My road trip across Namibia was the best travel experience of my life.
But it was also one of the most expensive trips I’ve ever taken.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go.
On the contrary, if you can afford it, you should make every effort you can to get there.
Watching the sunrise over the Namib Desert; lying in the sand dunes gazing up at the Milky Way; pulling over to the side of the road to look at a map, then sitting in awe as a dozen giraffes wander out from behind the trees to surround your car; devouring dozens of the best oysters on the planet; exploring abandoned shipwrecks on the Skeleton Coast; spending hours clambering over mini sand dunes inside houses in an abandoned ghost town; watching giraffes drink from a waterhole from your hotel’s infinity pool… I could continue for hours, because I experienced hundreds of magical moments in this country.
Needless to say, it’s totally worth the expense to travel there.
Here’s how much you can expect to be up for. As always, all prices are in US dollars with the local currency included in brackets afterwards.
The Cost of Accommodation in Namibia
Accommodation is the most expensive part of Namibia travel because there are basically two options: camping or expensive. If you’re not down for carrying camping gear around with you, there are close to no budget options.
You can therefore expect to pay around $100 a night in low season (December – March), and up to double that when the tourists arrive (June – October). The one positive to spending a lot of money on accommodation is that you get what you’re paying for: I felt as though we were receiving wonderful value for money, even if it was over our typical budget — it wasn’t like we were paying $100 a night to stay in a rundown motel. Instead, I stayed in some of the most beautiful hotels of my life in Namibia, and the accommodation turned out to be just as much a highlight as the landscapes.
Here’s where we stayed, in order of when we visited, and for how long, in case you want to recreate my adventure (you should): The prices are for two people staying in a double or twin room in shoulder season.
Ovita Wildlife Restcamp: $92 (N$1730) per night. We stayed for one night.
We landed in Windhoek, but wanted to stay outside of the city, so Ovita Wildlife Restcamp was a logical place for us to stop. It provided the perfect welcome to Namibia: we were the only people staying the night at the lodge and were at least an hour’s drive from the nearest signs of civilisation. This lodge was so peaceful! We had sundowners on a raised terrace overlooking a lake filled with hippos and crocodiles, ate a delicious meal of warthog fillets that was one of the best dinners of our trip, and fell asleep to the sounds of hippos snorting outside our room. I loved it here and would recommend it as an ideal place to stay if you don’t want to spend a night in Windhoek.
Halali Camp: $135 (N$2540) per night. We stayed for two nights.
If you want to stay within Etosha National Park (and you should), your options are limited to five lodges spread out inside the park. Halali is in the centre and we stayed there first. The lodge was lovely, and I loved having a jacuzzi in our garden for hot tub times under the stars. The lodge’s waterhole attracted black rhinos at night, which was incredible to witness. If you’re traveling in low season, keep an eye out for specials — they sometimes discount rooms quite heavily at this time.
Okaukuejo Camp: $184 (N$3880) per night. We stayed for one night.
Okaukuejo is located west of Halali and made for a logical stop for our third night in the park. After spending time in small and quiet Halali, Okaukuejo was a noisy surprise. It was larger, louder, more expensive, and jam-packed full of tourists. Having said that, our room was nicer than in Halali, there was a swimming pool to cool off in, and there was a cheap burger place to grab lunch from, which was rare in Etosha. Breakfasts and dinners were standard buffet fare, and the staff were wonderful.
Vingerklip Lodge: $112 (N$2110) per night. We stayed for one night.
Vingerklip was my favourite lodge of the entire trip, and the perfect stopover between Etosha and Swakopmund. Set in Namibia’s version of Monument Valley, it feels as though you’re a thousand miles away from civilisation when you stay here. There were some incredible swimming pools overlooking a waterhole that attracted dozens of giraffes, but the restaurant was the highlight for me. You had to climb up some rickety scaffolding in order to reach the top of a nearby cliff, but eating dinner while overlooking an enormous canyon was a highlight of the entire trip.
