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Namibia Escorted Tours: Sand Dunes, Sossusvlei + Swakopmund + Safari, Etosha

Namibia Highlights Tour: Sossusvlei + Twyfelfontein + Etosha

11 NIGHTS FROM:

$3,200

Per person sharing

Scheduled flights quoted separately

NYA11W

• Windhoek

• Namib Desert

• Sand Dunes, Sossusvlei

• Swakopmund

• Marine Cruise

• Damaraland

• Twyfelfontein

• Bushman Paintings

• Safari, Etosha National Park

• Namibia Escorted Tours

Our Namibia Escorted Tours cover the highlights of this fascinating country, including the dramatic sand dunes at Sossusvlei in the Namib Desert, a marine cruise in Swakopmund, ancient Bushman rock art at Twyfelfontein & a safari in Etosha National Park. Regular scheduled departures. Group size 2-16 (or upgrade to Superior: 2-6). No children < 12.

Detailed itinerary ▶

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Day 1

You will be met at Windhoek Airport and transferred 1-hour to your hotel in this small capital city.

Check in and relax under warm blue Namibian skies.

Note: Please be aware that many roads in Namibia are rough gravel with corrugated surfaces, resulting in a tougher and slower drive that can be very bumpy.

Day 2

This morning you will be collected from your Windhoek hotel for your small group tour of Namibia.

We travel southwards for 6-hours through ever-changing landscapes and past the Naukluft massif into the Namib Desert, as the terrain becomes more arid. This is the gateway to Sesriem Canyon and Sossusvlei, where some of the highest sand dunes on earth tower over white desert plains. These great mountains of sand are a monument to the extreme forces of nature, with fog supplying the life giving moisture for the survival of plants and animals.

Relax at your Namib Desert lodge or participate in one of the optional activities on offer (pay locally).

Note: Most tours are dual language with a bilingual guide (English / German), although some tours have English-only departure dates. On escorted group tours please note that for operational reasons it is sometimes necessary to substitute one hotel with another of similar quality.

Luggage should be packed in soft side bags (sports bags are ideal) not exceeding 15 kg and 65 x 46 cm, as there is limited space in the vehicle.

Day 3

Set out early this morning on a 4x4 tour into the famous sand dunes at Sossusvlei, as this is the coolest part of the day and the best for photography.

This clay pan is surrounded by some of the highest dunes in the world – an endless sea of reddish sand stretching all the way to the distant horizon. These monumental star shaped dunes, some as high as 1,000 ft (325 m), were formed by strong multi-directional winds. The warm tints of sand range in colour from apricot to orange, red and maroon - and contrast vividly with the stark white clay pans at their base. You will be astonished by surreal Deadvlei, surrounded by some of the highest dunes and Sossusvlei, where the mostly dry Tsauchab River abruptly ends. Take the opportunity to climb one of these dunes, which afford endless vistas across the desert landscape and the sea of sand.

Also visit the narrow gorge of the impressive Sesriem Canyon, with its rock pools fed by the Tsauchab River during the rainy season. The name is derived from the six “rieme” (leather thongs) that early pioneers used to draw water from these pools.

This evening enjoy dinner under the open starlit sky.

Day 4

Today we drive for 6-hours through the small settlement of Solitare and the starkly beautiful Kuiseb Moon Valley to the harbour town of Walvis Bay. This shallow lagoon is home to hundreds of thousands of African flamingos and is one of the most important wetlands in Namibia. It is a RAMSAR World Heritage birding site.

We continue to the beach resort of Swakopmund with its old lighthouse. Swakopmund is situated on the Atlantic Coast where the cold Benguela Current sweeps up from Antarctica, releasing no moisture into the prevailingly onshore winds – hence the very low rainfall and desert conditions. Fog is common along the coast in the early mornings and late afternoons and this is what gives life to the desert-adapted flora and fauna of the region. The cold current is also highly oxygenated, causing it to teem with marine life.

Check into your hotel and relax on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

Day 5

At leisure to relax at the beach resort of Swakopmund.

As this is Namibia’s playground, a wide variety of optional activities are on offer - including a marine cruise to view dolphins, seals and other sea life, a 4x4 excursion across the desert to Sandwich Harbour and various adventure activities, such as sandboarding down the sand dunes.

