For meals not included, allow approximately 250-350 Namibian dollars (US$15-US$20) per person for dinner and 250 Namibian dollars (US$15) for lunch. Meals are in restaurants or at the lodges.

Worth knowing

Vegetarian cuisine: Meat plays a big part in Namibian cuisine. However, most lodges
estaurants cater for vegetarians if notified in advance, except for the government-run sites in Etosha. Please make let us know before departure if you have any dietary requests.

Explore a Windhoek township on an optional tour and see a side of Namibia’s capital beyond its central streets. The visit offers an opportunity to learn about neighbourhood life and the city’s communities.

Windhoek’s townships form part of its social history as well as its present-day identity. Specific stops and activities depend on the tour available locally. This excursion is at additional cost and bookable on tour; ask your tour leader about the arrangements.

Search for desert-adapted elephants by 4×4 in the Brandberg area, if arrival time allows the excursion to run. Look for wildlife in Damaraland’s rugged scenery and along the Ugab River area where elephants roam.

These elephants move across a vast, dry landscape, so sightings cannot be guaranteed. The drive offers a closer look at their habitat as well as a chance to spot them. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to availability.

Join an optional night drive at Otjiwa to experience the lodge’s surroundings after dark. Watch for signs of wildlife activity and enjoy a perspective that daylight outings cannot offer.

Nocturnal sightings are unpredictable, but the drive offers an opportunity to observe how the landscape changes when temperatures fall and daylight fades. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to local availability.

Meet your tour leader and fellow travellers at a hosted gathering in Windhoek. Hear about the landscapes and wildlife you will encounter, ask practical questions and get to know the group.

Share a Namibian welcome dinner arranged by your tour leader. It is a chance to settle into the capital and hear local perspectives before exploring the country together.

Explore the changing scenery of Namib-Naukluft National Park, where gravel plains, jagged rock formations and desert mountains create striking contrasts. Scenic photo stops offer opportunities to take in the scale and textures of the landscape.

The park protects part of the ancient Namib Desert, one of the driest environments on Earth. Its stark, almost lunar terrain reveals far more than sand dunes alone.

Climb a towering Namib Desert dune in the early morning light, when long shadows pick out the ridges and curves of the sand. From the crest, take in wide views across the dune landscape.

These immense dunes are among the world’s tallest, shaped by wind over vast stretches of time. The ascent gives you a close-up sense of the desert’s shifting colours and scale; gemsbok or ostrich may occasionally be visible among the dunes.

Join a guide to observe cheetahs at the Namib Carnivore Conservation Centre. See the animals while learning about the characteristics of the world’s fastest land mammal.

The guided visit brings Namibia’s carnivores into focus beyond the chance sightings of a safari. It offers time to watch the cheetahs’ movements and hear local insight into the challenges of sharing landscapes with large predators.

Look for flamingos at Walvis Bay, Namibia’s Atlantic coastal town known for its sheltered lagoon and birdlife. Watch for flocks feeding in the shallow water and photograph their colour against the broad coastal sky.

The lagoon is an important wetland for resident and migratory birds. Flamingo numbers vary with the season and conditions, making each visit a snapshot of the changing life along this desert-meets-ocean shoreline.

Walk through Valley 45 at Brandberg for approximately 90 minutes, passing granite formations and looking out for birdlife. The route leads to the White Lady rock painting, one of the mountain’s best-known rock-art images.

The painting and nearby markings are thought to be at least 2,000 years old and are traditionally attributed to San hunter-gatherers. If elephants make the route unsafe, the group typically takes an alternative walk to see San paintings.

Explore Etosha National Park on guided game drives, including a late-afternoon drive and two full days devoted to wildlife. Your guide follows conditions and recent sightings, with time to watch waterholes where animals gather to drink.

Etosha’s immense salt pan is bordered by grassland and woodland. Look for zebra, giraffe, elephant, antelope and, with luck, lion or rhino; hornbills, weaverbirds and seasonal waterbirds add to the variety.

Track rhinos with an expert local guide in the Otjiwa area. The guide searches by vehicle and, once rhinos are located, leads a careful approach on foot so the group can observe them from a safe distance.

Moving quietly through the landscape makes this different from watching wildlife solely from a vehicle. Your guide’s field skills shape the encounter, while the pace and viewing distance remain guided by safety and the animals’ behaviour.

Take an optional 4×4 transfer to Deadvlei to see dark, long-dead camel thorn trees standing on a pale clay pan beneath towering dunes. Explore the striking contrast of bleached earth, rust-red sand and open desert sky.

The trees remain preserved in the arid conditions, giving Deadvlei its distinctive appearance. This excursion is at additional cost and bookable on tour; it is separate from the included dune climb.

Head out on a deep-sea fishing excursion from Swakopmund and experience Namibia’s Atlantic coast from the water. This optional outing offers a different perspective on the shoreline and a chance to try fishing offshore.

The cool Benguela Current helps make the waters off Namibia notably productive. Conditions and catches vary, so the appeal lies as much in time at sea as in the prospect of a bite. The activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Try sandboarding near Swakopmund, using the coastal dunes as a setting for an active desert experience. Ride the sand and feel how its steep slopes and shifting surface differ from snow or a paved track.

Swakopmund sits between the Atlantic Ocean and the Namib Desert, making dune activities a distinctive way to experience its surroundings. This optional activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore the desert by quad bike on an optional activity from Swakopmund. Experience the changing shapes and textures of the dunes from a more energetic vantage point.

The town’s position at the edge of the Namib makes it a base for desert adventures. This is a separate choice from sandboarding, suited to travellers who want to ride rather than descend the dunes on a board. Quad biking is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Fly over the Skeleton Coast on an optional scenic flight from Swakopmund. From above, take in the meeting of the Namib’s desert landscapes and the Atlantic shoreline.

This remote coast is known for its stark terrain and powerful ocean conditions. An aerial view reveals the scale and isolation that are difficult to grasp from the ground; the route and views depend on flight conditions. The experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Add another game drive in Etosha where available at the accommodation. Extra time in the park brings another opportunity to watch waterholes and search for species that may have remained out of sight on the included safaris.

Wildlife movements change with the hour and season, so no two drives reveal quite the same scene. Additional drives are at extra cost and bookable on tour on arrival, subject to local availability.

Choose a cycling activity at Otjiwa Safari Lodge for an active way to spend time in the lodge’s surroundings. Travelling at bicycle pace gives you space to notice the terrain and the quieter details of the landscape.

This optional activity provides a different perspective from a vehicle-based outing. The route and arrangements depend on what is available locally, so check the details with your tour leader. Cycling is at additional cost and bookable on tour.