Planning a trip can be very nerve-wracking. With this blogpost we would like to make the first steps easier for you and give you some tips which are easy to forget. First of all, research! You're already on this blog, so that's a great place to start. Doing research for a Namibia trip is not necessarily different than for other trips. First, search via Google, blogs or even Instagram. On Instagram, you can find quite a few photos and videos of places that might interest you via hashtags or location tags. Write down all the places you want to see on your trip. Then try to map out a route based on the places you found in the previous step. On Google Maps you can create your own list and mark the places there. This makes it a lot easier to find a possible route. Once you know your itinerary, do some research to check what the road conditions are like, how long it might take to get from A to B and what accommodation is available in the area. The journey tool on Google Maps are a good guide to help you plan your journey, but always allow extra time! Often you can't drive as fast as you thought and this delays everything. Try to drive only during the day, because there is a lot of game at night, which makes the roads quite dangerous.
For accommodation we would always recommend booking in advance for Namibia to avoid disappointment! Many accommodations don't have many rooms and are sometimes booked up to 6 months in advance (maybe not at this time, but it can always happen!). For camping, we can recommend the Facebook group "Camping in Namibia" and their Google or printed maps. There you can find all the campsites in Namibia, they are sorted by different categories and makes planning a lot easier. Besides all the planning for accommodation, don't forget the flights and the rental car! The booking for accommodation and flights, as well as the car, must always be done at the same time. The best thing to do is to look for suitable flights, then enquire with various car rental companies for these dates and book your first and last accommodation free of charge. If you have a vehicle in mind, you can book the flights and other accommodation directly. I would always recommend a mix of camping and lodges. Camping in a rooftop tent is a whole new experience and I went from being a complete camping hater to a camping enthusiast. It's something you have to experience. For flights, we recommend Ethiopian Airlines at the moment. You have a stopover in Addis Abeba, but you still arrive in Namibia after about 15 hours. Compared to Eurowings Discover, the prices are much cheaper and the service (in my own experience) is much better. You have two pieces of luggage up to 23 kg free, the food is very tasty, there is even vegetarian and vegan food to choose from. The service on board and in Ethiopia is also great. You save at least 300 euros and more (as of January 2022)! Of course, one should not forget about possible travel restrictions nowadays. These can change every day and must be checked before every trip. Do I need a test? How old can the test be, are there any other restrictions? What is the local situation? etc. Also for the return journey, one should always check early enough before the return flight whether everything is in order or whether there are new restrictions. I recommend these websites for information:
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en
https://namibiatourism.com.na
And last but not least: Look forward to your trip! You are travelling to Namibia! With my tips and packing list, nothing should go wrong!
Enjoy this beautiful country and let yourself be captivated. It will definitely not be your only trip to Africa ;)
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