Car hire in Walvis Bay without a credit card

Why hire a car in Walvis Bay?

Walvis Bay lies on Namibia's Atlantic coast, where the Namib Desert meets the sea. With Swakopmund it is the coast's centre for activities such as quad biking, sandboarding, boat cruises and skydiving. From here you can drive north along the Skeleton Coast or inland to Sossusvlei and Windhoek, and the lagoon and the dunes are right on the edge of town.

Walvis Bay International Airport lies in the dunes about 15 kilometres from the town. For more destinations, see car hire in Namibia.

Exploring the coast and the Namib by car

The lagoon and Dune 7

The Walvis Bay Lagoon has been a protected wetland under the Ramsar Convention since 1995, and supports between 37,000 and 79,000 wetland birds, with flamingos in impressive numbers. Dune 7 is about eight kilometres from the airport, and Swakopmund about 45 kilometres along the coast.

Sandwich Harbour and the Welwitschia Drive

Sandwich Harbour and the Welwitschia Drive lie in the Namib-Naukluft Park, and both need a permit that you obtain in advance; on the main roads through the park no permit is required. It can only be reached along the beach at low tide, and a guided tour with an experienced operator is recommended.

North along the Skeleton Coast

The Dorob National Park stretches from the Kuiseb Delta, south of Walvis Bay, to the Ugab River. At Cape Cross, about 170 kilometres from the airport, up to 210,000 Cape fur seals gather in the breeding season in November and December. Beyond the Ugab, the Skeleton Coast National Park runs 500 kilometres north to the Kunene River. In Namib-Naukluft, Dorob, Cape Cross and the Skeleton Coast, foreign visitors from outside the SADC pay a daily entry fee per adult plus a fee for the car.

Inland

Sesriem, the gateway to Sossusvlei, and Windhoek are each about 300 kilometres from the airport. At least 80 per cent of Namibia's roads are gravel, where the speed limit is 80 km/h; carry two spare tyres if you can and avoid driving outside the towns at night. Carry cash for fuel.

Best time to hire a car in Walvis Bay

The cold Benguela current keeps the coast cooler than the interior and almost free of rain for most of the year, while fog is common. Inland, the main rainy season runs from December to April, when gravel roads can turn slippery, and the dry season from May to October is the best time for wildlife. The seals at Cape Cross are most numerous in November and December.