Walvis Bay, Namibia

Does anyone have any experience/suggestions regarding tours from Walvis Bay?

We went with Silversea and they did an included tour for everyone. It was called Dinner in the Desert. If Seabourn do something similar, I'd jump at it. It was a wonderful excursion.

We are on the cruise that stops in Walvis bay and if you look at my post on Historian quad bike tour in Walvis bay you will see an independent tour that requires 10 people. I have 6 at the moment. This company also does the 4x4 tours into the desert. I do not think Seabourn offers a Seabourn experience at Walvis Bay.

Do you have a list of excursions that you are considering or are offered or are you planning on looking at independent excursions?

We loved Walvis Bay and have been there twice. The first time, we spent hours watching sea life as we came in to the port. The second time, I had told other passengers about our first experience, and all of us were disappointed when this did not happen on the second cruise.

In Walvis Bay, the port is a working port and quite extensive. It was a very, very long walk to the port gates from where our ship docked and I know of only one passenger who decided to walk the distance. Just outside the gates is where the locals set up their market of wares and this is the only place we found in Walvis Bay where local crafts could be purchased. To get to Walvis Bay proper, you would need to take a shuttle bus or taxi. This is a port town and not really set up for tourists. It does have a very good drugstore and a small mall. There are absolutely wonderful tours that go out of Walvis Bay. The Dining Under the Stars (or whatever name it is called if it is offered on your cruise) is a fabulous experience. We had music, dancing, camel rides, excellent dinner, drinks, etc.

During the day, if it is offered, the Dolphin and Seal cruise was fantastic. On top of the wildlife, the fresh oysters were fabulous!

Swakopmund is also a great tour as you get to see the landscape while you drive there and it offers a variety of things once you are there depending upon how much time you have on the tour. There is the museum tour that has a shop where prices range from the low to the very high for those people who might be interest in jewellery, local art, etc. It is a beautiful town and is worth looking at on the internet to decide if it is a place you would like to visit.

My DH did the scenic flight to Sossusvlei and was very glad he went.

There are also tours of the dunes by off road vehicles which can be a great time depending upon your interests.

6 of us did a full day tour of the dunes. The guide was extremely knowledgeable, showing us how to identify tracks of the various animals and insects. Along the way we saw flocks of cranes and flamingos and were explained how to tell the adults from the children, and the children from the very young. Not easy since most are the same size. We "camped" and our guide prepared a delicious lunch, cooking it by open fire. We went dune sliding and the guide had us "listen to the song of the dunes" which was exciting. Then we took a long walk along the beach and followed a creek following animal tracks and finding the animals. We also saw sea lions and other sea creatures. Unfortunately, we also encountered animal carcasses and were shown how to identify which animal did the hunting.

I didn't book the trip so I don't know the name of the company, but I can ask the person who did the actual booking and see if she still has it.

I seem to recall we used Turn-----(something) tours. They adjusted the pickup and return times to our ship's schedule.

We are looking at two tours offered by Seabourn; Walvis Bay & Swakomund on one day and Sandwich Harbour on the second day

If you do a Google search for "Seabourn" "Walvis Bay" "tour", you can find some information and photographs in a blog that might help you decide if Swakopmund is the right tour for you.

You could try the same thing for Sandwich Harbour.

cwisleman, I finally found my review of our 2009 stop in Walvis Bay. I don't know if it will be of any help, but here it is:

"Walvis Bay: On approach, there are hundreds of seals (sea lions) and birds skimming over the water and when you look down you can see the jelly fish. This is a working port with lots of freighters, fishing boats, an oil platform/rig, piles of salt and coal and the air smells of sulphur. There are shuttle busses to take you out of the port and right outside the port gates is where the locals have handicrafts. The town is very clean, and has many gambling establishments. There were no souvenirs that we saw, but it does give a view of real life rather than a tourist destination. It also has an excellent pharmacy. On the drive to Swakopmund, there is a shipwreck and a good overview of coastal scenery. Swakopmund is a tourist town and has beautiful German/Dutch/Bavarian architecture. Tourists should be aware that most restaurants/bars close from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. but the people were very friendly and explained where we could go and get a drink. The drive back was through the desert/dunes.

The highlight of our stop here was the complimentary excursion of dinner under the stars which included local entertainment. We were in the last group from the ship which was, unfortunately, later than was ideal. We did not get to climb the dune, nor ride the camels. We did, however, get to watch a fabulous lightening show over the dunes; experience a rain shower in the desert; and enjoy a fabulous meal in large, wedding style tents in the desert. The menu consisted of Starters: stir fried chicken & sweet peppers in phyllo pastry parcel served on Oriental sauce; Cold Buffet: Greek Salad, Barley & Apple Tabouleh, Cucumber Yoghurt Salad; Hot Buffet: Butterfish in foil, chicken hunter’s style, oxtail hot pot, ostrich medallions with a creamed pepper sauce, tangine of lamb, stir-fry station with prawns and vegetables, gratinated potato bake, Cape Malay style vegetable curry, saffron flavoured Basmati rice, fresh bread; and a Dessert Buffet: apple crumble with whipped cream, tropical fruit salad, white chocolate and mango mousse and warm bread and butter pudding with vanilla sauce. Fantastic event!"

These tours were on Regent.

When I checked out the Seabourn site for tours that are offered, I did not see dinner under the stars. Most cruise lines seem to offer this tour. I suggest, if you are interested in the tour, that you contact Seabourn and ask if the tour might be offered. I believe they have offered it in the past.

I hope that you found Helen's blog and it also provided you with additional information.

Thanks - I did find Helen's blog as well.

Hello, has anyone sailed this trip recently?

Hello, has anyone sailed this trip recently?

No, but due to go February so I shall be watching closely!

Does anyone have any experience/suggestions regarding tours from Walvis Bay?

Cliff - thought you and Eleanor were going to stop cruising on Seabourn because the dress code had become so much less formal?

Cliff - thought you and Eleanor were going to stop cruising on Seabourn because the dress code had become so much less formal?

You are replying to a post from 2014.

We are on the cruise that stops in Walvis bay and if you look at my post on Historian quad bike tour in Walvis bay you will see an independent tour that requires 10 people. I have 6 at the moment. This company also does the 4x4 tours into the desert. I do not think Seabourn offers a Seabourn experience at Walvis Bay.

Where is that thread?

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We arrived at Walvis Bay on the Queen Mary 2. We took the ship's sponsored tour by coach to the sand dunes nearby (very unusual and visually striking) and to Swakopmund. In Swapkopmund we split from the tour and wandered on our own searching for the German colonial heritage. We took a lot of photos, had a great time and a good lunch in a cute cafe, and then re-joined the coach for the ride back to the ship. It was a great day. Someday I hope to return for a land-based safari.