At the Sea Boutique Guesthouse: $98 (N$1840) per night. We stayed for three nights.
At the Sea guesthouse was exactly what we needed for our three nights in Swakupmond. It was an easy walk to the beach and the town centre, so after thousands of kilometres of road tripping, it was nice to hardly need to start the car for a few days! The room was large and clean, Dave loved having a Nespresso machine in the room for his morning coffee, and we both really enjoyed the free breakfast that came with the room rate. The staff were super-friendly as well.
Sesriem Desert Camp: $143 (N$2700) per night. We stayed for one night.
If Vingerklip was my favourite lodge of the trip, Sesriem Desert Lodge comes in at a very, very close second. The photo at the top of this section is Sesriem Desert Camp and if that doesn’t meet the definition of oasis, I don’t know what does. We were staying in a luxury tent here, and while it was basic, the pool, bar, and views more than made up for it. The dinner buffet was surprisingly great for Namibia.
Betta Camp: $69.50 (N$1300) per night. We stayed for one night.
Considering we picked Betta Camp because it was the cheapest option between Sesriem and Luderitz, I was pleasantly surprised. This was the cleanest room we stayed in in Namibia, the space was surprisingly modern, and I highly recommend it. The owners were lovely, the desert views were badass, and the lodge had an amazing gift shop where I may have spent far too much money on an enormous guinea fowl statue. I seriously recommend staying here if you’re going to be passing through.
Kairos B&B: $58 (N$1100) per night. We stayed for one night.
If you want to visit the ghost town of Kolmanskop, you’ll most likely stay in nearby Luderitz. Kairos B&B was an affordable and decent hotel on a small peninsula with a nearby flamingo colony. There was A/C, parking spaces, a clean, modern room, and a gorgeous view over the ocean. It was great!
Maltahohe Hotel: $106 (N$1980) per night. We stayed for one night.
I’ll be honest with you: there’s absolutely nothing to do in Maltahohe, but it’s a logical stopping point between Luderitz and Windhoek, and we liked the Maltahohe Hotel a lot. There was a swimming pool, beer garden, and bar/restaurant on site, so we had everything we needed to recover from yet another long drive over gravel roads. No complaints here!
The total cost of accommodation in Namibia was: $1328.50
The total cost of my share of accommodation expenses in Namibia over two weeks was: $664.25.
The Cost of Transportation in Namibia
There aren’t many ways you can cut down on transportation costs in Namibia. Buses don’t service many parts of the country, and the limited passenger trains that used to exist have been suspended indefinitely since the pandemic, so you’ll most likely be hiring a car in order to get around.
If that’s a complete impossibility for you (e.g., you can’t drive), you may need to limit where you plan to go, and/or take the shared minibuses that locals use to get between towns. Prices vary between about N$100-400 depending on distance, and they leave when full.
One of the few routes of interest to tourists that you can travel by some form of public transport is between Windhoek and Swakupmund/Walvis Bay on the coast. Private pre-booked shuttles cost around $16 (N$300) with companies like Carlo’s, and take 4-5 hours.
To see more of the country, especially the more remote parts (and there are plenty of those!), you’ll really need your own vehicle. While there are many guides online insisting you need to hire a 4×4, we opted for a Toyota Corolla and didn’t feel as though we needed much more.
Some more ground clearance would have potentially prevented part of our car’s undercarriage from falling off[!], but we definitely didn’t need any additional traction to what we had. You’ll save a lot of money by opting for a smaller car, so if you have experience on gravel roads, don’t sweat it and go for the cheaper option. With car insurance, of course!
Car insurance is totally an essential for Namibia, as the country has one of the highest rates of car accidents in the world. It’s likely you’ll get a flat tyre at some point, and the burnt out wrecks we spotted on the side of the road was a sobering reminder that accidents often happen. We just bought car insurance with the company we booked with and they fully refunded us for the tyre we needed to replace on our trip with no questions asked.
