My solo trip to Namibia is hands down my favorite trip out of all I’ve been on. I know I haven’t seen them all, but I truly believe Namibia is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Here’s everything I did on my solo road trip through Namibia.
The Preparation
Before I give you my itinerary, I want to note that unlike my previous solo trips which I planned myself, for this trip I enlisted the help of (read: booked) Safari Frank to handle logistics and bookings. I’m fully capable of planning my own trips, however there are many moving parts to a trip through Namibia.
Because of how vast the country is and how spread out many of the tourist attractions are, a trip to the country requires moving around every 1-3 days. And by moving around I mean driving 3-4 hours from city to city on roads that are rough. I don’t drive, so driving myself was out of the question. But on top of that, driving 3-4 hours at a time in a country I was not familiar with which had spotty internet service just wasn’t something I’d be willing to do even if I could drive.
I reached out to Safari Frank, who I had learned about though the travels of @saltyluxe and told them the major attractions I wanted to experience on my trip. More specifically, I noted that I wanted to stay at Zannier Sonop and Onduli Ridge, that I wanted to see Sandwhich Harbour and Deadvlei, and that I also wanted to experience game drives and wildlife. I also made clear to them that I would need a guide/driver for the entire duration of the trip. They asked for my budget which I told them was between 5 and 10K USD (because I was willing to spend extra for nicer accommodations to ensure my comfort.) They got back to me with an itinerary for me to approve and once I submitted payment, they created a portal where I could submit important documents and view important details ahead of my trip. That being said, the itinerary I am about to share with you is one that the folks at Safari Frank put together for me. I cannot take credit for this itinerary and if you have other things you want to do or see while in the country or need to condense/lengthen your stay I advise doing your own research or even reaching out to Safari Frank to create your own custom itinerary.
The Itinerary
Where I Stayed During my Namibia Solo Trip
The itinerary above mentions each place I stayed by name, but I figured it would still be helpful to list them out for you and provide some brief commentary on each:
- Kalahari Anib Lodge: A no frills 3-star hotel. The purpose of this lodge was just to have somewhere to lay my head to sleep. It’s not a luxury lodge by any means but I was only there for one night. I wouldn’t want to stay here more than one night because there wasn’t much to do from the lodge in terms of activities.
- Zannier Sonop: A luxury lodge with a 1920’s British explorer decor theme. Each of it’s spacious tents has a telescope, mini-bar, AC/heating system, lounge area and desk. This place is fairly remote and not an ideal base to do some of the more touristy attractions. If you decide to stay here, use it as an opportunity to lay low and enjoy the hotel’s various activities and amenities including horeseback riding, an outdoor cinema, a pool, and spa. Cell phone reception is non existent here (even with my Namibian SIM card) and the wifi was spotty at times.
- Desert Hills Lodge: Another lodge that I stayed at only for one night. The room was spacious but this also wasn’t a luxury camp in the way that Zannier Sonop or Onduli Ridge were. This served as a great base in the Sossusvlei area to visit the dunes and Deadvlei. Wifi is only available at the reception/lounge area and not in the bedrooms but I did have good service from my cell phone.
- Swakopmund Sands Hotel: This hotel was more akin to the traditional hotels in cities that you might be used to (as in it had a TV with netflix in the room.) Swakopmund was very chilly compared to other destinations when I visited but the heating in this hotel wasn’t the best (it was a panel heater and not a fanned central heating system.)
- Onduli Ridge by Ultimate Safaris: This was the second luxury camp that I was very excited to stay at. In terms of accomodations this was probably my favorite. The rooms were spacious and clean. You have the option to roll your bed out onto the deck and sleep under the stars. This serves as a great base for the activities of desert elephant tracking.
- Anderssons at Ongava: In terms of wildlife experience, this was hands down my favorite lodge. Anderssons at Ongava Reserve has an artificial waterhole placed close enough for guests to see and photograph wildlife as they come through the day. There is also an underground viewing hide where guests can really get up close and personal, without interacting with animals. Don’t be scared though! The lodge is surrounded by electrical fence that keeps animals at bay.
- Plains Camp at Okanjima Reserve: I stayed here for my final night. The Okanjima reserve has a number of lodges that range in tier. Plains camp, as you probably can guess, was the more simple and less luxury of the lodges on the reserve. That was fine because as was the case on my first night, on my last night I just needed a place to sleep. This lodge also offered the very cool experience of leopard tracking.
I hope you consider placing Namibia on your travel bucket list because it truly is worth a visit in this lifetime!
“The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” Psalm 121: 7-8
