Desert dreams & dunes: A grand journey across Namibia

Your Namibian adventure begins with a warm welcome in Windhoek, the country’s capital and its gateway to the wild. After arriving at the airport, you’ll be met by a representative and transferred to a boutique hotel for the night.

Windhoek is a charming and compact city that blends African energy with German colonial influence.

After breakfast, board a shared charter flight bound for Sesriem, gateway to the spectacular NamibRand Nature Reserve. From the air, you’ll see Namibia’s vast and shifting landscapes unfold beneath you – rippling dunes, sun-scorched plains and jagged mountain ridges that hint at the otherworldly beauty to come.

You’ll spend the next three nights at a remote desert lodge nestled deep within the reserve. This region isn’t about spotting big game but rather embracing Namibia’s raw, elemental beauty. Think: golden light cast across ochre sands, oryx silhouetted against the horizon and star-studded skies so vivid they seem almost surreal.

Your spacious suite offers comfort and character, with canvas walls, thatched roofs and its own open-air stargazing room – a magical spot to drift off beneath the Milky Way. Between relaxing at the lodge and cooling off in the pool, days are filled with desert adventures: quad biking across ancient dunes, guided nature walks through the plains and scenic drives that showcase the reserve’s extraordinary biodiversity. Optional extras include hot air balloon rides at dawn, horse riding or a helicopter flight for a bird’s-eye view of this dramatic terrain.

After one final breakfast in the desert, you’ll take a scenic flight north to the coastal town of Swakopmund, where golden dunes meet the Atlantic Ocean. This characterful town blends colonial German architecture with a laid-back seaside vibe, offering a refreshing change of pace.

Over the next two nights, stay at a charming boutique guesthouse or hotel, ideally located for exploring the town’s galleries, cafés and historic buildings. You’ll have the option to join a full-day excursion to nearby Walvis Bay and Sandwich Harbour – a surreal, salt-swept landscape where towering dunes plunge straight into the sea. On this adventure, you might spot flamingos, jackals, pelicans and, if you’re lucky, brown hyena or even dolphins riding the surf.

From Swakopmund, you’ll fly into the heart of Namibia’s hauntingly beautiful Skeleton Coast: a remote stretch of shoreline where towering dunes, windswept plains and bleached whale bones tell stories of shipwrecks and survival. Your flight into Möwe Bay is a scenic experience in itself, revealing the dramatic contrasts between desert and ocean.

Spend two nights at a stylish yet understated wilderness camp in this otherworldly landscape. Daily guided excursions might take you to windswept seal colonies, rusting shipwreck remains and desert oases where lion, brown hyena and elephant roam against the odds. The silence here is profound, the beauty stark and elemental.

Continue your journey inland to the Hoanib River region, a remote and rugged part of the Kaokoveld known for its desert-adapted wildlife and stark natural beauty. This area is one of the best places in Namibia to encounter desert-dwelling elephant, giraffe, oryx and, if you’re lucky, even lion.

You’ll spend two nights at an intimate tented camp nestled along a dry riverbed, surrounded by rocky hills and ancient valleys. Morning and afternoon game drives explore this dramatic wilderness, often following ephemeral riverbeds where wildlife gathers in search of water.

Fly east to Ongava Private Game Reserve, a 30,000-hectare conservation success story bordering Etosha National Park. This is classic big game territory, where plains teem with wildlife and the iconic white salt pans of Etosha stretch to the horizon. Ongava is one of the few places in Namibia where both black and white rhino roam freely, and it offers some of the most rewarding game viewing in the country.

Spend two nights at an upscale lodge with expansive views over the savannah. Activities here include game drives on both the private reserve and into Etosha National Park, as well as guided bush walks and visits to photographic hides where you can observe wildlife up close at waterholes.

Continue your journey northeast to Onguma Nature Reserve, a 34,000-hectare private reserve bordering the eastern edge of Etosha. With its mix of open plains, woodland and seasonal waterholes, Onguma is home to more than 30 different mammal species, including lion, cheetah and rhino, as well as over 300 bird species, making it a paradise for photographers and wildlife lovers alike.

You’ll spend two nights at a refined lodge that blends comfort with a deep sense of place. From here, head out on guided game drives or relax on your private veranda as wildlife wanders past. The reserve offers both day and night drives, and there’s also the option to explore the neighbouring section of Etosha for contrasting scenery and species.

Your final safari stop takes you to Okonjima Nature Reserve, a 22,000-hectare private reserve nestled among the Omboroko Mountains. Best known as the home of the AfriCat Foundation, Okonjima plays a key role in carnivore research and rehabilitation, particularly for leopards, hyenas and brown hyenas.

Spend your last two nights at a stylish lodge that combines contemporary comfort with a strong conservation ethos.

After breakfast, it’s time to say farewell to Namibia’s wild landscapes.