📌 Quick Facts About Namibia 🇳🇦
Namibia is one of the most accessible and rewarding countries to visit in Africa: safe by regional standards, visually spectacular, and surprisingly easy to travel compared with many other places on the continent.
For me personally, Namibia also felt especially interesting because of its complicated German colonial history and the way traces of that history are still visible today.
- 🏛️ CapitalWindhoek
- 💵 CurrencyNamibian dollar (NAD)
- 🗣️ LanguageEnglish is official; many local languages, Afrikaans and German are also heard
- 🌡️ ClimateMostly arid and semi-arid, with desert regions
- 🔌 Plug typeType D and M · *Anker Universal Travel Adapter
- 🌍 RegionSouthern Africa
🚌 My Overland Route Into Namibia
At the time, I was traveling northward through Southern Africa, coming from Botswana via the Trans-Kalahari Highway toward the border crossing near Charles Hill before eventually continuing onward to Windhoek.
Just like Zambia afterwards, I explored Namibia completely overland. It was part of a bigger route through the region, and Namibia quickly stood out because the roads, infrastructure, and general feeling of organization were much stronger than I had expected.
Arriving in Windhoek felt like returning to a highly developed country again: good roads, modern supermarkets, working infrastructure, and a calm city atmosphere.
🇩🇪 Namibia's German History
Even before arriving, Namibia already fascinated me. As a German, Namibia has a very strange and historically complicated place in our history.
Namibia was formerly known as German South West Africa and remained a German colony from the late 19th century until World War I. That colonial history includes extremely dark chapters, especially the genocide committed against the Herero and Nama people, something that has become increasingly discussed and acknowledged in recent years.
So arriving in Namibia as a German felt historically fascinating but also emotionally complicated at times.
What surprised me most was not just the German influence itself, but how visible it still is everywhere.
⛪ Windhoek: German Traces in Namibia's Capital
Honestly, parts of Windhoek felt way more German than I ever expected. One of the most famous landmarks in the city is the Christuskirche, literally “Christ Church” in German.
When I first saw it, it honestly looked like it could simply exist somewhere in a small German town back home. And it is not just the church.
- German street names are still visible in parts of the city.
- You can find German bakeries, restaurants, beer, and architecture.
- Some supermarkets sell familiar German-style products.
- Surprisingly many people still speak at least some German.
German is even still taught in certain schools, and many Namibians, especially older generations or people working in tourism, can hold conversations in German surprisingly well.
As somebody from Germany, it created this surreal feeling where parts of Namibia felt strangely familiar while still being unmistakably African at the same time.
🍺 German Food, Beer Houses and Modern Namibian Identity
At the same time, Namibia obviously is not “German Africa” anymore in the simplistic way some outsiders imagine. The country has a strong and vibrant African identity with many ethnic groups, languages, and cultures shaping modern Namibia.
One thing many tourists do in Windhoek is visit one of the traditional German-style beer houses or restaurants where bushmeat is often served.
Because I have been vegetarian for many years and recently transitioned more toward veganism, that obviously was not for me personally. But it is definitely part of the culinary tourism scene there, especially for international visitors.
If you spend more time in Windhoek, places worth checking out include the Christuskirche, Independence Memorial Museum, Namibia Craft Centre, local markets, and nearby nature reserves around the city.
🛡️ How Safe Did Namibia Feel?
What really stood out to me overall was how safe Namibia felt. Especially after coming from South Africa shortly beforehand, the contrast honestly felt enormous.
Windhoek felt calm, organized, and extremely relaxed compared to cities like Johannesburg. We walked around freely without constantly worrying about safety, and overall the city simply felt more stable and developed than many places we had visited earlier during the trip.
Namibia almost felt like a warmer, more relaxed version of Germany, but with much friendlier people.
🦟 Malaria Risk in Namibia
Another nice thing about Namibia is that malaria risk is relatively low in large parts of the country, especially around Windhoek and the southern regions.
The higher malaria-risk areas are mainly farther north near the Angola border and the Zambezi Region, particularly during rainy season.
That makes Namibia a much easier African destination for many travelers compared to countries where malaria prevention becomes a much bigger concern.
🏜️ Namibia Highlights I Still Want to See
One thing I unfortunately missed out on completely, and still really want to experience one day, is the Atlantic coast around Swakopmund and Walvis Bay.
Those areas are among Namibia's biggest tourism highlights and are famous for massive sand dunes, desert scenery, ocean landscapes, adventure sports, and wildlife experiences.
Namibia overall is honestly one of the visually most spectacular countries in Africa. If you have more time than I did, these are some of the absolute highlights to consider:
- Sossusvlei and Deadvlei with their giant orange sand dunes.
- Swakopmund and Walvis Bay on the Atlantic coast.
- Etosha National Park for wildlife.
- Skeleton Coast and Spitzkoppe.
- The desert landscapes throughout the country.
🚗 Is Namibia Good for a Road Trip?
Looking back, I think Namibia is one of the best countries in Africa for a rental car road trip.
The roads are generally good, the country is relatively safe, distances are manageable, and having your own car gives you much more flexibility to explore remote desert scenery and national parks.
Doing Namibia by bus worked for us because of our budget and overall overland route, but if you can afford it, renting a car is definitely the better option.
🛏️ Northern Namibia and the Shipping Container Night
After Windhoek, we continued northward toward the Zambezi Region before eventually crossing onward into Zambia.
Our accommodation in northern Namibia perfectly summarized our budget-travel situation at the time. We literally stayed inside a converted shipping container.
It cost around €20 for the night and was absolutely full of mosquitoes. Not exactly luxury.
So if you have the budget: get proper accommodation. Trust me.
💭 Final Thoughts on Visiting Namibia
Even despite the container experience, Namibia remained one of my favorite countries in Southern Africa.
The combination of incredible scenery, fascinating history, safety, good infrastructure, friendly people, and unique cultural identity makes it one of the most accessible and rewarding countries to visit on the continent.
Nowadays, Namibia is also becoming increasingly connected internationally, with direct flights from places like Frankfurt and growing tourism infrastructure. And honestly, I completely understand why tourism there keeps growing.
Out of all the African countries I visited during that period of my journey, Namibia is one of the places I most want to return to and properly explore in depth one day.