Reviews of trips to Windhoek
1054 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Windhoek.
Mr G x 4
Norway
"My Oct 2013 trip"
I visited Namibia between 20 Oct 2013 and 5 Nov 2013
"We had a wonderful trip and including the highlights we had it was even better than expected.
We always want to come back and see more of this vast and arid contry.
There are some regions left that we not have been, so until next time, cheers!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip
We always want to come back and see more of this vast and arid contry.
There are some regions left that we not have been, so until next time, cheers!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr T.
United Kingdom
"A Second Visit to Namibia"
I visited Namibia between 16 Oct 2013 and 12 Nov 2013
"This was a comprehensive trip of almost a month, travelling in an anti-clockwise 'circle' ranging from Etosha in the north to Luderitz in the south.
We love this laid-back, spectacular country and the freedom that self-driving gives. It has to be one of the safest countries there is and we always felt completely comfortable. Apply normal common sense and visitors of any age can enjoy a wonderful adventure. In tourist terms everything is small scale and personal, even the most famous attractions attract very few people. Hugely enjoyable." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip
We love this laid-back, spectacular country and the freedom that self-driving gives. It has to be one of the safest countries there is and we always felt completely comfortable. Apply normal common sense and visitors of any age can enjoy a wonderful adventure. In tourist terms everything is small scale and personal, even the most famous attractions attract very few people. Hugely enjoyable." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr M & family
UK
"A once in a lifetime family experience"
I visited Namibia between 15 Oct 2013 and 4 Nov 2013
"A big thank you to all at Expert Africa especially Sabina , we had such a wonderful time from the beginning to the end , every aspect was memorable to us all . We packed so much in , met so many lovely Namibians loved the utterly stunning dramatic scenery we drove through and were at times overwhelmed by the solitude that we experienced together as a family . We feel very fortunate to have been able see some of this very special unspoilt country it's people and it's beautiful wildlife .
I could go on ... we took over 5000 photographs !! I hope for my children the experience has been a wonderful introduction to Africa .
Best Wishes
Fiona Howard" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip
I could go on ... we took over 5000 photographs !! I hope for my children the experience has been a wonderful introduction to Africa .
Best Wishes
Fiona Howard" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs G
Haslemere
"2 great weeks in Namibia - Oct 2013"
I visited Namibia and 2 other countries between 12 Oct 2013 and 5 Nov 2013
"The trip was as a whole was excellent. The Namibian 2 weeks went much more smoothly than I personally had anticipated for an African self-drive holiday. We booked 18 months in advance, so with Sabina's guidance were able to pick the lodges which seemed to suit us best, and we knew ahead of the trip which were likely to be the best and worst. Sabina put up with a massive number of email questions over the preceding year, and I can only congratulate her on staying cool, calm and collected, and answering my constant questions accurately, in detail, and with good humour!
We relied on Chris McIntyre's Bradt Guide to Namibia as our 'Bible' during our 2 weeks. It is packed with almost all the detailed information that anyone could want to know about everywhere in Namibia, with very few updates needed. We only had to pay National Park fees for Etosha, not for the Namib Naukluft Park nor the Skeleton Coast Park. We also didn't have to pay taxes for entry to & departure from Mozambique! The information given re the left luggage facility at JHB OR airport was incorrect. They charge ZAR70 per case per day, and have apparently never ever accepted credit cards. Fortunately we had ZAR980 in cash that this cost us.
Being in an air-conditioned car in Namibia we didn't need to drink anything like the recommended quantity of water, and found the garages we filled up at usually had enough food/sandwiches to keep us going, so we didn't buy extra food.
We did have a hick-up on flights a week before we left UK, but Chris and Sabina managed to fix this to our advantage!
We were delighted that we had gone clockwise round Namibia, ending up with the highlights of Etosha and the Africat Foundation at the end. We met a number of couples who had gone round anti-clockwise, and were disappointed by the relative lack of game after they left Etosha.
