10 Day Namibian Road Trip

From Windhoek to Windhoek, this 10 Day Namibian Road Trip itinerary will get you to the Namib Desert, coastal region of Swakopmund and Etosha National Park.

With our tour cancelled by the operator, we decided to drive ourselves. We had been waiting for 3 years, and wouldn’t let a tour cancellation stop us. By the way, I’m so glad we did.

If you haven’t already, see post on Driving Namibia 101.

Day 1: Windhoek

Fly into Windhoek and rent a car. You’ll want to book a car in advance, and I recommend going with a company like AVIS or whatever company you have loyalty with. We heard from several people that some rental companies make you watch an hour video and state that you won’t be covered if you drive over 70 km/hour. If you want to drive the speed limit, choose wisely.

After you rent a car, I recommend staying in Windhoek for the night and going to Joe’s Beerhouse for dinner. We stayed at the Hilton Windhoek and that was within the radius of the restaurant where they picked us up and dropped us off (for a fee).

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Day 4: Swakopmund

It’s another 4+ hour drive from Solitaire to Swakopmund, so start early. On these Namibia dirt and gravel roads it’s not uncommon to not see anyone for an hour.

Tip: If you are coming from the United States, it is unlikely that you will have cellphone service outside the larger cities. On these drives, bring your own entertainment….Audible books, downloaded playlists, etc.

There are some parts of the journey that I wondered what planet I was on. It looked a lot like scenes from The Martian to be honest. Then there were windy roads through some hills that we had to take extremely slow. It is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Check-in to The Delight in Swakopmund on arrival. It is a nice hotel, with a great breakfast selection and secure parking, in the heart of the small town in Swakopmund. During COVID, Swakopmund was practically a ghost town. The restaurant we ate at the first night, The Tug, had several people in the parking lot begging and trying to sell you items. Seemingly not dangerous, just off-putting.

Day 5: Sandwich Harbor and Walvis Bay

Swakopmund was the least favorite of our stops during our 10 Day Namibian Road Trip. However, the all-day 4×4 Sandwich Harbor and Walvis Bay tour ran by Uwe of Desert Dunes & Dust Tours really made the stop. Uwe was amazing. He was a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. Pick-up and drop-off at The Delight. I highly recommend this all-day tour!

We enjoyed dinner at Andy’s Sushi, Oyster And Fine Seafood. We elected to sit outside in the covered patio, and it was just lovely.

Day 6 & 7: Etosha National Park (Southwest)

From Swakopmund to Etosha Safari Lodge is about 5 hours. This was our longest single drive of the 10 Day Namibian Road Trip. Good news is that the drive is mostly on paved (tarmac) roads. There is a small stretch near the end where you cut over to a gravel road. Either way, you’ll want to leave early so you can arrive in time for the afternoon game drive (departs around 15:30). We had the best guide, Jackson. He knew everything there was to know about the animals… and we saw everything!

We opted for an afternoon drive our first day and a morning drive our second day. The wildlife was plentiful, as it was the end of the dry season. Reason being is that the animals can only get water at waterholes, as where after the rain comes water isn’t as scarce. The sight of 60 elephants making there way to a water hole is truly amazing!

Days 8 & 9: Etosha National Park (Northeast)

There are various routes to get from one end of the park to the other, but we opted for the more scenic and shorter route through the park (or so we thought). We left around 08:00 and entered the Anderson Gate at 08:15. The prior days we only saw a single lioness. About 10 minutes into our self-drive across the park we saw a pride of lions crossing the vast plain. BREATHTAKING!

That was just the beginning of our excitingly scary drive across the park. Sure we saw zebra, oryx, springbok, and giraffes on our journey, but the real nail biter was…

…an elephant walking towards our car on the C38. Full disclosure, I started to panic. As if one elephant wasn’t stressful enough, there was another following him. I told my husband to turn the car around, and I looked for a detour. Fortunately, there as a detour about 2 km back, which is not common…we just got lucky. Little too much nature for me!

Disaster was averted, and we made it to Etosha King Nehale at the northeast end of the park. King Nehale was perhaps my favorite lodge (tied with The Desert Grace) on our 10 Day Namibian Road Trip.

Firstly, the lodge itself was perfect and the staff was incredible (especially Fefe, the resident house cat). 

What put King Nehale over the top was the private waterhole. Nestled away on what looks like a no access dirt road is a magical place where animals congregate. Not only it is a private waterhole, but enclosed hideout that blends with the environment. The afternoon excursion took us to the private hideout with snacks and drinks. This little spot took my breath away!

The next day we did a morning drive, which resulted in seeing lion cubs playing by a waterhole while mom supervised and dad watched from a distance. We were hoping to see cheetahs, but cats are cats regardless of size. 

Day 10: Windhoek

We left King Nehale shortly after breakfast to start our 7 hour drive back to Windhoek. Luckily, it was all (except the first 15 km) on the main highway, B1. This also means it was a paved road. Yay! 

Because of COVID times, we needed to get tested to head back to South Africa. I made a reservation with COVID Test Nam for an Rapid Express PCR Test. The nice lady working the drive-thru didn’t have my reservation, but it wasn’t an issue. We had to pay a premium, as we needed results the next morning. I knew this in advance, and chose this route as opposed paying 3x as much for a call out to the lodge or driving 2 hours to get tested mid-trip. 

We spent our final night at Windhoek Country Club, and order room service for dinner. It was perfect for the night and they had a sack breakfast for us at check-out. 

Overall, an amazing itinerary and I’d do it again!