Namibia Road Trip

14 Days Across Desert, Dunes, Coastline and the Animal Kingdom

Join me on an unforgettable 14-day road trip across Namibia, from the capital Windhoek through the Namib Desert, all the way to the Atlantic coast and deep into the country’s largest National Park. This series covers highlights, tips, and stories from each stop — with plenty of photos and personal reflections along the way.

So… Why Namibia?

Honestly, it started as curiosity. That turned into fascination. And eventually, it became obsession.

Namibia is unlike anywhere else on Earth. Where else can you:

  • Climb the world’s tallest sand dunes at sunrise,
  • Stand beneath 900-year-old trees in a white clay pan,
  • Watch desert-adapted elephants and rhinos roam against a backdrop of mountains,
  • And fall asleep under some of the darkest skies on the planet?

It’s raw, vast, untamed, and still feels like a place the world hasn’t fully discovered yet. Which is exactly why we chose it.

We wanted adventure—but with solitude.
We wanted wildlife—but without the crowds.
We wanted landscapes that looked like another planet—yet were real and reachable.

Namibia checked all the boxes. It was:

  • Safe and easy to self-drive
  • Visually stunning at every turn
  • Filled with culture, history, and surreal beauty
  • And off the beaten path (but not impossible to navigate)

Also, we had heard whispers from other travelers that “once you go to Namibia, you always want to return.” Now we understand why.

Sossusvlei dunes: where every mile feels like a scene from another world.

Travel Party

Namibia is not for everyone so it is critical that your group is likeminded, patient, not snobby about accommodations, not picky about food, and immerses themselves in what a new destination has to offer. My group consisted of four guys, who had loosely-defined roles for the trip which worked out well. This was also our second trip to Africa (the previous year we went to Kenya and Tanzania), significantly mitigating the risk of not getting along in the middle of nowhere.

From left to right:

Me (hometown: Eden Prairie, Minnesota) – world traveler, driver for the trip, videographer for the trip, and responsible for positioning the car for that perfect shot (you are welcome Nausherwan and Nabeel).

Zef (friend, hometown: Eden Prairie, Minnesota) – sky diver, recreational pilot, my navigator and DJ for the road.

Nabeel (brother, hometown: Chicago, Illinois) – world traveler, photographer on the trip, recent travel blogger, family travel expert.

Nausherwan (friend, hometown: Prior Lake, Minnesota) – African wildlife expert, responsible for creating the itinerary, photographer on the trip, our local guide.

Route Map

Planning and Itinerary:

The travel diary is organized by each day with each section being a 3 to 9 minute read. Click on the links below to take you to a particular day or press the black button at the bottom of the page to continue reading in chronological order.

Next: Pre-planning