There is no shortage of this in all the stores, even in the smallest one-horse towns. Namibia Self-Drive Tours & Safaris. We bought an MTC SIM card and 3GB data plan at their shop at Windhoek airport for 402 NAD ($31). There isn’t cell signal everywhere, but if you start turn-by-turn directions when you have a signal (or on the lodge WiFi), they will continue even if you lose connection. In high season book as far in advance as possible, especially for a 4WD. Weather in any country can be unpredictable and Namibia is a notoriously hot country being mostly covered in desert, so plenty of bottled water is an essential travel item. It’s customary to tip around 5 NAD—we usually gave more, especially if they cleaned the windows. So, if you don’t want the fuss of hiring a car and driving yourself, speak to us about our many exciting Namibia Safari options! The big companies have offices at the airport so you can start your road trip straight away. Namibia Self-Drive Budget Tour. This itinerary, visiting Windhoek, Sossusvlei, Twyfelfontein and Okonjima, amongst other places is designed to provide inspiration - any element can be tailored by our Africa specialists to suit your time, budget and interests. When you are comparing prices, include all the extra charges like additional driver fee and make sure you have unlimited kilometres. Not every town has one! Best places in Namibia - highlights not to be missed! Most Namibia tourist attractions are accessible in a 2WD, but a 4WD (usually a Toyota Hilux) will be more comfortable on the long, bumpy gravel roads. Most self-drive visitors to Namibia will … This 10-day Explore Namibia Camping Safari is one of the best budget adventures! Don’t drive in sand unless you have a 4WD and experience. Erin • nev-clockSeptember 18, 2017 • nev-balloon22. After our second puncture we dropped down to 1.8 bar and never experienced a puncture again - I say touching wood as I type from the car on our final stretch to the Orange River along the C10 dirt road... Secondly, do not panic, if you get a puncture! Unable to lift the car we had to flag down a passing vehicle to assist. Self-Drive Tours: 13 Days / 12 Nights. You may be reading this in another exotic place. If you decide to go with a 2WD, you can find the best rates on sites like Kayak and Rental Cars. It’s a good idea to break up the long drive from Etosha to Swakopmund. Most self-drive tours of Namibia begin in Windhoek and I'd recommend spending a night here to recover from your flight. As we were only in Etosha for a few days and the risk seemed low, we chose not to take pills and to cover up with Deet insect repellant. We can also tailor-make charter trips using an overland vehicle, if you have your own family group or a group of friends. But after more than 25 years of going on self drive safaris myself I've managed to keep the costs below US$110 per person per day when travelling for longer than a week, every time. Drive slowly on gravel roads—never more than 80 kmph (we usually drove slower). Here’s a description of the weather at different times of year: https://www.safaribookings.com/namibia/best-time. You can see plenty of giraffes in Etosha, even in the rainy season. This 10-Day Explore Namibia Camping Safari is one of the best budget adventures, Mars Unaffordable? Only brake on straight sections of roads, not on corners (there aren’t many of these anyway). I still need to start reading my Lonely Planet! Dinner and breakfast are often included in the price and lunch is available at an extra cost. Feb-March is the rainy season. Their offices are in Windhoek (40 minutes from the airport) but most offer free pickup. Required fields are marked *. I did write down the directions for each journey before we got to Namibia just in case we didn’t have a signal for Google Maps. I would like to know…did you organize the trip all by yourselves? Keep snacks and water on hand for long drives. We spent an average of £144/ $183 per person per day on our two-week road trip renting an SUV, staying in comfortable lodges, and eating out for every meal. Posted by Bushlore are well respected experts in self drive safaris in Southern Africa. Many sources confirm that a 2x4 vehicle is absolutely fine for the dirt roads, but for off-road driving, which you would do on excursions with proper activity providers in most cases, a 4x4 vehicle is required. It doesn’t matter how many times people tell you: ‘watch out for those roads... drive safely on the roads’, you just cannot understand it until you are actually driving on them. Really helpfull info! We stocked up at a supermarket in Windhoek when we first arrived. Stick to 3rd or 4th gear when driving on gravel. I've done my research and found that this can only really be done by hiring a car (publoc transport = not practical, arranged tours/flights = expensive) and I'm going to try to find travel buddies to share the costs with. Answer 1 of 9: Hello, I would like to organize our own self-drive tour through Namibia, I have several questions and a would