Flying Namibia's Skeleton Coast

After landing in Johannesburg, you’ll hop on your short connecting flight onwards to Windhoek, where you'll be met at the airport and driven to your hotel in the suburbs. Your 4WD hire car will be delivered this afternoon, and you’ll receive a full briefing on the car, routes and plenty of top tips for driving in Namibia. This evening, you might want to sample the local institution, Joe's Beerhouse, or head to The Olive Restaurant, two very different Windhoek eateries!

Today, you'll head west to the coastal town of Swakopmund, nestled between the dunes of the Namib Desert and the Atlantic Ocean. The drive is straightforward, with changing desert scenery as you approach the coast. On arrival, settle into your guesthouse or hotel and explore the palm-lined streets of one of Namibia’s most charming and walkable towns.

Enjoy a full day in Swakopmund. Alongside its distinctive German colonial architecture and lively café culture, there’s plenty to do here. Head out on an optional kayaking trip with seals at Pelican Point, try sandboarding or quad biking in the desert, or join a marine cruise from nearby Walvis Bay. In the evening, tuck into fresh seafood at one of the town’s excellent restaurants.

This morning, you’ll transfer to the local airstrip for the start of a serious adventure, your Skeleton Coast Safari, a four-day adventure into one of the most remote and hauntingly beautiful regions on Earth. A small light aircraft will be your transfer vehicle for the next four days, and your pilot will double as a guide for the small number of lucky passengers. Today's landings will include lunch on a beach near the fur seal colony at Cape Cross, and an ancient rock art site close to your rustic camp in the Kuidas area.

You’ve got a full day to explore the jaw-dropping landscapes and unique desert flora and fauna of the Skeleton Coast today. Your morning will involve a nature drive around the Huab River Valley, where you might be lucky enough to spot a desert-adapted elephant. After a tasty lunch at camp, hop on a flight north along the coast to Terrace Bay, tucked away in Skeleton Coast National Park. Keep your eyes out of the window, there are a number of shipwrecks to view along the way. After landing on the coast, head off on an exciting dune drive and a guided walk along the beach, before another flight north to camp in the Hoarusib Valley of the Kunene Region.

Your day begins with a scenic drive and a visit to a fascinating nomadic Himba community, where you’ll gain a valuable insight into the customs and semi-nomadic lifestyle of this proud and unique group of people. You’ll then take to the skies again for a flight to the furthest northern reaches of Namibia, in the Kunene region that borders Angola. Here you’ll visit the Kaiu Maru shipwreck and enjoy a nature drive in the beautiful Hartmann Valley, before settling in for a night in your new camp under wide, star-filled skies.

This morning, a boat cruise on the Kunene River will serve up plenty of stunning scenery, varied birdlife and some curious crocs, too! After lunch, you'll fly back to Windhoek, where your Skeleton Coast Safari ends, you’ll say goodbye to your pilot guide and be whisked off for a night in the city. Over dinner this evening, there will be lots of stories to tell!

After a relaxing morning and leisurely brunch, you’ll be picked up and transferred to the airport for your flight back to Johannesburg. Your final flight will bring you home through the night.