Namibia Highlights Fly-In Safari

At a glance

Sossusvlei, Damaraland and Etosha

If you’re short on time and want to include the main highlights of Namibia in just a week. This luxury fly-in safari explores the deserts in Sossusvlei, the landscapes of Damaraland and wildlife in Etosha. Visit Namibia’s iconic Big Three destinations with a 7-day highlights fly-in that hops from luxurious safari lodge to luxurious safari lodge in a rather comfortable and spectacular manner. Starting and ending in Namibia’s capital city, Windhoek, you will fly over the great sand sea to iconic destination #1: Sossusvlei; then over the Skeleton Coast to iconic destination #2: Damaraland; and finish off with a classic big game safari at iconic destination #3: Etosha National Park. This luxury fly-in safari is reversible and available in three levels of comfort: ultra-luxury, luxury and standard. You can also extend the itinerary by as many days as you wish to include some of Namibia’s other major destinations like Swakopmund, Kaokoland and the Caprivi.

Flying between camps turns the travelling days into part of the safari: an hour over the dunes or the escarpment instead of a day on gravel, and more time where it matters. Every flight, transfer and activity is arranged; you simply arrive.

Sossusvlei

Nights 1 to 2 · Hoodia Desert Lodge

Damaraland

Nights 3 to 4 · Camp Kipwe

Etosha

Nights 5 to 6 · Mushara Bush Camp

Travel dates

Travel any time · best from May to October

The dry season, May to October, brings cool clear mornings, thin bush and animals concentrated at the waterholes; it is also the busiest, so the lodges book out early. November to April is hotter and greener, with dramatic skies and far fewer vehicles at the waterholes.

Travel dates are yours to choose. Tell us roughly when, and we check availability at every property and on every flight before anything is held.

When to go

May to October is the classic season: dry, cool at night, and the best game viewing in Etosha as the waterholes draw everything in. Desert mornings can be close to freezing in June and July, so pack a warm layer for early starts. November to April is the green season, hot inland with short afternoon storms that clear quickly, newborn antelope and, in a good year, water on the pan. Swakopmund is cool and often foggy in the mornings whatever the month; the fog burns off by late morning.

What is decided: the shape of the trip: the areas, the order, the properties and the number of nights in each. It is the version we would build first for most travellers.

What we confirm together: your dates, who is travelling, room categories and any extensions before or after. Every safari is tailored from here, and nothing is held until you ask us to.

The route

Three camps linked by light aircraft

The loop runs from Windhoek through Sossusvlei, Damaraland and Etosha and back to Windhoek. Each leg is a scheduled light-aircraft flight of roughly one to two hours, with the camps handling every airstrip transfer. The only driving is in the game vehicles.

SossusvleiLight aircraft from Windhoek
DamaralandLight aircraft from Sossusvlei
EtoshaLight aircraft from Damaraland

Flight times are approximate and schedules are confirmed the evening before. Luggage on light aircraft is limited to about 20 kg per person in soft bags.

Press play to follow the route. Dashed legs are flights, solid legs are by road. Drag to explore, scroll to zoom.

Day by day

Seven days, three properties

01-02

Windhoek → Sossusvlei

Arrival, Sossusvlei

From Windhoek International Airport or Eros Domestic you will fly over the Khomas Hochland and the Naukluft Mountains down the 1000m escarpment to Sossusvlei in the Namib Desert.

On the way: A sneak preview of Sossusvlei, the main attraction. A glide through the air seen you will witness an endless sea of copper-and-ochre sand dunes stretching to the Skeleton Coast and the Atlantic Sea.

When you’re there: Your must-do activity is an excursion into Sossusvlei. Wander about Dead Pan, with its eerie dream-like collection of petrified acacia trees and red dunes rising sheer from the salt-white pan. Climb a dune and capture the full force of a sea of red sand dunes as far as you can see at sunrise.

Back on your private nature reserve you can take scenic game drives into the desert looking for creatures great, small and odd. Sunsets are saluted in traditional African fashion and the evening under the desert sky will lull you into a deep and peaceful sleep.

*Scheduled activities included (details on request.

