Namibia Itinerary: 5 Relaxing Days at the Dunes
This is a relaxing 5-day Namibia itinerary that’ll have you enjoy some beautiful places to rest and recover while also experiencing the adventure that Namibia has to offer.
I’ll start with the obvious: 5 days is definitely not enough to fully experience Namibia. However, it may be all you have—like it was for us!
The country is enormous and the road conditions are poor so you’ll spend a lot of time driving if you want to see everything at once. That said, you can easily enjoy some of the most unique parts of the country in 5 days.
You can also combo this with a trip to Cape Town or Johannesburg. Depending on where you fly from, you may have to transfer in South Africa anyways. We live in Joburg so it was an easy flight for us.
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Day 1: Explore Windhoek
- Spend 2 nights at Barkhan Dune Retreat
- 3-4 hour drive
Fly into Windhoek and rent a car. If you’re following my itinerary, I suggest you get an SUV, but you won’t need a 4×4. Don’t be tempted to get a sedan, even if it costs less. Once we left Windhoek, we didn’t see a single sedan on the roads until we returned: there is probably a reason for that.
If your flight timing allows it, explore some of Windhoek before heading off to Barkhan Dune Retreat. We landed at 11am and spent about 3 hours in Windhoek before driving to Barkhan. We made it to Barkhan just at sunset as the roads were worse than we expected and we didn’t change our tire pressure.
What to do in Windhoek
Park your car at the Independence Museum and then take a little walking tour. Read more about what to do in Windhoek. If you want to go on a tour instead of walking around yourself, check out this popular half-day trip around Windhoek and the local township.
Driving to Barkhan
You absolutely must take the road to Barkhan that passes through the town to Rehoboth. Don’t click “go” on Google Maps without checking first. This route is the best according to locals.
The paved road ends after Rehoboth. I’m not sure who told us the roads were great in Namibia but that’s not true—unless you’re sticking to the route that takes you into South Africa (so I’ve heard). There is a gas station at the end of Rehoboth; stop here and ask the attendants to reduce your tire pressure so that you can drive better on the gravel road. It makes such a difference.
For reference, our car’s regular tire pressure is supposed to be 21 but locals told us to have it reduced to 18. I was able to go from driving 40km to almost 80km. We didn’t do this the first day and I regretted it once I realized what an impact tire pressure has on how fast you can drive. Learn from my mistake and don’t skip this gas station.
The route via Rehoboth will also take you through the gorgeous Spreetshoogte Pass. Unfortunately, because I was driving so slowly, we didn’t have time to stop to take pictures but there are at least 2 designated pullouts for cars to stop. If you also don’t have time, don’t stress. You’ll drive this same route back on your last day.
At Barkhan, dinner and breakfast will be included in your rate. We arrived in time for sundowners and dinner. Lunch is available but we opted not to have this. Dinner is incredible at Barkhan and sourced locally whenever possible.
Be sure to look out for the cutie meerkats that run around the property: Amira and Maya. Read the Barkhan Dune Retreat Guide for all the details.
Namibia Itinerary Alternative Arrival
Instead of flying into Windhoek, you could fly into Walvis Bay and spend the afternoon in Swakopmund, a cutesy old Germanic town. Almost everyone we chatted to in Namibia loved Swakopmund and said we had to visit! The driving distance to Barkhan from Swakopmund is 3.5 hours.
Day 2: A Day at Barkhan Dune Retreat
Today is all about adventure at a leisurely pace, with a range of activities available at Barkhan Dune Retreat. This is one of the most beautiful lodges I’ve ever stayed in. The desert surroundings, pool, and wildlife are unmatched. Don’t miss out on this during your Namibia itinerary.
Start off with coffee and rusks in bed. At the reception house, you’ll join other guests around the communal table for breakfast.
I quickly became entranced with the meerkats that seemed so elusive the previous evening. Meerkats will be most active around 9am. Although they are used to humans for the most part (I got pretty close), they were swift to scurry away.