Our week in Bazaruto could have been marred as all the other couples at Bazaruto Lodge on our arrival left after 2 days, and the whole hotel was taken over by 64 S. African marlin fisherman for their 21st annual Marlin Fishing competition! However when we booked they hadn't, but as they have used the same hotel at the same time of year for the last 20 years Expert Africa should have been warned beforehand by the Pestano Group Central Reservations team. The Manager,Tony, was quite embarrassed, but it didn't spoil our stay there. What was disappointing was the cloud cover and rain, which almost ruled out snorkelling - our main reason for going there!" Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip
We relied on Chris McIntyre's Bradt Guide to Namibia as our 'Bible' during our 2 weeks. It is packed with almost all the detailed information that anyone could want to know about everywhere in Namibia, with very few updates needed. We only had to pay National Park fees for Etosha, not for the Namib Naukluft Park nor the Skeleton Coast Park. We also didn't have to pay taxes for entry to & departure from Mozambique! The information given re the left luggage facility at JHB OR airport was incorrect. They charge ZAR70 per case per day, and have apparently never ever accepted credit cards. Fortunately we had ZAR980 in cash that this cost us.
Being in an air-conditioned car in Namibia we didn't need to drink anything like the recommended quantity of water, and found the garages we filled up at usually had enough food/sandwiches to keep us going, so we didn't buy extra food.
We did have a hick-up on flights a week before we left UK, but Chris and Sabina managed to fix this to our advantage!
We were delighted that we had gone clockwise round Namibia, ending up with the highlights of Etosha and the Africat Foundation at the end. We met a number of couples who had gone round anti-clockwise, and were disappointed by the relative lack of game after they left Etosha.
Our week in Bazaruto could have been marred as all the other couples at Bazaruto Lodge on our arrival left after 2 days, and the whole hotel was taken over by 64 S. African marlin fisherman for their 21st annual Marlin Fishing competition! However when we booked they hadn't, but as they have used the same hotel at the same time of year for the last 20 years Expert Africa should have been warned beforehand by the Pestano Group Central Reservations team. The Manager,Tony, was quite embarrassed, but it didn't spoil our stay there. What was disappointing was the cloud cover and rain, which almost ruled out snorkelling - our main reason for going there!" Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr G & Miss R
Kent
"Namibia Trip Oct 2013"
I visited Namibia between 9 Oct 2013 and 20 Oct 2013
"We had a fantastic time in Namibia and would certainly recommend it as a place to visit for adventure and stunning scenery. The whole experience was made very enjoyable from start to finish by the expert help and advice from Tracy. Tracy was extremely helpful in recommending excellent accommodation which suited our itinerary and budget and giving us very knowledgeable information about the different areas we were wanting to go to.
We hired our car through a different company, but would definitely recommend paying the extra for a 2x4 car as this gives extra comfort and road clearance which gives more confidence when driving in Etosha and on some of the gravel roads.
I would certainly use Expert Africa again and recommend them to friends wanting to organise similar trips." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip
We hired our car through a different company, but would definitely recommend paying the extra for a 2x4 car as this gives extra comfort and road clearance which gives more confidence when driving in Etosha and on some of the gravel roads.
I would certainly use Expert Africa again and recommend them to friends wanting to organise similar trips." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs M
Kingsley
"My Oct 2013 trip"
I visited Namibia between 7 Oct 2013 and 23 Oct 2013
"A brilliant holiday, Namibia is a really magical place and far exceeded all our expectations.
Everything had been organised really well allowing us to just enjoy ourselves.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Make them cheaper so we can go on more !!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip
Everything had been organised really well allowing us to just enjoy ourselves.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Make them cheaper so we can go on more !!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Dr & Mrs M
Newcastle
"October 2013 trip to Namibia- fabulous"
I visited Namibia between 3 Oct 2013 and 21 Oct 2013
"Thank you Maruska for organising this trip for us. We had planned to join an organised bus tour but the one we wanted was full. Thank goodness it was. You told us that driving ourselves was ok and you were right. We would have been very frustrated on a bus tour. We like to do our own thing and sit and watch the scenery and chat to the locals.
We did not lose our baggage at Johannesburg airport. We booked it all the way through. Very pleased to see it arrive with us in Windhoek and Newcastle.
We met many people who had not gone to Fish River or Luderitz. We were really glad to have gone there. Not many people at Fish River and we enjoyed Luderitz very much. You warned us in the book about driving to Luderitz- the sand and wind- but we found it much worse appropaching Walvis Bay- I suppose it depends on the weather on the day.
We did not feel we had time to arrange a trip to the ghost town of Kolmanskop so we dropped in there on the way east to have a look from the gates. We had been told we needed to book in advance in Luderitz but the man on the gate sold us a ticket so we went in. So it's worth trying that, or maybe they have changed the rules. We did not join a group but wandered around ourselves.
