The Ultimate Guide to a Namibian Road trip

Namibia is known for its vast emptiness, its endless dirt roads, and of course its awe-inspiring beauty that’s begun to draw a growing number of adventure seekers each year. The best way to experience all of this is in a car, with a huge paper map spread out on the dash, and a couple big jugs of water in the trunk! And maybe with a popup tent on the roof of your 4×4 if you want to save a few bucks on accommodation. And of course, a full tank of gas… And just a few other things. After my three-week road trip through this incredible country, I thought I’d share a few tips on how you can do the same (and better!).

Everything you’ll need:

• A 4×4 car rental – we used Avis car hire and they were great – easy pick-up and drop-off at airport
• A detailed paper map and downloaded Google Maps on your phone
• TIP: ask your next accommodation for a more detailed map or written directions that you can follow when you get close!
• Lots of water – a couple full 5-liter jugs should always live in the back of your car
• Food —My favorite road trip snacks: dried mango, nuts, fruit leather, crackers/chips, chocolate
• You should also keep extra food/snacks on hand to trade with or give to locals. We stopped a couple times to give water and snacks to some desperate looking people on the side of the road, and we also stopped to buy crafts from an authentic Himba village at one point. We learned it works much better to trade with them using food rather than money.
• Bring bread and sandwich ingredients to make lunch at the picnic stops along the roads
• Petrol – if you pass a gas station, fill up…you don’t know how far it’ll be ‘till the next one!
• Books, downloaded movies, music, etc. —(I thought I would be able to write my journal during our long car rides, but writing legibly in a moving car nears impossible on most Namibian roads!)
  • I use Spotify Premium to download music on my phone—it’s well worth it!
  • Downloading movies on Netflix is also great, as it is sometimes difficult to read when you’re bumping around and vibrating on the washboard-like roads
• All your belongings – check out this Africa Packing List from the Blonde Abroad!
• Sunscreen and sunglasses (more than one pair—I broke both of mine!) – the desert sun is harsh!
• (optional) Rooftop tent – we saw a lot of fellow road-trippers with these handy tents that pop up right on the roof of your car! You can rent them with your car at Britz 4×4 rentals and save money on accommodation!
• We booked our trip through the Cardboard Box Travel Shop, where they recommended an itinerary, booked our lodges, and made arrangements for some activities. I highly recommend using a travel agency like this!

Our Route:

• Windhoek – most people will start their trip in Namibia’s capital city. You can rent a car upon arrival at the airport, provision at a grocery store, and you’re set to go! We were lucky enough to be able to stay with our family, who are living there on assignment from the State Department! They showed us around and got us settled into the ways of the country. We spent a perfect morning at a local market, explored a nearby game ranch called Düsternbrook, did a game drive at N/a’ankusê, and visited the Namibia Craft Centre for light shopping and a nice lunch. After a few days, we were in love with the country ready to go off on our own to see more of it.

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• Kalahari Desert – 2.5-3 hours south of Windhoek, you will begin to see the gorgeous red sands of the Kalahari. We stayed at the Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch for one night, where we went on a night game drive, turned our feet red hiking the dunes, and watched meerkats scamper around just outside the lodge. It was an amazing first night away from the capital.

• Lüderitz – this drive is a long stretch…6 hours without stops — 8 hours if you get a flat tire like we did! Lot’s of people skip Lüderitz because it’s out of the way, but we wanted to stay with our friends, see the historic German fishing town, take a boat ride to see the penguins, and visit the ghost town of Kolmanskop. It is a very desolate area of the country, but so eerily beautiful! It was a very worthwhile stop in my opinion!

• Sossusvlei/Namib Naukluft National Park – a must-see of Namibia. The iconic Dune 45 at sunrise, the 1000-year-old trees of Deadvlei…if you’re thinking of going to Namibia, I’m sure you’ve seen photos! And it’s even more incredible in person! Note: climbing dunes takes a long time and is very tiring, even if you’re in shape. We enjoyed our stay at the Desert Homestead Lodge which was another long, 6-hour drive from Lüderitz. But on the way, be sure to stop in Solitaire!

