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Etosha National Park's daily entry fee for international visitors jumped 87% in April 2026. Older cost guides and blog posts still quote the pre-increase figure, which means a lot of the Namibia budgets circulating online are wrong at the park gate.
This is the single clearest reason to check a published cost figure's date before you rely on it — including ours.
Standard rental car insurance in Namibia typically excludes tyre damage, windscreen chips and underbody damage — three of the most common things that happen on gravel roads, which is most of the roads you will be driving.
And rental insurance is entirely separate from travel insurance. It covers the vehicle, not you, your health, or trip cancellation. Two policies, two jobs. People routinely assume one covers the other.
The coast, the Namib Desert, Windhoek and the south below Karasburg are malaria-free. Risk is concentrated in Ohangwena, Kavango, the Zambezi (Caprivi) Strip and Bwabwata, with some lower-level risk around Etosha.
So the blanket "you need malaria tablets for an African safari" advice does not apply to the classic Sossusvlei → Etosha → coast loop the way it applies elsewhere. It is a doctor's decision, but it is worth going into that conversation knowing the geography rather than assuming.
Daytime desert heat at Sossusvlei or Etosha can drop 15–20°C by the time the sun sets, and closer to freezing at night between June and August.
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This is the item most first-time visitors get wrong — packing for "African safari" heat and then being cold every single evening. A proper insulating layer is not optional.
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→ Insulated jacket, men's, on Amazon: UK · ES · DE
→ Insulated jacket, women's, on Amazon: UK · ES · DE
Namibia's flagship multi-day trek — 86km over four to five days — is not something you decide on once you are there: