Reviews of safaris to Namib-Naukluft National Park

"Our holiday was superbly planned to allow us the opportunity to include a wide range of activities, landscapes and wildlife. We particularly enjoyed the opportunities to stretch our legs both independently and guided. We had a framework of ideas at the planning stage but Sabina, expanded and improved them. Her idea to go to 2 centres in Damarland, in particular Etendeka, was inspired and suited our love of wild scenery.

The other suggestion which worked very well was to include the Dolomite Camp which allowed us to do our own self drive the whole way across Etosha from west to east.

We were very lucky as we both had never been to Africa before and we saw so much wildlife at very close range.

We also enjoyed the variety in style and location of the lodges, and the distances between lodges was such that we never arrived too late to have the chance to relax a little in the afternoon. It was nice that the longer transfers were usually interspersed with a shorter transfer.

If or when we decide to return to Africa, we will be back in touch! Thank you so much." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 21 on a Namibia trip

"This was our first time in Africa and Namibia was fantastic. We didn't know much about the country but told Tracey what we wanted to see - dunes, Skeleton Coast, Etosha - and she put together an itinerary which covered everything and more e.g. she suggested Okonjima which we loved. And I think she gauged our accommodation preferences really well - we loved most places we stayed at.

The food was much better than we thought - plenty of fresh fruit & vegetables and vegetarian options at the majority of places, and a cold beer or nice wine could always be found.

Namibia felt safe and welcoming. So much to see - varied scenery, great experiences (kayaking) and of course some of the most unforgettable wildlife viewing, more than we expected. A photographer's delight!

We took 3 weeks and the pace felt good, and I'm glad we did in the order we did.

We will definitely go back to Namibia, we'd love to go back to Etosha and also visit the north Caprivi Strip.

The Bradt guide provided was way better than the DK one I had also bought - it was a great source of current info, facts and generally good reading - thanks!

An excellent holiday, wonderful memories.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I wish we had upgraded the car - the saloon car we had was fine and coped with every road, but it was much slower to get around - I'd recommend to others that it would be worth it." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"wow

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

find a better airline to get to Namibia ?" Read full review: 34 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Namibia is not the country to go to for lashings of big game. If you want that, it's Botswana, then perhaps Tanzania and then Zambia. Namibia is a destination where the scenery plays as much a part of the experience as the game. Accordingly, if you're full-on animal spotters like us, the country can disappoint a little.

Having said that, there is plenty of fun to be had, the accommodations are delightful, the light aircraft trips are spectacular, the scenery is indeed amazing - and, of course, there are the unforgettable black rhino. We did not self-drive, and met many people who were finding that experience fairly challenging (but others we met were loving it). All in all, we enjoyed the visit, but probably would have wanted to speed it up here and there, and maybe cut down some of the 2 night stays where one had done everything within 24 hours.

Not sure either about Etosha - some marvellous moments, but not up there for us with the truly great African game parks.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

1. People can do Erongo fully in one night if they have a late afternoon flight home from Windhoek.
2. On private safaris, issue guests with a voucher making it very clear what is included and what is not (eg local beverages)
3. Seriously consider whether Kulala Desert Lodge is suitable
4. Wolwedans and Sossuvlei did not merit 4 nights - could this be done in for speedy types like us?
5. Clarify that Erongo and Damaraland scenery are actually really quite similar - we had expected Erongo to be a sort of green and pleasant land!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Good trip.

Everyone to whom I spoke thinks Expert Africa does a great job Tom at Hoodia and Frau Hoffman were particularly effusive. Well done you lot, paricularly Sabina. Ask Chris for a pay rise !!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Chris's book is excellent. No suggestions." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"The holiday of a lifetime, incredible places to stay, unbelievable scenery, exciting experiences, delicious food and lovely people, how do you improve on that, a very big thank you to Angela at Expert Africa for arranging it all.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Can't think of anything" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"We had a great trip and some very nice memories." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"It was a great experience.

We saw a lot of game in Etosha and enjoyed the activities and the beautiful sights in Damaraland and Sossusvlei." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"This was a great trip and Tracy helped us a lot with fixing it up and working out where to go. Thank you so much. I was slightly worried about not staying any longer than 2 nights in any place but this turned out to be right for the majority our trip. On reflection the only thing we found that we would have changed was in Etosha. The trip from Okaukuejo to Mushara was a long one considering that we had already done the main waterholes immediately east of Okaukuejo the day before and we basically bypassed them. By the end of the day we were very tired. It probably wasn't helped by the flat tyre we had. I would suggest thinking about stopping for 1 night in Halali camp. We didn't have time to do any waterholes north or west of Okaukuejo.