Later in the day, I took a well-deserved break by the beautiful pool but sadly ended up with a painful sunburn after failing to reapply sunscreen. So, learn from my (frequent mistake) and be sure to protect your skin from the Namibian sun’s strong rays.
Adventure
You can rent e-bikes to explore the desert surroundings. The bikes reached speeds of up to 20 km per hour!
For the more adventurous, a three-hour hike up the nearby mountain path is worth it for the breathtaking views of the desert landscape. However, we opted for a more laid-back afternoon and only hiked to the first lookout point (a 20-minute hike). We enjoyed sundowners against a spectacular backdrop.
Day 3: McGregor’s famous Apple Pie in Solitaire
- Spend 2 nights at Desert Quiver Camp
- Google says 1.5 hours, but it took us 3.5 to drive to Desert Quiver Camp
Spend the morning at Barkhan, then drive to McGregor’s Bakery for “famous apple pie” and lunch in Solitaire around 12pm. We opted for burgers, which were great. The apple pie is more of a novelty than a must-eat in my opinion; there were too many raisins in it for me (hehe).
Solitaire Lodge is located here as well and looks like a great option if you want to take it easy.
The most interesting about the location is the pile of abandoned cars. Look out for the ground squirrels too!
Here, you should also fill up on gas and buy some small grocery items like pasta and sauce.
Next, keep driving towards Sossusvlei. Check-in at Desert Quiver Camp. These are self-catering cabins with the option for breakfast and dinner at the nearby Lodge, which is the only place to eat. I really enjoyed staying here during our Namibia itinerary.
Sunset Dune Hike
The best dune to experience sunset in Sossusvlei is Elim Dune. This dune is the closest to the park entrance, so you can arrive the earliest and stay the latest before the national park gate closes at 7:15pm. Yes, the gate actually closes at 7:15pm and you have to be out.
Elim Dune may also be where you can spot oryx, as we did literally a minute into our dune climb!
You don’t need to hike all the way to the top to have great views over the surrounding desert. I suggest staying until 7pm for some golden hues then driving out.
Dinner at Sossusvlei Lodge
We opted to have dinner at Sossusvlei Lodge on both nights of our stay during our Namibia itinerary. I really enjoyed the buffet meal for R300 per person. Besides an array of salads, pasta, veggie, and rice dishes, the main feature of the buffet is the grill station. There is a veggie station for stir-fried noodles, a fish station, and the meats! There is an array of game meat including Wildebeest, Eland, Oryx, and Blesbock. I quickly became obsessed with the mixed game sausages. They were delicious!
Alternative dinner
If you want to braai, you can buy meat and picnic boxes directly from Desert Quiver Camp and they will send everything to you to braai yourself. The grocery store options outside of Windhoek are poor throughout this Namibia itinerary so bring everything you want from Windhoek. However, I don’t think veggies sausages or anything that needs to be frozen will survive the car journeys; unless you drive here directly. There are also groceries available (with basics and meat to braai) at the gas station located near the entrance of the park.
Alternative lodging options
I loved the cabin vibe at Desert Quiver Camp and so we chose that. There is another lodge on the same property called Desert Camp. Of course, you could stay at Sossusvlei Lodge as well.
You can also stay inside the national park. This will allow you to enter the second gate of the national park at 6am, instead of 7am for those who stay outside the camp. For us, the timing didn’t really make a difference as there wasn’t a long line of cars at 7am. Some options include:
- Sesriem Campsite
- Sesriem Oshana Camp (a little more luxurious than just a campsite space)
- For some extreme luxury, check out Little Kulala or Kulala Desert Lodge, both say they have private entrances into Sossusvlei
Day 4: Big Daddy Dune Hike
Wake up early and be in line to enter Sossusvlei by 7am. Check out more details and entrance fees on the how to visit Sossusvlei blog post.