- Toyota Corolla hire for 12 days with Rentalcars.com $565 (N$10635)
- 12 days of full car insurance: $164 (N$3090)
- Cost of petrol for 12 days: $228 (N$4290)
- Cost of shuttle transfer at Sossusvlei to get to Deadvlei: $9 (N$170)
The total cost of my share of transportation expenses in Namibia over two weeks was: $487.50.
The Cost of Food in Namibia
The cost of eating in Namibia varied from place to place.
When we were staying in or driving through towns, we could grab a meal for $5-10, but when staying in the lodges, there were no alternative places to eat at unless we fancied a four-hour round trip (we did not), so we were at the mercy of their pricing. We never felt ripped off, but we didn’t exactly feel like we’d gotten a bargain either.
The most expensive meals from our time in Namibia was the ones we had at the lodges in Etosha National Park. There, they charged almost $20 for what was often a pretty average buffet dinner. In general, though, we paid around $7-10 for breakfast, $10 for lunch, and $15-20 for dinner.
One benefit of the buffets, at least, was the variety of different game meat on offer that meant I could try all sorts of things without having to take a chance on just one dish. I had kudu, oryx, zebra, and impala, which were all great, but my favourite was definitely the warthog!
We generally had our best meals on the coast; seafood for obvious reasons, but other things as well. That’s at least partially due to there just being a lot more options there: there’s not much pressure to make amazing food if the nearest competition is several hours away!
In Swakopmund, for example, we had a great breakfast at Village Cafe. Dave had a breakfast of bacon, sausage, egg, and toast for $4 ($N70), with a big mug of coffee for another $1.30 ($N24). I really enjoyed my smoked salmon roll with scrambled egg ($5.60/$N105) and orange juice ($1.40/$N26). That night, we went for a very good meal at Bits ‘n Pizzas, where I had a delicious veggie supreme pizza ($10.50/$N190).
Snacks are an essential part of road tripping in Namibia, as you’ll rarely be near to a restaurant when you want to eat. At all times we carried a bunch of potato chips, water, and fruit and replaced them every few days when we passed through a town. We’d often eat them while out exploring in Etosha, since it was too far to go back to a camp for lunch.
The total cost of my food in Namibia over two weeks was: $448.
The Cost of Activities/Entrance Fees in Namibia
Activities and entrance fees were reasonable in Namibia and I didn’t feel as though anything we did was overpriced. The most expensive activity of our trip was the seal-watching tour we jumped on in Walvis Bay, which came in at $70. For that, we spent three hours on a catamaran, drinking champagne, eating some of the best oysters of our lives, and spotting seals along the coastline. We even spotted the super-rare and super-weird sunfish, which totally made the trip for me.
Aside from that, the biggest expenses we encountered were entrance fees, which didn’t feel extreme. You can read more about each activity we did in the links below, from visiting the amazing ghost town of Kolmanskop (in the photo above) to scaling the dunes at Soussusvlei, wildlife spotting in Etosha National Park, and plenty more!
- A seal-watching tour in Walvis Bay: $70 (N$1320)
- Entrance to Kolmanskop ghost town + photography permit: $19 (N$350)
- Entrance to Etosha National Park: $8 (N$150) per day
- Entrance to Sossusvlei: $8 (N$150)
The total cost of my activities and entrance fees in Namibia over two weeks was: $121.
The Cost of Random Stuff in Namibia
Anti-malarial tablets: Anyone who thinks anti-malarials are worse than malaria has never had cerebral malaria. Namibia has malaria in the north of the country, so I took malarone for the four days I was in a high-risk area, followed by the next seven days, as required. I opted for generic malarone tablets from Nomad Travel Clinic on Bond Street, London, which are priced at $2.85 per tablet. Doxycycline is a much cheaper alternative at $0.32 per tablet, but requires you to also take the tablets daily for a month after you leave the country and is an antibiotic, which I try to avoid taking if at all possible.
