Has anyone here been to Namibia? If so, what could you tell me about traveling there? Renting my own car isn't an option, but I was considering taking a guided tour on the Desert Express or something similar, or barring that, I've heard that you can see Namibia via hitchhiking. Is the former rewarding, and is the latter really viable?
>>1133964
A German-minority Namibian used to post here, maybe s/he can help you. I haven't seen him/her in some time though.
>>1133964
Travelling in Namibia is easy, if you have your own car. I would not hitchhike, because as a tourist, i have been advised not to pick up hitchhikers.
Also, if you don't have your own car, how are you supposed to get around Etosha??
>>1134938
I don't want to get into too many specifics, but the car issue isn't a matter of me not knowing where to rent/not having the money/whatever, it's a matter of me not being able to drive due to a disability (I'm fine in most regards, and have traveled independently multiple times before, but driving is the one major thing I continue to struggle with).
>Also, if you don't have your own car, how are you supposed to get around Etosha??
I can accept that there are certain things I'm going to have to miss out on due to not having my own transportation. What I'm trying to figure out is if there are ways to work around that limitation so that I could still have a fulfilling trip. I realize that my options are limited, but what options are there?
>>1134941
Though one other thing I should add is that the Desert Express train that I mentioned in my OP does stop at Etosha, so that's not a concern. I'm just wondering if a guided train tour is worth it for something like Namibia, or if it's something I should either wait for until I finally can drive, or if I at least have someone to go with who can.
I have been to Deutsch-Südwestafrika twice and can say that traveling there without a car will be complicated.
Second only to Mongolia, it is the least-densely populated country in the world, and distances even between small towns are huge.
The roads themselves are breathtakingly beautiful, even after hours of driving straight without encountering anything. There would be many places you wouldn't be able to get to.
I was just there a month ago. I took a tour through Nomad Africa that went all around Southern Africa. We were on a huge overland truck and visited the canyon, Swakupmund, Etosha, Windhoek, and a bunch of random desert places in between before we headed on to Botswana.
I'd recommend skipping most of that and just going to Etosha, then flying to Victoria falls and seeing Chobe and the falls. Otherwise you'll be spending weeks of very long days on very rough roads for little payoff.
I didn't get the impression that Namibia is safe enough to hitchhike but they should offer tours to Etosha.
>>1135045
>I took a tour through Nomad Africa that went all around Southern Africa
What rate did you pay for that? I was interested in Botswana too, but from what I saw it's prohibitively expensive and difficult to navigate even if you do have your own transportation. I'd love to see as much of Southern Africa as I can, though.
You recommended skipping Swakopmund and Windhoek too. Why's that? They were other areas of interest for me.
OP, I hope you'll find some tour that offers what you're looking for.
>>1134946
>>1134941
I don't know about those train tours or maybe even guided tours. But my suggestion is to wait until you (or a friend of yours) can drive.
For example in Etosha: Of course you can go on a guided tour. But it's probably more fun to travel around Etosha independently, because you never know where the animals are or how long you want to stop at a waterhole.
Also, if you for example want to visit the Cheetah Conservation Fund or some other animal centre, it may be downright impossible to go there without a car.
Would it be possible to rent a car in a Namibian city and drop it off at a different one?
>>1135448
Looking on the Hertz website for Namibia, they only have thre locations to rent cars from in the whole country. First, make sure there are rental stations in the cities you want to go to.
