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Etosha National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. Even though it has changed size many times and at one time ran from the skeleton coast to the edge of the Etosha pan (then it was 99.526 sq km), the current size is 22.000 sq km still which makes it larger than the Serengeti and is comparable in size to Kruger.

But even though the size is similar to Kruger National Park the 2 game reserves are not comparable. Where you have over 20 camps in Kruger, there are only 6 main camps in Etosha, there as not nearly as many roads in Etosha and how about a salt pan that is 5000 sq km that shimmers in the sun and gives you the feeling you can never quite see the horizon.

Etosha is a vital game reserve for the entire southern Africa region and is home to 114 pieces of mammals like elephants, black & white rhino, lions, cheetah and leopards. But that's not all there are also 340 bird species, 110 different reptiles and 16 species of amphibians. But due to the lack of water, you won't see any buffalo, hippo or crocodiles.

In this post, we will give you all the information you need to organise your own self-drive safari in Etosha National Park. From when to visit, how to plan your stay and booking your accommodation to what to expect from the moment you enter the park based on our visit to Etosha in 2018.

Okondeka Waterhole- Etosha National Park

How to get to Etosha National Park

Etosha National Park is in the north of Namibia and it takes about 4.5 hours from Hosea Kutako International Airport in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, to get to the Andersons Gate. This gate will give you access to the south side of the park and is easily accessible from Windhoek as you will be able to take the B1 and the C38 from Outjo which are both one of the few tarred roads in the country.

Next to Andersons Gate in the east, you can also access the park via the Von Lindequist Gate in the east, where you have several luxury lodges outside of the park, the Galton Gate is in the west but you have to stay at Dolomite Camp and Nehale in the north.

We visited Etosha as part of a road trip through Namibia and it was our second to last destination. We were leaving from Namutoni gate, which adds at least 1 hour to the driving time to the airport. Taking the time into consideration that it takes to hand in your car, we knew we were cutting it fine in regards to the time our flight left. So we decided to have a stay around the Waterberg Plateau, which is in between Etosha and Windhoek to cut down on driving time on the final day. While there, we noticed we were not the only one doing this, so this could also be an option on your way to Etosha if you don't have enough time to reach the park.

On our way to Etosha, we came from Swakopmund, which would be around 5 hours to the Andersons Gate. Or you can make a stop in Damaraland, which will cut down your driving time to 2 hours.

The gates and camps open at sunrise and close at sunset but it is advised that you need to take at least 30 minutes to get to the camp.

What is the best time to visit Etosha National Park?

You can visit Namibia throughout the year because even in the wet season you can have rain or a thunderstorm in the afternoon and then it’s dry again. But from what we've heard, the rains can impact the quality of the roads.

The best period for game viewing is during the dry season where the animals will need to go to the waterholes to drink and the bushes are less lush so it’s easier to spot them. In Namibia, the dry season is in winter and runs from May till October but the peak season is between July and October.

The wet season runs from November till April with January till March being the wettest and warmest months. This is the prime period for the animals to give birth but it can be more difficult to see the animals as there is more vegetation and they can stay away from the waterholes along the roads.

Besides the conditions for the animals, the summer can also have quite some impact on us as the temperatures can rise to 40C. However in general it’s more between 25-35C.

We did our self-drive safari in November and it can get very hot, making it difficult to sleep at night when you're camping. But as you're in the car with air conditioning most of your day and packing up or putting up your tent when it's cooler, we felt it was still doable. Or maybe that's because we had just visited Sossusvlei which was scorching hot.

There was no rain during our stay but we did have an afternoon with grey clouds and we heard the thunder but it did not rain in the end. But that same night we did have a large wind gust rushing over the campsite. It was so strong that when we were cooking our diner we heard it coming and saw things being thrown up in the air. So I dropped what I was doing and stood on the ladder of our tent to make sure it was staying place. And I was very happy that I did as when the wind came closer one of the other rooftop tents that was already set up got the wind underneath it, the tent hooks snapped and the tent doubled over. The heavy wind was there the whole night and several times I would grab onto the tent poles to much amusement from Sam.

How to plan your stay in Etosha National Park

Your itinerary will depend on from which gate you will arrive, how many nights you have, what your budget is and the type of accommodation you like.

Distances in Etosha National Park

Etosha is 22.000 sq km still which makes it larger than the Serengeti and is comparable in size to Kruger. So you always need to consider the distances in between the camps, especially when you want to include the western area.

How many gates are there in Etosha National Park?

