r/Namibia

Hi all, I am looking for Garmin sellers in Windhoek. I mainly want to use it for tracking my running and hiking. Would appreciate all leads. Thanks.

I wanna start my loc journey and don't know anyone with locs to ask for recommendations and opinions.

I spoke to a supposed loctition and she wants to charge me a ridiculous N$400 for starter locs! FOUR HUNDRED FOR ESSENTIALLY TWISTING MY OWN HAIR😭?? Am I overreacting?

yea does anyone know some good loctitions or have recommendations for loc products?

This topic has already been discussed several times: whether you need a satellite phone in Namibia. I’d like to share our experience to help others make that decision.

We had neither of the two devices with us and then suffered a breakdown in the middle of nowhere. The rear control arm came loose from the front mounting point because the nut had worked itself loose. We couldn’t call for help and managed to make the vehicle drivable again using a jack, a wheel wrench, and the nut from the spare wheel.

Starlink antennas are banned in Namibia. There are supposedly ways to use them anyway, but I’ve read that they are confiscated on arrival.

There was apparently an attempt to legalize them in May 2026, but the politicians rejected it.

Please share your experiences on this topic. I’d be interested to hear them.

Does anyone have any new information about the legalization of Starlink antennas?

Are the roads good enough to drive from Windhoek to Swakopmund with a VW Polo?

Hi everyone! I’ll be moving to Windhoek for 6 months for work later this month and it’ll be my first time in Namibia! I would really appreciate any advice from locals or anyone who’s lived there. I’m especially looking for tips on :

• Safe and affordable accommodation (which areas would you recommend ? Work is on Stein St)

• Getting around without a car (buses, taxis, walking, etc.)

• Cost of living and grocery shopping

• Things you wish you knew before moving to Windhoek

I’m really excited about this opportunity and would love to hear any recommendations or advice you have. Thank you so much!

Just got back from my first trip to Namibia. Some very random observations that may be interesting to other travelers, especially first-timers:

Namibia is clearly one of the most beautiful countries I've been to. The daily sunrises and sunsets are just spectacular. It easily made it into my top three, probably even my top two. The scenery is absolutely stunning, and the country's sights are truly something special.

Immigration at Windhoek Airport was extremely slow, so make sure you're first in line when you get there. Flying Business Class definitely helped. The immigration staff always seemed to be in a bad mood and were somewhat snarky, including at Victoria Falls Airport. Most people in Namibia and Zimbabwe were really friendly, though, so no complaints. Be prepared for small talk. It was a bit annoying at first, particularly for us Germans, but you get used to it.

We did our first grocery run at Grove Mall, which was very convenient.

Vegan/vegetarian food was readily available at our lodges, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. I didn't have any tofu for three weeks—no way I could do that in Europe, lol.

Fish River Lodge has the best location, period. Getting there is, well, interesting, but the views make up for it. Dead Valley Lodge is very overpriced, but I'm still glad we booked a night there. Sunrise at Deadvlei and sunset at Dune 45 are really something. Etosha King Nehale was beautiful, too. Most lodges we stayed at were nice, but sometimes they felt a tad overpriced.

Etosha was nice, we saw lots of animals up close. However, the roads were rough and sometimes closed. We encountered a lone lioness strutting down the road near Stinkwater Waterhole. It was just us and the lioness, and it was really impressive. The staff at the gates seemed really bored—they even told us, lol.

We did a sunrise helicopter flight over Sossusvlei AND a sunset scenic flight from Sossusvlei all the way to the coast, just spectacular, and one of the highlights of the trip. Do these instead of a balloon flight

Get the full-day pass for Kolmanskop, totally worth it. The atmosphere and light are best at sunrise and sunset, and there are hardly any people around.

Windhoek and Swakopmund did nothing for us, Lüderitz was okayish. Still, Namibia's real beauty lies in its nature, not its cities IMO.

If you can, go to Victoria Falls for a few days, they're obviously worth visiting. Contrary to what I'd read online, the hawkers weren't too persistent and left us alone pretty quickly. There were baboons everywhere, interesting to watch, but keep an eye on your phone and your bags. The direct flight from Windhoek to Victoria Falls Airport was convenient, but outrageously overpriced IMO.

In summary, we loved Namibia and burned through a lot of cash (€12,000 per person for 3.5 weeks), but that's largely because we flew Business Class from Europe, had our own "Kalahari Ferrari," stayed at lodges, had to pay for visas, booked plenty of activities, etc. You can definitely do it for less, but it'll never be a cheap destination.

Namibia is an extremely beautiful country, and we'd love to return to Southern Africa one day—maybe Botswana.

Hey have any of you applied for a Canadian visitor visa or a shenghen one? Was it challenging or did they generally approve Namibians?

Namra now say that if you wish to import a toothbrush, toilet roll or Ferrari into Namibia you must register for a Trader ID Number (TIN).
https://www.namra.org.na/documents/cms/uploaded/public-notice--mandatory-tin-on-asycudaworld--9-dec-2025-7d1548a64e.pdf

To do this, you first have to register as an actual Namibian tax payer, then use your tax number to register for the Trader ID Number (TIN).
When approved, the TIN will be the same number as your tax number, but 'flagged/allowed' to progress on the import of your desired toothbrush from overseas. You must do both steps.

I have a Canadian friend, here for 3 weeks as a tourist, stuck in a remote location, and needs a few small parts for his broken vehicle that can't be sourced locally.
Parts delivery is now with the courier company in Windhoek, but they insist they can't release them unless he registers for a TIN, which of course means registering as a tax payer.

