Reviews: Hoodia Sossusvlei excursion

"Excellent. The guide was knowledgeable and made it a special experience by going out of his way to avoid the crowds.

For example, instead of providing a lunch stop at the main dune walk he drove to another stopping point where we were the only staying visitors for the duration.

Oryx and Ostrich strolled by in the distance whilst we lunched a delicious sit-down meal with wine in excellent company.

As good as it gets!" Read more about this whole safari

"Hoodia is about a 40 minute drive from the park gates. Only those people staying in the park are able to see the sunrise from the dunes. Once people staying outside are let in the sun is up. Nevertheless, the landscape of the red dunes is majestic.

Daniel, our guide, stopped and took us a short distance off road to see some of the tiny creatures living in the sand, including the dancing spider. Further on we climbed up a smallish sand dune. We were told that the many oryx that live in the park can sometimes be found on top of the dunes cooling themselves down. It was extremely hot.

For lunch our guide took us away from the crowds. Stopping under a shady tree, tables and chairs were set up, and a proper lunch laid out. This was again very professional and very enjoyable." Read more about this whole safari

"The Sossusvlei Excursion was more than just a trip to the dunes.

The guide was excellent and explained the geology and wildlife, including the dancing white lady spider.

The picnic lunch was also quite extravagant." Read more about this whole safari

"felt a bit more routine than everythign else, although we enjoyed the stop to look at tracks of insects, etc and also the lunch venue and lunch" Read more about this whole safari

"Very interesting...walking on the dunes was very tiring for 65 year olds!" Read more about this whole safari

"Overall we were very disappointed with this activity – except the lunch which was fantastic. One of the main reasons we stayed at the lodge was to do this activity as we know the area gets a lot of visitors and this activity is described as ‘off the beaten track’. Some of the extracts from the description:

‘Our aim is to deliver a unique “off beaten tracks” experience in nature and we focus on places which are rarely mentioned in guide books – especially today facing an overwhelming increase of tourist in SSV area’.

‘Hiking to Dead Vlei and later Sossusvlei using “secret routes” to minimize seeing too many other visitors’.

This is not the experience we had. We visited the main sites (and only the main sites) at peak time using the same routes as all the other hundreds of tourists. There was nothing ‘off the beaten track’ about it. Even though we got into park close to sunrise we spent so much time getting lectures at No 1 dune that by the time we got to Dead Vlei it was peak time and we’d missed the best light. We were then told we had 3 hours at Dead Vlei to allow people to walk up Big Daddy. No where in the description does it mention this. We’d walked to the vlei and taken our photos etc withing 45 minutes so we had to stand for nearly 2 hours under the one tree with any shade in the car park waiting for everyone else to finish." Read more about this whole safari

"Daniel was a tremendous guide. There were just 5 of us and he made sure we were comfortable before we set off.

He showed us small desert animals as well as Oryx, Wildebeest, Springbok, lizards, spiders, vultures, stag beetles and Ruppells Korhaans and other birds, and so much more.

Daniel was very knowledgeable about Namibian history and geology too. It was fascinating to see the iron deposits in the red sand dunes, and climb to the top of one. He accompanied us pointing out flora too including the petrified trees.

The lunch picnic was delicious; beautifully set out on a carpet with tables, chairs, tablecloths and cutlery.

Sitting under an acacia tree in the desert with Oryx grazing nearby was an unforgettable experience" Read more about this whole safari

"Great experience with a good guide.

The scenery was mind-blowing." Read more about this whole safari

"Absolutely incredible day, the climb up half of Big Daddy, the guide was one of the best, and the lunch spot totally amazing!" Read more about this whole safari

"Due to flight delays, we arrived late but they accommodated us by taking us on the full tour in the afternoon/evening (it's usually early morning).

The whole experience was excellent and we enjoyed sundowners before returning to the lodge.

Fantastic guide." Read more about this whole safari