Namibia family safaris
| country: | Namibia |
| departures: | 2010: 26 Mar, 9 Jul, 23 Jul, 6 Aug, 20 Aug, 17 Dec |
| price: | Prices from £2192 - £2685 (15 days) including flights from the UK |
| more info: | Price includes 8 nights camping, 4 nights guest house accommodation, transport in a specially designed safari vehicle, transfers, camping equipment, park entrance and campsite fees and three meals on most days. Discounted rates for children between 5 and 12 years. Minimum 2 passengers / max 14. This trip can also be booked without flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Namibia family safaris
It has always been difficult to find a safari suited to families with young children that was reasonably priced and didn’t require a private guide. This 15-day simple camping safari has been designed to offer just that and takes families with children from the age of five. All camping equipment is supplied, including easy erecting tents, thick foam mattresses and sleeping bags. The safari combines the best of Namibia’s stunning desert scenery in the south with the wildlife in the north. The whole family can experience the world’s largest dunes; local communities and different cultures; Etosha National park, one of Africa’s top game parks; and a tremendous variety of contrasting environments.
This is an assisted camping safari. By camping for much of the time, assisted camping safaris offer the best of Namibia at a very reasonable cost. In a country where it's usually much warmer and drier than in the UK, camping is a great way to maximise your time outdoors.
Each trip is led by a professional guide, who also acts as your driver and helps around camp. The other vital person on these trips is the camp assistant. It's his/her job to do most of the camp chores. Whilst you will help to put up and take down your tent (it's very easy!), you need not worry about cooking or washing up. This leaves you and your guide more time to relax and chat about the country and your experiences.
This is an assisted camping safari. By camping for much of the time, assisted camping safaris offer the best of Namibia at a very reasonable cost. In a country where it's usually much warmer and drier than in the UK, camping is a great way to maximise your time outdoors.
Each trip is led by a professional guide, who also acts as your driver and helps around camp. The other vital person on these trips is the camp assistant. It's his/her job to do most of the camp chores. Whilst you will help to put up and take down your tent (it's very easy!), you need not worry about cooking or washing up. This leaves you and your guide more time to relax and chat about the country and your experiences.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly to Namibia: Begin your family safari with an overnight flight between the UK and Namibia, via Johannesburg. |
| Day 2: | Windhoek: You are met on arrival in Windhoek and transferred to a comfortable guesthouse. Spend the rest of the day relaxing or exploring the city. |
| Day 3: | Namib-Naukluft Park: After breakfast you will be collected from your guesthouse and taken to meet the rest of the group before you begin the journey southwest toward the Namib Desert. It’s an interesting scenic drive to your campsite at the edge of the desert. |
| Day 4: | Namib-Naukluft Park: It is a pre-dawn for the drive deep into the world’s oldest desert. Spend the morning exploring fossilised pans and climbing to the top of one of the 300m high dunes with your guide. Head back to camp after lunch, stopping to explore the Sesriem Canyon on the way. |
| Day 5: | Swakopmund: A relatively long drive takes you across the gravel plains of the Namib desert, traversing both the Gaub and Kuiseb passes, to the coast. Stop for a picnic lunch overlooking the Walvis Bay Lagoon where flamingos and pelicans feed. You arrive at a lovely guesthouse in Swakopmund with time to relax or explore before meeting your guide for dinner. |
| Day 6: | Swakopmund: Today is a free day, allowing time for everybody to do their own thing. Get a shot of adrenaline on one of the many optional adventure activities available here including sand-boarding, quad-biking, boat trips and scenic flights. Alternatively, spend a more sedate day visiting the museums, curio markets, aquarium, snake park, shops and many street-side cafes. |
| Day 7: | Brandberg: Travelling north along the coast, you’ll first visit the seal colony at Cape Cross before heading inland towards the picturesque Damaraland. Pause in the town of Uis before continuing to your campsite is in the shade of Namibia’s highest mountain, Brandberg. |
