The Namibian Skeleton Coast is a destination that has an allure to most travellers and an affinity to bucket lists. Even non-travellers will likely be intrigued by the name alone; but seasoned travellers are likely to be aware of the harsh and challenging, yet beautiful nature of the environment.
On one side is the Atlantic Ocean – a stretch of water that is rocky, cunning and inhospitable. On the other, the Namib desert, where only the strongest survive; holding within it snakes, scorpions and other desert dwellers. Yes, even desert elephants and lions roam these parts.
The desert is home to wreckages of those seeking its’ riches, but also of those that managed to escape the perils of the Atlantic; only to be faced with an equal foe.
These days, modern vehicles makes it easier to explore this beauty of Africa, and so the question beckoned, why not?
To start off with, we turned to google to find out what our options were. One can explore the skeleton coast on your own, but only up to a certain point. The Skeleton Coast National Park can be entered by anyone, but on your own you can only explore up to Terrace Bay. After Terrace Bay, you are entering concession areas and only guided tours are allowed.
We found a tour that lasts for eight days, throughout the Skeleton coast to the Kunene river, then back south through Kaokoland and Damaraland. The tour is a self-drive tour – you bring and drive your own 4×4 vehicle, and you are responsible for your own camping equipment.
The tour includes breakfast and dinner, prepared for you by the guides as well as all the necessary concession arrangements. It also provides two-way radios to keep in contact with the rest of the group and through which the guides tell you about the various sites you’ll encounter. It came to approximately R15k per person (2025) – which is very reasonable, considering that you gain access to one of the remote gems planet earth has to offer.
There are no refuelling options, and driving conditions will result in very heavy fuel consumption – so you need to make sure that you carry in the region of 240-300 liters of fuel, depending on your vehicle. That is a lot of fuel, and I can’t stress enough that you will spend a large amount of time in your vehicle; I hope you like the allure of the open road.
I suppose you could rent a 4×4, with the necessary equipment – but you are going to struggle if you have never previously driven a 4×4 vehicle over rough terrain. You need to understand the basics of tyre pressures (when and why to deflate), high and low range (low range is necessary for this trip) and diff locks (optional, in my opinion). The guides are really helpful, but this is not a training course – they are not set up to teach you from scratch.
Having meals prepared might sound like glamping (and it is – the meals are fabulous), but bear in mind that one way or another you will still sleep in a tent, and spend large parts of your day in a car. Again, if this sounds completely foreign then know that it will be a bit tough on you; it is not a hotel and you cannot check-out halfway through if you decide that roughing it isn’t for you.
But, if you are (fairly) used to camping, and you have a 4×4 vehicle in good, working condition, and you understand the basics of 4×4 driving, then this is an adventure that you will likely remember for the rest of your life. Note that the 4×4 must be something with low range; and you should definitely not have low-profile tyres. You are going to deflate to 1 bar and possibly even lower, so a low profile tyre will be driving on the rim and get damaged and you’ll be stuck. Actually – you won’t, because it is unlikely that you will be allowed to continue.
If you don’t drive your car on dirt roads because you’re afraid of paint chips or other damage, then you need to know that your 4×4 is going to do what it was made for on this trip. It will work hard, through rough terrain and you may lose a tyre or two. An all-terrain tyre that has strong off-road capabilities is recommended and in my opinion, tyres should be in a good condition (50% or more life left). I used a set of General Grabber AT3’s, and they were prefect for the job.
The itinerary (in a nutshell) starts at Swakopmund. From there we travel northward to the entrance of the Skeleton Coast national park. Then you will follow the coastline (broadly speaking) northward to the Kunene river mouth and views of Angola on the other side. After that, you turn east and cross the dune belt that runs along the coastline. You are now in Kaokoland and from there you will travel roughly South until Sesfontein in the Damaraland region.
The rest of this post is divided into the various parts of the trip and what you will experience on each section. If you are going to do the tour and you would like for it to be a surprise, then you should probably not read through the details. But personally, I think no matter how much you know, reading about it is much different to experiencing it – you have to get out there.
We booked through a tour operator, but the company is Skeleton Coast Tours and the link will take you directly to their website – speak to Hein.
Our guide has his own tour that goes west to east through the southern parts of Namibia – if you’re interested in such a tour contact Luciano of Endless Sands Expeditions (but note again that is a different tour, NOT the one dealt with in this series).
Skeleton Coast 2025 #1: Introduction
Skeleton Coast 2025 #2: Getting there
Skeleton Coast 2025 #3: Swakopmund – old German charm
Skeleton Coast 2025 #4: Through the mist to somewhere north of Terrace Bay
Skeleton Coast 2025 #5: Up towards Angra Fria
Skeleton Coast 2025 #6: Across the dune belt and into Hartmansvallei
Skeleton Coast 2025 #7: Down to Purros and Sesfontein
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