Namibia Discovery — Self-Launched: Cape Town to Windhoek Overland

Land at Cape Town International and take the MyCiTi bus or an Uber into the city (roughly £8–12). Check into a hostel in the City Bowl or Green Point — dorms run around £15–20 a night. Spend the afternoon riding the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway (about £17 return, book a timed slot on the official site to avoid queues) or, if you're fit, hike up Platteklip Gorge free of charge and take the cable car down. In the evening walk the V&A Waterfront and eat at the Old Biscuit Mill or a Bo-Kaap curry house for £8–12.

🚌MyCiTi bus / Uber from airport (~£10)

🛏Hostel dorm, City Bowl or Green Point (~£17)

• →Table Mountain Aerial Cableway (~£17)
• →Platteklip Gorge hike (free)
• →V&A Waterfront stroll

Book the Robben Island ferry and guided prison tour directly through the Robben Island Museum website (about £24, sells out days ahead — reserve early). Afterwards wander Bo-Kaap's colourful streets and join a half-day District Six / Bo-Kaap cultural walking tour if you want context (around £40 via GetYourGuide). In the late afternoon do the easy Signal Hill contour walk from Kloof Nek for the classic sunset over Table Mountain — free, just bring water and a layer. Dinner in Kloof Street for £10–14.

🚌Walking + MyCiTi buses (~£4)

🛏Hostel dorm, City Bowl or Green Point (~£17)

• →Robben Island ferry & tour (~£24)
• →Bo-Kaap & District Six walking tour (~£40 optional)
• →Signal Hill sunset hike (free)

Rent a car for the day with two or three other hostel travellers (about £35 each including fuel) or take a GetYourGuide Cape Peninsula full-day small-group tour (roughly £75–85). Drive the Chapman's Peak road, stop at Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope (entry around £17), then see the African penguin colony at Boulders Beach (about £9). Optional detour to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Back in town for dinner — stock up on snacks for tomorrow's travel day.

🚌Shared rental car / small-group day tour (~£35–85)

🛏Hostel dorm, City Bowl (~£17)

• →Cape Point & Cape of Good Hope (~£17)
• →Boulders Beach penguins (~£9)
• →Chapman's Peak Drive

Take an early intercity shuttle or bus up the N7 towards Clanwilliam — Baz Bus and several shuttle operators run the route, roughly £25–35. From Clanwilliam either arrange a guesthouse pickup or grab a local shared taxi to Lambert's Bay. The town's open-air seafood restaurants on the harbour are the highlight: a plate of snoek and chips for £8–10 with ocean views. In spring the Bird Island gannet colony is worth the walk. Overnight in a Lambert's Bay or Trawal guesthouse / backpackers (about £20–25).

🚌Intercity shuttle Cape Town–Clanwilliam (~£30) + local taxi (~£8)

🛏Guesthouse or backpackers, Lambert's Bay / Trawal (~£22)

• →Lambert's Bay harbour seafood lunch
• →Bird Island gannet colony walk

Head north up the N7 to Springbok and on to Vioolsdrif on the Orange River, the South Africa–Namibia border. Intercity shuttles run this corridor (roughly £30–40); alternatively arrange a private transfer through your guesthouse. Settle into a riverside camp or guesthouse near Vioolsdrif (around £22) and spend the afternoon swimming and watching the river gorge — this is the launch point for canoe trips tomorrow. Buy supplies in Springbok as prices rise sharply in Namibia.

🚌Intercity shuttle / shared transfer (~£35)

🛏Riverside guesthouse or permanent tent, Vioolsdrif (~£22)

• →Orange River gorge walk
• →Sunset over the river

Join a half-day Orange River canoe trip (around £28–35, bookable directly with the riverside operators at Vioolsdrif) through the Richtersveld-style granite gorge. Afterwards cross into Namibia at Vioolsdrif/Noordoewer — easy for most Western passports, stamp and go — then take a local taxi or shared transfer to Hobas, the gateway to Fish River Canyon (roughly £25–35). Pay the canyon entry fee (about £5) and walk to the main viewpoint for sunset over the second-largest canyon in the world. Sleep at the Hobas campsite or a nearby guesthouse (£20–28).

🚌Border crossing + shared taxi to Hobas (~£30)

🛏Hobas campsite or nearby guesthouse (~£24)

• →Orange River half-day canoe trip (~£30)
• →Fish River Canyon viewpoint & entry (~£5)

A long transit day south through Keetmanshoop and Mariental toward Sesriem. Options are limited: the cheapest is a combination of intercity bus to Mariental plus a shared transfer north (roughly £30–45 total), or pool a private shuttle with other travellers staying at your guesthouse. Bring food and water — services are sparse. Arrive at Sesriem in the late afternoon, check into a guesthouse or the NWR Sesriem campsite (about £22–30) and be in bed early for tomorrow's dawn start.

