You’ve picked up a well-equipped 4×4, and you’re buzzing with anticipation as you look towards the vast, endless horizon. Your hands firmly grip the wheel and the feeling of adventure tingles through your fingertips. It’s just you, a long stretch of winding gravel track, a well-marked map, plotted with points of interest, and the call to great adventure. Welcome to Namibia!
Best Places To Visit In Namibia
It’s surprising that a country so vast, empty and sparsely populated has so much to do! In fact, that in-itself is a huge draw – the sense of isolation, adventure and freedom you get from exploring somewhere truly remote!
With so much to see and do in this incredible country we’ve put together a list of our favorite places to visit in Namibia!
Fish River Canyon
You can’t quite beat the feeling of looking out into an abyss that stretches deeper and further than the eye can see, it really makes you stand in awe at the beauty, and power of nature.
Fish River Canyon is the largest canyon in Africa and the second largest in the world. The canyon is located in the far southern region of Namibia, and spans an area of around 5,900, square kilometers.
You can walk, and drive around the various viewpoints that span across the top of the canyon, all of which boast amazing views. There are also many hiking trails around the area including the popular fish river hiking trail, however this one is for more experienced hikers and permits are only issued at certain times of the year.
We recommend getting to the canyon around mid-day and staying till sunset. It will give you plenty of time to explore the different viewpoints, and you’ll get to witness the canyon in all its glory, around sunset.
Fish River Canyon is one of the best places to visit in Namibia and if you drive to one of the furthest viewpoints you may even find you have the place all to yourself!
There’s also one of the coolest campsites to stay at in Namibia – The Canyon Roadhouse. The entrance to the reception is seriously impressive with rusty, old cars surrounded by quiver trees and cactus. Step inside and you’ll find the reception desk inside a huge truck and a quirky bar to enjoy a drink after a long day at the canyon. Campsites and lodge rooms are available.
Park Fee – N$80 per adult and N$10 per vehicle
Accommodation – Canyon Roadhouse or Hobas Camp
Visit A Forest Of Quiver Trees
These unusual-looking trees are indigenous to Southern Africa and only found in the driest regions. You’ll likely see these trees across other parts of Namibia, but the sheer number here makes it worth a visit.
Although referred to as trees, they are actually a type of aloe plant and propagate only by seeds. They have their first flowers when they are 20-30 years old and the bright yellow flowers only bloom in winter during June and July. The largest trees in this forest are 200-300 years old.
The forest is located near the town of Keetmanshoop and is home to around 300 quiver trees as well as the unique rock formations, known as Giant’s Playground.
Entrance Fee – N$85 per adult
Accommodation –Quiver Tree Forest Rest Camp, or can be seen as a stop off in-between Windhoek and Fish River Canyon
Sossusvlei
Visiting the Sossusvlei has to be a prominent highlight of any Namibian trip. The towering sand dunes are a truly impressive sight, with the highest dune standing well over 300 meters in height. Climbing these dunes is a must, and from the top you are rewarded with incredible views across the expansive desert. Charging down the side of 300 meter high sand dune is also as fun as it sounds!
Park Fee – N$80 per person and N$10 per vehicle, per day.
Tip – The long, tar road within the national park is suitable for all types of car, but the last section to get you to the main area of Sossusvlei is suitable for 4×4 cars only. If you are confident driving on very deep sand and have a 4×4 you are allowed to drive the last 10 minutes yourself, just ensure you deflate your tyres first. If you’d prefer someone else to do the driving there are regular shuttles available at the first car park that will take you on the last section. They charge N$170 per person for the return transfer.
Accommodation – Serism Camp which is a campsite located inside the national park and allows you to enter the gates to Sossusvlei earlier and stay later than those not staying inside the park, or Sossus Oasis campsite which located just outside.
Explore the Deadvlei
The Deadvlei is also located inside Sossusvlei, and is one of the most photogenic spots you’re ever likely to visit! The large, white clay pan is littered with 900 year old, fossilised acacia trees, and set against a backdrop of some of the highest sand dunes in the Namib Desert.
The pan was formed when an old river flooded, which allowed the camel thorn trees to grow, but eventually climate change and the encroaching sand dunes cut off water from the area. The trees still remain frozen in time, as they are unable to fully decompose due to the dry climate.
Tip – Big Daddy dune and the Deadvlei are on the left side of the final car park and the Big Mamma dune is on the right.
Sesriem Canyon
While visiting Sossusvlei within the Namib Naukluft Park, set aside some time to visit Sesriem Canyon just 4 km from the park entrance.
Although much smaller in size than Fish River Canyon, this natural gorge is still an impressive sight. It’s easy to walk down into the canyon and admire the multiple layers of exposed rocks and sheltered pools of water. It’s best appreciated at sunrise or sunset when the light will offer the most dramatic scenery and photo opportunity.
The canyon is 30 metres deep in places, around 1 km long and between 1 and 3 metres wide.
