Reviews of Palmwag Lodge
Wildlife sightings and reviews
38 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Palmwag Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Hyenas in camp"
Hardest part of the trip with kids due to time in car, roughness of roads, three single night stays in a row. Would have been better if we could have stayted somewhere longer. Even in hindsight though, given where we wanted to go, what we wanted to experience and time constraints, would do the same again. Definitely not a relaxing few days though!
Arrived at main camp by lunch - very pleasant pool area, bar etc. Basic sandwiches available. Camp a bit 'functional' rather than special. Staff did what they needed to, but little more. Camp very accessible to wildlife though - desert elephant walking through.
Sleep-out experience and associated game-drives not entirely as billed - left camp later (16:00) and returned earlier (09:30) but this was largely due to wind and lack of game as a consequence. Camp 3x 2-person tents with simple mattress and sleeping bags. Plenty of room to put 2 kids + 1 adult in one tent, which we did. Would not really recommend kids on own due to separation of tents open to dangerous game - although this is permitted.
Dinner cooked on fire + plenty of salad and cold drinks brought in cooler boxes. Could hear lion (a few km off) and hyena (nearby) as soon as sun went down. Hyenas in camp during night and again as we were getting up at 6am.
Great drive back to main camp - for scenery rather than game, although we did see giraffe, oryx, duiker etc.
Guide was brilliant at spotting game but english was a bit of a struggle at times. As a consequence, he was unable to really engage kids and it was a bit difficult throughout to understand what was going to happen next.
Overall, this was a good experience which eveyone enjoyed but it was more memorable for doing it, rather than what we saw or the engagement with the guide." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia
"Southern Africa Manager"
"Stoney!"
"Palmweg is stunning"
Do the sleep out if you can - we had to drive off a pride of lions before settling down to out tents." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia
"Palmwag Lodge review"
This was particularly reflected in the food which compared to other lodges was relatively poor." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia
"Overnight stop"
It caters (when we were there) for group tourism with buffet-style dinner." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia
"Palmwag Lodge review"
Only downpoint is that while they are trying to offer very good food, it is unfortunately quite tasteless. It isnt bad but just absent of good taste." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia
"What an unexpected delight! So undersold!"
Elifas and Kala looked after us fantastically well and Elifas had a superb nose for wildlife! Great elephant and hyena sightings but rhino also seen close to the camp.
One small downside - the drop loo was positively terrifying! A box with a fixed loo seat rather than a flimsy frame might have been more relaxing!!" See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia
"Palmwag Lodge review"
Eating the Palmwagburger made three of us sick." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia
"Palmwag is a little gem"
Saw elephants right next to our room which was very exciting. The surrounding area excellent for walks.
This lodge was a pleasant surprise after being described as one of the oldest, we would have been happy to spend longer than the one night there." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 9n in South Africa
"Palmwag Lodge at par with lower expectations"
The tents are worn out of course, & there are few things that need fixing. Service was all right. Not outstanding but not outrageously bad either.
Whilst here, we organised a full day excursion to see a Ovahimba community. They commented:
Good - Himba tour very interesting & worthwhile.
It just so happened that there were only two of us on that tour - my husband and I. The driver was great. We picked up our guide who translated from Otjihimba language into English. The overall experience was very interesting and unusual.
However, we had instances where we'd ask a question & the answer he translated for us seemed incorrect. For example, we asked whether their dresses and headpieces reflect their social or marital status & the answer we got was a simple no! It's hard to say whether the guide translated our question incorrectly or he simply did not want to go into great detailed talk with villagers... However, a knowledgeable guide should know these things and he should've given us a more detailed answer given he knows the lifestyle/customs/traditions etc.
We were really curios to find out more about people we met but somehow the guide wasn't really that helpful... Don't let our comments stop you from going on that tour, it will be very unique experience regardless of how knowledgeable your guide is." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia
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