Namib Desert · 60 km from Sesriem

Namib Dune Star Camp

Namib Desert, Namibia

Nine cabins on the crest of an ancient dune, reached only by transfer from Namib Desert Lodge. The bed is on wheels: roll it onto your deck and sleep in the open, with a hot shower waiting in the morning.

The stay

A bed on wheels, on top of a dune

This is the sleep-out camp of Namib Desert Lodge, set on a dune crest a good way from the main building. You cannot drive up: guests leave their car at the lodge and are taken in by the camp’s own vehicle, and they come back down for breakfast and dinner at the lodge restaurant.

Nine cabins, spaced well apart, each with a large deck facing the open desert. The double bed sits on wheels so it can be pushed straight out onto that deck. Extra bedding is provided, and you will want it — desert nights in winter get properly cold.

It runs on solar, and it runs lean. There is no air-conditioning, no fan and — worth planning around — no plug points in the cabins, so charge cameras and phones at the main lodge before you go up. There is still a hot shower, a flushing toilet and a tea and coffee station in every cabin.

Cabins on the dune crest at Namib Dune Star Camp

Bed wheeled out onto the deck under the stars

Where you will sleep

Accommodation at Namib Dune Star Camp

Nine cabins in total: seven doubles and two that take a third person. Children under 12 are not accommodated.

Cabins on the dune crest at Namib Dune Star Camp

Bed wheeled out onto the deck under the stars

A cabin and its deck facing the open desert

Inside a cabin at Namib Dune Star Camp

Deck and dune view from a cabin

Cabin interior with the bed on wheels

Sunrise over the dunes from the camp

The camp on the crest of the ancient dunes

Double Cabin

Seven of the nine cabins are set up for two people.
The double bed is mounted on wheels and rolls straight out onto the spacious private deck, which is the entire point of coming here — you sleep in the open on top of a dune, with nothing built between you and the horizon.
Extra bedding is supplied for cold winter nights. The en-suite bathroom has a solar-heated hot shower and a flushing toilet, and there is a tea and coffee station and basic toiletries in the cabin.

Remember there are no plug points and no fan or air-conditioning: this is a deliberately simple cabin in a spectacular position.

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Inside a cabin at Namib Dune Star Camp

Deck and dune view from a cabin

Cabin interior with the bed on wheels

Sunrise over the dunes from the camp

The camp on the crest of the ancient dunes

Desert landscape around Namib Dune Star Camp

Cabins on the dune crest at Namib Dune Star Camp

Bed wheeled out onto the deck under the stars

Triple Cabin

Two of the nine cabins have an extra single bed for a third person.
One thing to know before booking: only the double bed is on wheels. The single bed is fixed and cannot be moved outside, so two of you can sleep out on the deck and the third sleeps indoors.
Otherwise the cabin is the same — large deck, en-suite with a solar-heated hot shower and flushing toilet, extra bedding, tea and coffee station and basic toiletries.

There are only two of these, so say early if you need one.

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What to do

Why stay at Namib Dune Star Camp?

People come here for one thing: to sleep outside, on a dune, in a proper bed. That is the whole proposition, and it is worth a night even on a tight itinerary.

Sesriem is 60 km away, so Sossusvlei is a day trip rather than a morning stroll, and the gate opens at sunrise for anyone staying outside the park. If the empty dawn light on the dunes is what you are after, ask us — a night inside the park will get you that, and a night up here will get you something quite different.

What you get instead is a sky. No settlement near enough to glow, no lights in the camp beyond what solar carries, and a guided scorpion walk that is a good deal more entertaining than it sounds.

The camp belongs to Namib Desert Lodge, where you check in, eat, and leave your car.

Before you book

No plug points in the cabins — charge everything at the main lodge
No air-conditioning or fans
Children under 12 are not accommodated
You cannot drive up: guests are transferred from the main lodge
Breakfast and dinner are served down at the lodge, not at the camp

Activities

Sleeping out under the stars on your own deck
Guided sunrise and sunset walks
Guided scorpion night walk with stargazing
Guided and self-guided game walks
Game viewing
Day trips to Sossusvlei, Sesriem Canyon and Solitaire

Things to see

Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and Hidden Vlei
Dune 45, Big Daddy, Big Momma and Elim Dune
Sesriem Canyon
Solitaire

Facilities

Restaurant with a wrap-around deck at the main lodge
Bar and sundowner balcony with long desert views
Solar power and solar-heated water throughout
24-hour security
Malaria-free area

Getting there

60 km from the Sesriem gate
Check in at Namib Desert Lodge and transfer up by camp vehicle
Gravel roads throughout — allow more time than the distance suggests

Sunrise over the dunes from the camp

Desert landscape around Namib Dune Star Camp

Photos

Namib Dune Star Camp in pictures

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Video

Namib Dune Star Camp on film

A look around Namib Dune Star Camp before you book.

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