Dusty Trails Safaris & Car Hire Namibia Reviews 13

DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY!!
I am a Belgian travel agent specialized in Namibia and I worked with Dusty Trails for more than a year. At first everything seemed fine, but since February it became clear the company is in serious financial trouble.

In February 2025, I paid a large invoice covering accommodations, car rental, activities, and services for clients traveling in August 2025. We agreed on two cars with rooftop tents, but on arrival my clients received just one car for five people, with only two ground tents. You can imagine the impossible situation of five people, their luggage, camping gear and tents all squeezed into one vehicle.

Worse, when my clients arrived at the booked accommodations, they were refused entry because Herman Oosthuyzen / Dusty Trails had not paid and owed large sums of money. I was forced to pay everything again to save the trip for my clients.

Since then, Herman has stopped answering calls and messages.

👉 My advice: avoid this company at all costs.

Very Disappointing.

They book clients with other companies and does not pay for the activities.
Empty promises and no arrangements.

We were a group of 21 people + 2 local guides. We booked the trip to visit Namibia for 3 weeks in August 2022 and the local tour operator rented 3 vehicles from Dusty Trails Safaris (DTS). Unfortunately one of the 3 vehicles, driven by me, had a very serious road accident and was seriously damaged. Dusty Trails Safaris (Mr. Herman Oosthuizen) told us through our tour operator that his car insurance Company would only partially cover the damages and we had to pay 1/3 of the total damages (i.e. 172400 Namibian dollars or 11000 euro). we paid that amount within 48 hrs under the promise that DTS would issue the justification documents and the receipt for the payment, so that I could claim the money back from my Travel Insurance Company. differently from what promised, DTS never issued any document to prove the payment, nor they issued any receipt. and this despite many e-mails I personally wrote to Mr.Oosthuizen, and calls. we even involved the Namibian Tourist Board, but they replied that they were not concerned. conclusion is that presumibly Mr.Oosthuizen claimed the full damage amount from his Insurance Company and our 11000 euro on top. My strong recommendation is that DTS and Mr. Oosthuizen must be avoided since they are not a honest tour operator. of course I have all the evidences of what I am writing, in case anyone wishes to double check. Luigi Ceccarelli

The team around Hermann, Leonie, Gerson, Given and Carlien answered all the questions we had in advance. We had a Safari 9-seater and were traveling with 6 people.
After 150km we had a tire blowout, the replacement tires weren't in order, and unfortunately there wasn't a compressor on board either. That cost us half a day of vacation. After this incident, everyone at Dusty Trail worked to get the tires fixed and a compressor was also delivered to us.
The car was otherwise in good condition and got us through all types of terrain on our trip.
All in all a great trip, with good support from Dusty Trails. THANKS

Das Team um Hermann,Leonie,Gerson,Given und Carlien haben schon im voraus alle Fragen beantwortet die wir hatten. Wir hatten einen Safari 9-Sitzer und waren mit 6 Personen unterwegs.
Nach 150km hatten wir einen Reifenplatzer,die Ersatzreifen waren nicht in Ordnung,und ein Kompressor war leider auch nicht an Bord. Das hat uns einen halben Tag des Urlaubs gekostet. Nach diesem Zwischenfall haben alle von Dusty Trail daran gesetzt,dass die Reifen in Ordnung gebracht,und ein Kompressor wurde uns auch noch geliefert.
Das Auto war sonst in einem guten Zustand,und hat uns durch alle Geländearten gebracht,die auf unserem Trip lagen.
Alles in allem ein super Trip,mit guter Unterstützung von Dusty Trails. DANKE

Great experience with a brand new Isuzu 4x4. Thank you Carlien and Leonie!

Dusty Trails Safaris. Very surprised to be provided with a brand new 4 x 4 which was well equipped and a pleasure to cover 2600kms in. It handled the terrain with ease. The service from Dusty Trails was fantastic so Thank You to Carlien. I Would recommend Dusty Trails Safaris any day - 5 star service.

Carlien and her team made our trip to Namibia so easy! They took our rough itinerary suggestions and turned them into a plan. They were always available for any questions we had and also helped us get from the airport seamlessly and even picked up a Namibian SIM card for us. There was a brilliant mixture of camp sites and lodges to stay at and the car was great for both driving and camping! The fold down tent was so easy to use! We loved it all and will definitely use the company again!

Very good experience with Dusty Trails Safaris. Good & strong car with all camping equipment, pick-up from/to the airport. Fully available. A special thanks to Given ;) who help us a lot!!!

Dusty Trails Safaris. Thank you very mutch for all the effort you guys did to make my family holiday a great successes. Carlien you are a star. Would recommend Dusty Trails Safaris any day. My next holiday to Namibia will also be done by Dusty Trails Safari. 5 star service.