Namibian Beach in July
June 23, 2016 10:06 PM Subscribe
My husband and I are going on a tour that ends in Swakopmund, Namibia in the middle of July. How long should we stay there and what should we do?
We are currently slated to stay in Swakopmund for about six days before heading to Windhoek to catch a flight to visit friends in Kenya, but could spend more time traveling to Windhoek and/or hanging out in Windhoek instead. Any suggestions on how we should split our time between the cities, or what we could stop and do along the way to Windhoek? (We are tentatively planning to rent a car and drive from Swakopmund to Windhoek).
For our stay in Swakopmund, does anyone have specific suggestions of what to do or what your companies we should work through? We know it's a good place for surfing the dunes or skydiving or other adventure sports, but we don't have a huge budget and want to prioritize the best things!
On a related note, we have read the months of June through August bring sandstorms to the coast. Are they prevalent enough that they could ruin our whole week in and around Swakopmund?
We are currently slated to stay in Swakopmund for about six days before heading to Windhoek to catch a flight to visit friends in Kenya, but could spend more time traveling to Windhoek and/or hanging out in Windhoek instead. Any suggestions on how we should split our time between the cities, or what we could stop and do along the way to Windhoek? (We are tentatively planning to rent a car and drive from Swakopmund to Windhoek).
For our stay in Swakopmund, does anyone have specific suggestions of what to do or what your companies we should work through? We know it's a good place for surfing the dunes or skydiving or other adventure sports, but we don't have a huge budget and want to prioritize the best things!
On a related note, we have read the months of June through August bring sandstorms to the coast. Are they prevalent enough that they could ruin our whole week in and around Swakopmund?
Response by poster: Yes, we will be spending a week traveling through the desert, including a few days in Namib-Naukulft Park, and end up in Swakopmund at the end of that part of the trip.
posted by alligatorpear at 1:03 AM on June 24, 2016
posted by alligatorpear at 1:03 AM on June 24, 2016
I went to Namibia a year ago for three weeks. We only spent two nights in Swakopmund. To be honest, that was more than enough.
It is a very pretty city (I say city, because it's one of the largest cities in Namibia, but it's really like a small town in UK standards). Remember, the total population of Namibia is just two million people in a massive country. There are not many towns from Swakopmund to Windhoek.
We chilled out that day, ate in a seafood restaurant. It was very good and super inexpensive (£20 per person for a seafood dinner). Even more so now that the rand has dropped by half. We didn't do any of the other activities as we were tired and did not have much time. Also, sea kayaking tours were expensive! When I looked at them, they were like £60 per person.
This is somewhat out of the way, but I liked Uis town a lot. It used to be a former mine and there are tours to it. The Brandberg Mountains is nearby, where you can see some rock paintings. Overall, it was extremely inexpensive for all the tours. Uis isn't a massive tourist hotspot, so prices are even less inflated than they already are.
posted by moiraine at 6:06 AM on June 24, 2016
It is a very pretty city (I say city, because it's one of the largest cities in Namibia, but it's really like a small town in UK standards). Remember, the total population of Namibia is just two million people in a massive country. There are not many towns from Swakopmund to Windhoek.
We chilled out that day, ate in a seafood restaurant. It was very good and super inexpensive (£20 per person for a seafood dinner). Even more so now that the rand has dropped by half. We didn't do any of the other activities as we were tired and did not have much time. Also, sea kayaking tours were expensive! When I looked at them, they were like £60 per person.
This is somewhat out of the way, but I liked Uis town a lot. It used to be a former mine and there are tours to it. The Brandberg Mountains is nearby, where you can see some rock paintings. Overall, it was extremely inexpensive for all the tours. Uis isn't a massive tourist hotspot, so prices are even less inflated than they already are.
posted by moiraine at 6:06 AM on June 24, 2016
Windhoek is not somewhere worth spending several days in... In terms of swakop, consider heading to Walvis bay to see the flamingos, North to see the seal colonies. There ain't much on the drive between Windhoek and swakop. The petrified forest is a colossal anticlimax.
Have a great trip, I loved Namibia so much.
posted by smoke at 4:17 PM on June 24, 2016
Have a great trip, I loved Namibia so much.
posted by smoke at 4:17 PM on June 24, 2016
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posted by moiraine at 11:13 PM on June 23, 2016