The best Namibian camps and lodges to dream about
Whether you’re looking for rare wildlife on your doorstep or otherworldly landscapes to explore, these unique retreats will get you right into the heart of the action in your 2020 Top Country…
1. Nambwa Tented Lodge, Bwabwata National Park
(Nambwa Tented Lodge)
Bwabwata National Park on the Caprivi Strip attracts plenty of wildlife but few visitors – and the only lodge inside the park is Nambwa, created to benefit the local Mayuni Conservancy communities.
The spacious tented rooms sit on wooden platforms, linked by walkways high enough to allow elephants to stroll underneath. The rooms and main deck look out to a floodplain where kudu, buffalo and warthogs among others come to feed.
Booking information: Prices start from 13,930NAD (£735) per night, for full-inclusive, based on two people sharing. Learn more at African Monarch Lodges
2. Olive Grove Guesthouse, Windhoek
(Olive Grove Guesthouse)
If overnighting in Namibia’s laid-back capital, this boutique guesthouse ticks all the boxes for a comfy and convenient stay. In a quiet residential area, its rustic décor with wrought iron and old silver lends the place a Moroccan feel, with each room uniquely designed – and the restaurant is exceptional.
It’s a great base for exploring the city, whether you’re shopping in smart malls, strolling along the jacaranda-fringed avenues or taking a tour of the Katutura township.
Booking information: Prices start from 1,940NAD (£101) per night, a B&B based on two people sharing. Learn more at Olive Grove Guesthouse
3. Shipwreck Lodge, Skeleton Coast National Park
(Shipwreck Lodge)
This eco-friendly lodge’s main building and cabin-like rooms of wood and glass replicate the thousand plus shipwrecks that eerily punctuate the Skeleton Coast’s dunes.
The lounge and dining room open to a terrace that makes the most of the sandscapes, and blankets and wood-burning stoves keep you warm on chilly Atlantic nights.
Booking information: Prices start from 23,460NAD (£1,228) per night, for full inclusive including conservation contribution, based on two people sharing. Learn more at Natural Selection Travel
4. Anderssons at Ongava, Ongava Game Reserve
(Anderssons at Ongava)
Stay at Anderssons, on a private game reserve, and you can track rhino on foot, watch elephants from the infinity pool and spy on wildlife undetected from a secret hide. You can even wander around the camp’s own research centre, learning from conservationists.
Recently redesigned with a distinctly luxurious air, its suites are all wood and natural stone, inspired by the landscape. Smart TVs show real-time wildlife at the waterhole.
Booking information: Learn more at Ongava Game Reserve
5. Dead Valley Lodge, Namib-Naukluft Park
(Dead Valley Lodge)
Namibia’s desert dunes are among the oldest in the world. Hike – or crawl – up Big Daddy, take a whole SD-card full of eerie Deadvlei images and marvel at the massive red and terracotta dunes of Sossusvlei.
Dead Valley Lodge opened last summer with contemporary tented rooms in neutral shades and a refreshing pool. Its location inside the park unusually grants you access to the landscapes of the Namib Desert before sunrise and after sunset.
Booking information: Prices start from 5,800NAD (£303) per night, for full inclusive and based on two sharing. Learn more at Sunkarros
6. Okaukuejo Resort, Etosha National Park
(Okaukuejo Resort)
For great value and exceptional wildlife-watching, stay at Okaukuejo, the largest of three camps owned by Namibia Wildlife Resorts and located within the park. It’s big and busy, with over 100 rooms, but its USP is a floodlit waterhole that makes it one of the best places in Namibia to see rare black rhino.
Accommodation ranges from simple double rooms to two-storey Premier Waterhole chalets. Take a guided game drive or, with good roads and clear signage, drive yourself around.
Booking information: Prices start from 2,664NAD (£139) per night, a B&B based on two people sharing. Learn more at NWR
7. Serra Cafema, Kaokoland
(Serra Cafema)
This might just be the remotest lodge in Namibia. In the country’s northernmost corner, Serra Cafema lies amid lush forest on the banks of the Kunene River with the golden Namib Desert behind. Think rustic luxury with leather, plush velvet and wood in thatched villas and the rapids of the river as a soundtrack.
Meet the nomadic Himba people, who the lodge support, and learn about their culture in an authentic, sensitive way. Spot birds and crocs on boat trips or explore the desert and the nearby Hartmann’s Mountains.
Booking information: Prices start from 22,086NAD (£1,149) per night, for full inclusive based on two people sharing. Learn more at Wilderness Safari
