If you are planning a high-end flying safari around the remote parts of Namibia, then it should be easy enough to include either a flying visit to the Skeleton Coast or a few nights at Shipwreck Lodge. A full overland expedition is more difficult to fit into such a short trip.
5-9 nights
This is the most popular duration for a trip including an overland expedition into the Skeleton Coast, often in combination with a self-drive segment around the more commonly-visited and accessible parts of the country. Flying trips are sometimes as long as this.
10-14 nights
Longer trips can combine an extensive overland expedition into the Skeleton Coast, with a long self-drive trip, with more ambitious routes potentially heading all the way up the Caprivi Strip to end at Victoria Falls. Or we can start to combine with locations in other countries.
15-24 nights
Tanzania
Set on the East Coast of Africa, Tanzania is a truly remarkable place, the richest and most diverse safari country, with far more than its fair share of Africa’s crown jewels, including Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar.
This is the place to head if you are looking for a truly diverse African experience, usually an overland journey, with equal parts of epic wildlife, majestic volcanic scenery, authentic tribespeople, farms, villages and towns.
It’s also top of the list if you want to combine safari and tropical beaches.
In all honesty, Tanzania alone is worth several trips.
Trips from USD 4500
Where to go on safari?
Kenya
Also on the East Coast of Africa, Kenya is the second most visited safari country on the continent, a place of great diversity, with popular reserves including the Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo and Samburu, as well as some much more remote wilderness areas and an extensive tropical coastline.
Unfortunately, the better known reserves in Kenya can get very busy in core areas, so we need to tread carefully to deliver a quality safari.
If you are looking towards the upper end of the budget range, then trips can be remote and fabulous. But if you are looking for value, you may be better off looking at Tanzania or countries further south.
Trips from USD 5000
Botswana
Moving to the south of the continent, Botswana is widely considered to offer the highest quality safari in Africa.
The experience is not as diverse as Tanzania, but the remoteness and purity of the bush experience is unsurpassed.
If you are looking for either an easy vacation or a deeply immersive wilderness experience, this is the place. We just need to be careful about the very high prices during the Jun-Oct dry season.
Botswana is great in combination with Victoria Falls, the Cape or the tropical beaches of Mozambique.
Trips from USD 6000
Our safari experts have incredible
first-hand knowledge and an average
of 12 years experience building great
trips.
Expertise and experience
Since 1999, we have created over a million sample trips and helped over 120,000 guests fall in love with safari Africa.
A proud history
Over the years we have polished our operation to be super-reliable. Arranging your trip should be almost as much fun as going on safari.
Seamless and fun
Your trip should cost no more than if
you had booked all the components directly. You effectively get our services for free.
Delivering value
Every single trip that we build is unique. Your trip will be precisely tailored to meet the exact requirements of everyone in your group.
Supremely tailor-made
ATR is widely recognised as the world’s leading tailor-made safari company. We will help you to find a more authentic, more exciting, better value safari.
The first safari company on the internet, we helped to shape the modern safari and we continue to be the prime innovators in our field.
Original innovators
Tell us your whatever you know about your ideal trip. Whether you're drawn to specific wildlife, particular regions, or have preferences about the style of accommodation, the more we understand, the better we can help you to craft the perfect experience.
Share your ideas
South Africa
South Africa is by far the most popular location for safari. It is a vast and incredibly diverse country, with far more highlights than could ever be included in a single trip.
The primary trip shape is a combination of safari in Kruger, with time in Cape Town, the Whale Coast and the Cape Winelands.
There is a huge choice of safari accommodation, right across the price spectrum, including some of the best lower cost options in Africa, so this is often the place to head on a lower budget.
However, South Africa is a much more developed country than those further north and the safari experience can feel significantly less pure and wild.
Trips from USD 3500
Zimbabwe
Also in the southern part of Africa, Zimbabwe is best known for the Victoria Falls, but also offers some of the most earthy, authentic, heart-pumping safari on the continent.
If you are looking for a short safari of 3-5 nights, then Hwange has some great value options.
Otherwise, Zimbabwe is a relatively high-priced location, which appeals most to experienced Africa travellers, who appreciate the extremely high levels of safari guiding.
The walking safari here can be truly extraordinary, with deliberate approaches onto elephants and lions.
Trips from USD 4500
Zambia
Set in southcentral Africa, Zambia is a delightful backwater, also best known for the Victoria Falls, but with a handful of superb safari reserves.
