offwegooo.com
Travel guide
Etosha National Park
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to October
offwegooo.comPrint it, fold it, take it with you
Welcome
Etosha National Park, in a few days
Around 22,000 square kilometres of savannah surrounding a 4,760-square-kilometre salt pan visible from space. In the dry season the animals depend on the waterholes, and at Okaukuejo you can sit and watch elephants, lions and black rhinos file past.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Okaukuejo waterhole · about 1 hThe park's busiest waterhole, floodlit all night, with a low wall to sit behind; the camp also hosts the Etosha Ecological Institute.
- Afternoon · Salvadora and Charitsaub waterholes · about 1 hTwo springs on the southern edge of the pan, on a bare plain without a bush, so herds can be seen coming from kilometres away.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mushara Bush Camp€180 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Etosha Pan · about 30 minA clay and salt pan around 120 kilometres long, the remains of an ancient lake, dry most of the year and shimmering with mirages.
- Afternoon · Moringa waterhole at Halali · about 1 hWatched from stone tiers at Halali camp, below a dolomite hill; quieter than Okaukuejo, with black rhino, elephants and the occasional leopard.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Okutala Lodge€150 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Chudop waterhole · about 45 minA natural spring near Namutoni ringed by open ground with a wide view, and one of the park's best spots for lions and cheetahs.
- Afternoon · Fort Namutoni · about 30 minA white German fort; in January 1904 seven soldiers held off several hundred Ondonga fighters here before slipping away at night.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Etosha Safari Lodge€160 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Olifantsrus hide · about 1 hEtosha's only covered hide, on two levels directly above the waterhole, at a tented camp built on the site of a former elephant-culling abattoir.
- Afternoon · Dolomite Camp, western Etosha · half a dayA camp on a rocky ridge in the west, opened in 2011: dolomite hills, dense mopane, black-faced impala and Hartmann's mountain zebra.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hobatere Lodge€180 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Game meat: kudu, oryx and springbok, grilled and served as steaks or stews.
- Braai: the southern African barbecue, a social ritual as much as a meal.
- Biltong: strips of dried, spiced meat, the snack for every long drive.
- Oysters and fresh fish from the cold Atlantic, in Swakopmund and Walvis Bay.
- German heritage: pretzels, apple strudel and beer brewed to the old German purity law.
⚠️ Best avoided
- On gravel roads, carry a spare tyre and plenty of water, and keep your speed down: loose gravel rolls cars.
- Drive by day only: animals cross the roads at night.
- Book camps and lodges months ahead, especially inside the parks.
- Drink far more water than you think you need: the air is dry and the sun is strong.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyNamibian dollar (NAD)
BudgetAbout €145 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to October
PlugD/M · 220V
Tap waterSafe in the towns; carry bottled or treated water in the bush
TippingAppreciated, around 10%
Emergency112 / 10111
EntrySince 1 April 2025, EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports all need a visa. For UK, US, Canadian, Australian and most western EU passports it is issued on arrival at Windhoek airport and the main borders, or applied for online in advance, for NAD 1,600; other EU nationals should check with a Namibian embassy. The passport must be valid six months beyond arrival, with three blank pages.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. Malaria is present in the north and north-east, so ask about prophylaxis for your route; use repellent. A yellow fever certificate is required if you arrive from a country where it is present.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/etosha
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.