Day 6

A full day on the road today as travel 7-hours towards Twyfelfontein, driving across timeless Damaraland.

Leaving Swakopmund, we head to the Brandberg Mountain, the highest in Namibia, into Damaraland which is one of the least populated and most geologically diverse areas in Africa. This harsh, rocky environment is home to the rare desert elephant, the endangered black rhino and free-roaming antelope, with the remaining day at leisure.

There are many fascinating rock formations on these vast uninhabited plains, where magnificent semi-desert flowers can grow after good rains.

Day 7

This morning we head out early for a scenic nature drive through the untouched wilderness area of the Otjimboyo Concession towards the Brandberg, Namibia’s highest mountain. This is the best time to capture the perfect light of sunrise and catch the last mist engulfing the mountain.

We continue down into the dry Ugab riverbed, which we follow back towards camp and stopping along the way under one of the majestic camelthorn trees. If we are fortunate, on our drive we may encounter the elusive desert elephants that roam along the meandering dry riverbeds of Damaraland, feeding on the nutritious pods of the trees lining the riverbank.

After arriving back at camp, the rest of the day is at leisure.

Day 8

This morning we visit the World Heritage site at Twyfelfontein, which means "Doubtful Spring". Over 6,000 years ago, San communities engraved and painted over 2,500 pictures here. These ancient Bushman Paintings have been well preserved in this dry environment and the hills are strewn with rock art - making this an open-air museum.

After a visit to the Living Museum of the Damara, we proceed to the Petrified Forest. - a geological phenomenon where wood has metamorphosised into stone, on one of the oldest land masses on earth. Here we also see the welwitschia mirabilis plant – the world's oldest living desert plant.

We then drive 5-hours to our lodge situated near the southern gate of the world famous Etosha National Park, one of the largest and greatest game parks in Africa. Etosha owes its unique landscape to a vast shallow depression – the Etosha Pan – with its open pans offering magnificent game viewing. Etosha is home to over a hundred different species of mammals, including cheetah, leopard, lion, elephant, rhino, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest.

Day 9

Today is devoted to game viewing in our touring vehicle in the famous Etosha National Park, which surrounds an enormous salt pan that is the size of the Netherlands.

We rise early to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions, as the vast Etosha Pan offers magnificent game viewing opportunities - including springbok, oryx, black-faced impala, roan, cheetah and the Damara dik-dik, Namibia’s smallest antelope. A series of waterholes throughout the park guarantees rewarding game viewing, with Etosha being renowned for its vast array of plains game and its 'great cats' which are more easily seen on the open pans.

With over 100 different species of mammals and reptiles in this park, you can hope to see lion, elephant, rhino, leopard, cheetah, giraffe, kudu, sable antelope, warthogs, baboons and many other interesting animals. Etosha is also a bird watchers paradise, with hundreds of recorded bird species and many migrants during the summer months.

After a beautiful African sunset, enjoy the balmy evening and pristine stars of the Milky Way as you have never seen them before – as well as the spectacular Southern Cross.

Note: Vehicles are not allowed to drive off-road in any national park in Namibia.

Day 10

Today enjoy a full day of game viewing as we traverse Etosha National Park.

During drier seasons it becomes an expanse of white cracked mud, shimmering with mirages and spiralling dust devils. Waterholes along the southern edge frequently offer a rewarding game viewing experience, including several rare species such as black and white rhino.

This park is home to four of the Big 5, elephant, lion, leopard and rhino (as the terrain does not support buffalo) and its waterholes support a rich diversity of other mammals and birds, including species such as the black-faced impala, roan, cheetah and Namibia’s smallest antelope, the Damara dik-dik.

We enter the reserve at the southern gate and travel across Etosha National Park all day, exiting in the late afternoon at the eastern gate, before continuing to our lodge.

Day 11

Today we drive 5-hours southwards through central Nambia to Windhoek, travelling via Otjiwarongo and time permitting we will stop at the local handicraft market at Okahandja.

Your tour ends in Windhoek, where you will be dropped at your hotel in the late afternoon.

Day 12

Transfer 1-hour to Windhoek Airport for your flight home.

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