Driving from Livingstone to Windhoek in a day

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tonppa
tonppa

Hi,

I am going to stay in Namibia for four months this spring and I am planning on a once in a lifetime trip to Victoria Falls on April with my boyfriend who has only one week to spend in southern Africa.

We already booked two hotel nights in Livingstone before I unfortunately noticed, that the Intercape bus does not run on the day we are leaving Livingstone, so I guess we have to rent a car in Livingstone and drive it back to Windhoek.

Thus, I would like to know if it is too optimistic to think that we could rent a car on a thursday noon in Livingstone and drive it to Windhoek by friday, as we have a hotel reservation in Windhoek from friday to sunday.

I checked that the drive would be about 18-19 hours on the same endless road (+ an overnight stop in Rundu). We do not much driving experience (might get a third person to join us for the trip though). Is the traffic same sided in Zambia as it is in Namibia? Any suggestions for hostel/hotel in Rundu and for a car rental company in Livingstone that would let us drop the car in WDK?

Any tips (gas stations, hostels, restaurants, safety etc.) are welcome

Thank you so much

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itchyfeet38
itchyfeet38

Honestly I think you'd be better forgoing one of your hotel bookings and catching the coach.

The driving times you've stated are optimistic. Id budget for 22-24 hours driving including crossing the border ( which is more complex with a vehicle). It is an absolute no no to travel after dark when local traffic, especially lorries will often travel without lights and half asleep and animals will sleep on the warm roads. Plus it is not safe to drive fast in any of these places- especially any stretches on gravel.

However, the really prohibitive thing will be the cost. You can get a hire with a drop off in another country but it is very expensive. A one way fee can be as much as the cost of a whole weeks rental. They will also charge extra for crossing a border as this involves them in the preparation of extra paperwork. Plus you will be liable for the additional costs of crossing a border with a car eg third party insurance, cross border permits etc

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misskellymojo
misskellymojo

I strongly advise not to drive during dark, this can become very dangerous.

Also - I would not give too much advise on service stations, take what comes along. I don´t know all the road but I suppose it is a good part gravel? You need time to adapt yourself to drive gravel roads. I´d say your boyfriend can join in the fun of a road trip and you do it in 3 days which still will be hectic.

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flavia1973
flavia1973

I think it needs about 3 days at least! And it would be very expensive.
It's better to look for a fly from Livingstone or Victoria Falls to Johannesburg and then from Joburg to Windhoek, if there aren't direct fly to Windhoek.

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