like to get some ideas to get us going. Malachite Honeymoon Self-Drive. Starts/Ends. I still need to start reading my Lonely Planet! So, with an all-wheel-drive we thought we'd do very well... And we did, but here are a few travel tips for the first-time self-driver. To track our travel expenses we always use our iPhone app, Trail Wallet. They set it up for us and it was quick and easy. The 26-night route takes you to all the iconic locations of Namibia and also let you stay of the beaten tourist track at some amazing locations and properties. The second was on our way to Sesriem just after passing the quaint town of Solitaire, a definite must-stop (great for lunch, dry wors and biltong)! The only place we thought a 4WD would have been better was in Damaraland where we had to drive through flooded and sandy sections of roads in the middle of nowhere—we managed though! As the most popular Namibia destinations are in remote areas, you’ll eat most of your meals at your lodge. Choose one of the self-drive tours & safaris as below or alternatively contact us for a tailor made self-drive tour. Although it’s not the best time to visit, if it’s the only time you can go, I would go for it. Between the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, Angola, Botswana and South Africa lies the wonderful land of Namibia. Namibia is quite frankly an adventurer’s dream. It does seem this is worst along the stretch of road between Aus and Luderitz, so if the wind is strong and you see a dust cloud on the horizon, a journey to Luderitz will have to be missed. A 4WD is recommended in the rainy season. It helped that we only had carry-on bags so didn’t have to wait for luggage. In less than an hour we had passed through immigration, withdrawn cash from an ATM, bought a SIM card at the MTC shop, and picked up our rental car. Keep cash on hand as they don’t always accept cards. Namibia is perfect for your first African road trip. See our privacy policy. They may be long and mostly bumpy, but they do offer such wonderful surprises, and sometimes not-so-wonderful surprises too. The most popular Namibia itinerary is Windhoek—Etosha—Swakopmund—Sossusvlei—Windhoek (or the reverse). For our Botswana self drive safari we rented a Toyota Hilux 4wd camper through Bushlore in Johannesburg, South Africa. Book camps in Etosha and other Namibia National Parks as far in advance as possible. Overall 2015 Self Drive Namibia Budget All in, our 10 day independent self drive around Namibia cost USD $2,673. … Namibia Self-drive: tips before you go! I recommend getting inspiration for what to do in Namibia from blogs and a guidebook (we used Bradt Namibia) and creating a custom Google Map with pins for all the places you are interested in visiting. Lastly, make sure you have all your hotels contact info in case you need to call for assistance, as well as either your rental company's emergency contact, or your own insurance contact. You’ll also need a credit card in the driver’s name for a deposit—a hold of 10,000 NAD ($770) was put on our card and removed on return. Hence, 'unpredictable'! It is viable to get around Namibia in a car that isn’t a 4WD. Namibia is not a cheap country. It’s also useful for tipping lodge staff. | May 11 2015, Landia Davies Tips for Tipping on African Safaris - who & how to tip, Tippi Degre - the girl who grew up with wildlife in Namibia, How to travel with strangers, and love it, Namibia wins prestigious International Conservation Award. The view from our room at Moon Mountain Lodge. Answer 1 of 9: Hello, I would like to organize our own self-drive tour through Namibia, I have several questions and a would like to get some ideas to get us going. It’s difficult to change Namibian dollars once you leave the country, so if you have South African rand (the ATM at Windhoek airport gave us rand) keep those for the end of your trip in case you have some left as they are easier to change. Not to dwell on this, I wanted to ask about prices here because the only places I've found so far online are self-drive packages or advertising sites and I'd really like to find out the honest bare bones cost of things from real peoples experiences and not just quotes from sellers. We decided to risk it with a 2WD and originally booked a Toyota Corolla for £421 ($556) for 15 days. | May 14 2015, Briony Chisholm Breakfast was always a continental style buffet with bread, cheese, meat, fruit, and cereal plus eggs and meat cooked to order. The June to October dry winter season is considered the best time to visit Namibia. Look out for rhinos crossing the road in Etosha! How did you arrange that? We used the Namibia Map produced by TASA, Tour & Safari Association Namibia. Winter months can be fiercely cold at night and in the early mornings, so if you are travelling between April and September take warm clothing as well as light clothing for the days; which are generally sunny and bright. Namibia self drive budget, 30 days, 2 people Petrol (our main expense, NAD11-11,5 per 1l, average consumption 