Compare 8-Day Classic Namibia Group Safari by Nature Travel Namibia vs Namibia to Victoria Falls Explorer by World Luxury Cruise Vacations

Day 1: Sossusvlei and the Namib Desert

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Namib Desert Lodge; Mid-range lodge located just outside Namib-Naukluft NP

Main Destination: Sossusvlei (Namib-Naukluft NP)

Drinks not included

After breakfast you will depart for Sossusvlei. We will drive through the Khomas Hochland and down the escarpment via one of the scenic mountain passes into the Namib Desert. This journey will take about 4 hours including stops for photographs. After lunch and settling in at the lodge we will depart for a late afternoon scenic nature drive.

The Namib is the oldest desert and boasts the highest sand dunes in the world. This region is one of the most spectacular areas in Africa. The name Sossusvlei refers to the vlei or pan into which the seasonal Tsauchab River flows in years of exceptional rainfall. The neighbouring Dead Vlei with the ancient dead Camel Thorn trees is one of the most photographic sites in good early morning light. The Sesriem canyon is a narrow gorge about 1 km long and is well worth a visit. Several desert adapted wildlife like oryx, springbok, black-backed jackal, ostrich, sociable weavers and plenty of reptiles and small mammals call this place home.

Day 2: Sossusvlei and Swakopmund

Meals: Breakfast  and Lunch (Dinner not included)

Accommodation: Swakopmund Sands; Mid-range hotel located in or near Namib-Naukluft NP

Main Destination: Swakopmund

Drinks not included

After an early breakfast and coffee we will depart for a morning excursion to Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei. We will stop at the scenic Dune 45 along the way and spend a couple of hours at both Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei. Some of the dunes in the area are a few hundred meters high but the view from the top for those that dare is one you will never forget.

After lunch we will depart for Swakopmund via the Namib Naukluft National Park. We will spend the night at a guesthouse and enjoy dinner at a restaurant in Swakopmund. Please note that dinner tonight is not included and for your own account.

Swakopmund has plenty of great restaurants and bars, good shopping opportunities and fascinating architecture. For the adventurous there is quad biking, sand-boarding, skydiving, beach angling and scenic flights over the coastline and Sossusvlei to name a few.

Day 3: Living Desert Adventure and Walvis Bay

Meals & Drinks: Breakfast  and Lunch (Dinner not included)

Accommodation: Swakopmund Sands;  Mid-range hotel located in or near Namib-Naukluft NP

Main Destination: Swakopmund

Drinks not included

After breakfast we will depart for a living desert adventure where we will encounter and learn more about the fascinating wildlife of the Namib Desert. We will look for gecko's, scorpions, side-winder snakes, lizards and beetles as well as the incredible plant life that survives in this harsh environment.

Once we are back in Swakopmund we enjoy lunch and then have the afternoon available to explore the town or perhaps finish the day with an optional quad-biking and dune-boarding adventure. Other optional activities that could be arranged include scenic flights over the coast and dunes.

Day 4: Skeleton Coast and Damaraland

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Twyfelfontein Country Lodge; Mid-range lodge located inside Damaraland

Main Destination: Damaraland (Kunene Region)

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)

After breakfast we continue our safari northwards along the Skeleton Coast. After visiting a shipwreck we will turn inland towards Damaraland. We will drive past the Brandberg, Namibia’s highest mountain with the highest peak at 2573 meters.

We will visit the Twyfelfontein rock engravings (Namibia’s only world heritage site), burnt mountain and organ pipes rock formation.

Day 5-6: Etosha National Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Etosha Safari Lodge; Mid-range lodge located just outside Etosha NP

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)

After breakfast we will depart for Etosha National Park where we will spend the next 3 nights.

An optional Damara Living Museum Village visit can be arranged and we will stop at the Petrified Forest en route.

We will do an afternoon game drive in our own vehicle on arrival and the following day an early morning and late afternoon drive visiting various waterholes famous for huge numbers of animals drinking here.

