Changes to entering the UK using EU ID cards

From 1st October 2021, most EU, EEA and Swiss nationals will need to use a valid passport to travel to the UK. ID cards will no longer be accepted as a valid travel document to enter the UK, though some exemptions will apply. 

Find out more

Saved Flights

Your Saved Flights

No Saved Flights

    • Walvis Bay

    Walvis Bay travel guide

    View Namibia travel guide

    Overview

    Tourists travelling to Namibia often overlook Walvis Bay. On closer inspection, the country's second-largest city has a lot to offer. The town is the gateway to a host of endless dunes, freshwater lagoons, birdlife, sea creatures, and silence. The freshwater lagoons found at the base of some of these dunes provide life to a variety of highly unique desert wildlife.

    Aside from the awe-inspiring scenery, Walvis Bay offers a range of other activities and sightseeing opportunities for adventurous visitors as well as those who just want to relax and commune with the wind. Walvis Bay is the perfect base from which to explore the surrounding desert regions, including the beautiful Sandwich Bay and Cape fur seal colony at Cape Cross, and the nearby seaside resort of Swakopmund. Popular activities include deep-sea fishing excursions, dune-boarding, dolphin watching, and scuba diving.

    Walvis may be a small dusty town along Namibia's barren and harsh coastline, with hot days, cool nights and mornings shrouded in sea fog. However, it offers up something magical that few can resist. Walvis Bay is the perfect place to relax, zone out and commune with your surroundings as you sip a cold beer, watching the colours of the fiery sunsets compete with the flamingos in the lagoon.

    Phrase Book

    English Pronounciation

    Walvis Bay has a desert or arid climate, and is one of the driest towns on the planet. Despite its lack of rainfall, Walvis is not an overly hot place. The cold Atlantic Ocean and the prevailing offshore currents ensure that the temperature in Walvis averages around 75°F (24°C) in summer, between November and February, and 64°F (17°C) in winter, between June and August.

    The town experiences no real humidity, but in the evenings a dense sea fog often rolls in off the ocean. This fog can sometimes be quite thick and most animals in the region use it as their principal source of moisture in the unforgiving desert climate.

    The little rain that does fall arrives in late summer and spring, mostly in March, with a little in January and February as well. The pleasantly mild temperatures of Walvis Bay, in comparison to the rest of the desert, make it a great destination in summer as well as winter.

    Although the best time for game viewing in Namibia is between May and October, bird watching is often at its best in summer, and Walvis Bay is one of the most temperate destinations to use as a travel hub during the fiercely hot summer months.

    Visitors to Walvis Bay are spoilt for choice when it comes to sightseeing options. 4x4 trips to Sandwich Bay offer travellers the opportunity to see some of the desert's most unique and rare wildlife as well as amazing photo opportunities. Dune boarding is a must for the adventurous, and fishing, diving, and dolphin viewing excursions allow visitors to explore the fantastic wealth of sea life. Sipping cocktails or cold beers while watching flamingos sift through the waters of the lagoon is the best way to spend an evening.

    a1

    No direct flights from Heathrow to this Destination