We were pleased to have a 4WD. We attempted more because of that eg tracks down to the coves on the Luderitz peninsula and certainly we would not have got up back up one of them withpout it! I did worry about having a puncture in the middle of nowhere but we did not have any. But drivers seem very helpful- we stopped when we saw someone else at the side of the road and hopefully we would also have had offers of help.
We went up the Cape Cross to see the seals after leaving Swakopmund. That was certainly worhwhile.
We would thoroughly recommend the trip to see the Desert Elephants in Damaraland. We visited the other places there by ourselves. We also visited Sossusvlei ourselves from Kalala. The drive up the entrance was not too bad and the road was empty. We spent all day out and visited the Sesriem Canyon on the way out.
All the hotels/ guest houses were excellent. We thought the standard of service was superb.
Thank you again for your help and advice. I will certainly recommend Expert Africa to my friends. We would love to go back to Namibia; it is such a big country and we felt we just scratched the surface. We want to go to Botswana too so I suspect we will be back to talk to you!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Can't think of anything.
Being open at 10 pm UK time ( in NZ) was very useful to us!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip
We did not lose our baggage at Johannesburg airport. We booked it all the way through. Very pleased to see it arrive with us in Windhoek and Newcastle.
We met many people who had not gone to Fish River or Luderitz. We were really glad to have gone there. Not many people at Fish River and we enjoyed Luderitz very much. You warned us in the book about driving to Luderitz- the sand and wind- but we found it much worse appropaching Walvis Bay- I suppose it depends on the weather on the day.
We did not feel we had time to arrange a trip to the ghost town of Kolmanskop so we dropped in there on the way east to have a look from the gates. We had been told we needed to book in advance in Luderitz but the man on the gate sold us a ticket so we went in. So it's worth trying that, or maybe they have changed the rules. We did not join a group but wandered around ourselves.
We were pleased to have a 4WD. We attempted more because of that eg tracks down to the coves on the Luderitz peninsula and certainly we would not have got up back up one of them withpout it! I did worry about having a puncture in the middle of nowhere but we did not have any. But drivers seem very helpful- we stopped when we saw someone else at the side of the road and hopefully we would also have had offers of help.
We went up the Cape Cross to see the seals after leaving Swakopmund. That was certainly worhwhile.
We would thoroughly recommend the trip to see the Desert Elephants in Damaraland. We visited the other places there by ourselves. We also visited Sossusvlei ourselves from Kalala. The drive up the entrance was not too bad and the road was empty. We spent all day out and visited the Sesriem Canyon on the way out.
All the hotels/ guest houses were excellent. We thought the standard of service was superb.
Thank you again for your help and advice. I will certainly recommend Expert Africa to my friends. We would love to go back to Namibia; it is such a big country and we felt we just scratched the surface. We want to go to Botswana too so I suspect we will be back to talk to you!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Can't think of anything.
Being open at 10 pm UK time ( in NZ) was very useful to us!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
M & M Oxford
UK
"Excellence again from EA"
I visited Namibia and 2 other countries between 26 Sep 2013 and 10 Oct 2013
"This was another excellent trip to Southern Africa organised for us by Expert Africa. Thank you Gwynneth.
The advice from EA concerning 2WD versus 4WD vehicles for this trip was appropriate.
The lodges were of a standard equal to or better than our expectations, especially the Garden Lodge in Kasane where our guides John and Innocent provided expert advice and guidance.
The section of the trip after leaving the hire car in Kasane progessed smoothly and the cross border transfer into Zambia was effected efficiently. The transport arrived on time in Kasane as did the transfer from the Zambezi Sun to Livingstone airport.,
As noted earlier, at no stage were we asked for the Yellow Fever Certificates."
Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Ms C & Mr W
Colorado
"My Sept 2013 trip"
I visited Namibia between 22 Sep 2013 and 11 Oct 2013
"The overall experience exceeded my expectations. I was unusually critical of each place we stayed but it is only because you asked for feedback. I mentioned that Waterberg plateau camp rooms had cockroaches but is it fair to expect a place in the middle of a desert in Africe to not have bugs? The only things that would prevent me from going back to the Waterberg camp was the baboons, not the bugs.
