Transport In Namibia
Namibia is a pleasure to get to and to get around in. It is anchored in the South African philosophy of organisation and functionality, and is a perfect place to lauch your African overland journey. Everything works, and yet the ambience of Africa is still absolute.
Border procedures
Getting in and out of Namibia overland is relatively easy. Border officials are fond of rubber stamps so plenty of pages in your passport are a good idea, but otherwise corruption is limited and the process fairly hassle free.
Road
Namibia is famous for its road network, and the easiest way to get around this huge country is my car. The country has a well maintained system of black top roads that link all the major towns and cities, which supplemented by a far reaching system of excellent gravel roads that are usually in good condition.
Roads are graded B, C and D. B-roads are the main intercity trunk roads that are two lane highways of black-top construction. C-roads are intermediate roads that link most of the smaller centers while D-roads are usually gravel top roads that are for the most part accessible by 2-wheel drive vehicles.
Namibia is a less than ideal cycle tour destination thanks to the vast distances, limited traffic, heat and limited availability of water.
Overland bus and coach services run between the main cities and many of the smaller centers. There is very limited potential for Âlocal bus travel since these are rare on the roads. International coach services also operate between South Africa and Botswana. Intercape Mainliner is the principal operator, but TransNamib operates a bus service called Starline that in more localized and has a more comprehensive selection of stops.
It is easy to hire either a car or a 4×4 vehicle, as well as expedition style off-roaders if you can afford it. Sometimes if you are on an extended journey it is cheaper to hire a vehicle in South Africa and drive it north. This usually requires special permission from the company, but nothing prohibitive. All the usual suspects in the car hire market are represented in Namibia, with lots of options available for more specific or specialist vehicle hire.
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Independent travel in Namibia is very easy so long as you remain on the main routes, but in order to really get off the beaten track you need to be confident in your bush-navigation skills, or take a tour. There are several different options of scheduled or tailor-made tours, and really this is the best and only way to safely strike out into the deep back-country for which Namibia is famous.
Hitchhiking is a paid service throughout most of Africa, so ultimately in makes more sense to just catch a bus or a train.
DonÂt forget the traveler information network that runs through the many backpackers lodges in the country. As you move from one to the other you will rarely have to look too far for a ride.
Rail
Rail services in Namibia are provided by TansNamib. Currently the system is fairly comprehensive between the main town, but the service has a reputation for being slow and uncomfortable and a consequence rail is not a popular or commonly used means of tourist travel.
Air
The domestic flight network is fairly comprehensive with internal flights being operated mainly by Air Namibia out of Eros Airport in Windhoek, and linking together Tsumeb, Rundu, Katima Mulio, Luderitz, Swakopmund, Mpacha and Oshakati/Ondangwa.