Namibian SIM card: We picked up a SIM card at Windhoek Airport upon arrival and it was simple to do. The SIM card costs 50 US cents and 2 GB of data was a whopping $2.50. We didn’t have much coverage in the country, but it was useful to have at times, and we definitely didn’t need more than 2GB over our two weeks.
Travel insurance: You know I’ll always yell at you if you’re dumb enough to skip out on travel insurance, but in Namibia, it’s an essential. Why? Because Namibia has the highest car-accident death rate in the world, with 45 people killed on the road for every 100,000 citizens. On top of that, malaria hangs out in the northern parts of the country, and there are several other awful-sounding tropical diseases that you definitely don’t want to contract.
Travel insurance will cover you if your flight is cancelled and you need to book a new one, if your luggage gets lost and you need to replace your belongings, if you suddenly get struck down by appendicitis and have to be hospitalised, or discover a family member has died and you need to get home immediately. If you fall seriously ill, your insurance will cover the costs to fly you home to receive medical treatment.
I use SafetyWing as my travel insurance provider, and recommend them for trips to Namibia. Firstly, they’re one of the few companies out there who will actually cover you if you contract COVID-19. On top of that, they provide worldwide coverage, don’t require you to have a return ticket, and even allow you to buy coverage after you’ve left home. If you’re on a long-term trip, you can pay monthly instead of up-front, and can cancel at any time. Finally, they’re more affordable than the competition, and have a clear, easy-to-understand pricing structure, which is always appreciated.
With SafetyWing, you’ll pay $1.50 a day for travel insurance.
Bradt Namibia Guidebook: $23. If you’re planning a trip to Namibia, you need this guidebook. Not only was it essential for planning our trip, but we used it on an hourly basis while we were in country. Of particular help was the route advice for which roads were best to take, restaurant recommendations for tiny towns, the super-helpful map and waterhole information for Etosha, and the animal identification section. I can’t recommend it enough — make sure you bring a copy with you.
What to Know About Money in Namibia
- The Namibian dollar is pegged to the South African Rand, and you can use both within the country. It was common to pay and receive change in a mixture of both currencies.
- ATMs can be found in most towns of a decent size. Neither Dave nor I had issues with withdrawing money with our (Australian/New Zealand/British/Portuguese) debit cards and they worked in every ATM. It was common for there to be security guards stationed beside the machines.
- It’s worth taking advantage of every opportunity to take money out of the ATM, especially if you know you’ll be heading out away from any major towns for a while. Paying by card was possible in most lodges and restaurants, but wasn’t an option everywhere. Make sure you keep cash on you for local restaurants, small lodges, gas stations, and for tipping.
My Total Expenses for Two Weeks in Namibia
Accommodation: $664.25
Transportation: $487.50
Food: $448
Activities/Entrance Fees: $121
Miscellaneous: $115
Total amount spent over two weeks: $1835
Average daily amount spent: $153 per day
And for anyone who’s interested, if I’d been travelling solo and not splitting accommodation and transport costs with my boyfriend, my total expenses would have been $2979, and my average daily amount $248. Yikes!
Namibia: Expensive but Totally Worth It!
I get it: Namibia is totally a hard sell when it’s so goddamn expensive, but guys, if you have the means to visit, it’s 100% worth the splurge. I promise you’ll have the absolute time of your life there.
And if you’re cool with camping, you’ll most likely end up spending half as much as I did within the country.
Where’s the most expensive country you’ve ever travelled to?
Related Articles on Namibia
🇳🇦 What’s it Like to Travel in Namibia?
