The ultimate list of travel tips in Namibia. Need a 4×4? what to consider and how to praise a. Great campsites and camping tips. Car tips from refueling to flat tires. Best sim card for calling and internet. Great maps and phone apps to help you not to get lost and find a campsite! Use our packing list to check if you have everything!
CAR
Do I need a 4×4 to cross Namibia?
You can get to most places with a normal limousine car, 4×4 is not necessary, but the gravel roads to some locations are not great. This can lead to minor vehicle damage and really uncomfortable driving if you don’t drive slowly.
Can I rent?
The rental of 4×4 is a large company in Namibia and there are many companies to choose from. There are hundreds of tourists walking around in fully equipped 4×4 with tents on the roof.
You can rent a 4×4 with camping equipment. Usually this means tent on the roof, table, camping chairs, cooler box, gas stove, sleeping bags and everything you need for camping.
Things that affect the rental price:
Single or double cabin bakkie (truck)
Accessories
Insurance package of
limited / unlimited mileage
Place of pickup and deposit, RSA usually slightly cheaper than Namibia
season: Low Season Jan-June, High Nov-Dec, Peak July-Oct
We talked to many travelers about their cars, stock accessories, pick-up and drop-off at the same place and minimal insurance in low season is a good deal. In Namibia you drive long distances, take unlimited kilometers!
Namibia Car Tips
Tyre bursts
Burst tires are very common, and the cities are far away. If you have a puncture on one of the gravel roads in the middle of nowhere, it can take hours or even days for another vehicle to pass and help. It is a good idea to prepare to cope with two burst tires in one day. Many people I know had problems with the tires, but we drove 12,000 km without problems. If you drive slowly and look for large rocks and pot holes, you should be fine.
Pack
Puncture repair kit, you can fix most punctures-they quickly quickly
2 spare tires, small chance that you need both, but if you get two apartments alone in the middle of nowhere, you have a Problem. A replacement kit and a repair kit should be more than enough.
Take a small compressor, they are cheap, when you empty the tires to drive in the sand, you need to inflate them again. Also required when fixing a tire with the repair kit.
Petrol
Fill your car at any gas station. If you can travel 400 km with your car after refueling, you should never get out of the gas.
Jerrycan-we had a 10 liter can of extra fuel, we adhered to the above rule and never had to use our extra fuel.
Take a car across the border between South Africa and Namibia
The process is quite fast and painless
The cost R260 valid for 3 months includes insurance to third parties.
Required Documents:
Valid driver’s passport
Certified copy of vehicle registration documents in the name of the driver
Authorization letter of the owner registered if the vehicle does not belong to the driver
If the vehicle is still funded, bring a letter of approval from the bank (must include travel details) along with the driver’s license papers.
Valid driving license
Transit Book: only required if the vehicle is shipped to Namibia.
Za Sticker: Available at any AA accredited Sales Agent Store
Car insurance certificate: available free of charge at the border. Valid for 30 days
CAMPING IN NAMIBIA
This is certainly the way to Namibia, it is the only affordable accommodation. Namibia is all about nature and what better way to experience it than camping. There are many fantastic campsites throughout Namibia.
Government campsites are expensive per night. Many private lodges also have a campground with access to facilities that are much better than on state websites for less than.
Compare the cost with lodges from 1000 NAM NAM for a double room.
We camp on great campsites!
MAP and APPLICATION. Phone apps for traveling in Namibia
It’s nice to have a map with campsites on it for planning. We used the book and the map” where to go camping ” wheretostay.well, that is very useful.
Since there is no phone reception everywhere, it is better to have an offline map, mapps.me is a free navigation app that worked well for us.
ioverlander is a very useful application that works offline, it shows the campsites with the prices of the facilities and reviews, it’s a super practical application was in Namibia. Click here for some useful Apps for backpackers:
TELEPHONE AND INTERNET
Airtime and data are ridiculously cheap in Namibia compared to South Africa. It is convenient to have Internet access and call campsites, lodges, etc.
In our experience, the best deal was with the provider MTC.
The purchase of the AWO gig package worked well for us, NAD 3 30 (2 2) for 1GB data, 100 minutes of phone calls and 700SMS (only in Namibia, of course, no Roaming).
FOOD AND WATER IN NAMIBIA
Driving in the desert, you will be thirsty!
Tap water in Namibia is drinkable in some places, but even if it does not have a pleasant taste.
Bring a few large 5L water bottles you can fill them for pretty cheap in some supermarkets.
There are campsites with good quality water, fill all your bottles at these campsites!
WIMPY-these breakfast and burger restaurants are throughout the day in Namibia, we had many special dishes for breakfast, bacon and eggs for NAM 2 29 (2 2).
Biltong and droe wors-in South Africa and Namibia we live on these snacks of dry meat, I promise you, you will get addicted and may have to immigrate!
Braai aliens call it a grill, there is no defined time to start cooking, it depends on how much wood we have, according to “caveman TV” can continue until the early hours of the morning, watching the fire and the stars talking nonsense. It all depends on how much alcohol we have.