Reviews of safaris to Damaraland
1118 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Damaraland.
"Good introduction to Namibia"
Our second disappointment was the amount of electric light we experienced. Nearly every lodge had path lights which stayed on all night, ruining the view of the sky, and in some cases our sleep. We were used to little light and Tilley lamps on previous visits to Africa and this came as a shock. Tok Tokkie and Mundulea were a relief from this. In some places the lights were behind the tent/room but at Erongo we had to resort to removing lightbulbs from the path outside to allow us to sleep. At Ongava, the waterhole light shone directly into our room. We are very saddened that lodges feel this amount of light is necessary.
EA often states that when on half board “drinks are extra”. Most of the lodges we stayed on half board included 2 large glasses of house wine per person each night. Sundowners were extra.
We stayed at 3 Wilderness Safaris lodges and got to know their dining style. Everywhere else game was often the meat provided, at Wilderness it was regularly basic beef, pork or chicken which was quite uninteresting. They also had an obsession with hot plates, which at 30C seemed unnecessary.
It was very nice to receive a recent copy of the Namibia guidebook in August. This was hardly opened before our trip and still fell apart before we got to Etosha. A large number of pages fell out somewhere which meant that we didn't have the information about Etosha that we wanted. We also had with us a 30 year old bird book with all its pages intact. It's a shame Bradt can't make their books a little more robust.
We were told that using toilets at petrol stations could not be recommended. We carefully took a trowel and a roll of paper with us. This was completely unnecessary as every toilet we visited was spotless." Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip
"Fabulous! Exceeded our expectations!"
If we know of anyone going to Africa we would not hesitate to point out the excellent service that Expert Africa provided us.
Thank You Expert Africa and especially Maruska! You made our vacation hassle free and memorable." Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip
"My Oct 2019 trip"
Namibia is an incredible and varied country and the itinerary enabled us to experience as much of this beautiful country as possible in two weeks. You can tell that a huge amount of work has gone into planning these trips and itineraries - it was perfectly paced for us, with the right amount of time in each place and wonderful places to stay. The Etosha part of the trip was especially well planned, with a base in the East and then in the South it meant that we could cover a good proportion of the Park, and one of our 'travel days' was also a full day within the Park which was fantastic.
There was plenty of driving but it never felt too much, especially as we shared the driving, which was a big positive.
All of the places we stayed were incredibly welcoming, with excellent food and some really luxurious touches.
As we are usually quite independent travellers, we really welcomed the fact that we were booked mainly on a half board basis, as we were very happy to drive ourselves around Etosha and the attractions in Damaraland and Swakop/Walvis Bay, so this worked perfectly for us. But we were very pleased that the excursion at Hoodia was included as it was fantastic and we wouldn't have fancied driving ourselves on the sand.
All of the communication we have received throughout the process has been first class. The travel guide was an invaluable companion which is now looking very well used!
Thank you for making our honeymoon so memorable." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip
"Our October trip"
We also felt that the itinerary around Etosha was not well advised given that we travelled around the park twice and across it once. it would have been much better to advise us to stay outside of the park at the western and central gates and done two or three day trips. We would have seen just as much without the hours and discomfort of additional travel.
We found the itinerary information provided very useful to follow eg estimated hours of the journey, though some details and advice need updating..
Overall it was a fantastic holiday in a great country" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip
"Our Sep-Oct 2019 African trip"
"My Sep 2019 trip"
"Our September 2019 trip to Namibia"
We only saw snakes in display tanks, and a single dead spider in a bin (so happy, happy days for two members of the family) but we were thrilled with the rest of our wildlife experiences and will never forget our sadly-too-short visit to Namibia.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Can't fault Expert Africa.
Tracy was knowledgeable, patient, had lots of common sense, honest advice and inspiring ideas. Thanks Tracy!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip
"My Sep 2019 trip"
Tracy is always, polite, friendly and keen to provide the best service and advice to make the trip as successful as possible." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip
"Botswana and Namibia Safari September 2019"
In retrospect we should have added a couple extra days with no activities planned so that we could recharge our batteries. Ideally this would have been done in Namibia due to the stratospheric high cost of the lodges in Botswana.
