My wife and I have planned a self drive tour of Namibia and northern Botswana for the month of February. Is there do's and don'ts we should be aware of? We start in Windhoek then head south, then west then north then east along the Caprivi, cross over into Kasane then back to Windhoek.

Bobby B.

Don't skimp on the 4WD vehicle. We had a sedan and I was a bit uncomfortable with its safety on the gravel roads.

Bobby B,

A 4x4 a must, this is the rainy season in Botswana that time of year and the Caprivi area can get very wet when going offroad...

We've rented a Nissan Double Cab 4x4.

Any need to bribe anyone (authorities) or anything like that?

Bobby B.

Not in Namibia. It is actually discouraged.

No first hand knowledge of Botswana, but we rented a compact car via AAA, picked it up at the airport in Windhoek and spent a week driving around Namibia last summer. No issues at all - normal precautions applied (we each carried a "pepper spray" device). Didn't have to or need to do any "off-roading" as we were just traveling between Windhoek, Swakopmund and Walvis Bay.

Just had to be a little extra careful remembering to drive on the "wrong" side of the road and look for traffic differently at intersections the first few days.

We plan on doing it again this year.

Found the best rates through our local AAA office and reserved the car and locked in the basic rental rate and added all the extra insurance coverage offered when we picked it up. It was a little less than $300 USD for the week for an economy class, manual trans with A/C. Fuel worked out to be about $4.50/gal.

Took a Garmin Oregon 450 GPS with the Garmin street maps for Southern Africa and it was pretty current. We stay in a certain Hotel/Pension in Klein Windhoek every year that is in a newer part of town that didn't have the streets to it on the map but did have the address. Since we had been there before it wasn't a problem. The most important address in the GPS was JOE'S BEERHOUSE!!!

Almost forgot - you'll need to have an "International Drivers Lic" to rent the car. You can get that via AAA too - $15 and is valid for a year.

quote:

Originally posted by m3taco:
Almost forgot - you'll need to have an "International Drivers Lic" to rent the car.

We did not.

Since you will be in Kasane, why not head on over to Vic Falls since you will only be about 45 min to an hour away? That will likely be the only part of you trip you will be asked for a bribe (or Christmas gift) if you go through a road block. Don't sweat it, just be polite and refuse or at the most give them something to drink. Plan you route and stops in Botswana very carefully. I considered that route back to Windhoek but there was a good deal of nothing along the route and ultimately I decided to come back through Namibia. Had I had more time, I would have gone ahead and done it and spent a few days in the Okavango Delta.

While I had an international drivers lic., I was never asked for it.
Have fun.

Int DL - All I can say is that in 09 I asked at the airport in WDH about renting a car for two days around town. Every counter at the airport asked me for the Int DL. So, last year I spent the $15 and got one and I was asked for it and my passport when I did the paperwork to get the car.

I am going in September and plan to drive from Windhoek to Swakopmund with my wife. I am a little nervous about driving on the wrong side of the road. Should I spring for a 4x4 or just stay with a sedan? I understand the main road is paved but I may travel on gravel roads too.

Jon

rx - Wind. to Swak. is a piece of cake. No real need for a 4 X 4.JMHO. All the roads we drove in and around those two areas were top notch.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

Agreed but the road from Etosha to Swakopmund is not a piece of cake and you better have a bunch of water with you just in case. Not to mention two spare tires.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
rx - Wind. to Swak. is a piece of cake. No real need for a 4 X 4.JMHO. All the roads we drove in and around those two areas were top notch.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

Oops,

Forget my above post. I didn't realize Larry was responding to yours. Driving on the "wrong side" is less of a problem outside the cities like Windhoek. When I was doing my research I talked with an AR member who gave me a bit of advice that my wife thought was pretty funny.

He asked if I was taking my wife along, which I was. He then asked who would be driving and I said me. He then said it's simple. You will be driving on the left side with a right hand drive car.............


"Just keep the bitch in the ditch"

Everytime I made a turn in Windhoek Joyce, my wife, would mutter....."Keep the bitch in the ditch".


It worked

quote:

Originally posted by rxgremlin:
I am going in September and plan to drive from Windhoek to Swakopmund with my wife. I am a little nervous about driving on the wrong side of the road. Should I spring for a 4x4 or just stay with a sedan? I understand the main road is paved but I may travel on gravel roads too.

Jon

International drivers license

Guess we should of had one. Oh well!!

quote:

Originally posted by rxgremlin:
I am going in September and plan to drive from Windhoek to Swakopmund with my wife. I am a little nervous about driving on the wrong side of the road. Should I spring for a 4x4 or just stay with a sedan? I understand the main road is paved but I may travel on gravel roads too.

Jon

This past Aug 2010 it was paved all the way. There were a couple of areas under renovation construction but it was a great drive. The change in landscape as you get closer to the coast and the Namib desert is very cool.

Dress warm - we damn near froze to death but Swakop is very cool. The museum there is actually better than the one in WDH.

Be sure where you are staying takes credit cards. We got caught and had to wait the next day for one of the exchange places to open and cash/exchange some of our reserve USD.

Be sure to take one of the ATV tours out through the Namib - lots of fun and take the short drive down to Walvis Bay to look around. If you get there early in the morning you can take one of the tour boats to see the sea lion colony. Did I say dress warm?

There are a few gravel roads that go out to Dune 45 and Dune 7 but they were fine.

All we had was a little Volkswagen sedan and it was just fine. Drove down along the beach sand roads a little and was just careful where we went. For the most part our B&B in Swakop was close to the center of town and we just parked inside their compound and walked around the town itself. A few little antique shops and there is a pretty cool central market/shop area and the restaurant down on the pier is pretty good but you will need reservations. Tip - Bartender doesn't know how to make a dirty Martini there. We told him "dirty" meant with olive juice and he used olive oil! TIA

One of the best restaurants in the country is in Swakop called "The Grape Vine". One seating a night and reservations are required a few days in advance. There is also one there that specializes in nothing but Ostrich dishes - TERRIFIC.

We did walk back to the B&B after dinner in the evenings as it was only a couple of blocks. And like I said earlier, we each had a pepper spray and knife but never felt threatened at any time there - just kept my wits and head on a swivel like I would do in a large city in the states.

It was highly recommended to us to try to NOT travel after dark between towns due to the the possibility of hitting game. Also, be aware that they don't have nearly the same level of ambulance service that we are accustom to in the US, especially in the country side.

I would add Kuchi's Pub. Great seafood and the "local bar" atmosphere.

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:
International drivers license

Guess we should of had one. Oh well!!

Here is another use of an IDL. I do some loooooong distance travel (Bahrain to UK, etc.) and always have three or four IDL's handy. If I get pulled over by a less-than-professional officer who would like some baksheesh, I feign having no cash but would be willing to go the ATM to get some. I give them one of the IDL's as collateral and drive off, promising to be right back for my precious license. There is more than one policeman in world still waiting for me to come back for my drivers licence!!!