Seems utter madness, what a way to treat tourists.

Does anybody have any experience of what I would hope would be some exceptions for the TIN registration for tourists/foreigners like this?

(They are happy to pay the import taxes, just crazy they need to register as a tax payer with no process for non-citizens etc)

We have rented 7 Hilux 4x4 Rooftop tent vehicles, self-driving around Namibia. We are booked for Spitzkoppe Rest Camp later this year. Can we camp together as a large group or at least split into 3 vehicle group and 4 vehicles in another group? We’d enjoy being in groups plus with the current incidents of robbery thought safety in numbers. (Hopefully they’ll put more security in place by then). Thanks

Hi everyone! Planning my first self-drive trip to Namibia with a Bushlore 4x4. English is not my first language, so please excuse any mistakes!

I am looking at two major long-distance drives in my itinerary. Google Maps says they are fine, but I want to be safe and absolutely avoid driving in the dark! 😅

1. Go: Swakopmund ➔ Skeleton Coast ➔ Etosha (Andersson Gate) in 1 day?

Can we leave Swakopmund early, drive up to see the Skeleton Coast (Cape Cross/Ugab Gate), and reach Etosha South Gate on the same day? Or is it too much? If we must stop for a night in between, where is the best place/area in Damaraland?

2. Return: Etosha (East Gate / Von Lindequist) ➔ Windhoek in 1 day?

On the way back, we will leave from Etosha's East Gate (near Namutoni) to Windhoek. Is this too long for one day, or is it easy since it's the B1 paved highway? If it is too rushing and we should make it a 2-day drive instead, where would be a great, scenic place to stop for one night?

Would love some brutal honesty and real advice on road conditions and good stopovers. Thank you so much! 😊

Hi guys. Does Natis windhoek limit the number of people that they allow to book for a drivers license in a day??

I really don’t mind standing in a line, I don’t wanna show up at 9am to book for my learners test just for them to send me home because they’ve reached the maximum number.
NATIS Ondangwa does that.

If someone knows, I’d really appreciate your assistance.

Just wanted to post a warning for anyone self-driving in Sossussvlei. We recently fell victim to a coordinated blackmail trap set up by corrupt police and park officials on the deeper sand route coming out of Deadvlei. Here is exactly how the scam works so you can avoid it:

-They park a random tour vehicle dead in the center of the deep sand track so it looks completely stuck, blocking the only way forward.

-Because the route is blocked, cars (including ours and several others) are forced to briefly detour onto the side sand to get around the "stuck" car.

-The absolute second your tires leave the established track (even if it is still a sand road with no vegetation), someone (in this case a tour driver in the beat up van) waiting in ambush jump out and corner you. They aggressively accuse you of "illegal off-roading" to extort you and take photos of your car and report you to the park - .this happened to us and three other couples that we witnessed.

When I realized what was happening at the gate where we were detained and called the lead officer out for scamming us, he became verbally abusive and started saying sexist, racist, and classist things. Being detained in the remote desert with an aggressive, corrupt official who is actively abusing his power is an unpleasant situation to be in and a surprise for a national park to say the least. We were eventually forced to pay $1200 ND (cash only of course) for them to give us back our passports and hand us an “admission of guilt” form which we did not sign.

If you are driving to Deadvlei and the road is blocked by a "stuck" vehicle, don’t go around it. Stop your car, stay on the designated track, and wait it out. Do not give them any excuse to claim you drove off-road. If you have a dashcam, make sure it is running.

Stay safe out there, and please pass this on to anyone you know traveling to Sossusvlei soon. If any locals have tips on who to report this warden to, I’d appreciate the heads up. Thank you!!

Edited to clarify the extortion was for $1200 ND, not $1100 as previously stated.

Hi everybody,
I am looking forward to a nice vacation in Namibia in late august and september. I booked a self-driving roundtrip with a travel agency in Germany. So, I am confident, that the distances are doable in a day, my questions are more like "Can I do something other than driving that day?".

Particular for some sections, for example at the beginning of the journey:

1. The second trip is from Mariental (Intu Africa Camelthorn Lodge) to Fish River Canyon NP (Canyon Roadhouse). This are about 430km (B1) or 530km (B1 and C12). 5 or 6 hours of driving, it is advised to skip the more scenic route on C12? And is it possible to make a little side trip to Quiver Tree Forest/Giants Playground? It about 40km extra, but would that doable or it is even worth it?

2. The third trip is from Fish River Canyon NP (Canyon Roadhouse) to Tiras mountains (Namtib Desert Lodge). Should about 380-390km and 5 hours driving, is there something interesting for a side trip and is it doable?

3. Later, from Swakopmund to Khorixas, about 330km and 4 hours. There is Brandberg by the side, is enough time to go to the hike to the painting, if I started early enough in Swakopmund? May be it would get to hot, if I am at the intersection later than 9am?

4. I did not get my preferred accommodation for Twyfelfontein, so for the next trip, I booked something very short from Khorixas to Vingerklip, less than 80km. In order to do a round trip to Twyfelfontein (about 270km). Is this realistic? So, maybe not a real roundtrip, just take a look, a bit of sight seeing and than back to C39? Not doing it with D2612 and D2628, which would be for sure more beautiful, but also more risky?

It is hard to estimate for me, if these things are doable. Between the trips, I always have at least one day at a location. So hopefully it is not driving all the time. But it will be a "one time" visit, I would like to do the most out of it. If you say, "don't do it" and "get a better night's sleep and enjoy your time" than it's okay for me. I don't want to drive at night or made it to stressful.

Thanks four your help and see you in august!

Felix