Skeleton Coast Self-Drive Tour

Thirteen nights along the Skeleton Coast to the Angolan border, self-driven behind a guide vehicle, sleeping in roof tents, with the price quoted on application.

The private concession is what makes this possible. Most of the Skeleton Coast north of the park gate is closed to general traffic, and getting into the dune fields and beaches beyond it requires an operator with access.

Several days run through the Skeleton Coast National Park and the concession north of it, driving the beaches and dune fields all the way to the Angolan frontier, in country that is genuinely empty: fog, gravel, sand and the occasional wreck. Hartmann’s Valley follows, then Puros and the dry riverbeds of the Kaokoveld, with a guided search for the desert-adapted elephants of the Hoarusib River, which move along the dry courses between waterholes and are famously hard to find. The nights are spent in roof tents at remote community campsites with shared facilities, with one night at a guesthouse.

The fully stocked camping 4×4 with its roof tent, an experienced guide in a separate vehicle, the campsites, the guesthouse night and the specified meals are all included; international flights, fuel, other meals, drinks, optional activities, tips, visas and insurance are not. The price is given on application. The cooler months from May to September suit the coast best, though the fog there is year round and is what gave the coast its name, along with the wrecks. No wildlife sighting can be promised, the elephants least of all. Fourteen days is what it takes to reach the Angolan border and come back, and the emptiness is the whole point rather than a drawback.