Walvis Bay

Walvis Bay is a city of 62,000 (2011) on Namibia's Atlantic coast. It has the country's only commercial port. It is famous as a place to see large numbers of flamingoes and rare migratory birds.

By car
The fastest route from Windhoek is the tarred main road B2. It takes 5 hours and passes through Swakopmund, a coastal town 35 km (20 minutes) drive north of Walvis Bay.

By minibus
Minibuses from Windhoek (departure from the taxi rank closed to Rhino Park hospital, 110N$) or from Swakopmund (taxi rank out of town, 25N$) are available throughout the day. Not too comfortable, but the true African way of travelling.

By bus
Although the minibuses are slightly cheaper and are an experience, they have no fixed time schedule and are often overloaded. So check out these operators:
 * Intercape operates a service from Windhoek via Okahandja and Swakopmund. Intercape service also extends to South Africa and Zimbabwe.
 * Econolux Tel +264 64 205935 operates a service to Cape Town twice a week

By train
The national train company TransNamib runs an overnight service from the capital Windhoek via Swakopmund daily, except Saturdays. There are economy and business class seats, but no sleepers.



By ship
The RMS St Helena no longer makes regular round-trips from St Helena Island to Cape Town via Walvis Bay. The service ceased in 2018.

Get around
Cars can be hired at Walvis Bay Airport.

See

 * The Walvis Bay Lagoon is just south-west of town, a wetland for migratory birds. The Lagoon is a habitat for flamingos and the endangered Damara tern.
 * For a larger and more impressive wetland and flamingo colony, visit Sandwich Harbour, a bay and lagoon south of town. You will need a 4x4 to navigate the sand.

Do


There are quite some activities to do in Walvis Bay.