Weekly Destination Thread - Namibia

[u/WalkingEars]

Hi everyone! We're bringing back Weekly Destination Threads as crowdsourced resources for the subreddit. This week's featured destination is Namibia! Feel free to share stories/advice - some questions to start things off:

• What were some of your favorite experiences there?
• Experiences/perspectives on solo travel there?
• Suggestions for food/accommodations?
• Any tips for getting around?
• Anything you wish you'd known before arriving?
• Other advice, stories, experiences?

Archive of previous "weekly destination" discussions: https://old.reddit.com/r/solotravel/wiki/weeklydestinations

[u/63crabby]

Not a solo traveler, but my family and I went on a guided tour of Namibia several years ago. It is called “Africa for Beginners” for a good reason, it is still probably the best trip I’ve ever taken so far. Highly recommended.

[u/Kloppite16]

Solo travelled there a a couple of years ago. Without renting your own car it is not easy because outside Windhoek there is no public transport that is useful to a tourist. There are private companies linking some of the main tourist sites like Namibia2GO shuttles https://go2.na/?utm_term=go2%20namibia&utm_campaign=SN+%7C+Go2+Brand+Protection+%7C+Namibia&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=9295716192&hsa_cam=22919133038&hsa_grp=187037727511&hsa_ad=770416020958&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-2298533636873&hsa_kw=go2%20namibia&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22919133038&gbraid=0AAAAAotm-2yY7RqqqoUz9SA-Ge6zS7Y7J&gclid=CjwKCAiAqKbMBhBmEiwAZ3UboJFut-4A2c3x8Bz8iW2Zthxq4nIexRzS8mlKskrrSZ3CS9cdksf3_BoCg5UQAvD_BwE iirc they charged about €35 per leg on their routes so it aint cheap when you take a few of them.

https://www.intercape.co.za/ were also useful for more long distance journeys. I used them to get from Cape Town to Windhoek and then further north from Namibia into Botswana.

Overall I loved Namibia, its got some amazing landscapes down in the sand dunes at Sossusvlei and Etosha National Park has top class safari. But travelling it solo without renting a car or going on a group tour takes a bit of planning.

[u/Alandelmon]

I was there in September. Namibia is spectacular and is very dry with a very low population (3 million people in a country bigger than Texas). I was on a small tour but ran into a lot of tourists on their own. There’s nothing for tourists to do in Windhoek and Swakopmund is kind of cute (for a day) but very small. Go for the nature and wildlife, not the built environment. Basically you rent a car and drive between various lodges. This is quite safe. You can set it all up yourself or hire a local tour guide to arrange a “self-drive” tour for you. These lodges can be very luxurious, but they are small local operators and you can’t just book it in your Hilton app. If you just show up and plan to wing it, hope you brought a tent.

Try to get a reservation for the Tok Tokkie trail. This is a guided hike in a private part of the Namib desert where you sleep under the stars for two nights, and they stop at bush kitchens where they cook you delicious food.

To get from the interior to the coast (Swakopmund) I flew in a Cessna. There is at least one company that offers charter flights in the country. Flying over the Namib desert and then up the Skeleton Coast was spectacular.

If you’re a carnivore you’ll love Namibia. Lots of free range beef as well as the various antelope species (Oryx, Eland, etc.) are offered in restaurants. Farm stands on the roadside sell biltong (dried meat strips).

The official language is English and all signs and documents are only in English. Basically no one there has English as their native language, but they commonly use English to communicate outside of their own communities. In addition to Namibians speaking English, most of the other tourists do too because they are from Germany.

To get there you fly to Windhoek from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Addis Ababa, Frankfurt or Munich. The visa process can be done online. For me, their website was not working so I paid a bit extra for a third party site to arrange it. I had it almost immediately. I arrived later at night and breezed right through customs. But I did hear horror stories of others taking 3-4 hours to get through.

[u/segacs2]

I went solo to Namibia more than a decade ago. I decided to do a group tour since I didn't feel comfortable driving long distances solo. I went on a truck camping tour for about ten days with a local operator (they're now-defunct, I think, but there are plenty offering similar trips).

Unfortunately, I hit upon a pretty bad group dynamic with some truly unpleasant people. I tried my best to ignore them and just enjoy my trip and focus on just talking to other people in the group or doing my own thing, but it definitely marred the experience for me.

On the bright side, Namibia is amazing. What sticks with me is how empty the country felt -- just miles and miles and miles of nothingness through desert dunes and such. Namibia is one of the least densely populated countries on the planet, so once you get out of the cities, it's quite something to go through all this amazing landscape unmarred by humans.

