Getting to Etosha: which gate you need

Pick the gate before you book anything

This is the single most common planning mistake on this route. Etosha is large, and arriving at the wrong gate is not a small detour — it can be a half-day.

Tell us the camp or lodge you are booked into and we route to the correct gate. If you are not sure, the booking confirmation from your lodge will name it.

Gate closing times drive the whole plan

Park gates close at sunset and are strict about it. We plan the departure backwards from gate closing rather than forwards from your landing time.

If the arithmetic does not work, an overnight in Windhoek or Otjiwarongo and a morning run is the honest answer, and we would rather tell you that before you book.

The drive north

The B1 through Okahandja and Otjiwarongo is tarred and straightforward. Fuel and food are available at both. It is a long sit, so comfort stops are built in.

Park fees at the gate

Namibia raised its national park fees sharply on 1 April 2026: a foreign adult now pays N$280 per person per day at Etosha, with lower rates for SADC nationals and children, and children of eight and under free. Fees are paid at the gate and card machines there are not always reliable, so carry enough cash. These are the park's fees, not ours — they are the same however you arrive — but budget for them, because older guidebooks and blogs still quote roughly half these amounts.

Book this journey

• Hosea Kutako (WDH) → Etosha National Park5h 30mN$6,900 per vehicle

Sources for external figures

• Namibia national park fee increase, 1 April 2026. Foreign adult N$280 per person per day at Etosha, up from N$150, per the gazetted schedule as reported by namibian.org, New Era and EtoshaNationalPark.com.na. Sub-rates for vehicles and other categories vary by source — confirm at the gate. Checked September 2026.