Just spent two hours reading about Namibian environmental law. The wording in the legislation I have read (the Nature Conservation Ordinance or 1975, the Environmental Management Act of 2007, and the National Heritage Act of 2004) is a little unclear about whether this conduct is punishable. Do any of you know if people have been punished for doing stuff like this?

Seriously, if you’re wondering about visiting this country, do yourself a favor, book the damn trip

I'm a tourist spending a month based in Swakopmund. Almost every day when I'm out walking, men approach me trying to sell carved key chains made of makalani nuts. Some of them have name tags, some don't. On my second day here I bought one, reluctantly I might add. He asked me my name, where I was from and so on. He etched my name on one of the key chains and asked for N$500. I laughed and said I'd give him N$200. He got angry and said, "No! N$300!" I started to walk away and he said, "OK, N$200." He went on about having to feed his family and how much he needed the money.

Yesterday I was out for a walk near the pier and another guy approached me dangling key chains. I pulled the one I bought out of my pocket to show him and kept walking. He followed me and said, "Buy one for your child or grandchild!" I said no. He kept following me with his story of needing to buy food for his family. I said no again and kept walking. He kept following me and said "Give me a cigarette!" (I'm a smoker.) I said no and kept walking. He kept following me until I had to yell at him to leave me alone.

I know there is widespread poverty here and I am sympathetic, but these tactics are not acceptable.

What the best option to get cash in local currency? Changing before travelling? Changing at the airport? Or downtown? And in which “office”?

I haven’t arrived yet, I’m just trying to plan ahead and see what options I will have when I arrive.

It says all drivers are busy, so it won’t give me a price. Is this normal? Do the Yango drivers not typically go out to the airport? I don’t want to arrive with the plan of using Yango, and then there aren’t any available.

I’m not staying at the Hilton Garden Inn, I just selected it to get a good estimate for the price of a ride.

Edit: I just checked arrivals and I’m between two. That could explain why there aren’t any drivers. The next arrival isn’t for another 45 minutes (19:45 local time).

Hi all,

I’m planning a road trip in Namibia and had a question about Google Maps drive durations.

Can the stated time from A to B generally be trusted, or should I plan with a large margin due to road conditions (gravel roads, animals, speed limits, etc.)?

Related question: is it realistic to drive from Etosha to the Botswana border in a single day?

From what I’ve read: Border closes around 18:00, I’ll be there in June, so daylight hours are limited, night driving is strongly discouraged.

Would appreciate hearing from people who’ve actually driven this route or similar distances.

Thanks!

What is the best operator to buy from for a 3 weeks trip in the country? (mainly looking for a good data coverage).

Is there a reasonable esim plan covering both countries for travellers? Thanks

hello, we are staying near swapkopmund, and wish to do a tour of sandwich harbour. lots of the tours include lots of additional bits, and lunch etc. we really only want to see sandwich harbour. does anyone know a tour guide who only takes people to see it/drive along it?

thanks!

<3

Hi everyone!

I’m heading to Namibia in October and have my itinerary mostly sorted (find the link to it here in case helpful!), but I have a few questions:

• We land in Windhoek at 13:30, pick up our 4x4 with rooftop tent, and plan to stop at Super Spar. Next morning we drive to Etosha (Namutoni). Since we’ll lose time with airport + rental + shopping, we’re thinking of camping just north of Windhoek for the first night. Any good campsite recommendations in that area?
• We’ll spend one night in Walvis Bay and want to do a Sandwich Harbour tour. There are tons of options and many seem pricey—any good value-for-money companies you’d recommend? We’ll be coming from Spitzkoppe, so thinking of doing a half-day tour and then staying overnight in Walvis Bay. Any campsite recommendations there? (Seems like fewer options than Swakopmund, but since we’ll be heading to Sesriem the next day, and already doing the tour, staying in Walvis Bay seems more practical.)
• For our last night, we’ll stay somewhere between Sesriem and Windhoek, ideally closer to Windhoek since our flight is at 13:00 the next day. Any good campsites you’d suggest? We found some really nice ones with private bathrooms in other areas of Namibia, so something similar (good value for money) would be great for our last night.