The camps here have a reputation for intimacy, authenticity and a pleasantly homespun feel, many with a marked leaning towards walking safari, which is always a good sign.
Zambia is a mid-to-high price safari environment, which tends to appeal most to experienced safari travellers in search of new frontiers and first timers who are specifically looking for somewhere unusual for their safari.
Trips from USD 5000
April to May is a calm transitional period, with mild temperatures, lighter winds and excellent visibility along the coast. Conditions are ideal for exploration, access is reliable, and visitor numbers remain extremely low.
Apr-May
June to October is the main fog season. Cool mornings often bring a thick coastal mist, which typically burns off by late morning, creating dramatic scenery. Conditions are comfortable, wildlife adapted to fog moisture is active, and visitor numbers remain minimal.
Jun-Oct
November to December marks the start of the windier period. Onshore winds become more noticeable, adding to the raw coastal atmosphere. Conditions remain dry and cool, access is generally good, and the area retains its sense of isolation.
Nov-Dec
January to March is the peak windy period, with stronger coastal winds and occasional inland river flow reaching the coast. Tracks may be briefly affected, but delays are usually short. Landscapes feel wild and elemental, and visitor numbers are close to zero.
Jan-Mar
Your dedicated safari specialist will work with you to build a selection of sample trips. We'll discuss seasonality, wildlife movements, logistics, lodge options, activity levels, whatever is necessary. And we will keep on refining until we are all confident that we have reached the perfect trip.
Crafting your trip
Everything is arranged. All you need to do is turn up. You probably won’t even need to show your paperwork, you will simply glide from one group of friendly and efficient local hosts to the next. And our support team remains on hand throughout, leaving you free to focus entirely on the extraordinary experiences ahead.
Travel with confidence
"This was our third trip with ATR and it was another outstanding adventure. I cannot recommend them highly enough, not even a niggle. I'm sure I will start planning our next adventure soon. One should visit Africa, it's the most amazing continent and the people are wonderful. There is nothing like it."
Monique Pancake, California USA
"An outstanding Namibia adventure"
"Every detail was seamless, and perfect, from pickup at the international airport, after long flights from the US, transfer to the domestic airport, flights between camps, and of course the camps themselves. I cannot say enough about the service we received from ATR planning the trip, and the experience we had on our 13 day safari!"
Glynis Dohn, New York USA
“ATR was incredibly helpful and patient, putting together the perfect safari trip for 8 of us”
with the world's leading tailor-made safari company
Authentic Skeleton Coast Safaris
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Google Reviews 4.9
When to go on safari on the Skeleton Coast?
"“Exceptional” - “Stunning” - “Best-in-Class” . Above all it’s the magical combination of local knowledge, a can-do attitude and a deeply intuitive understanding of their clients that sets ATR apart and keeps us coming back to them. Whatever it is you are looking for, be it amazing nature, sightings of the rarest species, engaging with local culture, camps with that extra bit of luxury, tips on self-drive, ATR has the perfect solution."
Nick Macrae, UK
"It’s hard to find a word that conveys strongly enough the superb experience we have had each time."
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Google Review
How long to spend on the Skeleton Coast?
How to book your safari
About us
Frequently asked questions
Many of us here at ATR have travelled extensively with our own kids, so we know for a fact that safari is great for families.
This is the kind of trip that guarantees to generate memories that you will share for the rest of your lives.
However, there are significant health issues to consider in most safari areas, so we need to proceed with caution.
Most dry season safari is ideal for kids of 12 years and older, eminently feasible for kids 8-11 years and potentially viable from 6-7 years old. If your kids are 0-5 years, then it’s probably best to stick to the non-malarial areas of the Cape, then progressing up into Namibia as they get older.
Family safari
Safari is an inherently romantic experience that can be endlessly tailored to suit you.
We have been helping guests to build awesome honeymoons for many years. We have intimate knowledge of some of the wildest and most romantic places in the world.
Perhaps the most important piece of advice is to be yourselves. Please don’t feel it is necessary to fit into the usual romantic tropes if they’re not for you. Just focus on having a great trip.
We very much understand the importance of these trips, we know that your honeymoon needs to really hit the heights and be a truly life-punctuating experience.
Honeymoon safari
On safari, luxury means different things to different people.
The most conventional meaning is that the accommodations are extremely comfortable, with elevated levels of hospitality. This is relatively easy to deliver, there are lots of luxury lodges.
