Namibia Self Drive Family Holiday

Thirteen nights in a loop from Windhoek, self-guided and tailor-made, across Namibia with a family in mind and no internal flights.

Namibia suits families better than most African destinations for a practical reason: the driving is easy, the lodges are used to children and the distances, long as they are, run through country interesting enough that nobody asks how far is left.

The Olive Grove in Windhoek opens it, then Okonjima Plains Camp inside the Okonjima reserve, which is tied to the AfriCat Foundation’s work on carnivore conservation. Etosha follows at the Oberland Lodge near the park, then Grootberg Lodge in Damaraland, owned by the Khoadi-Hoas conservancy and run by the community that owns it. Camp Kipwe comes next in the Twyfelfontein region, with guided excursions looking for the desert-adapted elephants that range along the dry riverbeds and visits to the rock art. Swakopmund follows on the coast, then the Hoodia Desert Lodge for Sossusvlei and Sesriem Canyon on foot.

Thirteen nights’ accommodation, the meals listed, a rental vehicle for the whole trip, the airport transfers and the lodge activities specified are all included; flights are not, and optional excursions are arranged in advance and priced separately. Most of the wildlife viewing inside the reserves is done in shared lodge vehicles rather than the hire car, which is both safer and better for spotting. The price shown is per person excluding flights. The dry season from May to October is the window. No wildlife sighting can be promised. Fourteen days with seven different places to sleep keeps the daily drives manageable, which matters more with children in the car than it does on an adults-only itinerary.