Self-driving in Namibia: How much driving is actually enjoyable in one day?
The morning begins in the Namib. You have a coffee, load your bags into the car, and set off for Swakopmund. Ahead of you lies a drive through landscapes that make you want to stop again and again.
The itinerary for the day only lists a change of location. That sounds like a gap that could fit something else. An extra excursion, perhaps. Another detour. After all, the map shows a distance and an estimated arrival time.
When planning a self-drive trip to Namibia, Frank sees something else: the early start, the breaks, the gravel roads, the next beautiful view, and the question of when guests will actually arrive in Swakopmund.
The map doesn't know about your photo stops
On a drive through Namibia, you rarely stop only where the itinerary says you should. Perhaps the light over the mountains changes. Perhaps you want to take your time eating. Perhaps a stretch of gravel road takes longer than you expected.
That is part of the joy of self-driving. You can stop because you want to. But for that, your day needs to have the time.
Anyone who plans every available hour before they even leave will eventually find themselves on the road with one eye on the scenery and the other on the clock. By then, that extra activity at your destination is no longer such a great idea.
A route needs more than just the right mileage
Our 12-day self-drive tour of Namibia takes you from Windhoek through Sossusvlei and Swakopmund to Damaraland and on to Etosha National Park. Each of these places deserves time. At the same time, there are driving days between them that we intentionally factor into our planning.
That is why Frank and Holger don't just look at the distance. They consider when guests will set off, what the road conditions are like, and what else they have planned after arrival. After a long day behind the wheel, it is nice to start the evening by checking in, having a meal, and getting a first look at your new surroundings.
The same applies to Etosha National Park in a different way: there is no schedule for wildlife viewing at a waterhole. Sometimes, simply staying put is the best part of the day. We leave room for that in our routes, too.
Three questions for your next day on the road
When planning a round trip through Namibia, it is worth pausing for a moment at each stage:
- What do you want to experience along the way? A route with many stops requires more time than simply driving from one accommodation to the next.
- How do you want to arrive? Is time to check in enough for you, or would you prefer to have a free afternoon?
- What are you giving up if you add another stop? Often, it is exactly the break you would have looked forward to later.
Namibia invites you to explore on your own terms. Perhaps the greatest freedom on this journey is being able to linger at a viewpoint for a few extra minutes without having to calculate what that means for the rest of your day.
