What a trip to Namibia costs

Four things decide what a Namibian road trip costs: the car, the diesel, the parks and the nights. Flights and the visa come on top. On a camping trip the hire car is the biggest single item, and its price depends above all on the month.

Amounts here are in Namibian dollars (N$), as parks, camps and fuel stations quote them, or in euros where the rental company charges in euros. The Namibian dollar is pegged one to one to the South African rand. As of October 2026: on 13 October the European Central Bank's reference rate was 18.46 rand to the euro, so 18.46 N$. Sterling and US dollar readers can convert from there.

Park fee

N$ 280per adult per day in Etosha, Sossusvlei and other parks, since 1.4.2026

4x4 with rooftop tent

€110 to €205per day, Asco Hilux by season, as of October 2026

Diesel

N$ 27.86per litre in Walvis Bay, since 7.10.2026

NWR camping

N$ 390 to 670per person per night, as of October 2026

Visa

N$ 1,600per person, as of October 2026

Exchange rate

€1 = N$ 18.46ECB reference rate on 13.10.2026

Park fees: almost double since April 2026

Namibia reviews its park fees every five years, most recently in 2021. The next round was announced in July 2025, the new schedule was published in January 2026, and it has applied since 1 April 2026. Foreign adults now pay N$ 280 a day in the premium parks instead of N$ 150. All other parks charge N$ 200 instead of N$ 100.

The premium band covers almost everything on a self-drive route: Etosha, Namib-Naukluft with Sossusvlei (but not Sandwich Harbour), the Skeleton Coast, Dorob, Cape Cross, Tsau //Khaeb around Kolmanskop, the Waterberg and the Ai-Ais park at the Fish River Canyon. The N$ 200 band includes Daan Viljoen, Hardap, Naute and the parks in Zambezi and Kavango East. As of October 2026.

For vehicles and children the figures differ. Some sources give N$ 50 a day per vehicle, others N$ 60. Children under eight are free. Or under nine, says another source. For older children both N$ 140 and N$ 180 are quoted, the latter for ages 9 to 15. Budget with the higher figure and you will have change left at the gate. Two adults with a car in Etosha therefore pay N$ 620 a day, compared with N$ 350 before (as of October 2026).

If you only drive through Namib-Naukluft on the C14, Namibia's environment ministry says you need no permit; that only applies off the main roads. Where exactly you pay and how the gate counts days, you will find out there.

Then and nowThe travelogue on the old German version of this site records only that there was another entry fee at the Fish River Canyon in 2005; the author had already forgotten how much. He did note one price, according to the report: a backpacker bed in Lüderitz for N$ 49 per person per night, "about 7 euros". So a euro bought roughly seven Namibian dollars. On 13 October 2026 it bought 18.46. Anyone paying in euros today gets more than two and a half times as many Namibian dollars as back then.

Car hire: the season matters more than the model

A Toyota Hilux with a rooftop tent for two costs between €110 and €205 a day at the rental company Asco in 2026, including VAT and unlimited kilometres, for rentals of 6 to 15 days. It is cheapest from January to mid-March and most expensive from mid-July to mid-August. From mid-August to mid-November it is €179, or €174 from 16 days. Rates for 2027 are already set and match 2026, except that the low season rises by €5 to €7 a day. As of October 2026.

Other companies charge in Namibian dollars and draw the seasons differently. At Namibia2go a Hilux with rooftop tent cost N$ 2,640 a day until the end of June 2026 and N$ 3,520 from July to the end of October. A Land Cruiser at Asco runs from €142 to €267 (as of October 2026).

The daily rate includes only basic cover with an excess. Reducing the excess costs extra, as do crossing a border or dropping the car in Cape Town. What companies charge for that, and what no insurance covers, is on the car hire page.

Diesel: the coast sets the price, inland adds to it

Namibia fixes fuel prices every month, and it fixes them for Walvis Bay. Since 7 October 2026 a litre of 50 ppm diesel there costs N$ 27.86, unleaded 95 costs N$ 26.58. Inland a transport surcharge is added. The pump shows how much.

For a 2.4 Hilux automatic with rooftop tent, the Windhoek rental company African Elegance quotes 11 litres per 100 kilometres. That is the company's figure, not a measurement. On corrugations and sand expect more. Every 1,000 kilometres takes about 110 litres, just over N$ 3,000 at the Walvis Bay price (as of October 2026).

Fill up whenever you can. According to a trip report from August 2026 there was no fuel in the Etosha camps, and the last pump was outside Andersson Gate. Deliveries to the state camps have failed repeatedly since early 2025, at Sesriem, Ai-Ais and the Waterberg as well.

Where you sleep: campsite, chalet or lodge

The camps in the big parks are run by the state company Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR). A tent pitch costs between N$ 390 per person per night at Ai-Ais and N$ 670 at Sesriem. Etosha sits in between. From July to October you pay N$ 550 to 560 there, from November to June N$ 460. Olifantsrus in the west costs N$ 510 all year. Park fees come on top. As of October 2026.

If you are not sleeping on the roof, expect to pay several times as much. A room with breakfast at Okaukuejo costs N$ 1,900 to 5,930 per person sharing, from a standard double up to a chalet right by the waterhole. At Halali it is N$ 1,400 to 2,770, at Dolomite Camp with half board N$ 3,180 to 5,400. At the Fish River Canyon the bush chalets at Hobas start at N$ 1,890 per person (as of October 2026).

Private lodges sit in the same range. Gondwana's Namib Desert Lodge near Sossusvlei lists N$ 2,400 per person with breakfast until the end of October 2026, its Canyon Lodge at the Fish River N$ 2,976 (as of October 2026). For guest farms and the luxury lodges in the north, ask them directly.

Watch outOn 13 October 2026 the NWR booking site said the system was unavailable. In that case book by email at reservations@nwr.com.na. Prices for each camp are on nwr.com.na.

The smaller items

The visa costs N$ 1,600 per person, children included. A N$ 400 surcharge for applications at the counter has been approved but, as of October 2026, has not appeared in the government gazette.

A few things on the ground add up. A game drive from Okaukuejo costs N$ 650 with NWR, a night drive N$ 750. NWR gives N$ 180 for the shuttle from the car park to Deadvlei, while a report from May 2026 quotes N$ 250 per adult; these may be two different shuttles. And walking the Fish River Canyon hiking trail costs N$ 540 per person. As of October 2026.

Worked example: two and three weeks for two

The example assumes two adults in an Asco Hilux with rooftop tent in September, which is high season. The two-week trip follows the south and the Namib in 14 days, 2,246 kilometres; the three-week trip follows the grand loop, 3,238 kilometres with four nights in Etosha. It counts one park day for each night inside a park, and the vehicle at N$ 60. Diesel is at the Walvis Bay price, so it will be higher inland. As of October 2026, converted at N$ 18.46 to the euro.

The NWR nights are two each at Hobas and Sesriem, plus two each at Okaukuejo and Namutoni on the longer loop. That leaves nine nights open on the short trip and twelve on the long one, in Windhoek, Lüderitz, Swakopmund and at private campsites. Flights, food, entrance fees and a lower excess are not included either.

What the table shows is the balance. The car accounts for almost three quarters of the fixed costs. Drive the same loop at the end of February 2027 and Asco charges €117 instead of €179 a day, saving almost €870 over two weeks, more than park fees and camping together (as of October 2026). It will be the rainy season, though, and what that means for the gravel roads is covered under when to go.