Classic Namibia road trip holiday

Itinerary in brief:

• 1 night Windhoek
• 2 nights Kalahari 
• 2 nights Sossuvlei
• 2 nights Swakopmund
• 2 nights Damaraland
• 3 nights Etosha National Park
• 1 night Okonjima Reserve

Day 1: Depart UK

Depart the UK from your chosen airport.

Included: International flights

Day 2: Arrive Windhoek

On arrival in Windhoek, you’ll be met at the airport and taken to your hotel, where you’ll check in for one night. Head out and enjoy a wander around Windhoek – there is a beautiful German church that looks like it’s made of gingerbread. Head out for a delicious dinner and get ready to being your Namibian road trip tomorrow. 

Included: Transfers, 4* hotel 

Day 3: Drive to the Kalahari Desert 

This morning you'll pick up your hire car and head off to drive into the Kalahari Desert. As you head south, the landscape begins to change – keep an eye out for oryx grazing on the horizon as you drive down into the desert.  

Included: Breakfast, car hire, dinner, Intu Afrika Camelthorn

Day 4: Kalahari Desert 

Spend your day here discovering the unique beauty of the Kalahari Desert. During your time here, you'll enjoy the fascinating Bushman walk, where members of the local San community share their deep knowledge of the Kalahari, demonstrating traditional survival skills, tracking techniques, medicinal plants and ancient customs passed down through generations. 

The rest of your day you can spend relaxing by the pool, looking out over the red dunes and soaking up the peace and quiet of this remarkable wilderness. If you'd rather get out and about, there are nature drives and walks that we can organise, where you'll look for local desert wildlife like giraffes, zebra, gemsbok and ostriches. Back at the lodge, spend the evening enjoying the scarlet sunset and the starry African night sky. 

Included: Breakfast, car hire, bushman walk, dinner, Intu Afrika Camelthorn

Day 5: Drive to Sossusvlei

Drive through the desert today towards Sossusvlei, leaving behind the acacia woodland of the Kalahari, looking for oryx and ostriches as you go. The landscape turns to plains before rocky mountain ranges emerge and the famous, deep orange sand of the region begins. Arrive at your desert camp, checking in for two nights, ready to hike and explore the spectacular landscape.

Included: Breakfast, car hire, dinner, The Elegant Desert Camp        

Day 6: Sossusvlei

You’ll have all day to enjoy the stark beauty of Sossusvlei, the famous red dunes where gemsbok and ostriches wander under the morning sun. The spiky, bleached trees in the Deadvlei cast dark shadows over the sands below, creating a picture-perfect landscape that you can enjoy for most of the day. We can add in some activities here to give you an even better appreciation of this magnificent landscape, including scenic flights or hot air balloon rides providing panoramic views over the rolling sands.

Included: Breakfast, car hire, dinner, The Elegant Desert Camp

Day 7: Drive to Swakopmund

After breakfast, today you’ll head north to the coast. Driving towards the seaside town of Swakopmund you’ll pass through the tiny “town” of Solitaire, home to Moose McGregor’s Bakery, where you must try the famous apple pie! You’ll also pass by the Welwitschia Plains, where you can look out for the unusual welwitschia plants, made of only two leaves that are gradually split into strips by the wind - some of which are over 1,500 years old.

Next, you’ll cross the Moon Landscape where rippling hills and rocky valleys create an ‘other-worldly’ scene before arriving at the Atlantic Ocean, you’ll check into your hotel for two nights in the town of Swakompmund. 

Included: Breakfast, car hire, 4* hotel              

Day 8: Swakopmund

Today is yours to explore the beach town of Swakopmund. Wander along the promenade under the palm trees, taste famous Namibian oysters in a beachside restaurant or even try skydiving with unforgettable views of the contrasting orange desert and the blue Atlantic Ocean. In the afternoon, drive half an hour south to Walvis Bay, where we’ve included a catamaran cruise to see the seal colonies. Depending on the season you’ll find rosy flamingos in the lagoon, watch dolphins follow the boat and meet friendly pelicans that land on the deck.

Included: Breakfast, car hire, catamaran cruise, 4* hotel 

Day 9: Drive to Damaraland

Leaving the coast behind, today you’ll head north into Damaraland, passing the huge seal colonies of Cape Cross. As you turn inland, you'll also pass by Brandberg, the highest mountain in Namibia, which glows orange in the afternoon light, earning it's nickname "Fire Mountain". As you drive, keep your eyes peeled for local wildlife like springbok and zebra, or even if you're lucky the odd rhino.  

Included: Breakfast, car hire, dinner, Ondjamba Hills 

Day 10: Damaraland

Today, you can visit Twyfelfontein, home to the 2,500-year-old rock carvings. These simple sketches of lions, cattle and humans engraved into the red rock are humbling and beautiful – sure to be a real highlight of your trip to Namibia. You can also book a tour with the lodge to explore the local area, where you can look for rare desert-adapted elephants and desert black rhino. You can spend the rest of the day relaxing by the pool and enjoying the spectacular views. It’s a magical and romantic place.

Included: Breakfast, dinner, car hire, Ondjamba Hills

Day 11: Drive to Etosha National Park

After breakfast, you’ll drive north to Etosha National Park. You’ll spend three nights in Etosha - two nights on the west side of the park and one night on the east. Settle into your lodge for the night – the waterhole has a hide that you can visit after dinner, waiting patiently for rhinos who visit the water in the evenings.

Included: Breakfast,car hire, dinner, Etosha Village

Day 12: Etosha National Park       

Today, you’ll enjoy both early morning and sundowner game drives. Grab your binoculars and keep your eyes peeled - Etosha is a haven for birds, from turquoise European Rollers to Scarlet-chested Sunbirds. Watch them flitting through the air, sometimes even landing on the backs of the rhinos and elephants around the watering hole.

Look out for mighty ostriches, sheltering their stripy chicks from the intense sun or Saddle-billed Storks wading through the rushes. Lions sleep amongst the grasses and giraffes wander across the plains looking for foliage. It’s a beautiful spot to looks for wildlife and enjoy the excitement of a safari.

Included: Breakfast, two game drives, dinner, Etosha Village

Day 13: Etosha National Park

This morning, you’ll drive east to the other side of Etosha National Park, past the vast Etosha pan, a vast salt lake that dries into a cracked white sheet each year. After the rains, this turns into a huge breeding ground for flamingos, with up to a million pink birds descending on the pan when it floods. Most of the time when it’s dry, small springs are used as salt licks for the park’s wildlife, so you might see oryx silhouetted against the sun and elephant families trekking from one side to the other.

Included: Breakfast, dinner, Onguma Bush Camp

Day 14: Drive to Okonjima

Leaving Etosha this morning you’ll head south and break your journey back to Windhoek with a night at Okonjima Plains where the Africat Foundation has its headquarters. Okonjima is a great place to spot one of the leopards that freely roam this 20,000-hectare nature reserve or visit the Carnivore Care Centre where you can meet cheetahs and leopards who are patiently waiting for their second chance in the wild. You’ll also be able to track the animals on foot, looking out for Spotted Hyaenas, Cheetahs and Wild Dogs along the trails.

Included: Breakfast, car hire, dinner, Okonjima Plains Camp

Day 15: Depart Namibia

After breakfast, you’ll make your way back to Windhoek, dropping off your car before catching your flight home. 

Included: Breakfast, car hire, international flights

Day 16: Arrive UK