Sandstone trip from Swakopmund was a good trip. The driver had not long started working for the company. He was a good driver and was cautious driving along the beach. However he was a bit less good at the birds and all 4 of us knew more than him.

Swakopmund. We had two great evening meals. The first in the Jetty restaurant was superb and then at the Tug which wasn't quite as good but was enjoyable too. Great fish well presented, good service and a lively atmosphere. Highly recommend both. Neither very expensive by UK standards.

Driving. We had three long drives but set off early on all three and had arrived in time to do afternoon activities or just rest for a while. The drive from Swakopmund to Doro Nawas took about 6 hours. The coast salt road is a s good a tarmac with little traffic. The first 50-80 kms going in land on C35 were easy but the further we went the less good it became. There had been some recent grading work on some sections. We stopped in Uis. Petrol easy although one of the petrol stations was closed. Had coffee in the restaurant in town sorry forgotten its name. This was ok.

We didn't stop at Brandberg because of time really. The road was less good after Uis but ok. The D2612 was less good quality than before and needed a number of times to slow down. However it was in the process of being graded and the sections already done are in good condition. We got to Doro Nawas in time for the evening activity and this meant we had seen desert elephant really well that evening.

From Doro Nawas to Okaukuejo was a good trip. The gravel road was ok to Khorixas and then is tarmaced all the way. We stopped at the petrified forest which was good and worth seeing. We also stopped at the bakery in Outjo which was excellent as recommended.

The drive from Mushara to Windhoek was easy on the tarmac road with little traffic. We stopped at Otjiwarongo. The Kameldorn Garten had closed and we ended up in fast food restaurant.

Internal flights were excellent. All the pilots were helpful and friendly. The best flight was from Sossusvlei to Swakopmund. This went up the valley across Deadvlei and Sossusvlei, across the desert and then low up the coast past a couple of wrecks and many fur seals on the beach. Brilliant.

The internal flights in Botswana were all very good as well. All on time except when we had to wait for the other passengers to sort their luggage. We managed to find a bag which fitted the dimensions for the little planes. However it didn't seem to matter too much in Namibia but did in Botswana. We found a bag from Eagle Creek(American company on website but bought in Hathersage Derbyshire) a duffel bag which was the right size but quite expensive at £80. We also used some packing cubes for shirts, toiletries etc which made life very easy. the other passengers had a framed bag which was twice the recommended size and spent 40 mins arguing with the local airline and then having to put half their stuff in another bag provided by the airline.

We took a suitcase with us and it was easy to leave both at Windhoek and Maun airports with Wilderness. The only problem was we couldn't open it when we got back to Windhoek! Eventually opened at home.

Etosha. We really enjoyed Etosha. We could have done with more time. We in the end did not visit any waterholes to the west of Okaukuejo as we decided to do those east of there on our first day and then travel halfway on the second day before visiting waterholes. In the end we were very tired by the time we arrived at Mushara. The NWR map is useful. Waterholes:
Ombika Brilliant start. Many elephant, Oryx, Zebra, Springbok, Impala
Okaukuejo as stated elsewhere some great sightings. Worth visiting even if not staying. 8 rhino the highlight.
Aus Kudu, springbok, oryx, hartebeeste,
Nebrowni spotted hyena
Salvadora 3Lion with zebra kill, Jackal, lots of Wildebeest crossing Pan
Halali middle of day Giraffe, impala
Goas 53 elephant including many young in the middle of day. Really playing in water
Nuames more elephant
Near Springbokfontein Black rhino trying to mate
Dik dik drive many dik dik. Leopard seen by others
Klein Namutoni Elephant zebra giraffe kudu impala springbok
Most of the others were dry or had little game." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Wonderful. SA was lovely but Namibia was just stunning. Scenery was amazing, wildlife abundant, roads empty and the people very friendly. Easy paced holiday allowing us to do as much or as little as we wanted. Drove over 2,500 miles but barely noticed it! Thank you so much for the excellent itinerary.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Warn travellers about the chaos at Joburg airport!! Do not book people onto internal connecting flights that leave within 2 hours of initial arrival." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip