Namibia When to go?
 

Namibia is one of the places on the list for our next trip. When is the best time to go there. We would be thinking of a slef drive type trip. Sand dunes, coast & game park. If I am reading & interpreting correctly it seems to be May - August???

Also we were thinking self drive which I have seen posts of here. I am reading about huge charges for flat tyres etc. Can anyone give me a rough idea of the cost car hire etc & even a ball park figure of the cost of say a 2 week trip in mid range accoms, just so I can get a feeling of what we may be up for!!

Thanks in advance.

J

Our trip was a few years back (Sep 2007) but I listed a breakdown of our costs in my trip report (scroll down) http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...uth-africa.cfm

I'd consider our accommodations "mid-range". Our car hire for 13 days cost about $600 for a small automatic sedan. We could've saved a little money by going with a manual and in hindsight probably should've done that to begin with as we needed a vehicle replacement in the middle of our trip and they didn't have any automatics to give us so we drove a manual for half the trip anyway! We didn't take any of the rental company's insurance and they did sort of give us a hard time when returning the car but ultimately we weren't charged for anything (details in my report). IIRC the insurance (full coverage incl tires, windscreen, etc) would've almost doubled our rental cost.

Timing wise, by the time we reached the Sossusvlei and NamibRand areas, it was the latter part of Sep and already pretty hot. Jul and Aug are supposedly busier than Sep. If we were to go again, I think we'd choose Jun for cooler temps, less busy and possibly some savings due to low season rates at some properties.

Hope this helps.

We just returned from 3 weeks driving through Namibia (last two weeks of February, first week of March) and then onto Botswana and Vic Falls (an excellent itinerary option you might want to consider).

We had a wonderful time and highly recommend a self drive, and while the car rental can be irritating it can be done.

I'm happy to talk prices offline - email me at

eseibertca AT yahoo DOT ca

Re time of year - I think May to September is better for animal viewing (we didn't see many animals in Etosha which was to be expected at that time of year).

Here's a link to our blog - Namibia still under construction but Sossusvlei section complete

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/africa/

Navigate on the right hand margin to the countries

Hi Jules
I posted this in answer to another question about car hire but it might be of interest to you ...
We've bought extra excess insurance in the past, which will cover you for windscreen and tyres as well as damage and theft charges - we think it's well worth it. We're UK based but it looks like it can be purchased outside the UK. An annual worldwide policy is about $100.
http://www.insurance4carhire.com/
"With car hire excess insurance, we insure the Policy Holder, not the rental vehicle. Car hire excess is a voluntary insurance. Decline the car rental company’s Excess cover at the counter when you collect the car. If the car is damaged or stolen, the car rental company will charge your credit card for the Excess amount and you then claim for reimbursement on your car hire excess insurance policy."

We've been to Namibia in May a couple of times and it's a great season - clear skies and not too hot. It's also low season in many properties and car hire, although I've noticed a trend for making May/June high season now as more people see that it's a good time to travel! We rented a 4x4 with rooftop tent so I can't give you figures for a car. I would second the recommendation for self-drive, it's an easy country to get round on your own.

Thanks everyone! Liz if we decide that Namibia is really a go I will be in touch wiht you off line. Thank you so much for the offer.

Right now we are trying to figure out when we can get away & then that is going to "help" our decision on destination!

J