🦛 The Perfect First Day in Namibia
🐘 Desperately Seeking Elephants in Etosha National Park
🏜 Finding Paradise in Vingerklip: Africa’s Monument Valley
🦭 Seals, Swakopmund, and the Skeleton Coast
🥾 Climbing Big Daddy: An African Travel Highlight
🏚 Exploring Kolmanskop: Namibia’s Ghost Town in the Desert
Yikes – pretty high priced for a solo traveler, but nothing seemed all that bad when being split between a couple. In fact, it was roughly the price of an all-inclusive resort type of vacation, but what a vastly different and amazing experience!
The high car accident death rate is a little scary, though. However, I’d want to see why before making any judgement on that.
Also, I’m with you on spending extra on malaria pills to skip taking an antibiotic.
Yes! I guess that’s true — I’ve never done the all-inclusive thing, so it was pretty expensive compared to my normal budget of around $50 a day. But so worth it!
The car crashes are mostly due to people speeding on the gravel roads. In fact, our rental car was fitted with a speed sensor that would alert the hire company if we ever went over the speed limit, and then we wouldn’t have been covered by insurance. As long as you stay under the speed limit, you drastically reduce your risk of anything going wrong.
Hi Lauren,
after reading your posts on Namibia, you absolutely convinced me to go there in November, although I am a bit concerned about the fact that it might be rainy..
Can you share you high level itinerary for your 2-weeks stay in the country?
Thank you!
Cristina
Ovita: 1 night
Halali: 2 nights
Okaukuejo: 1 night
Vingerklip: 1 night
Swakopmund: 3 nights
Sesriem: 2 nights
Betta Camp: 1 night
Kairos: 1 night
Maltahohe: 1 night
And all the accommodation is linked in the post
It seems quite cheap to me.try to have the same holiday in Europe and you will spend three times the price. Also, I have never been in a trip where my most expensive meal was 20$ – this would rather be one the low side of dinner.
Yes, being European myself, and having travelled to every country in Europe, I’m aware of the costs of a holiday in Europe.
Keep in mind that prices for Namibia do double during high season, though — so a $120 a night guesthouse could easily grow to $260 a night in the most popular month to visit. And the main difference between Namibia expenses and European expenses is that the properties I included in this article are the cheapest ones in the entire country! In European cities, you can stay in hostels and cheap guesthouses for $20-50 a night; you can take public transport to save money, eat street food, etc — those options simply don’t exist in Namibia.
But perhaps I take a more global view to these articles. I have around 80 budget breakdowns on this site, for countries all around the world! It’s not unusual to pay $1-2 for dinner in the vast majority of the non-Western world, making $20 for dinner relatively expensive. If you hail from Europe, then yes, that seems cheap; if you live in India, it’ll seem wildly overpriced. Relative to every country on the planet, Namibia is one of the most expensive ones — and if you usually travel on a budget, you probably can’t justify those costs.
I’m surprised it was so expensive. The prices don’t look too bad though! I’m sure it was totally worth it anyway.
-Rachel @ Backcountry Petite
Yep, definitely worth it! Just a shame there aren’t any real budget options for backpackers in the country — some hostels or $30 a night guesthouses would make it a much more attainable destination for a lot of people.
This sounds like an amazing experience. I hope you share more photos on Instagram! The thing I’d be most afraid of is flooding my body with so many preventative pills. Did you experience any weird side effects?
Would you prefer to die from malaria? Because that’s the risk you take when avoiding taking the pills. That’s why it’s worth it for me. Never had any side effects from them and neither has Dave — Malarone is super safe and the doctor I saw at my travel clinic said she’s never heard of anyone having any side effects from taking it.
Malaria can be fatal. The pills are safe. This is a non-negotiable, as far as I’m concerned. I am a doctor.
I have taken Malarone (a proprietary combination medication) for maybe 4 trips. I have not had malaria. I got zero side effects. I gave it to my son when he was 8 years old. He got a couple of bloody noses that were very mild while taking Malarone. He did not get malaria.
Malaria is in the top-10 causes of death in the world. It is more preventable than it is treatable. Don’t be an idiot.
