Etosha National Park Holidays

While it might be all about the wildlife, there are several ways to make the most of your time in Etosha National Park. Choose to self-drive on marked roads between waterholes and let the animals come to you, or join a guided safari to seek them out. Explore at dawn, dusk, through the day, or even at night when nocturnal creatures take stewardship of the park.

Enjoy sunrise walking tours, scenic sunsets with sundowner drinks, outdoor Boma dinners, and unspoiled stargazing. Focus on photography or bring binoculars for birdwatching. Meet nomadic San bushmen. Soak in your lodge pool. Indulge in a spa treatment. Or grab an evening drink and watch the savannah from your decking as the light slowly fades.

Not every safari park in Africa is suitable for self-drive exploration, but Etosha National Park is perfect. Whether you arrive for a few days during a Namibia tour, or take a road trip directly from Windhoek, you can enjoy a full wildlife experience without a guide. The beauty of Etosha is you don’t need to go searching for animals, they will come to you.

Find a waterhole, park up, stay patient, and keep your cameras ready. The park's fascinating creatures will arrive to feed or bathe and incredible game-viewing will unfold before your eyes. Move slowly between waterholes and lodges to glimpse lions, leopards, cheetahs, black rhinos and incredible birdlife including huge flocks of flamingos in the pan itself. Sunrise and sunset are the best viewing times of each day but mammals and birds can be spotted at any hour, so there’s no need to rush.

One of the best things about Etosha is the range of places to stay both inside and outside the park. Within the gates, choose luxury hillside tents overlooking waterholes at Dolomite, stilted chalets at the edge of the pan in Onkoshi, or floodlight waterhole viewing from Okaukuejo. Refresh between drives in the swimming pool at Halali, sleep inside an old German fort at Namutoni, or pitch your tent under the stars at Olifantsrus.

On the park’s perimeter, enjoy a luxury chalet at Emanya, a private game farm at Mokuti Lodge, or poolside dining at Onguma. Epacha offers a wellness centre with treatment rooms, sauna, and steam rooms. Eagle Tented Lodge has outdoor bathtubs on its decking. Toshari includes hotel-style rooms, just a short distance from the park. All lodges offer a combination of extra activities including guided safaris, moonlight walks, and unforgettable dining experiences.

The dry season, from May to November, is the best time to visit Etosha National Park. During this period, wildlife gathers around the waterholes making viewing easy and rewarding whether on guided safaris or self-drive tours. June to August is peak season and lodges can be booked long in advance so flexible travellers may wish to visit outside these months for a quieter experience.

Evenings can be cold but this is easily solved by packing layers. December to April is the wet season and the landscape changes into a lush environment with thick vegetation causing animals to become more dispersed. This time of year offers the best birding while the breeding season means newborns can often be spotted by lucky visitors, especially in the hands of expert guides.