Hello:<BR><BR>My husband and I are going on safari in January to S. Africa and Botswana. We are thinking of adding on three days in Namibia from JoBurg. Is it worth it for that short period of time?<BR><BR>Thanks.

Save Namibia for a time in your life when you have already seen everything else you have wanted to see in the world. It does have spectacular sand dunes, a long coast line, and wide open spaces, but there is nothing, in my opinion, to compare with SA and Botswana. I would spend those three days in SA, where just about any place would be of more interest and enjoyment than Namibia, unless you like scrub brush and sand dunes. P

In an article in the South African magazine Getaway a few years ago, one of their seasoned travel writers listed the 'top 5' sights in sub-Saharan Africa. They were (in no particular order):<BR><BR>* Mt. Kilimanjaro<BR>* Ngorongoro Crater<BR>* Victoria Falls<BR>* Table Bay & Table Mountain, Cape Town<BR>* The red sand dunes at Sossusvlei<BR><BR>So I would not lightly dismiss Namibia as a candidate for a 3-day visit. Its 'desert and dune' environment stands in sharp contrast to northern Botswana's lush and water-rich Okavango Delta and it combines very well with that area, in my humble opinion. <BR><BR>Bert<BR>Houston

We thought the sand dunes in Sossusvlei were awesome, but do not think you need three days. We were there for two days and it was just right. We spent 1/2 day (sunrise)at the dunes, did two game drives (not much to see) and had an early morning balloon ride (not over the dunes but nearby). There is nothing in the world like the dunes in Sossusvlei and they are even more wonderful in person than in photographs.

Disagree with the recommendation to save Namibia for later.<BR><BR>We combined Namibia with Botswana in June 2001 and thought the combination simply wonderful.<BR><BR>Had we only seen Sossusvlei whilst there perhaps our impression would be different but we spent two nights at the Wolwedans Dune Lodge, then visited Sossusvlei and then spent another 2 nights in Damaraland, at the Damaraland Camp operated by Wilderness Safaris.<BR><BR>We felt our time in Namibia was a perfect balance to the time in Botswana and cannot recommend the combination highly enough.<BR><BR>I am currently planning a return trip, probably for 2004 and will be including both Botswana and Namibia without question. Might also include a third country, such as SAfrica or Zambia, will see about that during more detailed planning.<BR><BR>If you can afford to add 3 or 4 nights, rather than staying the whole time in Sossusvlei I'd recommend Wolwedans (only 50km south) or another area in Namibia as well. Sossusvlei was spectacular but we'd have been happy with only one night there instead of the 2 we spent as we felt we needed only half a day tour to see the park and dunes and make our way to the waterpan itself. Our best views came from the charter plane to the next camp.<BR><BR>Kavey<BR><BR>PS Whether it's worth it to you will of course depend on how expensive that add on would be, both in terms of cost and in terms of travel time.<BR><BR>If you can only go for a couple of night and it would take you a long and convoluted trip to get there perhaps it would best be saved for another trip??