Namibia Lodge Safari

This tour is full on, early mornings, a lot of travelling, not much exercise and lots of good food. We had a lovely group of fellow travellers and great tour guide. The country is beautiful, an ever changing landscape as you drive. The game drives were my highlight but others in the group said the sand dunes or the activity at Walvis Bay. Not relaxing but a brilliant holiday seeing a completely different county in landscape and culture.

Group leader was amazing. So knowledgeable and looked after us really well

This trip around all of Namibia was everything I expected and more. The landscape, people, and wildlife is awe-inspiring! There were so many times my jaw dropped at the beauty. The huge spaces, the dunes, the ocean, the desert, and pan - all of it was wonderful. The rooms are fine, and some are excellent. Many meals are included, which is helpful. There was a lot of driving, but it did not bother me because the landscape was interesting. The Landcruiser is comfortable, with the roof popping up for wildlife viewing and the AC/heating is good. Uakotaka Kastro was an excellent, experienced guide who helped the trip run smoothly. I recommend that Explore please add curtains or shades to the vehicle for comfort. It can turn into a greenhouse very quickly on the sunny side of the Landcruiser!

A great tour for animal and nature lovers.

Our leader Kastro was excellent and very helpful and accommodating.

Our leader Urlich Uakotoka Castro was superb in every possible way. The itinerary was perfect allowing us to enjoy such varied landscapes and the wonderful wildlife The accommodation was excellent.

What an amazing trip! Our tour guide was truly exceptional, he looked after us 24/7 and ensured that we were all safe and well cared for. He also had a great sense of humour! Nothing was too much trouble for him. Great accommodation and food. Would highly recommend visiting Namibia, beautiful country where all the locals made us feel very welcome. Loved the change of scene from desert to coast to safari parks, we saw all the animals and wildlife that we were hoping for.

Fabulous itinerary. Our guide Ckasteo was fabulous. His local knowledge and ability with languages made the entire trip extra special. The safari truck was comfortable and the perfect size to ensure we could fo places that larger cehicles may not be able to. Accommodation was very good and everyone we met was friendly and accommodating.

We had a wonderful time in Namibia- we felt safe, totally looked after and well fed. Accommodation was good and excellent at times. The truck was excellent and it was useful to be able to have water bottles refilled each day. Kastro was excellent and knowledgeable and very well regarded by everyone he met. We would have liked more walking / activities as there’s a lot of driving but also the itinerary was varied and the country is stunning

A superb experience. I cannot fault the itinerary in any way. The accommodations, food, scenery and activities were all great. Our tour leader Kastro was brilliant, always positive and always determined to ensure all had the best time. Kastro’s knowledge of the terrain, the geology, geography, wildlife, culture and even daft things like toilets was exemplary. A group ranging from 22years to 79years must have taken some management but he took it all in his stride and everyone got on great and had a great time. Lots of safari time all done ethically and responsibly as well as a host of fabulous landscapes big skies, wonderful sunsets, coffee stops, apple pie stops and some of the greatest picnics stops on earth.

This was a great trip with a full on itinerary that ensured you saw the stunning scenery the amazing wildlife and learned about the history and culture of this interesting country. Our guide paced the tour well so we saw all the sights but had some down time as well. This is an exciting tour, covering a lot of miles, but you see and learn so much - I would really recommend it for a mix of safari, walking and sight seeing.

A 10-day tour taking in vast but varied deserts (undulating dunes then rocky desert followed by flat desert then bare granite mountains with rock art), the raging Atlantic coast and then green savannah and salt pans teeming with antelopes, wildebeest and giraffes. Great guide and driver. We covered just under 3000 km so you do spend time travelling but it is a large country. Some accommodation in beautiful lodges. This tour is a photographer's dream.

The tour leader, Sheona, was excellent and very knowledgeable about flora and fauna. There were a lot of long drives and she was very skilled on some tricky roads. The dunes and the safaris were the highlights of the tour. Be prepared for some long drives.

