If you’re the kind of traveller who likes to fly by the seat of your pants and do things last minute, this article is definitely not for you. Your sort of approach to life is likely to leave the kind of people this article is written for with a very uncomfortable feeling in the seat of their pants, if you catch our drift.
This is written for those who buy into the saying: ‘Fail to plan. Plan to fail’. The people who want peace of mind and a good idea of what awaits them in Namibia, even though they’re not planning to visit for a year, perhaps even longer.
And what’s wrong with that? There’s still plenty of excitement to be had by planning your trip well in advance. In fact, by starting early, you’ll get to enjoy the excitement and anticipation for much longer than anyone who leaves it late.
So ignore those who say ‘go with the flow’ or who prefer to hop on a plane and see what happens. Here’s why planning your trip to Namibia early is the most sensible and rewarding thing to do.
If this is your first visit to Namibia, it’ll pay to do some online research, to get to know the country, its language, capital city and currency. For the record, these are English (with Afrikaans and German also spoken), Windhoek, and the Namibian dollar.
You’ll also have time to find out whether you need a visa (you’ll usually get given a 90-day tourist visa on arrival) and to triple check that your passport is valid (it will need to have at least 6 months left on it when you get here).
The more time you give yourself to get to know the history, culture and customs of Namibia, the more relaxed and confident you’ll feel when you arrive (and at least the language won’t be a barrier if you can understand English well enough to read this article).
Namibia is a big place. Very big. There are 318,772 square miles of it and a relatively small population of just 2.5 million. So once you’ve booked your time off work, you’ll want to start planning what you want to see on your trip.
It’s definitely something worth taking time over, and perhaps a task you’ll want to delegate to experts at organising tours of Namibia (we have over 30 years’ experience by the way).
Whether you use our services or not, we’d recommend you give yourselves a holiday that’s at least 10 days long to do the country justice.
If the idea of creating a spreadsheet for your holiday immediately zaps all the fun out of the idea, hold fire. This spreadsheet will be worth its weight in gold if it means your Namibian holiday runs as smooth as the sand on the Big Daddy dune in the Sossusvlei Desert.
You’ll be able to see everything on one page - what you’re doing when, where you’re staying, how much it’s costing. It’ll be easy to move things around until you’ve got your perfect itinerary on your screen in a format that’s easy to share with whoever’s travelling to Namibia with you.
Just remember to consider distances between destinations. For instance if you fly into Windhoek, you might want to head southeast to a camp in the Kalahari Desert first. That’s 530km. From there south to Fish River Canyon is another 5 hour road journey. From there north to Sossusvlei is another 400km. You get the idea. Careful advance planning will ensure you spend less time travelling, more time seeing and relaxing.
Of course, we recommend you get our professional help to handle the finer details of your trip. You might like one of our pre-arranged Namibian tours, or want us to create a bespoke itinerary with enough time to relax and enjoy yourselves built into your schedule. It’s up to you.
How you’re going to get here and get around while you’re here are both big questions that you’ll be more relaxed about if you answer them well in advance.
Getting flights into Namibia should be a breeze the earlier you book. But don’t forget you might need to book internal flights to help slash journey times between points of interest in the country, especially if you’ve your heart set on visiting remote locations such as the Sossusvlei Desert and Shipwreck Lodge.
If you’re self-driving, hire a 4x4. Some roads in the country can be challenging on standard road cars, although most are well marked, if a little on the gravelly side in places. (Speaking of sides, everyone drives on the left in Namibia.) Getting the vehicle you want, especially if you want one with a roof tent and other camping options is so much easier the earlier you book.
The ads say ‘book early to avoid disappointment’ with good reason. If you want your choice of seats on flights, the pick of the hotels, guesthouses, luxury lodges or tents, even the best tables at the best restaurants, the early booker gets the best options.
Planning well in advance gives you time to shop around and potentially save money. Many of the camps and hotels in Namibia are small and intimate, perhaps with only 5 to 10 suites available in each. This limited supply means they can get fully booked fast. So if you don’t want to compromise the quality or location of your accommodation, booking early is the answer.
Getting well ahead of the game will also serve you well if you want to take in the most popular or spectacular Namibian experiences, such as a hot air balloon ride over the Namib Desert.
Don’t go thinking that waiting until the last minute will get you the best deals. It’s more likely to leave you with limited choice and zero peace of mind, especially if you’re planning to visit in the August to September high season.
Another oft overlooked advantage of early planning is the scope it gives you to alter your itinerary and fine tune your plans, so they perfectly meet your expectations. It’s not something you can entertain if you leave it all to the last minute.
Planning early doesn’t mean you have to pay for everything a year in advance. Perhaps get the flights sorted one month, the hotel the next, the transportation even later. Giving yourself time substantially reduces the stresses on your finances as you can spread the cost rather than see a lump sum exit your bank account.
Think how much time you’ll have to prepare and pack, compared with the last minute panickers. Get your Namibian playlist sorted for your car journeys. Line up some movies for the flight – Dune Part 2, Mad Max: Fury Road and The Mummy were all filmed in Namibia by the way. Planning early gives you the time to think of everything.
A year gives you plenty of time to tell absolutely everyone you’ve ever met that you’re off to Namibia. Several times if needs be.
Here at Namibia Tours & Safaris, we look forward to helping people arrange their dream trip to Namibia just as much as you’ll look forward to coming here. And the earlier we can start working on your itinerary, the better. So contact our team today, even if your departure date is a year or more away. It’s never too early to start planning your Namibian adventure.
"We can't wait to return"
I can't thank you enough for helping to put together this trip. It exceeded all our expectations and we fell in love with your country.
"We loved our experience with NTS"
We loved Namibia and its unique landscapes and kind people. It was certainly an adventure and a privilege to get to spend time there.
"We had a wonderful time in Namibia"
All in all we had a wonderful time and appreciate the effort made to ensure all aspects of our tour ran smoothly with prompt email support where needed.
"What a wonderful journey we had in beautiful and friendly Namibia!"
Namibia has stolen our travel-heart and you can consider us as new ambassadors of this spectacular country.