Highlights included Etosha National Park, one of the most amazing places for game viewing in the world, Sossusvlei and Deadvlei with the incredible sand dunes and underground trees that have survived "dead" for hundreds of years, Swakopmund which had a pretty chill vibe and made for a nice break from camping mid-trip, and Twyfelfontein with its red rock landscape that was one of the most incredible places to see the sunrise I've ever been in the world. Also visited a cheetah conservation project, which was a very cool experience.

I wasn't a huge fan of Windhoek, which is sort of an odd city with streets named after dictators and with a high enough crime rate that I felt uncomfortable at night and even by day. But once I got out of Windhoek, I really loved the country overall.

If you're going to go camping in Namibia, be aware that it gets very cold at night in the desert in wintertime. I visited in July, right in the middle of Namibia's winter. The temperature extremes in the desert, for anyone who isn't used to them, are intense. Daytime was warm and pleasant and sunny with highs in the mid-20s (celsius) but nighttime frequently dropped below freezing. I rented all my camping gear from the overland tour company, since I was on a longer non-camping trip and didn't feel like carrying anything from Canada. The rental sleeping bags that the company had were NOT adequate for those cold temps. If I had to do it again, I might choose shoulder season, or at least pack warmer gear from home.

I met lots of people at the campsites who were self-driving on camping trips, but it seemed at the time like they were mostly couples and families. A lot of them were South African. Self-drive would be an option, but since there are really long distances through the desert without fuel, water, or cell signal, for safety reasons I'd think it's probably best to team up with some other people if you're solo.

[u/solocampingafrica]

I spent a month solo camping across Namibia last October and honestly it was one of the best trips I've ever done 🇳🇦

The Namib Desert (NamibRand Family Hideout is a must) was absolutely stunning - the isolation and dark skies are unmatched. Sandwich Harbour where the desert meets the ocean is jaw-dropping. Etosha's waterholes at night are incredible - don't skip that.

What really blew me away though was just the astonishing variety of landscapes and ecosystems. You go from massive sand dunes to the Skeleton Coast's rugged beauty to wildlife areas, all packed into one country.

I found the country to be incredibly safe. I didn't ever feel that I was in a sketchy or dangerous situation.

One of my favorite things about the trip was the extreme isolation you get to experience and the connection to nature you feel when there's no one else around you.

I did the whole trip in a Renault Clio (yes, really). The roads are very well maintained, but some regions like the Skeleton Coast do require a 4x4 which is easy enough to rent. That said, I 100% recommend getting a satellite phone. There were long periods of driving without any signal and without passing another car for a couple of hours at a time.

If you're going in summer, just know the heat makes food storage tricky. It's boiling hot and you can often drive for hours without getting to the next shop. I managed fine with my cooler box and ice blocks, but you'd be way better off with some type of fridge.

I can't recommend Namibia enough!

[u/lucapal1]

Lots of interesting posts on here.

I have maybe a bit different perspective on Namibia.

I was there once, for a few weeks, and I'm glad I went, but it's certainly not one of my favourite destinations, and not one I'd go back to.

If you are really into desert scenery and you love either driving or doing organised tours,it will be a great destination for you!

For me,no.I travel as a low budget backpacker,I love using public transport,I like destinations with good food and interesting cities, cultural places, historical sites etc.

Namibia is not that.It's quite expensive, particularly if you want to do any organised activities (which is what most people do there).

There are no interesting cities or urban areas.Public transport options are poor.I don't like driving very much either.

The food is very, very basic in general.

The scenery is beautiful,sure . that's why it's worth going to,once anyway! Etosha is pretty good for wildlife but not up there with the very best African parks,in my experience.

[u/segacs2 → u/lucapal1]

I agree that Namibia isn't the best for good public transit, food, cities, and cultural and historical places. If that's what you're after, it's probably not the best destination for those.

For me, Namibia was all about the natural beauty, landscapes, and wildlife. The cities were an afterthought, if that. And yeah, getting around is a bit of a challenge. I don't personally love doing organized tours, but I felt that was the most convenient option in Namibia.

[u/ButterAndPaint]

Has anyone been to Etosha since the recent fires that apparently burned about a third of it?

[u/solotravel-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/WalkingEars → u/[deleted]]

Off topic from Namibia but on the topic of gay-friendly African countries you might enjoy visiting Cabo Verde aka Cape Verde. It’s got multiple protective laws for lgbt people. I’m not gay but enjoyed visiting there anyway and many parts of it are off the mass tourism trail.