When arriving through the Galton Gate is in the west but you can stay at Dolomite Camp or Olifantsrus Camping. If you have only 2 nights you can get to Okaukuejo and leave through the Andersons Gate. When you have 3 nights you can stay at Halali and leave through Von Lindequist Gate in the east. This route will give you the opportunity to keep it low cost with campsites or you can stay in standard rooms & chalets. And even with the 2 days, you will go past some great waterholes.

If you're coming straight from and going to Swakopmund, Skeleton Coast or Windhoek you will enter and leave Etosha through the Andersons Gate in the east. If you have only 2 nights you can stay at Okaukuejo both nights and visiting the west of the park on one of the days (but you will have to backtrack) and towards Halali on the second day. When you have 3 nights you can stay at Okaukuejo and Halali.

If you don't have to leave through Anderson Gate you can take the same approach for a 3-night stay as above but leaving through Von Lindequist Gate in the east.

how to plan your days When going from camp to camp in etosha

When you're travelling in between the camps try to leave as soon as the gates open as you will have the chance to see lions, cheetahs and leopards still walking around or at the waterholes instead of laying underneath (or in) the trees which they will do when it becomes warmer.

During the day, you can plan your viewing along the routes of the waterholes

Late in the day when it starts to cool down is also a great time to go past the waterholes. In the evening the floodlit waterholes at the camps are great for viewing the game.

You will notice we mention waterholes a lot but not any specific ones. There are many waterholes in Etosha but the water levels of the holes (some are natural sources and others are getting their water from boreholes) will vary from period to period depending on the rainfall. I remember making a list of waterholes to go to based on some of the articles I had read but the ones we saw most (Okondeka & Nebrowni) were not on the list.

This is a list of waterholes with descriptions and what you can see: https://etoshanationalpark.co.za/etosha-travel-tips/places-of-interest/waterholes/

Ideal itinerary for Etosha National Park

We would advise staying at least 3 full days but you can easily spend 4 to 5 days in Etosha if you also include the western area, which we would advise you to do. So thinking of an ideal itinerary this is what we would advise:

Arriving through the Galton Gate in the west staying at Dolomite Camp at a bush chalet. When you need to watch your budget you could stay at Olifantsrus Camping
Spend your second night at Okaukuejo and spend some time at the floodlit waterhole in the camp
The last night you can spend at Halali or Namutoni depending on what time you need to leave the park the following day.
Leave Etosha through Von Lindequist Gate in the east.

2 male lions in front of waterhole - Etosha National Park

How to book your accommodation in Etosha National Park

The official website to book your accommodation is https://www.nwr.com.na/ but to be honest, the information on this site is limited. Other websites we would recommend to get a bit more information are https://etoshanationalpark.co.za and https://www.etoshanationalpark.org/

When you're booking your accommodation via the NWR website you need to add your stays to your cart but your cart expires in 30 minutes. So it would be good to know where you want to stay on which date before the booking process.

To go from one camp to the next you can click change next to the name on the top left-hand side of the booking tool. Once you have added all your night you need to create an account to place your bookings. Once booked, NWR will charge your credit card immediately.

Pro's and cons of staying inside Etosha National Park

Inside Etosha National Park all accommodation is managed by Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) which is a government incentive for wildlife resorts in Namibia. You can book your accommodation via their official website https://www.nwr.com.na/. You can pick different types of accommodation based on your preferences and your budget. You can pick between campsites, double rooms and chalets. Okaukuejo also has waterhole chalets and Halali has Honeymoon chalets with a jacuzzi.

The benefit of staying inside the camp is the opportunity to get into the park from sunrise to sunset, which is the best time to view the game as well as the possibility to visit the floodlit waterholes at the camps. When you stay outside of the park you need to get through the entrance gate, which can cause some delays.

But one thing that needs to be mentioned is that there's quite a bit of difference between the accommodation outside the camp. You have camps like Mokuti Lodge that also offer spa, gym & conference facilities, organise weddings and game drives inside Etosha but they don't have their own game reserve. While a safari camp like Onguma offers 7 different camps themselves but they also have their own reserve with waterholes and offer activities like bush walks, several hours in a hide and game drives in and outside of Etosha.

This is obviously also reflected in the price of these camps with Onguma ranging from NAD 680 for their campsite and NAD 4340 to 6540 for the Bush Camp & the Etosha Aoba Lodge to NAD 9520 for the Tented camp. While the standard room at Mokuti is NAD 2852.

So there are pro's and cons to both staying inside and outside of Etosha National Park but a lot will depend on how many days you're staying, the type of experience you're looking for and your budget.

During our safari, we stayed 2 nights inside and 2 nights outside Etosha in Onguma. Originally we had planned to stay in Mokuti and still get back into Etosha but Mokuti was already booked so we booked Onguma.

