2 independent reviews for Wheelchair accessible Namibia self drive holiday
Reviews for Wheelchair accessible Namibia self drive holiday
Paul Mahoney review 14 Jul 2025
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Namibia speaks of huge open spaces, wonderful clear skies, glorious night skies, few cars and seemingly fewer people. From the huge dunes around Sossusvlei, the endless acacia trees, savannah grasses, to the wonders of the national parks; how lucky we were to see pretty much everything on both self driven game drives & with lodge guides. Highlights have to be; a lioness leading her four cubs to a waterhole, a leopard on the prowl, white & black rhino, a matriarch elephant leading the herd including youngsters and a curious brown hyena looking on as we enjoyed sundowner drinks. People are so helpful in this country and make you feel at home. Special mentions to: Freddy in The Strand hotel, Swakopmund; Peter our fantastic tour guide in Okonjima; Michael from Iventures for a fab desert tour; Hyrat and Christine of Mopane Lodge; Pius of Etosha south lodge; Gurdas (Harras) and Chantel in Mokuti lodge; Lumba our lovely tour guide at Hakusambe lodge; Sharon, Pyter and Sam at Pioneers lodge in Zimbabwe and a special shout out to John, Clive, Lecando, Steven and the lovely Sydney of Lianshulu lodge for an incredible experience.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
A massive thanks to the work of Simon who organised the whole trip enabling myself, a wheelchair user, to navigate all the accommodations, vehicles and border crossings - there were few if any limitations to our experience. Simon’s level of organisation was exceptional; from the moment we arrived in Jo’burg, we were met & guided through the airport by Suresh on our way in and Sami on our way out, to our internal flight. The same towards the end of the holiday when navigating borders crossings into Botswana & Zimbabwe (Brian, Lapo and Tobias) was unexpectedly smooth. If you're disabled in any way check with folks that know the layout - Simon from our host company for example. Be honest with yourself and them about your capabilities. I'm able to easily transfer from wheelchair to seats. The trip was physically tough - driving 4-5 hours every other day, almost no services along the way, hot and dusty, very very bumpy, game drives in high off the ground vehicles. For us very worth while, but maybe not possible for others so look for other ways to do what you want.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
All the staff, game drivers, management were nearly all Namibian. Maybe not from the immediate area but very much nearby. The food as far as we could tell was grown nearby and the meat very much so. The Nambian govt are very aware of tourists and their value and although it doesn't feel like they go out of their way to assist tourists they do value the wildlife and what it represents. In a number of the parks poaching has been eliminated because having a live animal is more valuable than a dead one!4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Truly exceptional people. The support we were given led to a truly beautiful experience & one that will never leave us. It was more than just a ‘break’ or time out or even a holiday. It was soul food!Kezme Margrie review 26 May 2025
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Driving through the ever changing landscapes was breathtaking! And we were really happy to see that the rains had helped the animals this season as there is so much grass - even if it made it harder to find them!2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Read about the colonial history particularly if you are planning to visit Swakopmond. It’s a very troubling town - and so visit the genocide museum there. For wheelchair users - be clear about what is acceptable and what is not as I suspect there are places you can stay that aren’t as luxurious if you don’t need a totally accessible place. I’d suggest avoiding Etosha Safari Lodge if you use a manual chair as it’s very steep and rocky.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Tricky to say as all the lodges are owned by Germans so they are amassing vast wealth from the tourist industry. Obviously lots of local people are employed and I hope the conditions they work in are good but they aren’t equivalent to European working hours - all the lovely people we met, work incredibly hard - long shifts and away from their families for 2 months at a time. Re environmental impact - I’m very aware that flying anywhere contributes to harming the environment but many of the lodges are keen to reduce plastic. We were particularly impressed with the Damara Mopane Lodge with its gardens and the food was amazing - straight from the garden! The National parks are really good about making sure visitors (including the guides) stay on the roads so as not to disturb the animals - we were surprised that wasn’t the case at the AfriCat reserve where the guides can literally drive anywhere to find the leopards! So conflicting because it was amazing to get so close but I did wonder what the impact on all the creatures making their homes in the undergrowth was! But it’s wonderful to see how much Namibia is doing in many places to protect their precious animals4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
It was wonderful - a really enriching experience and we were blown away by the breathtaking beauty of a land with so much space! We had a fabulous time and would love to explore more of Namibia one dayHoliday Reviews
You can trust Responsible Travel reviews because, unlike many other schemes, reviews can ONLY be written by people who we have verified have been on the holidays. In addition, we don't run these holidays ourselves - our only interest is giving you the best independent advice.
