Desert and Coast

Seven days, about 1,220 kilometres, and two nights at each of three places, which is much the best way to see this part of Namibia. A self-drive loop from Windhoek taking in Sossusvlei, the coast and Spitzkoppe.

Sossusvlei comes first, and it fully deserves the early start. The dunes are among the tallest on earth, and Deadvlei, the white clay pan with its nine-hundred-year-old dead camel thorns standing on it, is the single most photographed place in the country. Two nights means being there at sunrise, which is when it works.

Swakopmund follows for two nights on the Atlantic, which is cool and often foggy after the heat of the desert. Then Spitzkoppe, a cluster of granite peaks rising straight out of the plain, with ancient rock art around their base and some of the darkest night skies anywhere on earth. Two nights there turns out to be as much about looking up as looking out.

Sandura Tours plan and book the itinerary, and they include all accommodation, route planning, park and reserve entrance fees and 24-hour roadside support. Flights, meals, activities, insurance and gratuities are separate, and the vehicle can be added through their planner. One thing to settle at enquiry: the operator does not publish a fixed price for this itinerary, so the figure shown is indicative and needs confirming. With two nights everywhere and modest daily distances throughout, this is a week designed around being somewhere rather than getting there, which is unusual for Namibia and very welcome.