Overview
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1. Explore the city center
Swakopmund is the perfect city in Namibia to go for a walk. It has a long stretch of coastline and the architecture in the city is beautiful. Nowhere else in Namibia can you see German influences so clearly as in Swakopmund. The most famous and fascinating buildings are the Woermannhaus, the State House, and the Hohenzollern Building. You will also find lovely neighborhoods in the center with souvenir shops, book shops, clothing shops… Another place to go hunting for a traditional souvenir is the Kavita Craft Market. Don’t forget to pass by Swakopmund’s beautiful lighthouse and the Swakopmund museum nearby. If you are looking for an even more cultural experience, you can also join a township tour.
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2. Join a Sandwich Harbour 4x4 Tour
Jump in a 4×4 and cruise through the dramatic dunes of Sandwich Harbour. This is one of the most popular, but also most unique activities in Swakopmund. What makes this place so unique is that it is one of the few places on earth where the desert meets the sea. Because Sandwich Harbor is a protected area and driving through the dunes is not without risk, you can only visit this place on a guided tour. You can choose to get in the car of your guide, but there are also tours where you can drive yourself after a short but necessary training! This is undoubtedly one of the best things to do in Swakopmund, Namibia.
Activities
Discover Swakopmund during one of the many awesome tours in the region!
3. Walvis Bay: Flamingos and Pink Lakes
About a 30-minute drive from Swakopmund, you find the small town of Walvis Bay. This place is all about pink. You can take a look at Flamingo lagoon, where you can see hundreds, no, thousands of flamingos up close from the promenade! Also, Pelican Point is a great spot to watch these fascinating birds. It was one of our favorite things to do in Swakopmund. The best time to see flamingos in Walvis Bay is between November and April. From December to March, it is flamingo peak season and you will see thousands of them. Not only the flamingos are pink here. At. the end of the town, you will also find gigantic pink lakes from the salt refinery. A very unique sight to see!
4. Explore the desert
Swakopmund is the perfect place to explore the desert landscapes of Namibia in the most adventurous ways. You can climb Dune 7, tear down the dunes on a sandboard, or challenge yourself on a fat bike. Exploring the desert should definitely be on your list of things to do in Swakopmund.
Here are some of the best desert activities:
Sandboarding
The high dunes in the Namib Desert are perfect for sandboarding. Jump onto a board and slide down the steep sandy slopes. There's a good chance you might fall, but it'll be nice and gentle in the sand! Not quite sure about standing up? You can also choose for the lie-down experience! You are guaranteed fun... and pants full of sand too.
Don't forget: what goes down must also come up again. So you must be able to walk back up the steep dunes again after every slide.
Quadbiking
Riding a quad bike is an exciting way to explore the desert! During this tour, you can take the wheel yourself and cruise over the gigantic sand dunes! Many tours combine quad biking and sandboarding. So win-win!
Living Dunes Experience
The desert often looks dead and uninhabitable. Still, you'd be surprised how many little creatures live there, like lizards, snakes, beetles, geckos, and spiders. During a living dunes experience, you won't encounter any big animals, but you can try to find the 'little five'.
Biking
Are you looking for a more physically challenging way to explore the desert? Then you can join a desert bike tour and pedal your way through the dunes. No engines, no noise, just you and your physical powers. Know that cycling in the sand is a lot harder and more challenging. However, it is a unique way to discover this beautiful landscape in a much serene (but sweaty) way.
5. Skeleton Coast & Cape Cross
Namibia is home to the biggest seal colony in the world. In the nature reserve of Cape Cross, you can find up to 210.000 seals! We can guarantee that you will be impressed by the number of seals you see, but also… by the smell (it’s bad!). There is a boardwalk along which you can walk through the seal colony. However, there is a good chance that there are seals also lying on the boardwalk, blocking your path. Always keep a sufficient distance from the seals, as they dare to bite! The highest number of seals can be seen during the breeding season in November and December. However, there is not enough food to feed all the little ones, so many are abandoned by their mothers. This is probably not the nicest sight and it might be best not to visit Cape Cross these months. January to March are ideal: the number of seals is still very large and the pups are now sufficiently strong to survive!
Cape Cross seal reserve is located about 1,5 hours drive from Swakopmund. However, the whole drive is along the famous Skeleton Coast, which is also an interesting place to visit. This coastline got its name from several shipwrecks that can be found along the shore. So, you can break the slightly longer journey by having a look at some of these shipwrecks. Zeila Wreck is probably the most famous one, about 60 km north of Swakopmund.
This means you can easily combine a visit to Cape Cross with a drive along the impressive Skeleton Coast.
Practical
150 NAD per person + 50 NAD per car
Daily open from 08:00 AM to 05:00 PM.
