All of Etosha's roads are accessible with a normal 2WD vehicle, and an excellent map of the park is available from the restcamps. A more colourful 'Honeyguide' publication also has a few pages of colour sketches of most of the common birds and animals. Both are normally for sale at a reasonable price in the restcamp shops, and the maps are also available from the restcamps' fuel stations.

By road

You can enter the park via either the Von Lindequist Gate, near Namutoni, which is 106km from Tsumeb, or the Andersson Gate, south of Okaukuejo, 120km from Outjo. There is a road through to the western end of the park, and a gate on the park boundary. Until the long-planned fourth camp, Otjovasandu, opens, this whole region is closed to private visitors.

Entry permits to the park are issued at both gates. Then you must proceed to the nearest camp office and settle the costs of your accommodation and permits. Accommodation costs include entrance fees to the park, so the only extra that you will have to pay if you are staying overnight is the charge for the entry of your vehicle (N$10 for most small vehicles).

If you are just visiting the park for the day, then you will have to pay 'day visitor' park fees of N$30 per person per day, plus N$10 for the car. If you go out of the park for lunch, then strictly you should pay two park entry fees, but this rule may be relaxed if you politely tell the gatekeeper that you intend to return later in the day.

The gates open around sunrise and close about 20 minutes before sunset. For the precise times on any given day, see the notice next to the entry gates of each camp. Driving through the park in the dark is not allowed, and the gates do close on time. Neither hitchhiking nor bicycles (push or motor) are allowed in the park.

By air

Mokuti Lodge is on the regular scheduled flight between Windhoek and Victoria Falls, which also calls at Katima Mulilo (N$1,140). The Windhoek flights are N$700 to Mokuti. The occasional links to Ondangwa are also available; allow around NS$700 per leg for these.

Ongava has a good airstrip, which sometimes receives internal flights, though none are currently scheduled.

Organised tour

Etosha has always been designed for visitors to drive themselves around. The roads are good; a normal 2WD car is fine for all of them. The landscapes are generally open, as the vegetation is sparse, so you don't need eyes like a hawk to spot most of the larger animals. Thus very few people use organised tours to visit the park. However, if you really don't want to drive yourself around, then the alternatives are:

Ongava Lodge
See under Practical Information, Lodges outside Etosha, Ongava Lodge and Tented Camp for full details, but Ongava's normal activities include half-day drives in the Okaukuejo area of the park. These are usually included in Ongava's all-inclusive rates.

Mokuti and Etosha Aoba Lodges
On the eastern side of the park, Mokuti Lodge has its own vehicles and drivers, and runs several drives into the park daily. Etosha Aoba has equivalent arrangements to provide trips for guests.

Etosha Fly-in Safaris
Based in Tsumeb, and operating from the new Mushara Lodge, Etosha Fly-in Safaris is probably the only operator specialising in guided trips around the park. They have their own four-seater aircraft (or charter larger ones) for collections, and use VW Combi Minibuses or Mercedes buses for driving around the park.

Some of their business is fly-in safaris around the country, including Etosha. On the ground, they cater for groups staying in Mushara or the other nearby lodges. Expect a morning game drive to cost around N$340 per person, including lunch, while an afternoon game drive only would be about N$250 per person, for a minimum of two people.