Namibia 10-day Itinerary

The rooftop Skybar at the Hilton Windhoek is the city’s finest sundowner spot, with glorious views and a particularly impressive gin menu, with a collection of Namibian craft gins infused with local botanicals.

Locals dub this unusual building ‘The Coffee Machine’, but within the Independence Memorial Museum you’ll find stirring exhibitions and archives covering Namibia’s journey from colonialism through liberation struggle to independence. Entrance is free, and the top-floor café has excellent views of the city.

Set in the Old Breweries Complex in central Windhoek, the Namibia Craft Centre offers souvenirs and handicrafts from across Namibia. Home to more than 40 craft enterprises – largely community- or women-owned – you’ll find everything from Himba jewellery to hand-woven Zambezi baskets. Look out for the excellent collection of Namibian art and music too.

More inner-city nature reserve than manicured garden, the 12-hectare National Botanic Garden of Namibia offers a selection of walking trails to explore. Useful information boards highlight key species, from endemic succulents to the enigmatic quiver tree. Open Monday to Friday. Free entrance.

This former whaling town is now a marine ecotourism hotspot. Birdlife is prolific, and close-up encounters with pelicans, flamingos Cape Fur seals, dolphins and penguins are all but guaranteed.

With Adirondack chairs set just metres from the sea, this rustic beach bar in the mouth of the Swakop River is the best place in Swakopmund for sundowners. Make like the locals and drink beer, not Bellinis.

This colourful lodge offers a welcome break from the tourist bustle of Swakopmund, with 12 spacious bungalows gazing out over the desert.

Expert-led wildlife tours to discover the extraordinary and unique flora and fauna of the vast Namib Desert.

The giant dunes of the vast, sand-filled Namib desert offers some of the world’s best desert activities – quad biking, mountain biking, sandboarding, camel riding, wildlife tours and more.

One of the best places to skydive in the world, starting from 10,000 feet above unbeatable desert vistas.

If you’re not devouring your weight in eisbein at the Brauhaus, beachfront seafood eatery The Tug is the best place to eat in Swakopmund. Phone ahead for a window seat.

This colourful lodge offers a welcome break from the tourist bustle of Swakopmund, with 12 spacious bungalows gazing out over the desert.

A pristine and bird-filled wetland of international significance, backed by goliath sand dunes, on Namibia’s most dramatic and breathtakingly beautiful coastline.

This deserted corner of north-western Namibia hides myriad charms beneath a façade of sun-baked desolation. An enigmatic landscape of lonely beaches and shifting sands.

One of the largest seal colonies in the world, Cape Cross is a worthwhile day out from Swakopmund, and the lonely 200km round-trip offers fantastic sea and desert panoramas.

This colourful lodge offers a welcome break from the tourist bustle of Swakopmund, with 12 spacious bungalows gazing out over the desert.

Break the long journey from Sossusvlei to Swakopmund in Solitaire, a middle-of-nowhere settlement famous for the apple pie at McGregor’s Bakery. The Solitaire Lodge also offers 25 en-suite rooms and wonderful desert views.

An elegant luxury lodge that combines sand and safari in one delightful desert escape, with day trips to the Sossuvlei Dunes.

Rustic-luxury lodge with an unbeatable location. It’s the only lodge inside the Namib-Naukluft Park, meaning exclusive access to Sossusvlei’s dunes before anyone else.

Float over towering ochre-red dunes of Namibia‘s Sossusvlei, a sea of crimson curves stretching to the horizon, suspended in serene stillness. The desert below humbles with its immense, undulating beauty and dazzles with colours that change with the sunrise.

An otherworldly landscape of towering ochre dunes in an ancient desert. Climb Big Daddy for eye-watering views of a sandy sea stretching away to the Atlantic.

An elegant luxury lodge that combines sand and safari in one delightful desert escape, with day trips to the Sossuvlei Dunes.

Rustic-luxury lodge with an unbeatable location. It’s the only lodge inside the Namib-Naukluft Park, meaning exclusive access to Sossusvlei’s dunes before anyone else.

Set on a private reserve bordering the Etosha National Park, this elegant lodge offers unrivalled bush luxury across nine spacious chalets.

A stylish, luxury lodge in an exclusive game-rich corner of Etosha National Park, with luxury chalets and daily game drives.

An upscale safari lodge on a private reserve on Etosha’s borders, with a spa and fine bushveld views.

In the shadow of a century-old Germanic fort, history and wilderness combine at this popular rest camp in the east of Etosha National Park.

Large, resort-style camp inside Etosha, offering facilities, games drive and a floodlit waterhole.

Set on a private reserve bordering the Etosha National Park, this elegant lodge offers unrivalled bush luxury across nine spacious chalets.

A stylish, luxury lodge in an exclusive game-rich corner of Etosha National Park, with luxury chalets and daily game drives.

An upscale safari lodge on a private reserve on Etosha’s borders, with a spa and fine bushveld views.

In the shadow of a century-old Germanic fort, history and wilderness combine at this popular rest camp in the east of Etosha National Park.

No visit to Windhoek is complete without a stop at this offbeat eatery where the Windhoek lager is always cold and the enormous portions of grillhaxe (pork knuckle) fly out of the kitchen. Take a wander to admire the quirky décor between courses.