How much is the Etosha entry fee for foreigners?
Namibia's Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism amended the park fee regulations with effect from 1 April 2026, in Government Notice No. 115 of 2026 (Government Gazette 8877). Each fee has two equal halves, a park entrance fee and a conservation fee, and the tables below show the total.
Etosha shares its fee band with Ai-Ais, Cape Cross Seal Reserve, Dorob, Namib-Naukluft (except Sandwich Harbour), Tsau //Khaeb (Sperrgebiet), Skeleton Coast and Waterberg Plateau.
| Visitor, per day | Namibian citizen | SADC national | Other foreign national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 8 and below | Free | Free | Free |
| Above 8 and under 16 | Free | N$100 | N$180 |
| 16 and above | N$60 | N$180 | N$280 |
| Vehicle, per day | Total fee |
|---|---|
| 10 seats or less | N$60 |
| 11 to 25 seats | N$150 |
| 26 to 50 seats | N$600 |
| 51 seats and more | N$1,000 |
The increase is large. The ministry's earlier fee brochure, still linked from Namibia Wildlife Resorts, showed N$150 for a foreign adult, N$100 for a SADC adult and N$50 for a car in the same band. Any printout or blog quoting those figures is out of date.
Other parks for comparison
The gazette puts a second group of parks on a lower band. That group covers Bwabwata, Mudumu, Khaudum, Nkasa Rupara, Mangetti, Popa Falls, Daan Viljoen, Hardap, Naute, Von Bach and the South West Nature Reserve.
| Visitor, per day | Lower-band parks | Namib-Naukluft, Sandwich Harbour section |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign adult (16+) | N$200 | N$150 |
| SADC adult (16+) | N$130 | N$100 |
| Foreign child above 8, under 16 | N$150 | N$100 |
| Car, 10 seats or less | N$60 | N$50 |
How the fee is charged
The fees are per person and per vehicle. The conditions printed on the ministry's fee brochure say permits are valid for the day and that fees are payable for every day, for both visitors and vehicles. They also say the minimum charge is 24 hours (1 day), and that fees are non-refundable and not transferable.
The new gazette does not restate those conditions. If you enter late one afternoon and leave two days later, ask the gate office how many days it will charge before you pay.
On payment, the ministry's visitor information page says major credit cards are widely accepted in Namibia, and that the South African rand is legal tender alongside the Namibian dollar. Neither it nor the fee brochure says which payment methods each Etosha gate office accepts. Carry enough cash to cover the fee in case the card machine is down.
What are Etosha's gate times and driving rules?
Etosha's timing rule is written into the park conditions rather than as fixed hours. The park regulations make it an offence to "leave a rest camp before sunrise or reach it after sunset, or cross the borders of the Park between sunset and sunrise". Sunrise and sunset shift through the year, so check the times posted at the gate or your camp on the day.
The same conditions set the rest of the core rules:
- Stay in the vehicle. You may leave or hang out of your vehicle only inside a rest camp or an assigned campsite.
- Sleep only in a rest camp. Overnight stays anywhere else in the park are illegal.
- Keep to marked roads. Driving is allowed only on roads marked with official signs, within the official speed limit.
- Check in on arrival. Report your arrival to the nearest park management office.
- Leave pets and loose firearms behind. Pets are banned, and any firearm must be sealed and unloaded.
- No hitch-hiking, and no open vehicles or truck decks without a grid cage.
The ministry has also warned of roadworks. In May 2025 it announced that the tourist gravel road from Okaukuejo to King Nehale Gate, including detours through Halali via Namutoni, was being upgraded to a sealed road. The first phase was scheduled from 23 April to 30 November 2025, according to the ministry's traffic deviation notice. Ask at the gate which routes are affected now.
Where to sleep inside the park
Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) runs the camps inside Etosha: Okaukuejo, Halali, Namutoni, Dolomite, Onkoshi and the Olifantsrus campsite, according to its Etosha page. The ministry's Etosha page notes that Okaukuejo, Halali and Namutoni each have a flood-lit waterhole.
NWR's 2025/2026 rack rates, valid from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026, include 15% VAT and tourism levies. Park fees are paid separately.
| Camp | Camping, per person, Nov 2025–Jun 2026 | Camping, per person, Jul–Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Okaukuejo | N$460 | N$560 |
| Halali | N$460 | N$550 |
| Namutoni | N$460 | N$550 |
| Olifantsrus | N$510 | N$510 |
NWR has already posted separate rack rates for November 2026 to October 2027 on its rates page, so check that file for trips after October.
Worked example: a three-day self-drive
Take two foreign adults and a 14-year-old in a hired car, spending three days in the park and two nights camping at Okaukuejo in October 2026. The 14-year-old falls in the gazette's "above 8 and under 16" band for park fees. NWR's rates discount children only up to age 12, so on NWR's rules the teenager pays the adult camping rate.
| Item | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Park fees, per day | 2 × N$280 + 1 × N$180 + car N$60 | N$800 |
| Park fees, 3 days | 3 × N$800 | N$2,400 |
| Camping at Okaukuejo, 2 nights | 3 people × N$560 × 2 | N$3,360 |
| Trip total before fuel and food | N$5,760 |
The same family paying SADC rates would pay 2 × N$180 + N$100 + N$60 = N$520 a day in park fees. Under the old brochure, the two foreign adults and their car alone paid N$350 a day. Under the 2026 gazette they pay N$620, before the teenager is added.
What to do if…
- You are quoted the old fees. Point to Government Notice No. 115 of 2026, in force since 1 April 2026. Any quote below N$280 for a foreign adult in Etosha predates it.
- You will reach the gate close to sunset. Stop outside the park and enter the next morning rather than rushing, since camp arrival after sunset breaks the park rules.
- Your plans change after paying. The ministry's brochure says fees are non-refundable and not transferable, so buy one day at a time if your dates are uncertain.
- The card machine is down. Pay in Namibian dollars or rand, which are equal in value.
If you are still choosing a vehicle, read our guide to 4x4 rentals and gravel roads from Windhoek. For the first leg of the trip, see getting from Hosea Kutako airport to Windhoek.