Namibia Tour 2012

We spent a year planning, reading travel guides, asking friends and searching the internet to plan a somewhat elaborate vacation: a tour of Namibia. After South Africa was a vacation highlight more than 10 years ago and our daughter is now big enough for such a trip (10 years during the trip), we flew south with a family friend for about 3 weeks.

The itinerary should take us to the most important sights in Namibia, but should also be suitable for children. Therefore, the planning is based on the following conditions:

No day trips of more than 300 km. Since the average travel speed in Namibia is significantly below the European standard, the daily travel time is limited to a maximum of 5 hours.
At least two overnight stays per location. If you have children, you shouldn't change your place of residence every day, so it's better to stay in one place for a few days longer and go on excursions from there.

Our route covers many of the sights in the north down to Sossusvlei. A further trip south is not worthwhile, as the southern attractions require relatively long distances. The same applies to the Caprivi Strip, which we will also save for another time.

The choice of accommodation is limited by a few parameters:

Child-friendliness
Location near attractions
Reasonable price/performance ratio
Climate: In the Namibian winter, tent accommodation is not a good idea.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our consultants Markus, Eva & Klaus, Steffen and the many active members in Namibia Forum.

automobile

In Namibia, it is normally no problem to drive on the tarred roads and gravel roads with a car. A four-wheel drive is only really necessary if you want to drive north to the Kaokoveld, Kaudom National Park or some other more isolated areas. For Sossusvlei itself, you only need a four-wheel drive for the last 5 km, but there is also a parking lot there for car drivers who would never make it, and also for four-wheel drivers who don't trust themselves to drive through the deep sand. From the parking lot, there is a shuttle service that takes you safely to Sossusvlei.

The advantages of a four-wheel drive vehicle are the driving comfort and the safety of not getting stuck or hitting the floor. Furthermore, taking photos from a high vehicle, especially in game parks, is better than from a small vehicle. For more than 2 people, you have to book a so-called "double cab" vehicle, as a "single cab" car only has space for the driver and passenger.

From a German perspective, the issue of car insurance is critical in Namibia, as there is no general obligation to have insurance. For this reason, car rental companies offer more or less useful additional insurance policies that reduce the deductible or generally cover damage. Tire or glass damage is almost never covered, as this is very likely to occur. However, the costs for these are also considerably lower than in Europe.

We have chosen the Savannah We decided on a car rental company, which also offers early bird and mileage discounts. Prices are around EUR 90 per day. We also use the option of excess insurance through the Lufthansa Miles&More Gold Business credit card. The annual fee is quickly recouped through the savings on local insurance. However, campers are generally not insured and tire damage is also excluded.