Reviews: Coast and Sandwich Harbour

"Great to be able to ask lots of questions about living in Namibia and they were excellent at tailoring a trip to our group." Read more about this whole safari

"The only bad day of the trip. The trouble started the night before, when apparently there was a problem re-fuelling the Land Rover, with dirt getting into the fuel, followed by an argument with the petrol pump attendant, which ended with the guide (Bruno) being bitten on the arm! As a result, neither Bruno nor the first choice vehicle were available for our tour.
The next problem was that the tide was very high at the time of our trip, so we were only able to drive half way along the beach. And then it turned out that the substitute vehicle wasn't powerful enough to take an alternative route across the dunes. So we walked, for more than 4 hours in total, wet sand, steep dunes, quite tiring. And even after that, we didn't get to Sandwich Harbour, just a distant 10-minute view from the top of a sand dune. Not that there was much to see anyway, some pelicans and cormorants a long way away. Most of the migratory birds hadn't arrived yet, and the flamingoes that should have been there were still in Botswana.
And then, walking back, the tide had covered the beach by then, so we ended up being drenched, after which we had to climb a dune that was just a bit too steep in order to get back to the car.
So, to summarise, 4 hours walking, exhausted, wet and nothing much to see. It's a shame we weren't given the facts before we set out, so we could have made an informed decision and perhaps adapted the tour to make the best of the situation." Read more about this whole safari

"Ernest was a great guide, very informative. We were lucky to be taken around on our own. Our advice would be to let the guide know your interests so they can tailor the tour for you." Read more about this whole safari

"This is a truly epic landscape that Hollywood couldn't do justice to. The outstanding simple beauty of the dunes as they role down to the sea is a sight we will always remember. The guide had limitless knowledge about the area, it's eco structure and history. Top tip - If you only do one trip in Namibia this is the one." Read more about this whole safari

"Oh, this trip was such a worthwhile to make an effort to attend! The guide's enthausiam has rubbed off on us! It is not at all a very commericalised trip because it was only four of us plus the guide therefore it was very personalised trip with tons of information to absorb!

Sandwich harbour is a beautiful place to visit. The time flew by with us realising that the sun is about to go down. We relunctantly had to rush back to our guest houses." Read more about this whole safari

"unfortunately we were joined by a family with two children under 5 that were not really able to keep with the program, so we ended up finishing a least 1 hour early. Due to very windy weather we were not able to cover all the ground they usually cover, so a little disappointing," Read more about this whole safari

"We had a ball on this trip, Ernst was a most knowledgeable and entertaining host. The civil engineering to get along the beach was great fun, the only shame was we only had a short time at Sandwich Harbour itself, this was because of the tides so even Ernst couldn't change that. Dinner amongst the dunes with a flypast of pelicans was a bonus. The vast quantity of birds at the salt flats were breathtaking, as was the smell. All in all a great trip." Read more about this whole safari

"We found this trip disappointing and not worth the money. Because we has already visited the sand dunes at Sossusvlei it was quite repetative, climbing more dunes and looking at vegetation. We did, however, see the wonderful coastline and visited the salt works to see a number of costal birds. A half day at less cost would have suited us better." Read more about this whole safari

"Ernest - our guide for the day - couldnot have been more delightful and knowledgeable. We were lucky to have him. We didn't make it to Sandwich Harbour in the end, due to impassable terrain. We felt it should have been made clear at the start of the day that this might be the case. We ourselves didn't really mind but another man on a colleague's trip alongside us, did mind and decided to walk himself all the way there.

We did spend 45 minutes approx digging up sand to try to clear the way for the trucks. Again, we nor our sons, minded and saw it as part of an adventure. But a quite elderly couple were not so happy. I think the guide needs to be quite honest at the start of the day that Sandwich Harbour is hard to reach at times and we might not make it there or certainly the tour operators need to let the tourists booking the trip know this in advance in order to avoid disappointment. If we are warned, then we can't be disappointed.

Everyone has to respect nature and that it is just not possible to predict things. We really enjoyed Ernest's evident expertise and the dune driving thrilled the boys! Picnic might have offered some beers and not just sodas for the price one is paying. Great driving and learnt a lot from Ernest about birdlife and flora and fauna. Excellent guide.Interesting to talk about his life in Namibia and his family too." Read more about this whole safari

"The Turnstone Tours trip down the Skeleton Coast with Ernst the guide, was great fun and well worth it. Ernst enthusiastically showed us the local flora, fauna and landscape, with very good explanations, and talked passionately about the wider environmental issues.

He also demonstrated some spectacular landrover driving, culminating in flying off the crest of a huge dune. The trip was made even better by the company – we shared the landrover with a very amusing group of Italians, and laughed a lot." Read more about this whole safari