Driving the Skeleton Coast

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
7
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
5
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
6
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
8
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
6
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
6
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
67 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
192nd/454
Top 40%
continent
Africa
country
Namibia
Length of time
1-2 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$60 ($60-$160 in 2024 prices)
Time of year visited
September
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Desert Driving Isolation
All Tags
Beaches Sand dune Sunsets Wildlife - Sea Lions
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐

Summary

The Skeleton Coast is all about driving what the Lonely Planet calls “one of the world’s most inhospitable waterless areas in the world’s oldest desert”, and “the highlight of Namibia”.

I agree that the remote feel is enjoyable, and seeing the various wrecks (some still full ships, others just engine blocks remaining) and the Cape Cross Seal Colony is fun – but I wouldn’t have it as the highlight.  Self-driving Etosha National Park and experiencing the The red desert dunes of Sossusvlei are in a different category of wow.  And so is the nearby underated Damaraland’s desert landscapes, elephants and ancient rock art.

Definitely worth the visit, but I would suggest only if you are already planning the drive through Damaraland.  If not, the route straight up to Etosha and then loop round via Botswana etc makes more sense.

 

The remoteness of the Skeleton Coast in Namibia

 

Highlights

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1. Driving along the Skeleton Coast Park - where rolling fogs and dusty sandstorms encapsulate its eerie, remote and wild feel

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2. Seeing the Cape Cross Seal Colony - the giant colony of 100k fur seals is really impressive to walk through. Also amazing just how close you can get to them in the walkway. Doesn’t stink as much as people say …

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3. Seeing some of the shipwrecks dotted along the coast - from full ships to just the engine blocks remaining

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4. Watching the sun sets out across the water

Orientation

 

 

The Skeleton Coast basically runs from Swakopmund all the way up to the north of Mowe Bay, and to go further you need to go offroad.  The reality is though that unless you’re doing camping in the park, most people drive only as far up as Cape Cross because its already a good 2-3 hours from Henties Bay (Hentiesbaai) or 4 hours from Swakopmund.

 

Travel Tips

1. How far up to go?

Our original plan was to drive the whole coast and then loop back east at Torra Bay for the C39 to enter Damaraland, but the problem is it gets very samesie very quickly, is a bloody long way and due to the lack of accommodation options turns quickly into a very long day (if staying somewhere like Hentiesbaai).

We went as far as Mile 108 within the Skeleton Coast Park and then turned back (which is further than most who just turn back after Cape Cross).  You could of course go into the northern third of the Skeleton Coast and in the Skeleton Coast Wilderness Area, but you need to either camp of stay in the Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp to do so (USD1.5k per night in 2025 prices).

 

The entrance to Skeleton Coast National Park in Namibia

The entrance to Skeleton Coast National Park – around 2 hours from Henties Bay

 

2. The fog

It’s seriously foggy and cold in the morning.  Don’t expect to see much before 10am and its a bit of a waste driving through when the visibility is so low.  Give yourself a chilled morning then head out.

 

3. Get a late lunch at Cape Cross Lodge

You can drive in the late morning / midday and have lunch at the very nice Cape Cross Lodge for 2pm, then check out the seals around 4ish when there are far fewer fellow visitors.

 

100,000 fur seals next to Cape Cross on the Skeleton Coast, Namibia

There are 100,000 fur seals next to Cape Cross

 

4. Accommodation options are very limited

Most people aim for Swakopmund as its a pretty cool town and the options further north are limited.  Hentiesbaai is ideal if you can find somewhere – we found a gem with “Beachfront 3 bedroom house” in Hentiesbaai (can be found on booking.com or just call Carla +264 817285108 direct).

 

5. You don’t need a 4WD

The road is pretty good, so 2WD is fine. But obviously need 4WD if going off road and, for other places in Namibia, it’s a must.

 

Beware of hyenas sign, Skeleton Coast Namibia

Not that we saw any . . . but beware of hyenas . . . and lions

 

6. Fitting into an overall Namibia driving adventure

To see how the Skeleton Coat fits into a 1-2 week detailed roadtrip itinerary for Namibia – have a look at this individual travel entry, Driving through Namibia, for plenty of tips, highlights and what to prioritise.

 

How does the Skeleton Coast compare to the other wows of Namibia

Namibia is just built for a 4×4 roadtrip.  Of all the trips I’ve done round the world I would place it in the top 10 because it has that wonderful combination of ✅ outstanding individual destinations + ✅ dramatic scenery in between + ✅ real feeling of adventure.  To help prioritise, this is how I see the wows and Soussusvlei is right at the top:

 

  • Sossusvlei – Wow factor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.  Giant red sand dunes and white salt pans – one of the most surreal and iconic landscapes in Africa and a must for Namibia. The red desert dunes of Sossusvlei.
  • Etosha National Park – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.  One of Africa’s best national parks for easy wildlife viewing, with huge salt pans and animals gathering at waterholes. Also don’t miss this. Self-drive Etosha National Park.
  • Damaraland – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.  Stark desert landscapes, ancient rock art and the chance to see desert-adapted elephants and lions in one of Namibia’s wildest regions.  Damaraland’s desert landscapes.
  • Skeleton Coast – ⭐️⭐️.  A remote, foggy and haunting coastline of shipwrecks, seals and empty beaches stretching into the Atlantic.  Nice but overrated.
  • Windhoek – GASH.  Clean, quiet but fairly unremarkable capital that most people just pass through at the start or end of a trip.  Windhoek.

 

Extras.  Whilst the two below are in Botswana, they make it onto most itineraries due to their proximity, the ease of doing a loop to get there and their sheer wow factor.

 

Experiences Nearby

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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