Namibia Holidays

Namibia safaris are perfect if you're an avid safari-goer.

The Southern African country offers a variety of safari experiences catering to all sorts of different tastes – whether you’re someone who's looking for a small group trip, self-drive adventure or luxury trip.

Types of safaris in Namibia

There are many types of Namibia safari holidays for you to discover. Each provides a unique way to explore the plethora of striking landscapes and seek out the incredible wildlife residing within them.

• Self-Drive Safaris: If you're a more independent traveller, self-drive safaris allow you to explore at your own pace. With well-maintained roads and clear signage throughout, Namibia makes for an excellent self-drive adventure destination, allowing you to freely stop and go wherever you want.

• Rooftop Camping Safaris: Why not traverse the open road before immersing yourself in breathtakingly beautiful landscapes? This type of holiday in Namibia is a great choice for couples, a group of four or families, inviting you to get that little bit closer to nature while camping.

• Luxury Safaris: Experience Namibia in style with a luxury safari that includes high-end accommodations and exclusive guided tours. These safaris are perfect if you want to blend adventure with comfort and prime wilderness areas with the most passionate guiding.

• Fly-in Safaris: Since Namibia is a vast and varied country, a great and convenient way to get around is via light aircraft. Watching these cinematic landscapes from high up is as exciting as it is enticing, showcasing the diverse places you'll soon be able to explore after touching down.

• Small Group Tours: Led by expert local guides, these types of Namibia tours take you through the country's national parks and reserves, offering in-depth knowledge about the country’s diverse wildlife and ecosystems. It's ideal if you want a comprehensive and educational experience.

• Family Safaris: Designed with children in mind, these safaris offer plenty of thrilling activities and accommodations suitable for all ages. They provide a fantastic way for you and your family to bond while experiencing Namibia’s host of natural wonders and wildlife-watching excitement.

By offering such a wide range of safari options, Namibia ensures that every traveller can find the perfect way to explore its unforgettable landscapes and wildlife. We offer small group tours and tailor-made Namibia holiday packages for you to choose from – simply speak with our Travel Specialists.

Self-drive holidays in Namibia are ideal if you're a keen traveller who values flexibility and adventure.

A rooftop camping holiday in Namibia is similar. However, you swap the lodges for pop-up camping.

Read on to find out which is the right fit for you.

Self-drive holidays to Namibia

Namibia self-drive holidays are popular ways to see the country, especially as this dramatic destination has hundreds of miles of well-maintained and virtually empty roads.

These roads traverse spectacular landscapes, offering the freedom and adventure of self-guided tours. A two-week self-drive trip allows you to visit Namibia’s highlights while taking time to meander or relax.

Most roads are suitable for a normal saloon car, but a 4×4 is popular as it gives higher ground clearance and greater comfort on gravel roads. Throughout most of Namibia, there's accommodation to suit all pockets, ranging from small, exclusive lodges to good-value guesthouses and national park rest camps.

Imagine having the freedom to explore the world's second-largest canyon, Fish River Canyon, and the abandoned diamond mines and eerie ghost towns of Lüderitz in the Deep South. You can do this in whichever way fits you best, whether that's the adventure first and relaxation second or vice-versa.

For example Namibia holiday packages, see our Open Road Self-Drive Namibia Safari or Classic Self-Drive Namibia Holiday. Or, for a short trip in Etosha and Damaraland, our Pocket-size Northern Namibia Self-Drive invites you to discover everything from ancient rock carvings to desert-adapted wildlife!

Rooftop camping holidays in Namibia

Rooftop camping is a great Namibia holiday to do if you want to mix a self-drive with camping.

Your specially adapted vehicle has a pop-up tent on the roof and everything you need for a self-sufficient trip is provided. This includes a fridge, cool box, grill set and gas cooker with cooking equipment, folding chairs and a table for dining, a mattress, sleeping bag, sheets and pillow.

Whether it's climbing 'Big Daddy' at Sossusvlei, seeing the game-rich pans of Etosha or helping to care for the rescued big cats at Okonjima, these Namibia safari holidays are carefully planned to suit you. Sleeping in the natural habitat of elusive elephant and rhino is a magical and enriching experience.

See our Self-Drive Roof-Top Camping Holiday if you need inspiration for your next adventure!

While luxury Namibia holidays offer you the chance to stay at some of the country's most iconic lodges and camps, fly-in safaris provide incredible aerial views and fast travel between its remote regions. There's also scope for you to combine the two, enjoying the best of both worlds.