• Swakopmund – the second largest city in Namibia, Swakop is one for the tourists! With everything from hot air balloon rides to sandboarding, boat trips to skydiving, you can do a lot in this town! Be sure to allow a few days here to be able to do everything. Stop (or stay!) at Walvis Bay on your way—grab a meal or hang out at the waterfront park! We stayed at the Namib Guesthouse in Swakopmund, a modern BnB style hotel hidden in the middle of a neighborhood. I would also recommend the Amanpuri Traveller’s Lodge, which was very near our guesthouse and had a nice, friendly, backpacker vibe.

• Damaraland – The northwest corner of Namibia is named Damaraland after the native Damara people. Known for its beautiful scenery, our drive through Damaraland was spectacular in itself! We found a Himba village along the road, and stopped to buy some bracelets and say hi. We stayed at the Madisa Camp, which offered traditional campsites as well as nice canvas tents with beds in them! This was my favorite of the places we stayed in Namibia. Surrounded by huge boulders that glowed in the late afternoon sunlight, our little camp and outdoor bathroom was almost magical!

• Etosha National Park – Etosha is another of Namibia’s must-see’s. It’s safe to say this is the country’s most prized possession! Plentiful wildlife roams the park freely, often gathering in large numbers at the many waterholes. We did a self-drive tour of the park, starting in the main camp of Okaukuejo Lodge, where we stayed one night in a Waterhole Chalet. Just at that very first waterhole, we saw some incredible wildlife! Rhinos, elephants, zebras and giraffes…it was amazing. The next day we continued our drive east through the park, stopping at a few other waterholes and spotting animals constantly! We were getting better at training our “bush eyes” as our family would say! Just outside the park’s eastern gate, we stayed at the Mushara Lodge, which was incredible in every way—highly recommend it! The next day we spent exploring the eastern side of the park, sitting silently at waterholes with herds of zebra, stopping for impala to cross the road, and watching giraffes fight (or show affection?? One doesn’t know…) with necks swinging. We even had our first lion sighting! Etosha was amazing, to say the least.

• Cheetah Conservation Fund – Heading south from Etosha, we made a stop at the Cheetah Conservation Fund. This non-profit was started by an American woman who had an incredible passion for cheetahs and wanted to help the species thrive in Namibia. Being so interested in environmental conservation, I found this a fun stop. Staying the night on the property at their newly constructed Cheetah View Lodge was also a pleasant experience, and allowed us to see the early morning cheetah run!

• Omaruru Game Lodge— leaving the CCF, we made our way south to Omaruru Game Lodge, stopping for lunch at a cute place called Kashana for lunch. Omaruru welcomed us with palm trees, cats, peacocks, and chalets surrounding a man-made waterhole. We went on a game drive with Sam, who showed us the somewhat tame giraffes and friendly elephants to whom we fed apples right from our hands! It was a very different kind of game drive than what we’d experienced, but so fun to be able to see these incredible animals up close. The chalets were wonderful as well, aside from the occasional spider.

• Okahandja craft market—after a short drive from Omaruru, we found ourselves in Okahandja, at the long row of craft vendor huts. We had a difficult time spreading ourselves (and our money) out over the many different sellers. There were so many beautiful things, though many items looked quite similar between vendors, so we wondered if they were not actually handmade by the people selling them. Laden with gifts and things to bring home, we left to complete our Namibian road trip in Windhoek.

• Windhoek (part 2)—we spent a final night with our family in Windhoek, climbing their tree, drinking Malawi shandies and eating pizza at a restaurant, and staying up talking until late. The next morning, we had to say our goodbyes to everyone and send my cousins Clara, Madeline, and Alex off to school. On our way to the airport, we had lunch in town at Roof of Africa.

After an incredible 21 days in Namibia, it was time for us to leave the country. But we weren’t quite ready to leave the African continent…we still had to see Zimbabwe and Botswana! Our flight from Windhoek took us to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, where yet another adventure began.