Namibia Budget Safaris & Tours

About Namibia – Land of Open Spaces

Namibia is a land of vast desert landscapes and wide-open spaces, as well as being home to an abundance of wildlife and boasting a rich cultural heritage. In addition to its natural splendour, Namibia is a popular African travel destination, owing to its political stability, excellent infrastructure and economic prosperity. Like Botswana, Namibia’s successful neighbour, tourism and the diamond industry are the mainstay of the country’s economy. Namibia is a desert country covering some 825 418 sq km’s, hence its place as the world’s second least densely populated country. 

Some of Namibia’s major attractions are its stunning desert landscapes and tall, red-orange sand dunes, as well as superb game viewing areas, such as Etosha National Park. Namibia consists of contrasting landscapes, from its vast deserts and rugged mountains to the wild Atlantic coastline and unspoilt central plateau. Namibia safaris have something to offer everyone with Namibia being a particularly ideal African travel destination for families and wildlife enthusiasts, as well as photographers and adventure seekers. 

Top Namibia Travel Highlights

Etosha National Park – Namibia’s Premier Game Reserve 

Etosha National Park, Namibia's best known game reserve, is home to an abundance of wildlife including Africa's "Big Five". Etosha is one of the world’s largest game parks covering about 20 000 sq km’s of salt pan, grasslands, savannah and woodlands in Northern Namibia. The park is named after the vast Etosha saltpan that it surrounds, with Etosha meaning ‘Great White Place of Dry Water’ in the local Ovambo language. The vast open plains of this dried lake are a shimmering white to green spectacle that makes for excellent photographic opportunities.

The precious waters of the largely arid Etosha Pan attract various interesting and rare wild animals, especially in the dry season. The diverse terrain of Etosha is home to lion, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, jackal and elephant, as well as the endangered cheetah and black rhino. Antelope species found in the park include Gemsbok and Springbok, as well as the rare black-faced impala, roan antelope and the tiny Damara dik-dik. Game viewing is guaranteed to be rewarding in Etosha, inhabited by 340 bird species, 114 mammal species, 16 reptilian and amphibian species, one species of fish and innumerable insects. The Etosha Safaris with African Budget Safaris typically include accommodation at one of the rest camps inside the game park, at either Okaukuejo or Halali and Namutoni camps, all of which have floodlit waterholes for night game viewing.

The Namib Desert – Namib-Naukluft Park, Sossusvlei Dunes & Sesriem Canyon

The Namib-Naukluft Park protects 50 000 sq km’s of Namib Desert and the Naukluft Mountains and is also home to some of the most peculiar and rare animals and plant species. This part of the world is renowned for its wide-open spaces and ever shifting red-orange sand dunes. The Namib Desert is a place where solitude and stillness can be fully appreciated in its vast and unusual landscapes. The Namib-Naukluft Park is Africa’s largest game park, consisting of four areas - Sossusvlei, Sesriem, Naukluft and the Namib section. The towering Sossusvlei dunes, some of the world’s oldest and tallest reaching up to 300 meters, contrast strikingly with the expansive blue skies of Africa. The burnt ochre coloured dunes of Sossusvlei scattered with camel thorn trees are Namibia’s top tourist attraction, typifying Namibia as a travel destination. A spectacular geological phenomenon, Sesriem Canyon is a narrow gorge where one can see the layers of sedimentary rock left exposed by erosion some 2 million years old. The dry bed of the Tsauchab River is a popular attraction, dotted with pools of water as it cuts through the rocky landscape of the Namib.

Other Namibia Travel Highlights

The Kalahari Desert, famous for the semi-nomadic Kalahari Bushmen inhabiting this harsh terrain and its vast flat Makgadikgadi Pans are a top Namibia travel stop. Most African Budget Safaris' Namibian Safaris start or end in the charming capital city of Windhoek situated in central Namibia. Other places worth visiting in Namibia include, the Kaokoveld Desert along the north west coast, the Skeleton Coast, renowned for its shipwrecks and the narrow Capri Strip in the far northeast of Namibia. A top highlight in northwest Namibia is the Kavango River, the panhandle of the Okavango Delta bordering Botswana. The Cape Cross Seal Colony, home to the world’s largest breeding colony of Cape Fur Seals and the coastal town of Swakopmund with its adventure activities, are also popular tourist destinations in Namibia. 

The Twyfelfontein rock paintings, Brandberg Mountain, the highest mountain in Namibia and Spitzkoppe in Damaraland are also Namibian highlights. A visit to a traditional Ova‐Himba village in this region is a unique cultural highlight of travel in Namibia. Many of our Namibia Safaris also visit the ecologically diverse Waterberg Plateau, the Hoba Meteorite and the Cheetah Conservation Fund. There are several places of interest in the south of Namibia, such as the large Fish River Canyon where the Ai-Ais Hot Springs are located, the Gariep River, previously known as the Orange River and the Kokerboom Forest with its unusual Quiver trees. 

The Cultural Diversity of Namibia is a definite draw card for tourists visiting this stunning desert nation. The main ethnic group in Namibia is made up of the Ovambo People, with significant numbers of Herero and Himba people as well as a population of European descendents. Afrikaans and German are among the languages spoken in Namibia, where the colonial German influence of the past can still be seen, particularly in Windhoek. Part of the diverse ethnic mix in Namibia also consists of so called "coloured" people.

About Namibia Safaris with African Budget Safaris

African Budget Safaris has an exciting array of popular tours to Namibia, ranging from 3-day Budget Lodge Safaris in Namibia to 56-day epic Overland Tours throughout southern and eastern Africa. Other types of Namibia Safaris available include Budget Camping Safaris, Exclusive Budget Safaris and adventurous 4x4 Safaris to Namibia’s travel highlights. The types of overland tours to Namibia are Accommodated and Camping Overland Safaris, as well as Exclusive Overland Safaris for the more discerning traveller. We also offer Forty Plus Safaris, tailored for older travellers, and Motorbike Safaris for biking enthusiasts. The Namibia Safaris visit a variety of Namibia’s highlights (listed above) and aim to give travellers the African Safari experience of a lifetime at affordable prices.

Find out more with our Namibia budget travel guide page.