Reality Brief: Swakopmund

Current alerts

No official alerts recorded for this region.

Essentials before you arrive

• Since 1 April 2025, a visa is required for short stays. It is issued on arrival (Windhoek and Walvis Bay airports and the main border posts) or online before departure (the "visa on arrival" section of the official site). Cost: 1,600 Namibian dollars from age 12 according to the UK.

  France Diplomatie, Travel advice: Namibia, entry and residenceGOV.UK (FCDO), Namibia travel advice: entry requirementsGuide: Entry and residence

• Passport valid for at least 6 months (after the end of your stay according to France), with 3 blank pages.

  France Diplomatie, Travel advice: Namibia, entry and residenceGOV.UK (FCDO), Namibia travel advice: entry requirementsGuide: Entry and residence

• Police 10111; the UK also lists 999 and 112. In Windhoek, fire and ambulance: +264 61 211 111.

  France Diplomatie, Travel advice: Namibia, useful contactsGOV.UK (FCDO), Namibia travel advice: getting helpGuide: Health

• Crime linked to high inequality: leave nothing visible in the car, drive with doors locked, do not pick up hitchhikers, limit walking at night (avoid western and northern Windhoek) and do not enter townships without a trusted person. In town, prefer a rental car or recommended taxis.

  France Diplomatie, Travel advice: Namibia, safetyGuide: Safety and emergencies

• Accidents are very frequent: do not drive at night (animals), keep to 80 km/h at most on gravel roads, use a 4x4 with lights on off tarmac; punctures are common. Drink-driving: zero tolerance.

  France Diplomatie, Travel advice: Namibia, safetyGuide: Safety and emergencies

• The currency is the Namibian dollar (NAD); the South African rand is also accepted. Cards are widely accepted in town, but cash is needed outside towns and at petrol stations.

  Government of Canada, Travel advice: NamibiaGuide: Money and banking

• The diamond area (Sperrgebiet) between Lüderitz and Oranjemund is off-limits without a permit. The Angolan border is sometimes barely marked: crossing it, even by a few metres, is punishable. Wild camping is banned; armed anti-poaching units operate in the Caprivi Strip parks.

  France Diplomatie, Travel advice: Namibia, safetyGuide: Safety and emergencies

Living in Swakopmund

• Crime linked to high inequality: leave nothing visible in the car, drive with doors locked, do not pick up hitchhikers, limit walking at night (avoid western and northern Windhoek) and do not enter townships without a trusted person. In town, prefer a rental car or recommended taxis.

  France Diplomatie, Travel advice: Namibia, safetyGuide: Safety and emergencies

• Accidents are very frequent: do not drive at night (animals), keep to 80 km/h at most on gravel roads, use a 4x4 with lights on off tarmac; punctures are common. Drink-driving: zero tolerance.

  France Diplomatie, Travel advice: Namibia, safetyGuide: Safety and emergencies

Field experience

• Tip

  Pharmacies, clinics and hospitals

  Listed in OpenStreetMap (not exhaustive): pharmacies (5), clinics (3), hospitals (4). Locate those near your home in the first days and check opening hours and on-call services locally.

• Tip

  Where to shop for food

  Listed in OpenStreetMap (not exhaustive): markets (1), supermarkets (10). Compare a few basic prices between market and supermarket before settling into habits.

• Tip

  Banks, cash machines and exchange

  Listed in OpenStreetMap (not exhaustive): banks (6), cash machines (1), currency exchange (3). Withdraw and change money at these official places, preferably during the day, never in the street.

• Tip

  A furnished flat for the first weeks

  Listed in OpenStreetMap (not exhaustive): furnished apartments (7). A furnished flat gives you time to visit several neighbourhoods before signing a lease.

• Emergency numbers

  Police 10111; 999 and 112 according to the UK.

  10111999112

  France Diplomatie, Travel advice: Namibia, useful contactsGOV.UK (FCDO), Namibia travel advice: getting help· Oct 2, 2026