I dealt primarily with Saskia Adye, but she wasn't on your list of team members so I chose her sister instead.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The service was excellent! The only thing I would suggest (and Saskia made have mentioned this but I didn't hear her) was to be prepared for cold weather, especially during early morning game drives. I wasn't prepared for such cold weather in the mornings and suffered a bit until the sun came up. A warm coat, gloves, scarf and a hat would have been nice and easy to pack." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip
I dealt primarily with Saskia Adye, but she wasn't on your list of team members so I chose her sister instead.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The service was excellent! The only thing I would suggest (and Saskia made have mentioned this but I didn't hear her) was to be prepared for cold weather, especially during early morning game drives. I wasn't prepared for such cold weather in the mornings and suffered a bit until the sun came up. A warm coat, gloves, scarf and a hat would have been nice and easy to pack." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs H
Dorking
"My Sep 2013 trip"
I visited Namibia and 1 other country between 22 Sep 2013 and 10 Oct 2013
"Hard work. Not as rewarding as our first trip to Namibia but still fun.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Advice on where to buy pulas was not good. Windhoek airport does not stock pulas in any of the three exchanges. Bank in Namibia (4 tried) also don't sell pulas. Finally bought them in Botswana at Barclays. Other point is that Windhoek airport exhanges do not take travellers cheques." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Advice on where to buy pulas was not good. Windhoek airport does not stock pulas in any of the three exchanges. Bank in Namibia (4 tried) also don't sell pulas. Finally bought them in Botswana at Barclays. Other point is that Windhoek airport exhanges do not take travellers cheques." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Good
1054
reviews of Windhoek by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
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Where to stay in Windhoek
Our suggestions for places to stay in Windhoek
Olive Grove
In a quiet Windhoek suburb, Olive Grove is one of our favourite guesthouses: stylish, with a friendly, welcoming atmosphere and excellent food.
Galton House
A cool stylish sanctuary in a quiet suburb of Windhoek, Galton House boasts a pool and a restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Elegant Guesthouse
The Elegant Guesthouse is a friendly, comfortable establishment with a lovely, tranquil garden, and is a good choice for an overnight stay in Windhoek.
River Crossing
Secluded on a private game reserve between Windhoek and the international airport, River Crossing is a tranquil place to start or end a trip.
Villa Violet
Villa Violet is a friendly, owner-run guesthouse in a residential area of Windhoek, just a few minutes' drive from the city centre and numerous restaurants.
Haus Sonneneck
Haus Sonneneck was one of Windhoek's best pensions just a few minutes' drive away from the city centre, however it has now closed.
Hilltop Guesthouse
A long-standing favourite, the small, owner-run Hilltop Guesthouse is comfortable, smart and good value.
Weinberg Hotel
In a quiet upmarket suburb of Klein Windhoek, the stylish Weinberg has a friendly, welcoming atmosphere and luxury facilities.
GocheGanas
For somewhere to really pamper yourself, Gocheganas Lodge & Spa offers wildlife combined with extensive wellness treatments.
Heinitzburg Hotel
One of the oldest hotels in Windhoek, the Heinitzberg occupies a great hill-top location but can feel like a relic of a bygone era.
Olive Exclusive
The Olive Exclusive is perhaps Windhoek's most luxurious boutique hotel but remains a friendly and unpretentious place to stay.
Etango Ranch G. Farm
Etango offers simple, clean, comfortable accommodation and it’s the closest accommodation to Windhoek International Airport.
Immanuel Wilderness
Within easy reach of Windhoek, Immanuel Wilderness Lodge is a good overnight option for those who don't wish to stay in the city.
Rivendell Guesthouse
Rivendell Guesthouse offers great value, relaxed accommodation in a homely atmosphere with helpful and extremely friendly staff.
Sun Karros Daan Viljoen
Situated within the Daan Viljoen Nature reserve Sun Karros is a simple lodge with gentle game viewing and bird watching opportunities.
Avani Windhoek Hotel
The Avani Windhoek Hotel and Casino lack the personal touch of Windhoeks smaller guesthouses but is well located in the heart of the city.
Hotel Thule
Windhoek’s Hotel Pension Thule offers stunning views across the city and a reputable in-house restaurant, within easy reach of the international airport.
Omaanda
Omaanda offers luxury accommodation and wildlife viewing within easy reach of the international airport and Windhoek City.
Ti Melen
Overlooking Avis Dam, Ti Melen is on the outskirts of Windhoek, yet only 10-minutes from the city's amenities.
Desert Express
The Desert Express runs from Windhoek to Swakopmund on set departures. Recently this schedule has been somewhat erratic.