Hike Big Daddy
For moderate hikers, Big Daddy will take about 1 hour and 15 min to climb, but the heat of the day may make the hike longer if you arrive after 10am.
If you are not familiar with driving a 4×4 in the sand, I suggest you stop at the end of the road and park. There is a shuttle (R180, round trip) that will take you to the second parking lot at the start of the dune’s hike. Although it’s possible to drive in yourself, you’ll get charged if you need to be rescued. It’s not worth the hassle.
How will you know which dune is Big Daddy? Just look for the tallest peak at 325 meters.
After reaching the top of the dune, run down the steep edge towards Deadvlei. It looks scary but running down is easy. Go in zig-zags and you’ll quickly gain confidence!
Deadvlei
Deadvlei, from “dead” in English and “vlei” in Afrikaans, which is a lake or march between dunes.
Deadvlei is an ancient clay pan that was formed over 900 years ago when the nearby river flooded, creating temporary pools allowing trees to grow. When the climate shifted and the lake was cut off from the river, the sand dunes encroached on the area. The remaining trees died and did not decompose because they were scorched by the intense sun.
You’ll walk across Deadvlei to get back to the pickup area. You could also choose to go further into Sossusvlei and visit Big Mamma Dune.
Do not touch the trees!
Afternoon
Go back to the camp and chill for the afternoon in the heat of the sun. If you’re staying at Desert Quiver Camp, you’ll have a fantastic little pool that will cool you down.
Evening Hike on Dune 45
Go back into Sossusvlei and hike Dune 45, or one of the others. We liked the curve of Dune 45 (at the 45k mark). It will take 30ish minutes to drive back to Dune 45 from the entrance. You should enter the park again at 4pm.
The hike will take just 20 minutes to reach the top, though it seems much harder once you start due to the incline but it’s really an easy climb.
And then a fun run down!
We also saw a lot of Oryx as we were leaving the park.
Sesriem Canyon
Before heading out, stop at Sesriem Canyon. You just need 10 minutes to get a quick look at the canyon, though you could also stay for an hour, exploring all the crevices. The canyon is about 4.5 kilometers from the entrance gate of the park.
The canyon was formed over millions of years by the Tsauchab River, which carved its way through the rocky terrain, exposing layers of sedimentary rock. It is named “Sesriem” (which means “six belts” in Afrikaans) after the early settlers who had to attach six leather belts together to lower buckets into the canyon to retrieve water during times of drought. The canyon stretches for approximately 2 kilometers and reaches depths of up to 30 meters.
Day 5: Back to Windhoek
Drive back to Windhoek to catch your evening flight. The drive will take around 4 hours. Be sure to take the same route back through Rehoboth. Stop at Spreetshoogte Pass if you didn’t get a chance on your first day.
Get lunch at Joe’s Beerhouse for some local oysters or grills! Double-check the Windhoek guide for more inspiration if you have time.
Extend your Stay
If you have the chance and are able to book well in advance for your Namibia itinerary, check out Voigtland Guesthouse near the airport. If you’ve seen the pictures of tea time with giraffes in Kenya, then you’ll love Voigtland. Here you can have high tea with giraffes at this exclusive spot. Check out the rates here. We reallllyyyy tried to make this work with our plans but I only realized this existed too late and the guesthouse was all booked up.
Go on a Tour during your Namibia Itinerary
Although Namibia is known for its road trips if the thought of a flat tire irks you or you’d rather have someone else plan all the details, check out some of these cool tours to add to your Namibia itinerary. We saw tour groups of all sizes; from large buses to private options.
- Although we didn’t have time for it, Etosha National Park is a popular destination for going on safari. Check out this popular tour if you’re planning to stay around that area.
- Walvis Bay is popular for day trips. If you want to see the sand dunes meet the ocean, go on this half-day adventure to see flamingos and Sandwich Harbor, as well as get lunch! If you wanna do a full day, check out this tour.