Luxury Namibia Trips

If sheer luxury is more your style, consider staying at exclusive lodges and private Discoverer Campsites in remote areas. These types of Namibia tailor-made holidays give you time to explore the country's highlights in-depth while enjoying the lifestyle associated with a bygone era of safari travel.

Experience is everything on Namibia bespoke holidays. Having the luxury of a private guide leading you on a journey through the mesmerising dunes of Sossusvlei, seeking out desert fauna and staring up at the incredible night sky, is something truly to be cherished. Not only that, but being able to return to your exclusive accommodation every night makes everything that little bit easier from day-to-day.

Immersive wildlife experiences and cultural excursions only add to this luxury. Optional activities include a hot balloon ride over the dunes at sunrise with a champagne breakfast waiting for you at the landing site. Or, why not explore the fascinating shipwrecks that frame the rugged, rocky Skeleton Coast?

Fly-in Namibia Safari Holidays

Fly-in Namibia safari holidays transport you by light aircraft between camps.

A scenic flight is an ideal way to see stunning landscapes, including the Skeleton Coast and Sossusvlei, providing breathtaking views of towering sand dunes, unique geological formations and diverse wildlife.

These types of Namibia tailor-made holidays are a more expensive way to travel, but they minimise journey times between regions. And, you also experience the exhilaration of seeing the rugged beauty of the landscape from the air. For an example of how to do this, see our Namibia Luxury Flight Safari.

Tailor-made Namibia holidays and small group tours differ in their approach.

Small Group Tours in Namibia

If you don't want to drive or fly during your holiday, our range of small group trips is perfect for you, including very comfortable en suite camping and accommodated tours.

These types of Namibia tours are excellent, as you're escorted for the entire length of the journey by a knowledgeable, professional and friendly private guide and driver. Alongside like-minded travellers, explore everything from world-class game viewing at Etosha National Park to a marvellous harbour cruise in the coastal resort of Swakopmund – all the while accompanied by your guide's local insights.

Discover Namibia Lodge-Based Small Group Tour is one such adventure that includes some of these top highlights, from Windhoek to Etosha and back. You traverse the vast Namib Desert and track the elusive desert-adapted elephant in Damaraland as well as take in the ancient petroglyphs of Twyfelfontein.

Prices start at £5,285 per person for 13 nights.

Further Reading: The Best Ways to Explore the Namib Desert

Tailor-made tours and holidays to Namibia

Bespoke Namibia safari holidays can be tailored to suit your specific interests and dates.

A holiday in Namibia offers an African adventure with diverse landscapes and wildlife experiences. These are just ideas to help you begin the planning process. The best time to visit Namibia is in the cooler winter months which correspond with our spring and summer (May to October). But it's still possible to travel in December and January, even with the hotter temperatures of the period.

Our Africa Specialists would be delighted to provide you with their destination expertise. By speaking to them today, you can plan out your perfect itinerary from experiences to accommodation and more.

From uncovering prehistoric rock art to trekking through ancient deserts and meandering around petrified forests, there's plenty to see and do for children on Namibia family holidays.

In the north, tens of thousands of the country's wildlife gather at the waterholes of Etosha as the dry season takes hold, creating some of the best wildlife-viewing opportunities on Earth. Whereas in Namibia's capital, Windhoek, browse the lively markets for handmade crafts on sale, including leather and wooden goods along with African curios. Family holidays in Namibia may also take you to Okonjima so you can learn about the Africat Foundation and how they rehabilitate as many big cats as they can.

A Namibia holiday is very much about the journey itself. This is why a self-drive between lodges may suit your family if you love the thrill of the open road. Vehicles with pop-up, roof-top tents are also popular and, if you don’t want to drive yourself, a private family mobile tour with driver and guide is ideal.

Namibia enjoys year-round sunshine. From November to March, it's incredibly hot. So, we usually recommend April to October as the ideal travelling time for holidays to Namibia from the UK.

We recommend booking well in advance to secure the best located accommodation options, space in Namibia is limited and can book up a year in advance.

If you book your Namibia holidays for the dry season, expect clear blue skies and better game viewing as animals such as oryx and kudu search for new water sources in regions including Etosha. Whereas with Namibia tours in the wet season (or 'rainy season'), you may experience temperatures over 35°C in the south with warmer evenings and thunderstorms sometimes occurring in the afternoon.

If you're still unsure about when to go and where to stay, speak with our Travel Specialists about how to tailor-make one of your own Namibia holiday packages.

Further Reading: A Guide to Visiting Namibia