Looking back we would have loved to stay a couple more nights inside Etosha because you can easily spend more than 3 days exploring the park. But due to Onguma having their own game reserve we stayed within the camp and organised a game drive, bush walk and stay in the hide. We did not regret staying in Onguma as it was a great experience in terms of the activities but also in terms of the accommodation. Because to be honest, the quality of the Okaukuejo campsite inside Etosha leaves something to be desired. The sites are small and so close to each other that you can hear every word of your neighbour's conversations. And when we stayed in Etosha there were a lot of groups with overland trucks that would camp next to the ablution blocks and take over the facilities to prep and cook their meals hardly leaving any space to just brush your teeth.

accomodation Availability in Etosha

If you already have been looking at booking a trip to Etosha or Namibia you've probably come across the advice to book as far in advance as possible. And we totally agree with this advice. The dry season is the best for game viewing and therefore also the busiest season with higher prices and less availability.

We started talking to different travel agents at the beginning of January for our trip in November. By the time we had finalised our complete itinerary and decided where we wanted to stay 3 out of the 10 accommodations were already booked out.

As we had booked via a travel agent we just left it at that but if you're booking your own accommodation it does not mean that if at time of booking there was no availability in your desired camp it won't come available anymore. A bit confusing? Let me explain this a bit more.

You might have noticed that there are a lot of tour operators offering group tours in Namibia. As part of that tour most will also visit Etosha. These tour operators start offering these trips a year before departure. During that whole time, people can book their trip and once a group has reached the minimum number of participants (what this number is will depend per group) the tour will go ahead. The tour operators want to fill as many of these groups across the dry season and want to offer availability for as long as possible.

So to be able to guarantee the accommodation they need during the tour they have contracts with hotels, B&B's and campsites along the route. The accommodation will block these rooms or campsites so there can not be booked in any other way until they have heard from the tour operator if the group will go ahead. So anytime the tour operator has not been able to reach the minimum number of participants for the group they will need to cancel the block of these rooms or campsites that the accommodation has held for them. Or reduce the numbers if it was not fully booked. The same happens with travel agents booking for individual guests, though they will block fewer rooms.

These tour operators and travel agents have deadlines within their contract on which they need to let the accommodation know the status. This is often 60, 45 or 30 days before arrival. So if you have not been able to book your desired camp it can be worth checking the availability again closer to your arrival date. Just be sure that any accommodation you have booked initially is not booked with a non-refundable policy as you will not be able to cancel these reservations without paying the full amount.

Animals in front of acacia tree overlooking Etosha Pan- Etosha National Park

Etosha national park Camps

There are 6 camps inside Etosha with accommodation ranging from campsites to double rooms, chalets, waterhole chalets and honeymoon chalets with a jacuzzi (Halali).

The 3 main camps are Okaukuejo, Halali and Namutoni

Okaukuejo Camp

Location: Okaukuejo is only 17 km from the Anderson Gate, which is closest to Windhoek, which makes it a great first night stay up entry to the park. But because of this, it is also the busiest camp.

General: It is the oldest camp in Etosha and houses the administrative centre as well as the Etosha Ecological Institute. It is also the largest camp with 35 waterhole chalets, 2 family chalets, 20 bush chalets, 45 double rooms and a campsite with 37 spots with a braai and communal bathrooms & showers.

Where to eat: The camp had a buffet restaurant, a bar and a shop.

Facilities: Swimming pool, filling station, floodlit waterhole

Cost: The cost ranges from NAD416 (July to October) to NAD356 (November to June) for the campsite. The cheapest accommodation; the double room costs NAD1900 (July to October) and NAD1425 (November to June) while the waterhole chalets are NAD4454 (July to October) and NAD2969 (November to June). Prices for the accommodation is per person while the campsites are per site.

Halali Camp

Location: Halali is in between Okaukuejo (70km) and Namutoni (75km) and therefore not close to any of the gates.

General: It has the largest campsite with 58 campsites with a braai, electricity and water and 7 ablution blocks with a small kitchen and 2 have a laundry area. The rest of the camp has 40 double rooms, 5 honeymoon chalets with jacuzzi, 20 bush chalets and 2 family chalets

Where to eat: The camp has a picnic area, a restaurant and a shop.

Facilities: Swimming pool, filling station, floodlit waterhole

Cost: The cost ranges from NAD416 (July to October) to NAD356 (November to June) for the campsite. The cheapest accommodation; the double room costs NAD1425 (July to October) and NAD1069 (November to June) while the honeymoon chalets are NAD2138 (July to October) and NAD1425 (November to June). Prices for the accommodation is per person while the campsites are per site.

