Our flagship edition · Namibia
Your Namibia safari, entirely on your own — with no nasty surprises
“Namibia on your own” is the complete ebook that plans your self-drive from A to Z: rent the 4x4 without getting trapped, drive gravel with confidence, choose between 10, 15 or 21 days, work Etosha and Sossusvlei like a regular, and set a budget line by line.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
10 chapters · 11,000+ words · instant download · 14-day guarantee
The guide's terrain — the classic loop, ~2,850 km
You're planning your first self-drive
Never driven on the left, never slept in a rooftop tent? The guide starts from zero and turns every unknown into a simple procedure: the 4x4 walk-around, your first gravel road, your first waterhole.
You want to avoid the expensive mistakes
A hidden €3,000 excess, tyres excluded from the insurance, arriving at Sossusvlei at 11am in the furnace, Etosha camps fully booked: the classic traps are well known — and all avoidable.
You don't have 60 hours to cross-check everything
Contradictory forums, dated blogs, rental brochures: we did the sorting and the checking. You get the ordered, actionable digest.
Table of contents
The contents, chapter by chapter
10 chapters that follow the real order of your preparation: decide, book, drive, live the trip.
- 01
Why Namibia, and why self-drive
What independence really changes, who this guide is for, and the three truths to accept before you go.
Why it's Africa's easiest country for a first self-drive safari · Self-drive vs organised tour: the concrete difference · How to use the guide depending on your profile
- 02
When to go: seasons, regions, month by month
Dry season or green season, the coast's own microclimate, and the month-by-month calendar to choose your dates.
May–October vs November–April, without oversimplifying · The complete month-by-month rundown · Our recommendation by priority (wildlife, landscapes, budget) · When to book what
- 03
Renting your 4x4: vehicles, insurance and traps
The chapter that pays for the guide: excesses, tyre/glass exclusions, the deposit, the walk-around, the clauses to check.
Which vehicle and which non-negotiable equipment · Understanding excess, super cover and exclusions · The deposit and your credit card · The walk-around in 5 steps · The clauses that bite (mileage, night, borders)
- 04
Driving in Namibia: gravel, left-hand traffic and common sense
The trip's core skill: the 8 golden rules of gravel, a puncture fixed in 20 minutes, animals, fuel.
Left-hand driving without drama · The 8 golden rules of gravel (speed, corrugations, pressures) · Changing a wheel, full procedure · Why you NEVER drive at night · Breakdown and accident: the right reflexes
- 05
The itineraries: 10, 15 or 21 days, day by day
Three proven circuits with distances, driving times, daily plans and honest variants.
10 days: the essentials (~2,150 km) · 15 days: the great classic (~2,850 km) · 21 days: the grand tour with the south (~4,050 km) · The principles that hold an itinerary together
- 06
Camping or lodge: choosing your formula
Why Namibian camping isn't camping, daily life with a rooftop tent, and our winning 70/30 mix.
NWR, private and community campsites: which to choose where · Rooftop tent daily life (cold, cooking, safety) · The 70/30 formula that saves ~€1,500 with zero sacrifice · When and how to book
- 07
Etosha like a pro
The complete method: the waterhole strategy, the floodlit waterholes at night, the west-to-east crossing, photography.
How the park works (permits, hours, rules) · The waterhole strategy in 4 steps · Okaukuejo, Halali, Namutoni: the night shows · The ideal internal route over 3 nights
- 08
Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and the Namib desert
The trip's signature day, decided by logistics: where to sleep, when to enter, and the final 5 km of sand.
The accommodation hierarchy (the inside-the-gate advantage) · The perfect day, hour by hour · Driving the 5 km of sand (or taking the shuttle) · Dune 45, Big Daddy, Sesriem Canyon
- 09
The detailed budget, line by line
Every line costed in NAD and euros, three complete profiles for 2 people over 15 days, and the savings that don't hurt.