Perfect post, Laura! I went to Namibia in October last year and spent similar amounts to you two. It’s not cheap for backpackers but as you say, it’s worth it.
Absolutely :-)
Thanks a lot for the detailed budget split, we are planning to do a self drive around Namibia around next year and its a very nice intro how much its going to cost us, we need to start saving up from now onwards :)
Oh, perfect! Glad it could be of use for you guys :-)
Honestly, I`m not surprised it`s been expensive (these in-the-middle-of-nowhere lodges always are in Africa). What amazes me is that there`s actually a fare for visiting the ghost town (even an additional fare to take photos). How can they charge you for visiting an abandoned place?
Kolmanskop is in a restricted area of Namibia, so you have to pay for a permit in order to enter the area and see it.
I see. They`ve found a way to get some extra money from tourists ;)
Yup! Although the money does go towards renovating the town, which has positives and negatives. It stops it from falling apart, but also makes it look weirdly brand new in some buildings.
Yikes indeed! I know that Africa is general is an expensive country to travel in but this is more than I thought it would be. I have only traveled in Lesotho, Egypt and South Africa in Africa, and would love to travel to Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar but I think I will be putting it off until a point when I am earning more. Thanks for the cost break-down.
Yeah, you could definitely do it for cheaper if you were happy to camp, but other than that, it works out to be pretty expensive!
Love you budget breakdowns Lauren! Namibia sounds a bit too expensive for me right now (don’t want to camp either!) so I’ll save my visit for when I’m earning more money. Looks fabulous though!
Yeah, if you don’t want to camp, your options are pretty limited. You could take buses between the major cities and towns, but you’d be preventing yourself from seeing what makes Namibia so great: the desert lodges in the middle of nowhere. They were one of my biggest highlights from Namibia, so I wouldn’t recommend skipping over them to save some money.
Namibia is one place I’ve always wanted to visit. Thank you so much for the interesting budget breakdown. It’ll be helpful when I finally go to Namibia.
Glad you found it helpful, Shawna!
This is actually a really useful post. What are your thoughts on staying outside of Etosha National Park to save money on the expensive lodges within the park? I don’t want to lessen our experience there, but we can save a lot of money through doing that.
Good question! I have to say that I felt the lodges within Etosha offered the worst value for money on our trip. But at the same time, they weren’t terrible and there were a lot of advantages to staying inside the park. For starters, you get to start exploring at sunrise without having to queue up at the gates at the entrance, so you see more animals, which are more active in the morning. And on top of that, the lodges within the park have waterholes you can sit at all day for easier animal viewing.
So overall, it probably won’t be as kickass if you stay outside the park, but I’d imagine you’d still see plenty of animals and have an amazing experience if you did opt for that.
How much would it be likely to cost if you wanted to travel around on the tightest budget possible? So, camping or dorms, etc?
Transportation will be your highest cost, as we went for the cheapest option and it was $35 a day. Camping will be less, ranging from a few dollars a night to $35 a night in some places, and food can be done on the cheap if you grab snacks from the supermarket or eat only in the towns/cities, rather than the lodges. With that in mind, I’d estimate you’d spend around $50 per person a day if you were trying to do it as cheaply as possible.
Incredible guide, Lauren. I’m really enjoying your detailed budget breakdowns you’ve been posting lately.
Thank you so much!
Namibia is amazing and I hope this post doesn’t put people off. I traveled during low season with a tent and thus saved a ton of money by camping most of the time. But there ARE hostels and cheaper places to stay if you look for them – you won’t find all of them online. Element Riders in Ludderitz has dorm beds that were NAD100 when I was there (around $6 at the time); Amanzi Trails near the South African border had a chalet for $32; I stayed in $30-40/night hotels/B&Bs in Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, and Grootfontein and I think some campsites have simple rooms in the same price range. Some even give you access to a kitchen. The book Tracks4Africa is a good supplement to the Bradt guide for finding these options. For those with flexible schedules, the backpacker network on the ground is alive and well. In the few hostels that exist in Namibia and Botswana, people often hang around long enough to form a group to share car and camping gear hire costs then set off together.
