Things to do in Iona National Park and the Angolan Namib

Best time to visit Iona National Park and the Angolan Namib

• a note or something on   ✦ an occasion worth the trip

• May to October

  Dry cacimbo season, tracks most passable, Cunene lowest, wildlife near water. Best window, with cold desert nights and heavy coastal fog.

• November to April

  Hot season and the southern rains, November to about February inland. Flooded rivers must not be crossed, tracks can close, and heat inland is punishing.

• June to August

  Coldest desert nights and the heaviest Benguela fog on the Ponta Albina coast, in the middle of the best driving window.

Best things to do in Iona National Park and the Angolan Namib

• Tombwa

  Porto Alexandre bay · $

  The last real town on the road south, a working fishing harbour and market on the Porto Alexandre bay.

• Sao Martinho dos Tigres

  Tigres Island · $$$

  An abandoned fishing town on Tigres Island, empty since the 1970s, reached only on a multi day expedition.

• Espinheira

  Inland Iona · $

  The park facilities post where permits and fees for eastern access are handled, a functional stop, not a sight.

Where to stay in Iona National Park and the Angolan Namib

• Designated camps inside Iona

  the expedition itself, in tents only

  Inland at Tchinhungua for the plains circuit or on the coast at Vanessa and Foz do Cunene, all designated sites with no facilities, no water and no signal.

• Mocamedes old centre and Marginal

  staging nights before and after the park

  Where the fuel, water, food, cash and beds are. Hotels and restaurants are listed in the companion Namibe brief and are not repeated here.

• Tombwa

  early start staging on an operator instruction only

  The last town on the road south and the gateway for expeditions; there is no stay you can count on booking, so sleep where your operator arranges.

Think twice about

• Anywhere off the main roads and known tracks inside and around the park

  Landmines and unexploded ordnance remain a countrywide risk, the park prohibits off road driving, and there is no signal, water or rescue. Camp only at designated sites.

• The Cunene River

  Swimming is prohibited because of crocodiles, the river is the Namibian border and is not to be crossed informally, and flooded crossings must never be attempted.

• The park coast for swimming

  The park advises against ocean swimming, the Benguela Current is cold, the surf is heavy and there are no lifeguards on this coast.

Best restaurants in Iona National Park and the Angolan Namib

• Restaurante Margof

  Tombwa · $

  The one Tombwa restaurant a listing supports, a family style place whose main dishes are made with seafood.

Outdoor things to do in Iona National Park and the Angolan Namib

• Iona National Park

  Inland Iona · $$$

  Angola largest desert park, a permit only convoy expedition for oryx, zebra, giraffe and empty gravel plains.

• Ponta Albina

  Park coast · $$$

  The park coastal gate, where high dunes run into a cold foggy Atlantic past designated beach campsites.

• Foz do Cunene

  Cunene River mouth · $$$

  The Cunene River mouth at the Namibian border, river, dune sea and ocean in one frame, with crocodiles in the river.

• Baia dos Tigres

  Tigres Island · $$$

  A 2 to 3 day expedition to Angola largest island and its ghost town, priced per vehicle and crew, not per head.

• Welwitschia mirabilis

  Iona gravel plains · $$

  Ancient two leaved desert plants living on coastal fog, in one of their highest densities inside Iona.

Best hotels in Iona National Park and the Angolan Namib

• Tchinhungua

  Inland Iona · $

  A designated inland campsite with no facilities at all, the camp named in operator itineraries for the plains night.

• Foz do Cunene campsite

  Cunene River mouth · $

  The designated camp at the Cunene mouth, no facilities, no water for sale, and crocodiles in the river beside it.

• Vanessa

  Park coast · $

  A designated coastal campsite within 500 metres of a shipwreck, with no facilities and a cold foggy sea.

Is Iona National Park and the Angolan Namib expensive? What a day costs

A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room

What to book ahead

• Sao Martinho dos Tigres: months ahead
• Espinheira: weeks ahead
• Iona National Park: months ahead
• Ponta Albina: months ahead
• Foz do Cunene: months ahead
• Baia dos Tigres: months ahead
• Welwitschia mirabilis: weeks ahead
• Tchinhungua: weeks ahead

• Arrange permits, an operator or convoy, vehicles and expedition food weeks to months ahead for the May to October dry season.
• Agree special diets, satellite communication, spare tyres and recovery gear with the operator in writing before paying.

Is Iona National Park and the Angolan Namib safe?

• Crime, unrest and landmines are the countrywide cautions, and greater Luanda carries a higher crime risk. Namibe is in no restricted area.
• Landmines and unexploded ordnance remain a risk on roads, verges and bridges, and mines can shift in the November to April rains.
• Stay on main roads and known tracks because of landmines and unexploded ordnance, carry passport originals for checkpoints, do not drive at night, and insure for medical evacuation.

Iona National Park and the Angolan Namib travel tips: tourist traps to skip

• Believing a listing that shows a lodge, restaurant or fuel station inside Iona. None was found in the park information or any operator source.
• Treating the Tigres or Cunene runs as day trips, or entering with road tyres, a phone map and picnic quantities of water.
• Searching only one spelling of Mocamedes, Tombwa, Espinheira or Tchinhungua and missing half the sources.

Getting around Iona National Park and the Angolan Namib: public transport and more

• Fly to Mocamedes, code MSZ, sleep and stock up there, then drive about an hour south to Tombwa and desert tracks beyond. No public transport enters the park.
• Only suitably equipped 4x4 vehicles with experienced drivers should enter, a single vehicle visit is not recommended by the park, and convoys of at least two vehicles are the usual practice outside urban centres.
• Gate hours rule the day: Ponta Albina and Salondjamba entry 06:00 to 17:00, Pediva entry 06:00 to 15:30, exits to 18:00, and no driving between sunset and sunrise.

Who Iona National Park and the Angolan Namib suits

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