Flights, 4x4, fuel, accommodation, parks: the 2026 ranges · The 3-profile table: €3,380 / €4,640 / €7,190 excluding flights · Where to save without impoverishing the trip — and where never to · Money day to day (NAD, cards, cash, tips)
- 10
Health, safety, paperwork and checklists
The chapter to print: malaria, formalities, safety, and the complete gear + departure checklists.
Formalities (passport, international permit, minors) · Malaria: where, when, how to decide · The gear checklist by category · The final ten days checklist
Sample pages
Judge for yourself: three excerpts
Chapter 3 — Renting your 4x4
Where everything is decided: the insurance exclusions
« And here is the heart of the matter: on most contracts, even "fully comprehensive" cover still excludes the tyres, the windscreen, the windows, the headlights, the underbody and the tent cover. In other words, exactly what gravel damages. On Namibian roads a puncture is not an accident, it's a statistic: count on one per trip on average. Our doctrine, learned the hard way: take the maximum cover, plus the tyre and windscreen extension if it isn't included. Compare rental companies on the final all-inclusive rate, never on the headline price. »
Chapter 7 — Etosha like a pro
The waterhole strategy
« In the dry season, one rule governs everything: the wildlife comes to the water, not to moving cars. A productive safari is therefore a motionless safari. Choose 2-3 waterholes per half-day, not ten. Park at a respectful distance, engine off, and stay 30 to 60 minutes. The first ten minutes look empty; that's normal: your arrival froze the scene. It comes back to life once you blend into the scenery. Read the signs: zebras all staring the same way, springboks pronking on the spot — a waterhole deserted by prey in the heat of the day often tells you a lion is in the thickets. »
Chapter 4 — Driving in Namibia
The physics of gravel
« The C and D roads — most of your trip — drive very well, provided you respect their physics: grip is that of a wet road, sometimes an icy one. 80 km/h maximum, whatever the sign says. That is THE rule. At 80, everything is recoverable; at 110, nothing is. No sudden inputs: no hard braking, no jerk of the wheel. In a bend, brake before, never during — the rear stepping out mid-corner is THE classic tourist crash. And lower your pressures: the tyre wraps around the stones instead of fighting them — comfort up, punctures halved. »
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Choose your edition
The guide
“Namibia on your own”, the complete ebook.
29 €
- 10 chapters, 10,000+ words
- 3 day-by-day itineraries
- Printable version (PDF via Cmd+P)
- Complete checklists
Complete bundle
Most popularThe guide + the Budget & Prep Kit.
39 € 48 €
- The full “Namibia on your own” guide
- NAD/EUR budget spreadsheet (Excel + CSV)
- Printable gear checklist
- Day-by-day itinerary template
Budget Kit alone
To cost and organise your trip.
19 €
- Budget spreadsheet with live formulas
- Adapts to your days & travellers
- Gear checklist
- Fill-in itinerary template
Secure payment by Stripe · Instant download · 14-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked.
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Before you go
Readers' questions
What format does the guide come in?
Right after payment you receive a download link: the full guide in HTML, readable on any device and printable to PDF in one click (Cmd/Ctrl+P), plus the chapters in Markdown to read wherever you like. No proprietary app, no subscription.
Is the guide available in English?
Not yet: the guide is currently written in French, and an English edition is in the works. The prices, routes, park rules and checklists are of course language-independent — but if you don't read French, we recommend waiting for the English edition (leave us your email to be notified).
Is it up to date for 2026?
Yes: the price ranges (rental, fuel, parks, accommodation), park rules and advice reflect the 2026 situation. The fundamentals — gravel driving, the Etosha strategy, Sossusvlei logistics — change very little from year to year.
What if the guide isn't for me?
A simple guarantee: 14 days, money back, no questions asked. One email to our support is enough — full refund within 48 hours. We'd far rather refund you than leave a disappointed reader.
How is this different from free blog posts?
Our free pages (stops, itineraries, articles) give you the panorama. The guide gives you the complete, ordered method: the 4x4 insurance comparison line by line, the three day-by-day itineraries with the hours that matter, the detailed waterhole strategy, the three-profile budget and every checklist. It's the digest we wish we'd had before our first trip.