| Day 8: | Palmwag: An early start to make the most of the cool morning air sees the group taking a relatively easy hike up into Brandberg to see the world famous ‘White Lady’ rock painting. Believed to have been painted by ancient Bushman artisans, the image is thought to be in excess of 20,000 years old. Back in the safari vehicle, you travel deeper into Damaraland, passing plateaux and sand-stone mountains on your way to Palmwag. A natural desert spring creates an oasis here and your campsite is set in the shade of huge makalani palm trees. Spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool or enjoy a self guided walk before sunset. |
| Day 9: | Himba Community: Cross the attractive Grootberg pass on your way to the town of Kamanjab and the only traditional functioning Himba community outside the far north Kaokoveldt region of Namibia. The Himba tribe here preserve their ancient lifestyle and customs and you spend an interesting afternoon with them learning of their traditions and beliefs. |
| Day 10: | Etosha National Park: It’s a relatively short drive to the gates of Etosha National Park where your game drives begin. Arrive at you camp in time for lunch and to rest out the heat of the day around the swimming pool before heading out again on an afternoon game drive. In the evening enjoy the “game show” at the campsite’s floodlit waterhole. |
| Day 11: | Etosha National Park: Rise early for a whole day spent animal spotting. You game drive the length of the park - there’s plenty to see and you’ll usually have some spectacular views of the huge, silvery expanse of Etosha Pan. Your guide points out the big creatures and the interesting smaller species as you make your way to your campsite tonight near the eastern boundary of the park. |
| Day 12: | AfriCat Foundation: After a last early morning game drive, you head south to a private campsite at Okonjima, home of the AfriCat Foundation. Spend the afternoon learning about the work done by this non-profit organisation to conserve Namibia’s big cats, especially cheetah. You may also have the chance to get close up and personal with some of these magnificent animals. |
| Day 13: | Windhoek: After a leisurely breakfast it is time to break camp and head back to Windhoek. There may be time to stop at the wood carving market at Okahandja on the way where you can pick up souvenirs. |
| Day 14: | Fly to London: Sadly your last morning in Namibia. After breakfast you will be collected for an excursion to Katutura, Windhoek’s vibrant township. Each visit is different, but there is usually the chance to visit a market and sample some of the local food and drink. Later in the afternoon you are met and transferred to the airport in time for your homeward flight. |
| Day 15: | Arrive in London: |
how this holiday makes a difference
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In line with our strong stance on responsible tourism, all guides on this trip are local Namibians, picked for their excellent indigenous knowledge of the area and high degree of training. Their understanding of the country’s flora, fauna and local culture will ensure a true insight into Namibian life. Throughout the trip you will visit community initiatives at various local sights.
 You will also experience a taste of the nomadic Himba people in Damaraland, where a local farmer and village chief have formed a unique partnership which allows visitors to discover this intriguing culture in a sensitive and responsible manner. The trip also spends time at and supports the world-renowned AfriCat foundation, which conducts vital research into the preservation of Namibia’s big cats. Visitors will see first-hand the fascinating work of this respected organisation, which includes sheltering “problem” animals and rehabilitating them into the wild. We believe that sensitive and sustainable tourism is an invaluable help to developing the communities and preserving the environments of sub-Saharan Africa. So we encourage more people to visit Africa; promoting the positives through enjoyable and informative trips – whilst maximising the benefits these generate for the local economies, environments and host communities in Africa. We aim to be a very fair company – to our travellers, to those who work for us and with us, and to the areas and communities which host our travellers. We actively support areas where our traveller’s visits will help to conserve habitats and develop local communities. We aim to work with suppliers who provide local employment and training and who offer good quality, environmentally and culturally sensitive activities. We encourage local community participation in tourism projects and over the years we have supported a number of successful, small-scale conservation, community and educational projects in Africa. Responsible tourism is at the heart of what we do and as part of our trips we also encourage our travellers to do their bit with informative suggestions on how to best support the local economy, minimise their footprint on the environment and to be culturally sensitive of the area they are visiting. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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