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| Lion at the break of day in Etosha National Park in Namibia. He was annoyed that we woke him with the click-click of our cameras and our oohhs and ahhs! We got the hint and left this brotha' alone very quickly. |
To get to Namibia, you need to fly here .... duh-uh.. right.
What I mean is that air access is a major issue for travellers. People want speedy, safe, convenient air flights. And that is a reasonable expectation; I get it.
For Namibia, down in the southern tip of Africa, that expectation presents a geographical challenge for those coming from North America, Europe or Asia. BUT....
Never fear, Air Namibia is here! Google them and check out their website!
When you book your air ticket to come here, tell your travel agent you want to fly on Air Namibia; leave something permanent behind in Namibia when you have your tourism experience with us. Flying on our national airline is one good way to do a bit of that!
Air Namibia flies every day of the week to and from Frankfurt in Germany. That link is a doorway to the world for Namibia. The German authorities rennovated that airport in Frankfurt and it is quite nice now; it was a bit dirty and tacky before. I have passed several times per year over the past 20 years, so I can see the changes.
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| Me (on the left!), with friends on a game drive through Etosha. |
Coming from the USA out of Philly on US Air, I transit via Frankfurt. The US Air flight from Philly arrives in the early morning of the next day. Lufthansa also flies in and out of Philly, but their ticket is TWICE the cost of the US Air ticket. Go figure.
The reality is that the Air Namibia connecting flight to Windhoek doesn't leave Frankfurt until around 8 that evening. This is better... back in the day, it used to leave around 10 or even 11 in the evening! No worries about that long layover. You can book your luggage direct so that you don't have to worry about claiming it when you are hanging out in Frankfurt. US Air had a nasty, short-tempered agent on the desk the last time I flew out of Philly and she forced me to claim my luggage in Frankfurt and schlep it around for 14 hours, but usually, you can get a human being rather than a monster at US Air's international flight counter and you can check you luggage through.
The good news is that in Frankfurt, there is a Sheraton Hotel connected directly to the Airport! You don't even have to go outside! Americans don't need visas for Germany, but others may have to look into that if you want to get to the Sheraton. Check with the German Embassy about this point.
It is best to book your Day Room at the Sheraton in advance and go there, have a shower, get a nice rest, change your small clothes and then return to the airport a bit earlier than the flight boarding time and shop a bit. I like the shoe stores in the airport... ok, I plead guilty to being a female shoe hog!
If you are anywhere in Europe, you can easily connect to Air Namibia via Frankfurt.
Other good air connection news is that Air Namibia now has a flight to Accra, Ghana where Delta Airlines also connects out of Atlanta in the USA. I haven't taken that route yet, but when I next go home to see Mom, I will take it and let you know how that goes. Air Namibia also flies to Luanda in Angola (I think I saw a flight to Houston from Luanda???) and there is an Air Namibia flight to Lusaka in Zambia. Connections to London can come from there.
Air Namibia, of course, goes to Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa several times per week. There is a South African Airlines flight to the States... I think it goes to Washington and New York, direct (it stops to fuel somewhere in West Africa) Google SAA and that should tell you more about that flight.
Air Namibia is now negotiating with Kenya Airways to hopefully get a flight to Nairobi soon. There is a direct flight from Quangzhou, China into Nairobi. That means we can link Namibia to our Chinese potential tourists a bit better. Also, there are flights to and from Jo'burg from Dubai which is a hub from many Asian countries.
Flying from the States to Windhoek is long, no doubt. About 8 hours from Philly to Frankfurt and then another 9 hours (after a 12-14 hour lay over!) to Windhoek... but then, you are here! Returning to the States from WHK is better, with only a 4-5 hour layover in Frankfurt - you arrive early morning at 6 or so and depart on an early afternoon USA-bound flight between 12 - 2 from Frankfurt.
C'mon... give us a try for your holiday in Namibia... Your travel agent will have more flight connection info. Find something that works for you.... You'll love it!
Tell 'em Jackie sent you.
PS - my Labs had pups a while back and I couldn't resist adding these cutie faces to my blog. Aw... shucks! My little boo-boos and I welcome you to Namibia!