Amazing holiday, made by our fantastic, unflappable, informative guide/driver Sheona. You can read all the blurb on Explore website about what to see. Great itinerary, my only observation would be please make it 14 days so those of us taking weeks of work can have more Namibia time! Here's some observations that might help you make a choice about whether this trip is for you. * it's a great mix of scenery and wildlife, with the wildlife getting more abundant as the trip goes on * some of the journeys are long (Namibia is a big place!) but the scenery and contrasts are amazing * it's hot in the summer - we had high 30's. Be prepared to get up early for cooler temps. * food is generally very good though if you are a veggie in some places there is a limited choice * in Swakopmund if you are at all into cycling go on the e-bike desert tour on the free day - it was absolutely amazing. Overall a fantastic trip - highly recommended.

This was an amazing holiday, Namibia is a very special place. There is a lot of travel in this trip but our guide, Riaan, was amazing and made everything fun. He was so knowledgeable about all aspects from geology to bird species. There were so many magical moments but seeing elephants standing right next to our vehicle is definitely up there, along with running down a sand dune in Sossusvlei and seeing cheetahs and spotted hyenas

Brilliant trip with a fabulous group leader (Riaan) Loads to see and experience covering 2,000 miles but no individual journey seemed too long. Great food much of it included in the holiday price.

Highlights - Stunning landscapes, especially around the Namib desert/Sossusvlei, Brandberg area and Walvis Bay/Swakopmund. Wildlife viewing was excellent - plenty of time to view and observe and search both mammals and birds throughout the trip. You will get some amazing photos and memories! A knowledgeable guide who sorted everything that needed doing and had a great understanding of the wildlife/country. A couple of the lodges were above expectations (NB the app stated that there might be changes and there were). Things that surprised me: One of the lodges was disappointing but we were only there for one night (Brandberg White Lady Lodge - no proper AC and nowhere to charge anything plus very basic room and the food was also below par). There wasn't much time to decompress and just enjoy the areas without being on the move - ideally this should be a 14 or 15 day trip with Toshari or Makuti and Swapokmund stays being extended by a further day. Water is not provided at many of the lodges or at the inclusive meals so you end up buying plastic bottles of water (more costly than a beer!) that you then can't keep chilled as the rooms often did not have a fridge. One of the recommended excursions in Walvis Bay was a waste of time and very expensive. The Shifting Sands excursion to Sandwich Harbour was vastly more costly (x3) than the Desert Discovery trip (both 3 hours) and yet covered much the same but at a much lower standard. The Desert Discovery Trip had much better guides, much more to see and a far superior dune driving experience. The Sandwich Harbour trip just gave the "dunes meeting the sea" and a fraction of the elements covered in the other trip but for the time/cost and drive it would have been better to have stayed in Walvis Bay and appreciate all the birdlife and coast there. Avoid that if offered. What I needed on the trip: The following items were really useful: A sarong - to sit on a very hot seat or use as a sunshield in various locations; a water bottle flask that kept my water chilled all day; A broad brimmed hat - in summer a baseball cap did not cut it at Sossusvlei; Binoculars - even a basic pair; A power bank for your phone as some days you are on the road for 12 hours and with all the photos you'll need an extra power source.; A usb adaptor for your phone charger as a few lodges had these in the socket spaces; Washing powder as you may end up hand washing a lot; A basic set of general medications..... you never know! Additionally I would recommend going at least one day earlier so you have time to take in a township and Windhoek tour. The on-cost of the hotel was minimal (arranged directly) but it meant we had no stress of being late and we had a chance to acclimatise, plus had a good look around prior to meeting the rest of the group and the guide. The Mercure has full access to the sister Movenpick which has a great pool area, other restaurants and spa/gym for use by all residents. If you fly through Germany and direct on to Windhoek, you travel overnight and arrive morning time giving you a whole afternoon plus a whole day before you meet the group at 6pm. Plus your return flight is early evening so you get the departure day too if you extend your room at the Mercure. Well worth it! Overall a truly great and varied trip even if you have done safaris before.