Herd of Zebra - Etosha National Park by TravelTaale

Namutoni Camp

Location: Namutoni is on the east side of Etosha, close to Fishers Pan and 10km from the Von Linquist Gate. If you only have 2 days you could start at Okaukuejo and have your last night at Namutoni as it is 123km from Okaukuejo.

General: The camp is built inside an old German fort that was built in 1902/3. It is the camp that has the smallest campsite with 25 campsites. The rest of the camp has 24 double rooms and 20 bush chalets.

Where to eat: The camp has a restaurant, bar and a shop.

Facilities: Swimming pool, filling station, floodlit waterhole, museum

Cost: The cost ranges from NAD416 (July to October) to NAD356 (November to June) for the campsite. The cheapest accommodation; the double room costs NAD1785 (July to October) and NAD1425 (November to June) and the bush chalets are NAD2079 (July to October) and NAD1663 (November to June). Prices for the accommodation is per person while the campsites are per site.

Elephant in between trees - Etosha National Park by TravelTaale

When you enter through Galton Gate you can also stay in Dolomite Camp or Olifantsrus Camping

Dolomite Camp

Location: Dolomite Camp is in the western part of Etosha and is closest to Galton Gate (40km) and is located in a part of the park that has been restricted for mass tourism until 2015.

General: This is a small camp with 3 deluxe chalets and 17 bush chalets

Where to eat: There is a restaurant, a shop and a bar with a campfire area

Facilities: Sundeck and infinity pool. There is no filling station

Cost: The cost ranges from NAD3598 (July to October) to NAD2447 (November to June) for the deluxe chalets. To NAD3016 (July to October) and NAD2161 (November to June) for the bush chalets.

Olifantsrus Camping

Location: Olifantsrus Camping is in the western part of Etosha. The closest camp is Dolomite Camp and both are close to Galton Gate.

General: This is the only camp that only has a campsite and spots are limited to 10. With electricity being shared between 2 campsites.

Where to eat: There is a picnic area but there is no shop. The campsites have a braai

Facilities: Waterhole. There is no filling station

Cost: The cost is NAD416 (July to October) to NAD356 (November to June) for the campsite.

In the east, there is another option where you can stay in a secluded camp on the edge of the pan.

Onkoshi Resort

Location: Onkoshi Resort is in the eastern part of Etosha and is overlooking the Etosha Pan. The camp is closest to Von Linquist Gate (52km) and is located in a part of the park that only has 1 road that leads up to Nehale Gate, so it is quite secluded.

General: This is a small but luxurious camp with 15 chalets that have their own deck. Important to know is that electricity is only available between 06h00 & 10h00 and 17h00 & 22h00.

Where to eat: There is a restaurant and a shop

Facilities: Swimming pool. There is no filling station

Cost: The cost is NAD3016(July to October) and NAD2161 (November to June)

What to expect when you're in Etosha National Park

Entering Etosha National Park

You can enter the park through one of the 4 gates that all give access to different parts of Etosha. At the gate, the guards will ask for your passport and you will need to sign in acknowledge the ruler and pay your entrance/conservation fee.

The entrance fee depends on your age and if you're a local or international guest. For international adults, the fee is NAD 80 per person, per 24 hours plus NAD 10 per day for your car.

There is a NamLeisure Card that gives you discount on accommodation, meals and activities. For international guests this is 10% on accommodation, 25% on meals and 25% on activities (excluding hikes). You need to make sure the fee actually makes sense. Just count how many days you’ll be in the parks and compare the cost of paying for each day individually vs. the NAD 1600 fee.

The gates and camps open at sunrise and close at sunset but when you enter around the closing time it is advised that you need to take at least 30 minutes to get to the camp.

Rules in Etosha National Park

There are a couple of rules you need to follow when you're in the park. These have mostly to do with safety for yourself as well as the animals. So some of the rules are:

You need to stay in your car. Unless you're in an area that has signs that say you are allowed to leave the car like the picnic spots and toilets.
You need to keep to the speed limit of 60km/h (We'll go into driving in Etosha a bit more below)
You can not drive through the park before sunset or after sunrise
You're not allowed to go off-road for better game viewing
You're not allowed to feed the animals. This sounds logical but on our last trip to Kruger National Park, we noticed that hyena's are being fed and are now walking the perimeter of the camp searching for scraps. This can make them more aggressive towards people.
You can not use your drone as it will disturb the animals
Give the animals their space when walking alongside the road or when they want to cross.
Take your litter with you

Male lion and cub - Etosha National Park

do you need a 4x4 to drive in Etosha National Park?

