Swakopmund and Etosha

Hello pnglad,

I'll do my best to answer the few questions you posted,

1. Three days in Swakopmund is plenty. The town itself is cute, but doesn't need much more than a day. However, if you have three days, I would recommend you go check out Walvis Bay and see the flamingoes in the lagoon and try some of the great adventure activities there, like skydiving, sandboarding , quadbiking etc. There are a number of things you can do in the Swakop area to keep you occupied and if you choose to do them, you'd be surprised how fast the three days will race by. I think that based on your itinerary, you will spend an adequate amount of time in Swakop, but if you don't want to do activities there, you might cut out one day and explore a bit of Damaraland en-route to Etosha.

2. Staying in the park definitely has its advantages, but there plenty of other places that will give you a very similar experience. Essentially, the main reason I would advocate staying in the park is that you can stop by the waterhole that is lit at night and see if any animals come to drink...but you'll have lots of time in the park so you can take it at a more relaxed pace anyway.

Hope you have a great trip and enjoy Namibia!

Unless you are into the adventure activities ie quad bikes, dune boarding etc then I would say most people would find 3 days in Swakop too long. On a trip of two weeks I wouldn't stay more than a night to restock. Although as mentioned above thee are a couple of nice trips out of Walvis bay eg Sandwich Harbour and/or kayaking to see dolphins/seals Likewise you don't need three nights at Sossus. Most people spend only one. It is nice to see the dunes in the morning and the evening but you can do that by arriving early evening and leaving at 11 am the next day. I'm not advocating rushing around by any means but there are lots of stunning locations in Namibia ...

i do agree with above posters. swakopmund is nice little town, and the location on the sea with the desert "just behind" the town is nice. but unless you are into adventure activities, 3 nights are too much in my opinion. if i had to "cut down on time" anywhere on your itinerary, that would be my first choice.

sossuslvei is really beautiful and deserves more than one night, especially considering that you will drive there from windhoek and arrive in the afternoon. 2 nights would probably also be "enough", but with 3 nights you have the "luxury" of maybe drive to the park on the first day, and on the second day, spoil yourself on book at hot air balloon flight over the namib naukluft park. when choosing accommodation, look at how far away from the gate as sesriem the lodge / camp is. you want to be at the gate when it opens (at sunrise), and the further away you are from the gate, the earlier you will have too get up (and the longer you will have to drive in the dark).

with 4 nights in etosha, i would probably stay 2 nights in a restcamp and 2 nights in a luxury lodge just outside the park. there is no real disadvantage in staying on a campground outside of etosha. but given the choice, i would prefer camping inside the park. the restcamps all have a waterhole just infront of them, and its great to sit infront of them and see and enjoy wildlife. of course you can do that whilst visiting during the day, but if you stay in the restcamp, you can also walk there before having breakfast, or before going to bed etc. (when all the day visitors are gone).

with 1-2 "extra nights" (if you spend 1-2 nights less in swakopmund, or a night less at sossusvlei), my first choice would be twyfelfontein / damaraland btw swakopmund and etosha. one night is a bit short, but better than nothing, two nights would be better.

cheers, nathalie

I think we have a consensus here. I stayed in Swakopmund after my first trip to Etosha and on my way south to Sossusvlei, and liked the town and setting. But it ain't Etosha, and it ain't Sossusvlei. I would drop one of your nights there unless you want to do some of the extreme sports. Also near Swakopmund (north, if I remember correctly) there is a starkly beautiful drive to be had, on which you can spot Welwitschia plants.

I personally would prefer some nights inside Etosha park because I drive out as soon as it's permitted. If you are already in the park you will get to the waterholes sooner. But four nights will really be time well spent there.

If you stay 3 nights at Swakopmund you can do the Welwitschia drive, take the 'little five tour', I'm still sorry we missed that, and maybe a catamaran tour out of Walfish Bay, I don't think 3 nights there are too much, I would rather take one night off of Sossusvlei.

Staying in Etosha has the advantage that you can sit at the lit waterholes at night and see a lot of animals, if you stay outside you can enter Etosha after sun up and have to leave before sun down, at sun down you have to be at the camp in Etosha before they close the gate, or you might get a fine.

1 night in Windhoek on arrival / departure is enough to see the town and have dinner at famous Joe's Beerhouse and visit the best Namibia Craft Center with their super Cafe for breakfast or lunch.

3 nights in Swakopmund is perfect as there are so many great activities to do and the town and restaurants are very relaxed and nice. See my favorite activities and attractions in Swakopmund in my travel review (you have to use translation button) http://www.edeltrips.com/reiseberichte/namibia/

Hope this helps