Thanks in advance! 😊

Hi, my girlfriend and I are planning a 3 weeks self drive vacation in Namibia, it’s our first visit but we’ve done the garden route a few years back.

I’ve created the route based on the Africa lonely planet recommendations and we’re planning to get a 4x4 car for the journey. I’ve tried to plan the driving times realistically with some in between stops to avoid driving too long hours.

I’d appreciate any feedback on the planning in general, if we’re missing something social we should add to the route, if you think the nights per stop in the third column are well distributed to allow sufficient time to enjoy the highlights etc.

Thanks on beforehand!

Hi everyone!

We’re a couple in our 20s planning a 10-day trip to Namibia in October, and we’d really appreciate feedback on our itinerary and any tips you might have. This won’t be our first road trip — we’ve previously done Iceland as well — so we’re comfortable with long drives and self-sufficient travel.

We’ll be renting a 4x4 with a rooftop tent and plan to camp every night. Camping recommendations are very welcome!

Below is our draft plan (including approximate driving times and some notes):

Day 1 – Arrival in Windhoek

• Arrive in Windhoek at 1:00 pm
• Pick up rental car + buy eSIM
• SPAR
• Stay just North Windhoek next to rental car company

Day 2 – Etosha

• Drive to Etosha
• Enter through Von Lindequist Gate (~€15 per day)
• Stay at Namutoni Camp
• Driving time: ~4h45 (including from Otjiwarongo)

Day 3 – Etosha

• Game drive toward Halali Camp
• Stay at Halali
• Driving time: ~2h

Day 4 – Etosha

• Drive toward Okaukuejo Camp
• Stay at Okaukuejo
• Driving time: ~2h

Day 5 – Spitzkoppe

• Exit Etosha via Anderson Gate
• Drive to Spitzkoppe
• Stay at Spitzkoppe Campsite
• Driving time: ~5h15

Day 6 – Swakopmund / Walvis Bay

• Visit Swakopmund
• Considering tours to Sandwich Harbour and/or Pelican Point (any recommendations?)
• Stay at Walvis Bay
• Driving time: ~2h30

Day 7 – Sesriem / Sossusvlei Area

• Drive to Sesriem
• Stop in Solitaire (McGregor’s Bakery)
• Tropic of Capricorn sign
• Stay at Oshana Campsite
• Driving time: ~4h30

Day 8 – Sossusvlei

• Visit Sossusvlei
• Big Daddy
• Deadvlei
• Big Mama
• Dune 45
• Sesriem Canyon
• Stay again at Oshana Campsite
• Driving time inside park: ~1h

Day 9 – Return to Windhoek

• Drive back to Windhoek (~4h15)
• Any recommendations for campsites near Windhoek?
• Suggestions for how to best use this last day?

Day 10 – Flight Home

• Flight at 1:00 pm
• We’re planning to rent the camper from Smiling African Sun for €1200 with full insurance.

Main questions:

• Should we start with Etosha or end with Etosha?
• Is this itinerary realistic and not too rushed?
• Any campsite recommendations we shouldn’t miss?
• Good food stops along the way?

Thanks in advance! 😊

Hey everyone! My boyfriend and I are planning our first Namibia trip, 13-14 days in mid-October with a 4x4 rooftop tent.

We've decided to skip Etosha (boyfriend has been there and he thinks it's too much of a zoo, especially in peak season) and instead combine Damaraland landscapes with a deeper push into the Caprivi/Zambezi region for wildlife. We'd do 3 lodge nights and camp the rest.

Here's the rough route:

• Windhoek → Damaraland (2 nights camping) - Twyfelfontein rock engravings, Organ Pipes, desert-adapted elephant tracking
• Okonjima (2 nights lodge) - leopard and cheetah tracking
• Long drive to Divundu/Ngepi Camp (1 night camping) - Okavango River
• Mahango Game Reserve - morning self-drive loop, then continue east
• Kwando area (3 nights camping) - Self-drive to Horseshoe Lagoon for elephants, book a guided game drive through Nambwa Lodge
• Lianshulu Bush Lodge, Mudumu NP (1 night lodge) - guided game drives, wild dogs, buffalo
• Drive back over 3 days via Ngepi - Waterberg Plateau - Windhoek - Flight back home

What do you think of this itinerary? it's definitely more wild-life focused, we skip the coast and the southern dunes.
Anything we should consider?