🚌Intercity bus + shared transfer (~£40)

🛏Guesthouse or NWR Sesriem campsite (~£26)

• →Desert roadside scenery
• →Sesriem Canyon short walk

Be at the Sesriem gate for opening (sunrise) and drive or take a shared 4x4 shuttle the 60km into Sossusvlei (park entry about £8, 4x4 shuttle to the last stretch roughly £10–15). Climb Dune 45 for sunrise, then walk into Deadvlei's white clay pan with its dead camelthorn trees — the iconic Namib image. Return via Sesriem Canyon in the cooler afternoon. A self-drive rental car shared between three makes this day much easier and cheaper than chartering transfers; otherwise guesthouses in Sesriem run shuttle trips for around £45–60 per person.

🚌Shared 4x4 shuttle / shared rental car + park entry (~£20)

🛏Guesthouse or campsite, Sesriem (~£26)

• →Dune 45 sunrise climb
• →Deadvlei walk
• →Sossusvlei pan
• →Sesriem Canyon

Travel west across the Namib-Naukluft Park to the coast at Walvis Bay and up to Swakopmund — shuttles run this corridor for around £35–45, and it's worth breaking the drive at Solitaire for apple pie. Check into a Swakopmund backpackers (dorms about £20–25) and walk the German-colonial streets, the pier and the beach. The cold Benguela current makes it bracing but the seafood is excellent — a fish dinner for £10–14.

🚌Shared shuttle Sesriem–Swakopmund (~£40)

🛏Backpackers dorm, Swakopmund (~£22)

• →Solitaire stop
• →Swakopmund waterfront & pier walk

A full day at your own pace. Popular self-bookable options on GetYourGuide: sandwich-harbour kayaking with seals (around £65), sandboarding or quad biking on the dunes (£35–50), or a scenic flight over the Skeleton Coast and shipwrecks (£150+). On a budget, the excellent Swakopmund Museum costs about £2, the Kristall Galerie is cheap, and the beach walk toward the Skeleton Coast is free. Do your Damaraland grocery shopping here — it's the last real supermarket before the north.

🚌Walking / local taxi (~£5)

🛏Backpackers dorm, Swakopmund (~£22)

• →Sandboarding or quad biking (~£40)
• →Swakopmund Museum (~£2)
• →Skeleton Coast beach walk

Head north via Uis into Damaraland. There's no scheduled public transport, so the realistic options are a shared shuttle from Swakopmund (roughly £45–60) or, better value, a shared rental car picked up in Swakopmund and driven north — fuel is cheap and the roads are manageable in a 2WD for most of the route. Overnight in a community campsite or simple lodge near Twyfelfontein (about £25–35). Afternoon free to explore the granite kopjes and look for desert-adapted elephants if you're on a guided drive.

🚌Shared shuttle or shared rental car (~£50)

🛏Community campsite or budget lodge, Damaraland (~£30)

• →Damaraland scenery drive
• →Granite kopje walk

Self-drive or take a local guide to the UNESCO-listed Twyfelfontein engravings (entry about £6), one of Africa's largest rock-art concentrations. Continue to the Petrified Forest (about £5) with its 260-million-year-old fossil trees, the Burnt Mountain and the Organ Pipes. The Damara Living Museum near Twyfelfontein is a genuinely worthwhile community-run cultural visit (about £12) — book on arrival. Keep an eye out for Damaraland's desert-adapted elephants and black rhino on the drive back.

🚌Shared rental car / local guide (~£20)

🛏Community campsite or budget lodge, Damaraland (~£30)

• →Twyfelfontein rock engravings (~£6)
• →Petrified Forest (~£5)
• →Damara Living Museum (~£12)
• →Burnt Mountain & Organ Pipes

Drive north-east to Etosha via Khorixas and Outjo (shared rental car or a pre-arranged shuttle, roughly £40–50). Pay the park entry and vehicle fee (about £12 per person plus a modest vehicle charge) and check into one of the NWR rest camps inside the park — Okaukuejo is famous for its floodlit waterhole, where rhino and elephant come to drink at night. Campsites run about £22–28; book NWR accommodation online well ahead in peak season. Take an afternoon self-drive game loop or join a rest-camp sunset drive (about £35).

🚌Shared rental car / shuttle + park fees (~£45)

🛏NWR rest camp campsite, Etosha (~£25)

• →Etosha park entry & self-drive game loop
• →Okaukuejo waterhole at night
• →Optional sunset game drive (~£35)

Start early for the best wildlife: a dawn self-drive or a guided 4x4 game drive (around £45–60 through NWR or a local operator) covering the Okaukuejo–Halali waterholes, with strong chances of lion, elephant, giraffe, zebra and black rhino. Mid-morning, drive or shuttle south to Windhoek (roughly £35–45, about 4.5 hours) and finish with a walk past the Tintenpalast and Christuskirche, a last Namibian steak or kapana, and a celebratory beer. Overnight in a Windhoek backpackers (about £20) before your onward flight.

🚌Shared transfer Etosha–Windhoek (~£40)

🛏Backpackers dorm, Windhoek (~£20)

• →Dawn game drive in Etosha (~£50)
• →Windhoek city walk (Tintenpalast, Christuskirche)