Overnight · Hoodia Desert Lodge · 2 nights

03-04

Sossusvlei → Damaraland

Damaraland

When you’ve had your fill of cloudless blue skies, vast open spaces, ever-changing hues and pristine wilderness it’s time for your next Namibian treat - Damaraland.

On the way: As you fly over one of the world’s largest nature reserves the land changes from dunes and mountains to vast plains that collide with a dune belt along the Skeleton Coast past Conception Bay, Sandwich Harbour and Walvis Bay. It’s a pretty scenic flight. You will land in Swakopmund to re-fuel your plane for the flight to Twyfelfontein in Damaraland.

When you’re there: Twyfelfontein is the scene of Africa’s most concentrated collection of San rock art and the scenery is tranquil, picturesque and unique.

Birding, geology, nature walks and scenic drives compliment the unique Namibian experience that is Damaraland. Go in search of the desert-adapted elephants and other wildlife.

1 x Nature drive to search for the desert-adapted elephants and other wildlife.

Overnight · Camp Kipwe · 2 nights

05-06

Damaraland → Etosha

Etosha

Your mid-morning flight takes you over Damaraland to the southern border of Etosha National Park.

On the way: As you fly over Damaraland the land rises and levels out to form game-rich savannah plains that support the spectrum of southern African wildlife and several endemics to boot.

When you’re there: No visit to Namibia would be complete without a safari in Etosha National Park.

Your two days in Etosha offer the traditional classic African wildlife safari with all of the big game and plains species present in great numbers. Top this with a unique national park that has a massive pan in the middle surrounded by natural waterholes and you have an exceptional game viewing experience.

*All scheduled game drives included with the lodge.

Overnight · Mushara Bush Camp · 2 nights

Etosha → Windhoek

Departure

Bid farewell to the wildlife, the peace and tranquility and the unspoiled scenery as you fly back to Windhoek in time to catch your outbound flight at the end of your amazing Namibia highlights fly-in safari tour.

Overnight · Departure day

The practical side

Good to know

The flights: Light aircraft link the camps, usually a Cessna Caravan or similar, flown by the charter operators we have used for years. Flights are scheduled the evening before; the camps hand you over at the airstrip and collect you at the other end.
Luggage: Light aircraft have a strict limit of about 20 kg per person, including hand luggage, in soft bags without wheels or frames. Hard cases can be stored in Windhoek for the duration of the safari.
Meals and activities: The safari camps are fully inclusive: all meals, most drinks and two guided activities a day with the camp's own guides. Town hotels are on a bed and breakfast basis, with the restaurants a short walk away.
Optional activities: Hot-air ballooning at Sossusvlei, scenic flights, dolphin cruises and desert excursions on the coast, and specialist experiences such as rhino tracking are bookable in advance and paid locally or added to your itinerary.
Connectivity: A local SIM card is available at the airport on arrival. Most camps have Wi-Fi in the main area only, and some of the remoter ones have none at all. It is part of the appeal.
What to pack: Layers: desert mornings in winter are cold, afternoons hot. A warm jacket for open-vehicle game drives, a hat, good sun protection, closed shoes for walking, binoculars, and soft bags rather than hard cases.

Next steps

From this sample to your own safari

Tell us what appeals.Use the enquiry button on this page, or write to hello@secretnamibia.com, with rough dates, who is travelling and anything you would change: more nights, a different lodge, a few days somewhere else at the end.
We tailor it.Within a day or two you have a version built around you, the same shape if you like it or a different one, with a firm quote for your dates and party.
We hold the rooms.Once the shape is right we place provisional holds at every property and on the flights, at no cost and with no obligation, usually for a week or two.
Deposit and confirmation.A deposit turns the holds into confirmed bookings. The balance is due before travel, and we look after everything from there until you are home again.

This page is a sample itinerary, not a quote, and nothing on it is booked or held. If it suits someone you know, send them the link; we are just as happy to start from scratch for them.

Namibia Highlights,
Fly-In Safari

Sossusvlei, Damaraland and Etosha

When to go

Three camps linked by light aircraft

Seven days, three properties

Arrival, Sossusvlei

Damaraland

Etosha

Departure

Where you sleep

Hoodia Desert Lodge

Camp Kipwe

Mushara Bush Camp

Good to know

Your journey includes

Please budget separately for

From this sample to your own safari

Shall we plan your version?

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Namibia

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