Wolwedans Boulders Camp
Hardap
Desert biome · Camel thorn
Price on request
Desert stays
Across Africa
Wolwedans Plains Camp
Hardap
Desert biome · Camel thorn · Shepherd s tree
Price on request
Wolwedans Desert Lodge
Hardap
Desert biome · Camel thorn · Shepherd s tree
Price on request
Wolwedans Dune Camp
Hardap
Desert biome · Camel thorn · Shepherd s tree
Price on request
Frontier River Resort
Northern Cape
Desert biome · Spekboom
From R 2,050 a night
Shipwreck Lodge
Kunene
Desert biome · Cape fur seal · Giraffe
Price on request
Kwessi Dunes
Hardap
Desert biome · Black backed jackal · Gemsbok
Price on request
Sendelingsdrif Rest Camp
Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park
Desert biome · Halfmens · Quiver tree
From R 311 a night
Mile 72
Dorob National Park
Desert biome · Cape fur seal · Black backed jackal
From R 960 a night
Mile 108
Dorob National Park
Desert biome · Cape fur seal · Black backed jackal
From R 960 a night
Jakkalsputz
Dorob National Park
Desert biome · Cape fur seal · Black backed jackal
From R 1,520 a night
Torra Bay Campsite
Skeleton Coast Park
Desert biome · Black backed jackal · Cape fur seal
From R 2,480 a night
Terrace Bay Resort
Skeleton Coast Park
Desert biome · Black backed jackal · Cape fur seal
From R 3,480 a night
Tsaurab Valley Eco Camp
Uis
Desert biome · African elephant · Shepherd s tree
Supports Elephant-Human Relations Aid
Price on request
Hoanib Valley Camp
Kunene
Desert biome · African elephant · Giraffe
Price on request
True desert in Southern Africa means the Namib and the arid margins that run into the Richtersveld and the Kalahari fringe: less than a hundred millimetres of rain a year, fog rolling in off a cold ocean, and plants and animals that live on it. It is the oldest desert on earth and the least likely landscape in the region to feel like anywhere else.
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Sossusvlei's red dunes, the Skeleton Coast where the sand meets the Atlantic, NamibRand as a certified dark-sky reserve, and the mountain desert of the Richtersveld along the Orange River are the places to stay. Season is a practical matter rather than a scenic one: the cooler months from April to September make the days bearable and the nights cold, and midsummer on the sand is genuinely punishing. The coast is cool and foggy in every month.
Distances are long, fuel stops are far apart and much of it is gravel, so a desert trip is planned around the driving as much as the sights. What you get back is silence, scale, some of the clearest night skies anywhere, and animals that should not be able to live there: desert-adapted elephants on the dry riverbeds, oryx on the dunes, and a fog-basking beetle that drinks from its own back.
Questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit the desert?
April to September, when days are bearable and the light is clean. Nights are cold, sometimes below freezing, so pack for both. Midsummer is very hot on the sand, and the Atlantic coast stays cool and foggy in every month.
Where can I stay in the desert?
Sossusvlei and the Sesriem area inside the Namib-Naukluft park, the NamibRand reserve south of it, the Skeleton Coast camps, and the Richtersveld along the Orange River on the South African side. Camps range from national park rest camps to small private lodges on private reserves.
Do I need a 4x4?
Not for the main Namibian routes, which are graded gravel and fine for a two-wheel-drive with clearance, driven slowly. The Richtersveld, the Kaokoveld and the coastal sand concessions do need one. Carry extra water, fuel and two spares, and tell someone your route.