Namibia & the Skeleton Coast: Africa's Last Wilderness (2012)

Windhoek • Sossusvlei Dunes • Swakopmund • Damaraland • Etosha National Park
  • 16 days
  • from only:
  • $4895
  • $306 per day
    Land Tour Only
  • 17 days
  • from only:
  • $6495
  • $383 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
NEW-Private Departures
Is this Adventure Right for You?
It's Included
Unique Accommodations
Extend Your Adventure
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Cape Town & The Cape of Good Hope
Optional Tours
Grand Circle Foundation
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your adventure, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two adventures to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the OAT adventure that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your adventure
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your adventure with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of OAT adventures to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta

16hrs

Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, New York (JFK), Philadelphia

21hrs

Denver, Miami, Newark, Washington, DC (Dulles)

22hrs

Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle

23hrs

Minneapolis

24hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Johannesburg, South Africa. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the OAT family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on an OAT trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-955-1925 or click here.

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Pre-Trip: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

4 nights from only $1195

Nearly twice as high as Niagara Falls, and one and a half times as wide, Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls rates as one of the world’s true natural wonders and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Experience its sheer power—as well as the rich culture of the Zimbabwean villages around its base, plus much more.

Single Supplement: FREE

Please note: This extension only available on select departures. Ask your Adventure Specialist for details.

It's Included

  • Roundtrip international airfare between Johannesburg and Victoria Falls
  • Accommodations for 1 night in Johannesburg and 3 nights in Victoria Falls
  • 10 meals—4 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners
  • 3 small group activities
  • Services of an expert OAT local guide
  • All transfers

Optional Tour

Chobe National Park excursion ($160 per person)

Day 1
Depart U.S.

You’ll depart the U.S. and fly overnight to Johannesburg, via a connecting city.
Day 2
Arrive Johannesburg, South Africa

This evening you'll arrive in Johannesburg and stay overnight for a refreshing night's sleep.

Day 3
Fly to Victoria Falls/Walking tour around the falls

This afternoon we arrive at Victoria Falls and transfer to our lodge, which is conveniently located near the falls.

Straddling the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia, these awe-inspiring cataracts are nearly twice as high as Niagara and one and a half times as wide, and generate three times as much water. On a clear day, the mist that is sprayed into the air from these crashing waters can be viewed from over 30 miles away. At peak flood times, 1.4 billion gallons of water per minute pass over its edge. The sight of this largest curtain of water in the world caused David Livingstone to remark that views of its tumbling cascades are “scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.” Today, Victoria Falls is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After lunch, we'll have the opportunity to admire this striking natural wonder on an afternoon walk around the falls. Along the way, we explore walking trails and lookout points—each with different views. There are five main cataracts, including the most dramatic, the Main Falls and Devil’s Cataract. The flora around the falls is naturally profuse: You’ll see ebony, fig trees, and many flowering species. The rain forest surrounding the falls is particularly lush, fed by Victoria’s perpetual spray. (It’s a good idea to wrap your camera equipment, cash, and other items susceptible to dampness in plastic.) Prepare to get wet!

Day 4
Visit a local school and community/Cruise the Zambezi River

Today we’ll gain insight into daily African life when we’re invited into the homes and fields of the Monde community and a local school. Villagers encourage us to be full participants as we’re introduced to a number of aspects of daily life—from architecture, building methods, and agriculture to culture and traditional medicine.

Before dinner, board a comfortable boat for a relaxing cruise on the Zambezi River at sunset. On this water-borne sunset excursion, you'll be amazed that this gentle current is responsible for the spectacular plummeting falls we witnessed yesterday. As we drift along the river this evening, we're likely to spot hippo and crocodile, and keep your eyes peeled for a variety of other species that come to the edge to drink. We'll enjoy some refreshments ourselves as we drink in views of one of Zambezi's famous sunsets before returning to our lodge for dinner.
Day 5
Day at leisure/Optional activities in Victoria Falls

Today, join an optional full-day excursion to Botswana’s Chobe National Park, the second-largest (and first-created) national park in the country. It’s home to one of the world’s largest elephant populations—the present herd is estimated at 120,000 animals. This enormous region offers variety in both wildlife and terrain. Riverine forest, flood plains, and mopane are home to large and small game. Elephant gather around baobab trees, drawn by the water stored in their bark. Large groups of giraffe amble about the land, and hyena, cheetah, leopard, and wildebeest may also be glimpsed in this thickly populated habitat. The birdlife here is spectacular, ranging from eagles and bustards to plovers and rollers, and bee-eaters bustle near their sandbank nests. There are also water birds, such as egret, ibis, and heron, along the river.

You may also spend a day at leisure, exploring the area on your own. Or, you may embark on your choice of exciting optional activities. You will be briefed in Victoria Falls on the exact choices and their details, but typical options include an exhilarating scenic helicopter ride over Victoria Falls, or an elephantback safari where you'll ride, learn about, and interact with these majestic creatures in their natural surroundings.

However you spend the day, enjoy lunch and dinner with your fellow travelers at the lodge.
Day 6
Victoria Falls/Johannesburg

After a hearty breakfast and morning at leisure, we depart Victoria Falls for Johannesburg to meet the rest of our small group and begin our Namibia & the Skeleton Coast: Africa's Last Wilderness land adventure.