Park fee – The same park fee for Sossusvlei also includes entry to Sesriem Canyon. N$80 per person, N$10 per vehicle, per day
Safari In Etosha National Park
Etosha is an epic safari destination! There’s a huge a number of animals and guaranteed, un-obscured wildlife sightings during the drier months, which is when wildlife is congregated around the last remaining waterholes. There’s also a wide range of accommodation options throughout the park to cater for all budgets and tastes.
In our opinion it’s one of the best, and most affordable safari experiences you can have in Southern Africa.
Read more about why this is one of the best places to visit in Namibia in our ultimate guide to Etosha National Park.
Park Fees – N$80 per adult, per day and N$10 per vehicle
Accommodation – We recommend Olifantrus Camp for 1 night and Okaukuejo Camp for 2-3 nights, which are both inside Etosha National Park. A great alternative option just outside the park is Oguma Tamboti.
Visit Swakupmond
Swakupmond is a German colonial town, nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Namib Desert.
The town offers a nice respite from the desert and has a real seaside-resort feel to it, after all it’s where many Namibians take their annual leave. It’s also easily accessible from Windhoek and it’s a great base for exploring Spitzkoppe and the Skeleton Coast.
You can explore the town easily on foot, there’s a great little museum to get lost in for hours, as well as plenty of dining options. You can find restaurants offering everything from local-African flavors to traditional German pub grub. Remember to grab a German schnitzel and sample one of the many craft beers on offer around the town.
Apart from the vast amounts of food and drink you’re likely to devour, there is plenty in the way of adventure! You could take a scenic flight, climb the world’s highest sand dune, and if you have time after that maybe squeeze in some quad biking or sand boarding.
We recommend taking the living desert tour for a slightly different experience. They will take you into the desert, introducing you to different species of plant-life, and animals that have adapted to survive in this harsh environment. Book in advance as this tour is popular and sells out.
Accommodation – We recommend Alte brucke for camping, but they also have self-catering chalets. For hotels and apartment style accommodation, Desert Sands Boutique B&B and Hotel A La Mer are great options
Tip – due to its location on the coast Swakupmond is a lot cooler than other desert or inland areas of Namibia so if you head here be sure to pack some layers!
Visit Luderitz
The small, charming town of Luderitz is full of German colonial style buildings and a great place to stretch those legs and explore on foot.
There’s boat trips out to Halifax island, where you can see jackass penguins, and cape fur seals. It’s also a good base to explore the abandoned mining town of Kolmanskop.
We recommend spending at least a day or two here to explore Luderitz, and the abandoned mining town.
Accommodation – if you are visiting Luderitz in a roof-top camper, bear in mind that there is only one campsite. The campsite is exposed to the elements where it can be very windy and difficult to sleep so we recommend staying in a guest house or hotel for this part of your trip.
Explore Kolmanskop
Kolmanskop is an abandoned diamond mining town on the outskirts of Luderitz. The once thriving mining town even had its own bowling alley, casino and theater.
It’s now a museum and a popular spot for photographers as it lies derelict, sand-blasted and partially buried by dunes. It’s a fantastic, eerie and surreal place to explore!
We recommend a visit here early in the morning just before sunrise when you’re likely to have the place to yourself. If you’re lucky a windy night will have blown fresh sand over the previously left footprints, making for some awesome photos.
Fees – N$90 per person for normal hours between 8:00 am and 1:00 pm. This also includes a guided tour at 9:30 am or 11:00 am Mon-Sat or 10:00 am on Sundays. To avoid disappointment please re-confirm these times upon arrival. We wanted to go for sunrise so purchased the more expensive ‘photo permit’ at Luderitz Tours in the town the day before. The ‘photo permit’ allows you to enter Kolmanskop between sunrise and sunset and costs N$285 per person, it also includes the guided tour. The permit must be displayed in your car during your visit and is only valid for 1 day.
See Thousands Of Seals At Cape Cross
Cape Cross is a rather smelly place that’s home to hundreds of breeding herds of Cape Cross seals, and you wouldn’t expect to see so many all in one place! You can spend as long as you like watching them interacting, swimming in the water and jostling for position. There’s a small boardwalk you can cross that lets you get right up close to the action and grab some great pics!
Fees – N$80 per person and N$10 per vehicle. The seal reserve is open from 8:00 am till 5:00 pm every day.
Accommodation – there isn’t a huge amount of choice around Cape Cross Seal Reserve and it can be visited in a day trip from Swakupmond. We can recommend Cape Cross Lodge & Campsite just 5 minutes drive from the Seal Reserve. It gets very cold here at night so ensure you have some warm clothing.
Drive The Barren Skeleton Coast
Ever wanted to get off the beaten track, I mean way off? Then you’ll want to drive this stretch of the Namibian coastline. In fact you’ll be driving right through the set of the movie Mad Max Fury Road! It’s a place so derelict and devoid of beauty that even the native San Bushmen nicknamed it “The Land God Made In Anger”.