Thanks for sharing, Marbree! I really appreciate it, and it’s great to hear it’s possible to visit for far cheaper than we did :-)
Yeah, sounds similar to how much we spent in Namibia. You can do it for cheaper if you camp or stay in the major towns and cities, but as you say, the best parts of Namibia are not those places! Great post.
Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t want to visit Namibia and just see the cities, as the small lodges in the middle of nowhere were a definite highlight for me.
$1583 was quite a good deal for a two weeks expedition in Namibia. I plan on visiting for a month before this year ends so found this very helpful. Thanks!
No problem! Hope you have a wonderful time there :-)
Great place and amazing ideas shared by you to visit Namibia.
Awesome read! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading! :-)
This was so helpful. Going for exactly two weeks and seems like we travel in a similar style. THANK YOU!
Yay! Hope you have an amazing time, Erin! :-)
Hi Lauren, nice entry. I thought Namibia must be crazy expensive if you do not camp. We recently traveled in Namibia for 10 weeks our monthly budget was Total: NAD24013/US$1770 or average NAD400/US$30 per person per day. I am South African so we drove our own car and we camped the whole way making it a lot cheaper! Many travelers rent a 4×4 with rooftop tent starting from about $75 per day, this includes camping gear, but obviously not petrol. I do not want to post links on your blog, but we did write an Namibia Road Trip ebook, that could be helpful to anyone going that way.
Right. Most people aren’t going to have their own car, though, so it’s not super helpful for non-South Africans.
Perfect advice. Have seen a lot of articles on Namibia on a budget but most of these are by authors who are driving their own vehicle across the country. Doesn’t count! Appreciate your review with a traveler’s perspective.
Thanks so much, Ben! I agree — most visitors to Namibia are not going to have their own transport, and that’s really going to increase their costs.
What’s your take on hiring a car vs hiring a car with a driver/guide? I’ve been reading mixed reviews, with some people recommending avoiding self drive at all costs (driving on the left, long distances in sparsely populated areas, gravel roads, spotty reception), while others rave about it. We’re a couple planning on going next year for two weeks and the quotes I’ve been given for a tailor made tour are way to expensive for us.
I personally would have avoided taking a driver, but that’s because my boyfriend could tackle the roads without much of an issue. I guess it depends on how confident you feel about driving over gravel, and how much money you’ll save with that option. But I definitely wouldn’t say to avoid it at all costs — it was one of the best parts of being in Namibia, and I loved feeling as though my boyfriend and I were the only two people in the world.
In a country you were new in, how hard was it driving yourselves around. You ever missed your way?
I cover that in my Namibia travel guide! :-)
Was it safe to travel there?
And what is the best time?
We are planning to go there in August.
Really, really safe! Outside of Windhoek you really don’t need to worry about anything. August is a great month! You’ll see a ton of animals at Etosha, but keep in mind it’ll likely be pretty chilly too.
Many thanks for the guidance Lauren, much appreciated.
My wife and I are booked on a month-long 4×4 adventure im Arch 2019 and are staying at or close to some of the locations you mention. Whilst we may have longer we know that there are so many places and things to see in Namibia. I do have a couple of questions:
1. What are the most memorable places any visitor should see in Namibia?
2. I’ve heard but not confirmed that US dollars are also useful currency, true?
Hi Lauren,
Would you recommend traveling to Namibia with kids? My husband and I have been dreaming of visiting Namibia for years but wanted to wait until the kids were a bit older. They are 11 and 12. Did you see many traveling families on your journey? Thanks!
Oh, yeah, definitely! It’s such a safe country and I think they’d really enjoy seeing the animals. I saw lots of families.