Drinks not included

Day 7: Eastern Etosha National Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Mushara Lodge; Luxury lodge located just outside Etosha NP

Main Destination: Eastern Etosha National Park

After breakfast we will spend a full day travelling through the park, game viewing en route, to Mushara Lodge. The lodge is situated just outside the eastern section of the park on its own small game reserve.

This section of Etosha with the more lush vegetation offers fantastic game viewing. We will spend our final evening relaxing at the beautiful Mushara Lodge.

Drinks not included

Day 8: Departure to Windhoek

Meals: Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)

Accommodation: No accommodation (End of tour)

Main Destination: No major destination visited

After an early morning game drive or a relaxing breakfast we will depart for Windhoek where you will catch your connecting flight.

We can also organise an extension to visit the San Bushman and perhaps spend the a night at Okonjima Lodge, home of the African foundation.

Many of our clients prefer to spend an additional night at Mushara to fully explore and appreciate the game rich eastern section of Etosha.

Drinks not included

End of tour (See Getting There for more details)

Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.

You'll be dropped off at the airport (or hotel).

Day 1: Windhoek

On arrival this afternoon in Windhoek, you have free time to explore the capital city of Namibia. Overnight Hotel Safari (or similar accommodation).

Day 2-3: Sesriem / Sossusvlei (approx 370 kms - 90 kms tarmac & 280 kms gravel/5 hrs drive)

Meals:  Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

We will be met at 10:00hrs in the reception area of the hotel for our transfer to Sesriem. Note that this transfer is operated by a local Namibian transfer service and is unescorted. Our journey takes us south through ever changing scenery to our campsite located on the edge of the Namib Desert, considered by many geologists to be one of the world's oldest deserts. The following morning is an early departure driving 70 kms (1 hr one-way), stopping in the dune belt to witness the changing colours of the world’s highest sand dunes. We undertake a 5km walk to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei. The name "Sossusvlei" is of mixed origin, and roughly means "dead end marsh". Sossusvlei owes this name to the fact that it is a drainage basin without outflows for the ephemeral Tsauchab River. The pan holds rainwater to form a lake and due to the high clay content of the ground, water is retained for long periods of time. Deadvlei is another clay pan, about 2 km from Sossusvlei. A notable feature of Deadvlei is that it used to be an oasis with several acacia trees. The pan is thus punctuated by blackened, dead acacia trees, in vivid contrast to the shiny white of the salty floor of the pan and the intense orange of the dunes. This creates a particularly fascinating and surrealistic landscape, that appears in uncountable pictures and that has been used as a setting for films and videos. In the afternoon we enjoy a short hike through the Sesriem Canyon, which is a natural canyon carved by the Tsauchab river in the local sedimentary rock, about a kilometre long and up to 30 metres deep. A portion of the canyon permanently contains water, which many animals use.

Day 4: Swakopmund (approx 380 kms/6 hrs drive)

Meals:  Breakfast & Lunch

Today we travel through the Kuiseb canyon, site of the famous book by Henno Martin, The Sheltering Desert before we stop off at Walvis Bay to view the flamingos (seasonal). The Walvis Bay wetlands - the lagoon, mudflats, shoreline and salt works - constitute the single most important coastal wetland in southern Africa for migratory birds. The wetland therefore serves mainly as a dry-season and drought refuge for migrating species like the Greater and Lesser Flamingos, Plover, Grebe and African Black Oystercatcher. We arrive in Swakopmund, a quaint beach town with a strong German influence and with a sizable part of its population still German-speaking today. Founded in 1892 as the main harbour for German South-West Africa, Swakopmund is German for "Mouth of the Swakop" as it is at the mouth of the Swakop River. We spend the afternoon and following day exploring this German colonial town or enjoying one of the numerous optional excursions (at own risk and own expense). Overnight in a local guesthouse.