There are no tarred roads inside the park Etosha is great for a self-drive safari. You have the main road, which followed the edge of the pan and secondary roads that go towards the waterholes. The conditions can be quite rough so expect some bouncing around due to potholes and deep ruts. If you're flying to Windhoek only to visit the park you can get away without a 4x4 but we would advise renting a car with high clearance due to the holes and stones on the roads. We have seen visitors in compact cars but it looked really uncomfortable and I wonder how much damage the rocks have done to the undercarriage of the car. When you are planning to travel outside of Etosha and have to travel other roads than the tarred roads you definitely need a 4x4.

Be sure to check your tires often as the condition on the roads are tough on your tires and punctures are quite common. Because we did a road trip we had 2 spare tyres, tools to change the tires and a compressor to fill up your tyre pressure. Just remember that when you have a puncture inside Etosha, you're not supposed to get out of your car.

Be aware of the distances within the park as besides that there are speed limits (60km/h on the roads and 20km/h in the camps) often you will drive slower to see as much game as possible, because there's an elephant on the road or just to make sure you won't hit anything that jumps on the road from one of the bushes, so you need to consider the camp closing times.

Besides that, general road rules apply. You need to stay on the road, so no driving off to see an animal better, you can not drive after dark and animals always go first when crossing the roads.

Facilities in Etosha National Park

Most of the camps have buffet restaurants which are open from 7:00 to 8.30, 12.00-13.30 and from 18.00-20.30. If you book any of the double rooms or chalets then breakfast is included. As we were camping we have not eaten at any of the restaurants so we can't share any personal experience with this.
The shops are open from sunrise to sunset and have limited stock. Especially when you've been in Kruger National Park, these shops have things like water, soda, beer, wine, snacks, cookies, ice cream, canned fruit and vegetables and some souvenirs. So be sure to stock up before you enter the park if you're planning to cook your own meals.
The fuel stations in Okaukuejo, Namutoni and Halaliand are also open from sunrise to sunset. But the same applies here as with the food, fill up your tank close to the park. We had a double tank in our car but still filled up every time we could as you never know when the next time will be. Within the park, you know where the next possibility is to fill up but we've heard that they don't always have gas available. And when visiting the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park we were warned that if temperatures are too hot the fuel starts to evaporate which automatically closes off the system. Fortunately, we have not run into this ourselves but we've always stuck to filling up when possible, even within the game reserves. Dolomites camp does not have a filling station.
Namutoni, Halali and Okaukuejo have floodlit waterholes which provide great game viewing opportunities in the dry season. We loved sitting at one of the benches in the evening after dinner and watching the elephants and a black(?) rhino drink.
Booking activities from the camps: you can book morning and afternoon drives for NAD 650 per person and a night drive for NAD 750 per person

Tips for visiting Etosha National Park

Count for some early mornings and nights. We always love to get up early when it's not that warm yet and the animals are on the go and the light is beautiful. And we tend to be in camp around 5 to still have some daylight to set up camp and start cooking.
The park is located in a malaria region. So be sure to check with your doctor for precautionary measures. We always have Malarone when travelling to a malaria region but this is obviously a personal choice. Bring insect repellent and change into long sleeves when it gets dark and always pay attention when opening and closing the tent and the car door, just to be sure.
Cellphone reception is limited as well as wifi, however, some of the restaurants do have wifi. Getting a Namibian sim card on arrival at the airport is quite cheap but can really help you out if needed
Ensure that your fireplace or braai is out before sleeping or leaving. Because it's so dry there is always a high risk of fire.
You can pay with the Namibian Dollar or the South African Rand. They are linked to each other so they are worth the same.
The days can get very hot so bring airy clothes, sunglasses, sun protection and a hat. During the nights can get quite cold in Nambia so be sure to bring layers or a jacket/fleece for the evenings.
If you're camping or want to visit the waterholes at night bring a torch as it can be quite dark in the camps and you never know what might be crawling on the ground.
Namibia and South Africa have their own type of plug so your international power plug might not work here (at least we have not found one that does).
We have mentioned it in the blog but just to be sure: fill up your tank and get your shopping (including water) done before entering the park. When we were in Etosha there was an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease. This meant that there were checks when leaving the park as you are not allowed to take any raw meat or eggs out of the park.

Baby Zebra on the ground - Etosha National Park

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT...

..our Ultimate guide: Self-drive safari Etosha National Park. We hope you enjoyed it and if you have any questions just leave your comments below. And if you are planning your own trip let us know below what your itinerary is.

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