11km per 1l) – NAD8800/US$648 Accommodation (27 nights camping, 2 nights in the car) – NAD7000/US$516 Food and drinks (we rarely ate out, mostly cooked) – NAD5400/US$398 The wind actually started on the night before we left Sesriem and followed us all the way to Aus, where it continued to blow constantly and from all directions. | March 23 2012, Landia Davies A client favourite, this lodge to lodge itinerary is a similar route to our Classic Namibia itinerary, though slower paced, stretching over 18 nights - allowing you to have more time to soak in the in-camp experience. I’m not sure about the road conditions for Victoria Falls but the car rental place may be able to advise. While I was doing some research I ran into your site. Swakopmund is also Namibia’s adventure sports capital so if you fancy trying your hand at sand boarding or dune buggying this is the place to go for it. For a 4WD you are better off renting with a local company. Self-Drive in Etohsa. Aquamarine Honeymoon Self-Drive. Running down the Big Daddy sand dune is a highlight of Namibia! Which is the best Namibia Camping Safari on a budget? We saw cars get stuck in the sandy section at Sossusvlei—take the 4WD taxi instead. This was a scary moment which resulted in major damage to our windscreen. In the horizon from our beautiful cabin in the rocks at Klein Aus Vista (highly recommended) we watched in the distance as the wind kicked the sand up creating swirling devils and a deep dark haze. | March 29 2017, Briony Chisholm Roads were in a rougher condition at the end of the rainy season than they would be in the dry season. Thankfully between the two of us we ended up with enough cash to pay for the repair AND our shuttle to Deadvlei the following morning because both available ATM's were out of order. Slow gradually using gears and brakes, not just brakes. | December 14 2017, Briony Chisholm We did organise the trip entirely ourselves and didn’t find it too difficult. Learn how your comment data is processed. Make sure your jack is suitable and if hiring a car, I would highly recommend testing the equipment you are given on site. There is a wide range of accommodations throughout the country, from stunning remote campsites to luxurious lodges and … From here many people head directly to Etosha National Park, the jewel in Namibia’s crown, for their safari adventure to really begin in earnest. See our Namibia two week itinerary for our route, distances, journey times, and accommodation. For 4WDs I saw excesses up to €2500 ($3000). Some popular lodges, especially in Damaraland, were already booked up, perhaps because we were travelling during the Easter holidays. | January 23 2018, Landia Davies You have a ton of great resources for travellers. The lodges in this itinerary are only some of our favourites. ‍ Namibia is known for being best travelled by 4x4. We have already shared our detailed Namibia road trip itinerary, and in this post I’ll cover how to plan your own Namibia self-drive trip. Stations are not self-service so stay in your car and an attendant will fill up for you and often clean your windscreen. on November 24 2015 in Adventure Travel in Africa Enquire Now! We searched on Kayak and booked with Argus for a Thrifty car. The path before us wound through an arid canyon and came up to a plateau, and the perfect Southern Namibia self-drive itinerary laid ahead. | May 16 2015, Landia Davies Read these posts for more details about our Namibia experiences: If you are visiting South Africa too, see our South Africa road trip itinerary for a one-month trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town. There were some surprises though like the good WiFi in our room at remote Huab Lodge. We decided it would be safer and more comfortable to rent a higher clearance SUV—a compromise between a sedan and a 4WD. We had some luck at the eastern edge of the park and saw rhinos, giraffe, zebras, many types of antelope, and even two cheetahs, but in the centre of the park we sometimes drove for hours without seeing anything. We’re currently in New Zealand! In a standard vehicle, travelling on dirt roads with normal air pressure will result in punctures. This is the magic number! The rainiest and hottest weather is from December to March. I’m not really sure what a bowsa is! Some sections are well graded and relatively smooth, while others are corrugated, bumpy, and uncomfortable. To get started have a read of the Car Rentals & Self Drives section of the 2012 Namibia … The local currency is the Namibian dollar (NAD), which is pegged to the South African rand and they are used interchangeably. Based on my trip, this African budget safari offers unbeatable value. We bought a SIM card and data plan (see below) and used Google Maps for directions. Experience all of your bucket-list safari related items on a budget now. If you are from outside Europe, we recommend World Nomads, which is a well-respected company with excellent coverage. This page contains affiliate links. This page contains affiliate links.