectations, with nearly 350 species of birds sighted, 40 species of mammals (including no fewer than ten separate encounters with lions), and one exciting sighting of a Black Mamba on the first morning of the trip.
The itinerary of the trip was exceptionally well designed, with consideration given to keeping daily travel distances manageable in order to allow time for leisurely enjoyment of all wildlife. The well-chosen lodges were (other than in Etosha NP) small, privately run establishments with individual character and charm, allowing for varied experiences while delivering a uniformly high standard of service.
Marc Cronje proved to be a world-class guide, whose deep knowledge and appreciation of wildlife, landscape, and birds is matched by his superb wildlife spotting and identification skills and by his infectious enthusiasm and passion for his job. He worked tirelessly on our behalf, from first light until night fall, and even then he was always eager to go owling.
Beyond his skills as a nature guide, Marc is a great communicator with a robust sense of humor. His patience, politeness and respect for others was a pleasure to behold and a real asset when dealing with border officials, a necessity on a trip that encompassed four countries.
We could not recommend Marc and Nature Birding Travel more highly and look forward to arranging our next nature safari adventure with him.
David Drake and Deborah Jaffe
BE
Email Katleen Wils | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Everything you could hope for!
We recently went on a 3-week self-drive tour that was completely organized by Nature Travel Namibia. They booked us a 4x4 rental car with rooftop tents as well as all of our accommodations and some of the activities. Everything was organized exactly as we wanted, and we had no unpleasant surprises during our trip. Just the holiday you would hope for, nice and relaxing but also full of wonderful activities to enjoy the wildlife and landscapes to the fullest. Communication with Nature Travel prior to the trip all went very smooth, they are very friendly and helpful and always eager to assist you in any way possible. The tour itself was wonderful, we absolutely loved Namibia and will certainly be coming back! We will definitely book via Nature Travel again, so highly recommendable!
Email ALEX | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
It was real pleasure dealing with San-Mari Maraise at NTN, who was very patience with my
It was real pleasure dealing with San-Mari at NTN, who was very patience with my queries. Will certaintly recommend NTN, for nature lovers.
BR
Email Lucas Ramos | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very helpful and dedicated to make people's trip the best experience possible!
Me and my boyfriend had never gone to Namibia or any other country in the southern part of Africa. We were a little bit worried, specially about hiring an agency we had never used before (not even heard about, as in Brazil people don't usually go to African countries other than South Africa). However, since the beginning of our contact with Nature Travel (many thanks here to San-Mari, who was always kind and helpful), we were very well supported in every single thing we asked: general overview of the places we would visit, details about other options, how much time to spend, price targets, etc. One of the most amazing things about Nature Travel was that, even though the trip was being planned for us, when we had an idea that didn't seem very well for them (fox example: too much time in a place, too many distant places, etc.), they would tell us the truth and argue with us (in a nice manner, obviously) why we shouldn't do that. They really cared about what would be best for us! With all that being said, we cannot say another thing than that we had a wonderful time in Namibia: it was certainly a trip that we’ll never forget. We would like to thank the whole Nature Travel team for their assistance, specially San Mari and Marius. The latter was our guide throughout our trip and we REALLY had a wonderful time with him. All his knowledge, kindness, professionalism and good humor contributed a lot to make our trip as incredibly unforgettable as it was. He was always trying to read what would be best for us. We could see that the thing he wanted the most was to give us the best experience possible. We will definitely continue planning trips with Nature Travel and recommend them to all our friend and family!!
CH
Email Raji | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A fantastic introduction to Namibia
My husband and I went on a 12 day tour of Namibia covering Erindi private game reserve, Etosha, Damaraland, Swakopmund and Sossusvlei. From the start, I was impressed with the professionalism and responsiveness of our contact San-Mari. The trip was a fantastic introduction to Namibia especially due to our guide, Lucky who was knowledgeable, resourceful and friendly. He made the trip a memorable one for us. We will definitely go back to Namibia with NTN again.