Hi Lauren
I’ve heard that you need to have cash and that credit cards aren’t accepted in most places. Did you find this the case? Are there ATM’s in most country towns?
I read someone here saying that Africa is an expensive country to travel to. Please, people, Africa is a continent with 54 countries and not a country! They have many different cultures in one continent, different places, different conditions, different prices.
Yes! It’s one of the most diverse continents on the planet. Namibia is nothing like Morocco is nothing like Mozambique is nothing like Ghana is nothing like Ethiopia.
Hi, thanks for sharing your experience! I`m planning to visit Namibia with my family and friends in February next year , but I`ve read that this isn`t the best time because of the rain and hot temperatures. I know South Africa`s summer (which is the best time to visit SA according to my experience). Is Namibia similar? We plan to land in Windhoek, then drive North to Etosha, West to Damaraland and South to Swakopmund and continue South to Sesriem. SO, basically, kind of following your path..
What do you think about the timing?
Hi Maryla! I went in March and personally didn’t find the temperatures to be too hot, and also only had one day of rain. Of course, this is just an anecdote rather than evidence that the same will be true for you. But I didn’t feel like I visited at a terrible time of year. I wouldn’t let it put you off. Oh, and the added bonus is that the prices of accommodation will be discounted by as much as 50% in February.
The only thing I would say is that Etosha is likely to be a disappointment. I wrote a blog post about visiting in the rainy season and shared that it was a struggle to see anything while we were there. The grasses are long, the animals avoid the waterholes, and you tend to end up spending hours just driving around seeing very little.
Hi Guys. This is kondja, born and bred in Namibia.
I love Lauren’s article so much, it reflects the truth about traveling in namibia. The trick you all dont know is that when you foreigners make bookings yourselves, the prices are most likely to be inflated. Also you guys rely mostly on booking online, which is mostly expensive, thirdly you guys use USD, again, inflated.
You would save more money if you have a local friend to do bookings for you. Ofcoz its difficult to trust a stranger, but you can always get hold of someone working at the tour guide operators to assist you.
Try that and see how much you would save.
Im glad you guys love to visit our beautiful country. We are peace loving people. in Africa, Namibia is one of the safest countries, and also one of the cleanest.
Hi Lauren,
Amazing breakdown on the travel details for Namibia.
I have been in liaison with several tour operators for travel fixing across the country or even just based in one location, i.e Etosha, but the charges are extortionate ! For a seven day quote with private vehicle and guide cost only, this comes up close to $US 4000 and excludes lodging and various misc fees.
We are a party of two on a twin sharing basis, but this quotations still seem rather absurd whichever way one looks as it. I’ve traveled through Sub Saharan Africa on multiple occasions before, but somehow these private quotes for Namibia are somewhat outrageous, even more so than Botswana which I understand to be the costliest of the lot of African countries for a safari venture.
We are apprehensive of a self drive method and ideally would like to be driven, what’s your take here ?
Thanks and Regards,
JS
Hey JS,
I’d definitely recommend going for a self-drive, as $4000 excluding accommodation is outrageously expensive! Yes, the roads are bad, but if you take things slow, you should be fine.
SO HELPFUL! Thank you! I can’t believe how expensive it is but I know it’s going to be worth it.
Hi Lauren, is it correct that you cost of travel for Namibia relates to 2917 and not as stated in the titel to 2023?! Asking as we are looking to travel this year and I guess the pandemic situation has raised prices immensly. Thx.
Nope, prices are for 2023. Which prices are you seeing as having increased? I had a quick look and everything seemed to be accurate. (Don’t forget that we visited during the low, wet season, so prices were cheaper).
Hi Lauren. Thanks for sharing this fantastic information. We are in the very early stages of planning for June 2024 and are torn between self-drive and going with a group. When I look at car hire, many of the general conditions mention that cars can’t be driven on gravel roads. Is this an issue in Namibia where most of the roads seem to be gravel or do the car companies not worry about this? Thanks