Our Day trip to Sandwich Harbour was fantastic, and if we had to choose we would have ranked it higher than a scenic flight over the dunes. We had the best of both worlds as we needed to fly from Hoodia to Swakopmund so the excursion over the dunes was a no brainer addition." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip
"The Namibian Engagement"
Thank goodness she said yes as we still had 14 days to spend in a car together - could have been a bit embarrassing
I would like to thank the EA team with special thanks to Megan (who sorted out a few wrinkles during the trip) for all their support and also the Wilderness team for getting our luggage to us at Wolvedans which is greatly appreciated, as we were starting to small by day four.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
It is difficult to call anything perfect, but you are getting very very close." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip
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Inspire meWhere to stay in Damaraland
Our suggestions for safari camps in Damaraland
Doro Nawas
Comfortable rooms and a convenient location make the community run Doro Nawas a great base for exploring Damaraland.
Mowani Mountain Camp
Mowani is a beautiful and stylish mountain retreat in southern Damaraland; it makes a great base for visits toTwyfelfontein.
Damaraland Camp
Setting the standard for community partnerships, Damaraland Camp offers a beautiful location, a range of activities – and a genuine welcome.
Camp Kipwe
With unusual, igloo-like rooms, open-air bathrooms and beautiful scenery, Camp Kipwe is well placed for nature and cultural excursions.
Desert Rhino Camp
Desert Rhino Camp offers a rare opportunity to track black rhino on foot in one of the last true wilderness areas – an amazing experience.
Etendeka Camp
Etendeka is an owner-run camp in the remote and less visited north of Damaraland. The camp is renowned for it's spectacular guided walking trails.
Grootberg Lodge
On the edge of an ancient plateau Grootberg Lodge has a stunning location and arguably the best views of any lodge in Namibia.
Twyfelfontein C'try Lod.
A large lodge set among the rocks, Twyfelfontein Country Lodge is a convenient base for visiting the rock engravings, which are only 4km away.
Spitzkoppen Lodge
Spitzkoppen Lodge provides stylish accommodation in an area of scenic grandeur with guided access to sites of ancient Bushman rock art.
Palmwag Lodge
Palmwag Lodge has a great location by a spring in the Uniab River and offers access to an area where you can see a variety of desert-dwelling animals.
Huab Lodge
Huab is a classic little Namibian Lodge which is slightly off the beaten track in a lesser visited part of Damaraland.
Brandberg White Lady
Brandberg White Lady Lodge, nestled at the foot of its namesake, makes a good base from which to visit bushman rock paintings including the 'White Lady'.
Vingerklip Lodge
Vingerklip Lodge occupies a lovely location, but is a little too far east for guests to visit Damaraland's main attractions.
Khowarib Lodge
Khowarib Lodge has a great location overlooking the Hoanib River. This is one of the few places to offer authentic Himba village visits.
Etendeka Walking Trail
The Etendeka Walking Trail promises to offer a back-to-basics walking and camping experience in one of Namibia's most remote and untouched wilderness areas.
Onduli Ridge
Onduli Ridge is a luxurious, low-impact luxury camp offering top-notch guiding in a remote wilderness area of Damaraland.
Malansrus Camp
Within easy reach of Twyfelfontein, Malansrus offers a simple but comfortable base for visits to the rock engravings or seek out desert-adapted elephants.
Ugab Terrace Lodge
Ugab Terrace Lodge is a comfortable stopover between Damaraland and Etosha National Park or Namibia’s Central Highlands.
Ozondjou Trails
The simple Ozondjou Trails gives a unique perspective on living with Damaraland’s desert-adapted elephants and how tourism is key to protecting them and the livelihood of the people.
Palmwag Sleep-out
Palmwag Sleep-out is a simple camping experience and a great way to enjoy the remote beauty of the vast Palmwag Concession
Damara Mopane Lodge
Damara Mopane Lodge is a large 60 room lodge surrounded by beautiful gardens. It can be used as a comfortable stopover between Etosha and the Skeleton Coast
Camp Doros
Small, intimate and with excellent eco-credentials, Camp Doros is set above an ephemeral river within a remote community concession of Damaraland.
Sorris Sorris Lodge
Overlooking the Brandberg Massif, Sorris Sorris is probably the most luxurious lodge in southern Damaraland.