AE
Email Adrian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A fantastic safari and birding experience!
I embarked on my trip to Namibia in Jan '19 having previously used Nick and Nature Travel Birding for an excellent trip to Ghana.
The trip started in the Caprivi on the border with Botswana and continued throughout much of the rest of Namibia. There was fantastic birding to be had with excellent views and photo opportunities throughout the trip. Etosha was excellent and a highlight with great mammals as well as birds.
Nick was a tremendous guide, extremely knowledgeable and really made sure the trip went well. There was a general flexibility and genial atmosphere to the whole trip with Nick being patient and accommodating to get those extra couple of photos. The accommodation, food and itinerary were spot on.
I wouldn't hesitate to reconsider Nature Tatvel Birding and continue to plan future trips with Nick and team.
US
Email Liz | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nick takes care of every angle of a birding safari from the areas visited to the lodges we stayed in
Nick communicated by email and sent an itinerary of the places we would visit and the lodges we would stay in. (That way we could look up the lodges ahead of time). I had birded with Nick before so I knew he would take care of all the details. The lodges were great-usually by a river or waterhole.
I was very excited when one night a hippo came up beside our tent to eat!
Nick will stop whenever you want to take pictures. That was great. Everybody had a window seat as he only takes six people on a tour.
Everything was great.
US
Email Susan and Mark A. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safaris in Botswana and Namibia
We had the delightful experience of booking 2 separate safaris with Nature Travel Namibia. We spent 6 days in Botswana and a week in Namibia.
The trip was almost seamless, with complex transfers by van, small planes to Okavango Delta locations, and truck safaris to remote places all mixed into one trip. Nicolette Mueller was our liaison for the planning and she always responded in a very timely manner to our thoughts, ideas and logistics planning between the United States and Africa. We particularly appreciated her “paring down” of our ambitious itinerary for both Botswana and Namibia given our time constraints!
All the staff and guides at the lodges and tented camps were professional, kind and paid much attention to the details. We can easily give a particular shout out to Previous Tsvigu, who patiently chauffeured and guided us through the history, animals and landscapes of his adopted country, Namibia. We had one particular experience where we were worn out after a long day’s drive and wanted to rest at the lodge, but Previous felt we needed to see the desert-adapted elephants in Damaraland. We knew that tracking down these animals was hit or miss, so we told him to go it alone, and come back to retrieve us if he found them. Sure enough, he raced out to the sight, found three elephants, and raced back to grab us for what turned out to be a lovely sighting of grazing elephants and a wonderful sundowner experience of the grasslands on the hood of our truck!
These kinds of attention to detail are what separates this travel company from the masses. They are smaller and truly care for their clients’ welfare and experience. The variety of experiences and things we requested (mokaro boat rides) are not always easy to find. Thanks again to Nature Travel Namibia which we can wholeheartedly recommend!
Susan and Mark A.
US
Email Janeen Hernan | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Incredible journey through East Africa
This was our 3rd trip with Nature Travel Namibia and they have never failed to exceed our expectations. 5 of us have recently returned from a 12 day expedition through the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, the Central Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. Our guides and drivers all demonstrated exceptional interpersonal skills, and an in depth knowledge of the area and animal behavior. This translated into many encounters with the local wildlife including: 3 crossing of the Mara River by thousands of Wildebeest and Zebras, 5 separate Leopards (one eating it’s kill in a tree), 9 separate Cheetahs (5 brothers marking a tree), around 15 separate lions (we lost count) with several large prides of over 25 lions, and even the elusive Black Rhino in the crater. All of our accommodations were excellent, and we even encounter wildlife only a few feet from our dining areas at several of the lodges. Our questions and request were taken care of in a professional and timely manner, from a balloon safari to finding a bathroom. A special thank you to Nick Buys, Joe, Henry, Charles and all the Nature Travel Namibia staff for making this a truly incredible journey.