However, simply inserting more luxurious lodges into your trip is no guarantee of a better safari. In fact, the opposite can be true.
For us, the hallmarks of a truly high quality safari are a suitably slow pace, wonderful remote locations, superb safari guiding, exclusive and intense wildlife interaction, precisely tailored experiences and considered attention to detail. We can do that.
Luxury safari
Join the select band of people who have explored this incredible region.
Time to seal your fate!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Google Review
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Google Review
We offer safaris in over twenty countries in Africa. Here are quick overviews of the six most popular countries, which contain over 95% of the best savanna safari lodges. If you are interested in other locations, click on the yellow button and let us know your thoughts.
How much to spend on a safari in Namibia?
The cost of safari in Namibia depends very much on your mode of travel.
Self-drive trips tend to fall in the range USD 150 to 500 per person per night, depending mainly on the lodges that you choose.
Flying safaris are fundamentally and unavoidably more expensive, at USD 600 to 2500 per person per night, depending on your group size and lodge selection.
Private-guided overland expeditions fall somewhere in the middle, at USD 400 to 1500 per person per night, depending mainly on your group size.
We are more than happy to work across this range of prices. The only important thing is that we help you find the very best safari to suit your budget.
If you have a higher budget, we will help you determine which lodges do actually deliver elevated levels of service and experience. We will also highlight other subtle ways in which your trip can be raised to another level, including the use of whole camp bookings, private guides and vehicles etc.
If you have a lower budget, then we can help you build superb self-drive safaris, still including great lodges and getting off the beaten track.
Safari on the Skeleton Coast is only lightly seasonal, with temperature remaining remarkably stable year round. Subtle changes in wind, fog and river flow shape conditions, accessibility and atmosphere, rather than wildlife movements or rainfall.
"We just returned from a weeks safari organized organized organized by ATR and have nothing but positive reviews!"
The Skeleton Coast is a truly savage and unhospitable environment of an angry grey ocean, lined by searing deserts and backed by unforgiving rocky mountains. Rarely are there more than a couple of vehicles exploring a massive area.
Savage landscapes
Through this desperate desert, a number of miraculous ephemeral rivers provide just enough sub-surface water to sustain ribbons of greenery to sustain the desert wildlife. These river valleys are home to elephants, giraffes, oryx, zebras, lions and caracals.
Desert wildlife
The painful human history of this land remains immediately visible, every track and remnant visible, including palaeolithic whale-bone huts, abandoned mine workings, shipwrecks and wrecked refugee vehicles. Truly incredible.
Living history
The word ‘expedition’ is much over-used, but the overland trips that we outfit into this area are the real deal and are arguably the best safaris we have ever personally undertaken. You need at least a week to do the area justice, in convoy and camping all the way.
Expeditions
Why choose Skeleton Coast for your safari?
Set in the extreme northwest of Namibia, Skeleton Coast North is one of the most incredible and remote wilderness areas in Africa, with highlights including vast seal colonies, desert lions, elephants and giraffes, abandoned diamond mines, remote desert oases and treacherous quicksand.
Etosha
Etosha National Park is the best known wildlife area in Namibia, renowned for intense animal scenes around its many waterholes. Features in most self-drive trips.
Popular combos with the Skeleton Coast?
Sossusvlei
Set in the southwest of Namibia, Sossusvlei is home to the enormous and iconic orange dunes of the Namib Desert, a truly remarkable combination of desert landscapes.
Twyfelfontein
Set in the west of Namibia, Twyfelfontein is the best known and most frequently visited area in the country for desert elephants and rock-art, plus some superb hiking and geology.
Swakopmund
Swakopmund is the main town on the Namibia Coast, a bizarre Germanic outpost, atmospheric and strangely appealing, with a wide range of marine and active experiences.
Damaraland
Set in the northwest of Namibia, Damaraland North is a fabulous area of awesome desert scenery, unusually strong wildlife and superb remote lodges. The best, but pricey.
Mudumu
Set in the extreme northeast of Namibia, Mudumu and Mamili are two small wildlife reserves which are able to offer Botswana style safari at a fraction of the price.
Namibia contains several main safari areas, six of which are described here. In addition, there are at least a dozen lesser known locations, plus the three main towns of Windhoek, Swakopmund and Luderitz, all of which are unusually pleasant and interesting to visit.