A Namibian overland tour can be seen as one of the most beautiful journeys of a lifetime. Namibia, the land where dunes are mountains, is a country with stunning landscapes and vegetation, a great number of wildlife and a diversity of cultures. When you’re planning your trip to Namibia, you will have to choose between a guided tour or a self-driving tour. In this blog, we discuss both options as well as their pros and cons.
Self-drive
A big pro of a Namibian self-drive is the flexibility. You can make your own schedule and you can stay as long as you want at one place. A self-drive is a big adventure, finding your way through the dessert of Namibia, setting up your camp every night, cook your own meals and eating it at night when the only light you have is from your campfire and the thousands of stars above you. What you have to bear in mind is that you must do a lot of research, which is a time-consuming but fun task and there is more than enough information on the internet.
Namibia has approximately 5000 kilometres of tarred roads and around 40.000 kilometres of gravel or sand roads. When you’re driving yourself, it is wise to rent a 4×4. To get to the highlights of Namibia such as the Khaudum National Park and the Sossusvlei a four-wheeler is necessary. The hire of the car will most likely be your most expensive expense, but this car will be your home during your trip and you don’t want to economize on this. Prices for a 4×4 vehicle are around USD $140 a day. Be aware of add-ons such as insurance and adding a second driver, crossing borders etc as this will increase the price significantly.
Guided tours
Another option to see all the Namibian highlights is to go on a guided tour. There are a lot of Namibia overland tours, from a 3-day tented safari to the Sossusvlei till a 10-day Namibian Grand Tour. Pros of a guided tour are that guides know exactly where they can find the best game viewing, you will have an experienced driver so you don’t have to stress about driving yourself and everything is arranged for you. You can sit back and enjoy the beauty of Namibia. You will stay at carefully selected camps/ lodges and visit all the amazing spots the county has to offer such as the Fish River Canyon (second largest canyon in the world), the Namib Desert, the beautiful Etosha National Park and not to forget Sossusvlei with some of the largest dunes in the world.
The cons of a guided Namibian overland tour are that you are limited in your freedom as you will have to decide things as a group, and the schedule is set. Sometimes guided tours can have many people from many different cultures and an additional pro is that you will meet interesting people from different countries.
In the end, it is up to you to decide how you want to experience your Namibia overland. Whatever you decide, you will have an amazing time in one of the most beautiful counties of the world!
If you are interested in doing an organised tour, contact us at Ashanti Travel Online. Or check out our list of great Namibian tours here.
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