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6. Kayak among the seals
You also have a chance to see seals closer to Swakopmund. There will be slightly fewer than at Cape Cross, but you can view them in a unique way. At Pelican Point, you can kayak among hundreds of seals, a lot of huge pelicans, flamingos, and, if you’re lucky, even dolphins! Your guide can give you a lot of interesting information about all the animals you see during this tour. If you would also like to explore the dunes of Swakopmund, there are even tours that combine kayaking and exploring the dunes.
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Swakopmund
Swakopmund
Swakopmund
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7. Try Local Craft Beer and delicious Food
During a camping road trip through Namibia, you will not often get the chance to enjoy an extensive meal in a restaurant. That’s why you should take the opportunity to eat out in Swakopmund. You will find various restaurants and bars along the coast and in the center of Swakopmund. Beer lovers will love Swakopmund even more. At Brewer & Butcher, you can taste various craft beers and ales, but they also serve some delicious meals and meats! You can also have a great beer-tasting experience at Namib Dunes Craft Brewery. For delicious seafood, be sure to reserve a table at The Tug.
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8. Moon Landscape & Welwitschias Drive
40 km east of Swakopmund, you can go for a unique drive through the Moon Landscape. Why this place has been given this name, will quickly become clear to you once you see how much it will remind you of the moon. It definitely deserves a place on the list of unique things to do in Swakopmund.
This valley is home to some WWI remains, mines, unique rock formations, and the rare Welwitschia plant. That’s why this drive is also referred to as the Welwitschia drive. These plants are unique to the Namib Desert, where hardly ever rains and they are thousands of years old. That’s why they are called ‘living fossils’ and in Afrikaans ‘kanniedoodplant’, which literally translates to ‘plant that cannot die’.
Along the drive, you pass several viewpoints and other points of interest. To access the drive, you need a permit that you can obtain at the Ritterburg Office in Swakopmund. It is also possible to do the Welwitschia drive on a guided tour from Swakopmund.
9. Spend some time at the beach
It doesn’t all have to be exciting and active. In Swakopmund, you can also just enjoy the fresh sea air, stroll along the promenade, and spend some time on the beach. Whether you want to sunbathe for a few hours or take a sunset beach walk, Swakopmund has some ideal beaches for this! Be sure to walk onto the jetty to see Swakopmund from a different perspective. Note that the water is quite cold and not really suitable for swimming.
10. Dolphin and Whale Watching Tours
In addition to kayaking among the seals and spotting flamingos, you can also go on a dolphin and whale-watching tour (surprise!) Walvis bay. The whale watching season runs from July to November during the winter. Outside these months, the chance is small to non-existent that you’ll see whales, but you can still spot other sea animals like leatherback turtles and dolphins.
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11. Visit Spitzkoppe
Spitzkoppe is another unique place in Namibia with large granite rocks and boulders, protruding from the surrounding plains. This beautiful place is located about a 2 hours drive from Swakopmund. It is an incredible site with some unique rock formations, century-old rock paintings, fascinating caves, and various hiking trails. Due to its remote location, it is also the place to be for stargazing. You can visit Spitzkoppe on a day trip from Swakopmund, either by driving there yourself or by joining a small group tour. If you are traveling with a roof tent, we highly recommend that you stay here for at least one night.
Practical
Day visit: 120 NAD per person
Camping: 210 NAD per person
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Where to stay in Swakopmund
If you are exploring Namibia with the roof tent, we can recommend Tiger Reef Camping in Swakopmund. This campsite is located by the sea. However, you will not be bothered by the wind because every camping site is well sheltered. In addition to this campsite, you also have the Tiger Reef Bar.
Practical
Low Season: 195 NAD pp/night + 100 NAD/vehicle
High Season (all major holiday periods): 195 NAD pp/night + 100 NAD/vehicle + 165 NAD campsite/night
Not traveling with the roof tent? Then, you have a wide choice of different accommodations such as hotels, B&Bs, and apartments throughout Swakopmund.
Hotels
Discover the best places to sleep through our partners. Book your stay and enjoy their great deals!
Swakopmund
Swakopmund
Swakopmund
via Booking.com
How many days
In our opinion, Swakopmund was the most beautiful and interesting city in Namibia. Most people visit Swakopmund during their road trip through Namibia, just like we did. How long you should stay here depends on how much time you have for your road trip and how many activities you want to do here. We recommend that you plan at least 2 to 3 days to enjoy plenty of all the things to do in Swakopmund.
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However, you still pay the same and therefore have no extra costs! So a win-win for everyone. This way, we can continue to add even more travel inspiration and tips to this blog for your next adventure. Thanks a lot!
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Win-Win for everyone
Did you know that, if you buy or book something through our links, we receive a small commission?
However, you still pay the same and therefore have no extra costs! So a win-win for everyone. This way, we can continue to add even more travel inspiration and tips to this blog for your next adventure. Thanks a lot!
