Why Namibia is the #1 Safari Destination

Namibia has never been most travelers’ choice for a first-time safari. Instead, it’s the destination for the seasoned third- or fourth-time visitor to Africa.

But all that has changed.

And for good reason.

The country is a hidden gem on the safari circuit – a vast and wild tourist-friendly country full of a variety of options incomparable to other safari destinations.

Besides having exceptional wildlife – including the world’s last free-ranging population of black rhino, and one fourth of the world’s remaining 8,000 wild cheetahs, Namibia is home to the unique desert-adapted lions and elephants of Damaraland, and the nomadic Himba and San people, as well as one of the most remote camps in Southern Africa.

You can get off the beaten path like no where else in Africa. Some lodges are so remote you can only get their by plane.

Namibia’s night sky is so unpolluted by city lights you can sleep under one of the most star studded skin in the world.

Hugging the Atlantic, northern Namibia’s Skeleton Coast is dotted with whalebones, shipwrecks, and the largest breeding colony of Cape fur seals found anywhere. The famous burnt orange 1,000 foot high Big Daddy sand dunes of the Sossusvlei desert is one of the most photographed sites in all of Africa.

In the far south, there is the ghost town of Kolmanskop, with its abandoned sand-filled buildings, and Africa’s deepest gorge, the Fish River Canyon (a hikers paradise).

Arguably one of the best wildlife parks in Africa is Namibia’s Etosha National Park. It was here that I went on my first ever safari back in 1985. The watering holes on Africa’s largest dry saltpan are wildlife magnets. My memories from one of the greatest wildlife shows I have ever experienced at one of these watering holes hooked my heart and set me up for my lifelong passion for Africa and my career as a safari planner.

Safaris to Namibia

Whether you are a seasoned safari traveler or this is your first time, if you are considering the exceptionally unique country of Namibia I would love to help plan a custom journey just for you.

**all photos courtesy of safari client Henry Holdsworth, Wild by Nature Gallery