You’ll find the remains of shipwrecks along the isolated salt roads, and a sense of extreme desolation. Once you enter the skull and cross-bone gates, the ones that look like the gates to hell, you’ll realize how isolated you truly are! The landscapes are lashed by harsh and unforgiving weather conditions, and there’s a tangled mess of ancient wreckage and twisted skeletons that line the coast.
Tip – the gates into the Skeleton Coast National Park are open between sunrise and sunset. There is an office at both gates where you will receive a permit, which must be handed in to whichever gate office you leave by.
Visit The Hoba Meteorite
The largest meteorite on earth, well at least that we know of, is located Northeast of Namibia near Grootfontein. It’s a good stop off if you are travelling up towards the Caprivi Strip, or you can get there in around two hours from Etosha National Park.
The Meteorite was discovered by accident on Hoba Farm in 1920 when the farmers plough struck the meteorite. Later on in 1954 the American Museum Of Natural History tried to purchase the meteorite, but couldn’t move it due to its weight exceeding that of 50 tonnes! The meteorite is now a national monument and a popular place to visit.
Entrance Fee – N$40 per person
Accommodation – although it’s unlikely you’ll need to spend long visiting the meteorite, if you want to stay in the area to break up a journey the nearest camp is called Meteorite Camping just 3 km away. We can recommend Ghaub Campsite, which also has a lodge. It’s around 40 minutes from Hoba Meteorite and is situated in the beautifully rugged and peaceful Otavi Mountains.
Stay In Damaraland
You’ll find unique wildlife such as the desert-adapted elephant with elongated legs and wider soles, as well as desert-lions and black rhino. The landscapes are dramatic, varied and stunning! There’s breathtaking mountains, petrified forests, lush valleys and the red-rock formations of Spitzkoppe.
Accommodation – There are many different lodges and campsites in Damaraland as it’s a large area of Namibia. We can recommend Hoada campsite where the campsites reminded us of something out of the Flintstones – the camps are cleverly built around the granite rock formations. This camp doesn’t have electricity, but you can use the fridge in the reception area. The sister site is the nearby Grootberg Lodge if you’re looking for something more luxurious. These options are a great choice if you’re travelling from the Skeleton Coast to the west side of Etosha National Park.
Tip – some of the campsites, including Hoada, are very isolated and the roads, such as Grootberg Pass, can make it longer to get around than it looks on a map. Try to visit a nearby town before arriving at your camp to get supplies or stay at a camp nearby the places you want to visit.
Explore Spitzkoppe
We refer to this place as the land of giants, because it looks like a couple of giants had a boulder throwing fight in the middle of the desert. There’s huge granite rock formations and mountains that rise upwards from the surrounding plateau, which is completely flat.
Staying at the Spitzkoppe campsite in the park allows you to explore these rocky formations for as long as you’d like. The sunset and sunrise are equally amazing and it’s a great spot for star-gazing.
It was one of our favorite camps to stay at as they are all scattered around the rock formations, leaving you with your very own piece of the mountain for a night.
Fees – Spitzkoppe can be visited for the day and costs N$60 per person and N$80 per vehicle, but we would highly recommend staying in the remote and secluded campsite for a night if time permits
Read more about why Spitzkoppe is one of the best places to visit in Namibia in our Spitzkoppe Guide.
Visit Waterberg Plateu
Beautiful scenery, great hiking trails, unique safari experiences and awe-inspiring views across the Kalahari. These are just some of the amazing things you can experience around Namibia’s very own table mountain.
One of our favorite experiences here was trekking through the Kalahari bush with an experienced guide. We tracked 5 white rhino and our guide bought us within metres of these beautiful animals. We were able to learn more about these majestic creatures and observe their behavior up close.
Accommodation – we recommend staying at Waterberg Wilderness that has campsites and 3 lodges to choose from, as well as a range of activities. The nearby NWR Waterberg Resort also offers campsites and chalets.
Explore The Caprivi Strip (Zambezi Region)
Head up to the Northernmost part of Namibia and you will be rewarded with truly different scenery and experiences! Here the landscapes change from dry, arid deserts to lush green forest and wetlands, all thanks to the Kavango River.
The Kavango river runs from Angola, through Namibia and then forms the Okavango Delta in Botswana. It provides a lush habitat for many different species of mammal and bird, and the safari experience here is more wild and off the beaten track than in other parts of Namibia.
There’s high concentrations of hippo and crocodile and most national parks require a 4×4 vehicle to access them. If you don’t want to self-drive there are also organized game drives, and boat trips along the river.
Read our guide to the Caprivi Strip to find out why it is one of the best places to visit in Namibia.
Accommodation – Mukolo Camp, Ngepi Camp and Mukuku Camp are all great options in this area
Planning a trip to Namibia?