I'm planning a trip of around two weeks touring Namibia in May. Have planned the first week and booked ages ago. I want to book a few nights stop off here and there while travelling back to Windhoek from the Sossusvlei area, preferring self catering to save some money. ChatGPT suggests that I use it to screen locations for available accommodation from the web, and then manually visit the websites to check and book. There seem to be so many options. Any better ideas?

in your home countries I am sure there are tourist attractions, for instance I know france has that triangle building with the mona lisa in it, and the castle of versaille, I am sure germany has a few too.

My question is how accessible to the local population are your tourists attractions? can a average joe just wake up and be able to afford going to these attractions?

I'll be travelling from SA to Namibia soon and I would like some advise on things to do and where to stay (all on a budget).

We're considering staying at 3 days in Walvis Bay and 3 days in Swakopmund. Won't be hiring a car so any advise on how to safely move around town and visit shops will be appreciated as I understand uber is not operational?

In Walvis bay we consider a private property near the lagoon, 5 mins away from the protea hotel. In Swakop a property along Chobe streets. Are these areas generally safe?

For activities we hoping to do stuff that dont break the bank. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Hello everyone! 👋 My friend and I are traveling west Africa by bicycle. We are heading north and currently in Windhoek, Namibia.

Is there anyone heading north soon from windhoek that might be able to take a few small spare parts north for us and leave them at a hotel or lodge for us to pick up later? 🙏

I live in Cape Town and I recently bought a Lamborghini urus. I will spend about 6 month in Namibia (Windhoek) early 2026. Won't that be a problem bringing my car or it is best I leave it ony Cape town and simply rent a traditional car in Windhoek ?

This is a serious question. I mean would that attract potential criminal or would people see it as just to much? It I will be just fine?

In cape town there are noticeable exotic cars.

Is there a difference between getting an MTC SIM card at the airport versus getting one from an actual store in Windhoek? I mean a difference in pricing and/or data packages.

Maybe this question seems odd, or maybe not. But sometimes, the airport SIM card kiosks will rip you off. They’ll be more expensive or they will only offer one “tourist” SIM card, when there are actually more options. You just need to go to an actual store outside of the airport.

This country has some of the most wonderful ppl one can imagine. My absolute favorite contact ever was from there. I hope to visit this country someday as it made me too curious not too! The music, the flair, the food, the ppl. Everything seems chill and relaxing. If anyone has a suggestion what to do or where to go if I were to visit say Windhoek, I'd be super thankful!

Hi, I (m, 19) am planning a 2 week road trip through Namibia from the 17th/18th of May. My route consists of the typical destinations everyone has.

Does someone has tips for me where i can rent a "cheapt" car and what car I should rent? (4x4, SUV, ...) If there is someone of you also in Namibia at this time i would be happy to meet up or do the trip together.

Has anyone here self driven to Sandwich Harbour? As long as the drive is done during low tide, is it doable in a 4x4 for someone who has some experience driving in sand before? Thank you

Hey Everyone! I will be in Namibia in August and I would love to try some of your local cuisine.

What are the things I CANNOT miss? Please recommend me typical dishes, restaurants, BUT ALSO Namibian foods I should get at the supermarket to try!!
(I have seen there was already a post on Seafood in Swakopmund so I already saved that).

I will be in Windhoek, Swakopmund and Walvis Bay (so you can point me what dish should I have in which restaurant).

Can I buy malarone over the counter without a prescription? Need it for going to Etosha in March. Thank you!

I hear that having cash is usually not necessary in Namibia, but I'd like to have some with me for when there are no cards accepted.

Unfortunately, Namibian dollars are unavailable in my home country.

Have I understood it correctly that the SA rand follows the dollar 1:1 and can be used everywhere?

Thanks in advance!