Day 5: Spitzkoppe (approx 150 kms - 125 kms tarmac & 25 kms gravel/2 hrs drive)

Meals:  Breakfast & Dinner

Leaving Swakopmund after lunch we set up camp among the boulders of the Spitzkoppe Mountains. The afternoon is free to explore the stunning surrounding area on foot. Northeast of Swakopmund is the stark grandeur of The Spitzkoppe (sharp head), one of Namibia's most recognizable landmarks. The summit of this imposing granite rock formation (1,728m) was first scaled only in 1946, and its shape has inspired its nickname, The Matterhorn of Africa. The spectacular setting of our remote bushcamp is sure to leave a lasting impression.

Day 6-7: Etosha National Park (approx 530 kms/9 hrs drive)

Meals:  Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

We enter Etosha via the Western corridor and travel through the park to Okakeujo Restcamp. The Park was first established in 1907, when Namibia was a German colony known as South West Africa. At the time, the park's original 100,000 km² made it the largest game reserve in the world. Due to political changes since its original establishment, the park is now slightly less than a quarter of its original area, but still remains a very large and significant area in which wildlife is protected. This Park is one of the most important reserves and game sanctuaries in Africa with thousands of wild animals such as blue wildebeest, springbok, zebra, kudu, giraffe, cheetah, leopard, lion and elephant making this area their home. Floodlit waterholes at Okakeujo & Namutoni Restcamps attract an abundance of animals throughout the evening, providing us with many amazing wildlife sightings. We enjoy early morning and late afternoon game drives (approx 150 kms drive/12 hrs including lunch). Overnight Okakeujo & Namutoni Restcamps inside Etosha.

Day 8: Kavango River - Rundu (approx 420 kms/6 hrs drive)

Meals:  Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After a morning game drive we exit Etosha and travel to Rundu on the banks of the Kavango River. Our camp is set amongst the lush vegetation overlooking the Kavango River.

Day 9-10: Okavango Delta (approx 300 kms/5 hrs drive)

Meals:  Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Continuing into the Caprivi we cross into Botswana and travel by road to our campsite on the edge of the Okavango Delta. The following day we do mokoro and boat excursions in the back channels of the Nxamasire area of the Delta. Game walks are also done on the smaller islands in the area subject to water levels of the delta.

Day 11: Kwando River (approx 310 kms/6 hrs drive)

Meals:  Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Departing the Delta by boat we return to our vehicle and we cross back into Namibia. Driving through the Caprivi we set up camp on the banks of the Kwando River.

Day 12-13: Chobe River (approx 230 kms/5 hrs drive)

Meals:  Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Continuing through the Caprivi we cross into Botswana and travel through the Chobe National Park setting up camp on the banks of the Chobe River. Chobe is famous for its beautiful scenery, magnificent sunsets and abundance of wildlife and birdlife. The following day we relax on a game viewing cruise on the Chobe River. A morning game drive in Chobe National Park is optional (at your own expense).

Day 14: Victoria Falls (approx 90 kms/3 hrs drive)

Meals:  Breakfast

We travel across the Zimbabwean border to Victoria Falls, without doubt one of the greatest and most spectacular sights in Africa. Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park (otherwise known as Victoria Falls) is a UNESCO world heritage site. The Park covers 66 km2 from the Songwe Gorge below the falls in a northwest arc along about 20 km of the Zambian riverbank. Two countries - Zambia and Zimbabwe, share the magnificent falls. Nothing can compare to viewing the awesome power of 'The Smoke that thunders" for the first time. There will be plenty of opportunity to view the Falls 'up close and personal' by traversing the many walkways in and around the rain forest that surrounds the many view points (entrance fee own account). In the wet season, be sure to wear a raincoat as the spray can give you a thorough drenching! Victoria Falls is also the "adventure capital" of Southern Africa and there are many optional activities on offer to whet your appetite. These range from game drives in the nearby national park, scenic micro light or helicopter flights, or for the more adventurous white water rafting or bungi jumping. Victoria Falls also has many markets where you can browse for African curios. All lunches, dinners and optional activities will be at your own expense. Overnight Sprayview Lodge (or similar).

Day 15: Victoria Falls, trip concludes

Meals:  Breakfast

Our tour ends today after breakfast.