Planning to be in Windhoek for a couple days in late July. Any hotel suggestions would be appreciated. Also interested in a private day tour for shopping / sightseeing.

I stayed at the Hilton about 5 years ago, it was nice and very centrally located to down town.

There are heaps of excellent B&Bs in Windhoek - way better (and cheaper....) than a chain - just make sure you choose one near Joe's Beer House...

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The Olive Grove - hands down! A super guest house with wonderful rooms, superb service - they go out of their way for you, great dining (get them to get you orange ruffy one night) and a stones throw from Joes Beer house!

Have been staying there since 2006 and never ever had a bad stay and had groups of US hunters stay there with us and they all loved it!

You can see Windhoek in a day. One or two small gun shops too but nothing to write home about.



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Kalahari Sands back in 94. I’m sure much has changed since then.

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Originally posted by Safari2:
Kalahari Sands back in 94. I’m sure much has changed since then.

Stayed there in 2005, I believe it is closed.

It was full of pimps and hookers in 2005.

I did meet a British military attache in the elevator there back then. I think it got a lot of business people.

By far the nicest and best value in Windhoek is Casa Piccola B&B. Their current single rate is less than $65.00 US, and they’re less than a mile from the Stellenbosch Winery, the #1 rated restaurant in Windhoek according to Trip Advisor. They have a complimentary hot breakfast and free WiFi. The owner, Claudia is a sweetheart as well as being a major babe.

There are literally 100's of places to stay Windhoek. In the past 15-yrs and multiple trips to Namibia, sometimes several a year. I've stayed at 6-7 hotels/B&B's/Pensions.

My top 2, are:

1. Hotel Heinitzburg - rooms and service and in house dinning are exceptional. The views out over the city from the patio are stunning. Downside is you'll need a taxi to get down into town.

1. Villa Violet - Yes, this is a second #1. I've known the owners now for nearly 10-yrs. Very nice place and only an 800m walk to Joe's Beerhouse. If you don't want to eat at Joe's, the Roof of Africa Hotel/Restaurant is only 400m on the way to Joes. There is the O Portuga restaurant just a few hundred meters farther along the way. You can easily walk to Joe's but recommended you take a taxi back - $75-100ND ($5-$7 USD)

I've stayed at Cassa Piccolo several times when I can't get rooms at Villa V and it's not bad but the rooms are getting a bit long in the tooth.

Taxis in Windhoek - There are two types of taxis there: The "formal" taxis and the "informal" taxis. The formal ones are registered companies and the informal ones are just privateers, but still licensed by the city. The privateers have a big decal in the back window and are all over the place. NONE of the taxis have meters - you have negotiate the price BEFORE you get in to avoid any surprises. The difference between the formal and privateer is, the formal taxi will take only you or only your group from point A to point B. The privateers, if there is a seat empty may stop and pickup another PAX along the way. That can be a bit...um...unnerving the first time it happens and you don't know what's going on. The privateers are about 1/2 the cost of the formal taxis. I've used booth and no issues with either. YOU MUST HAVE NAMIBIAN DOLLARS and they both ONLY TAKE CASH. You can ask your lodging to call for the formal taxis and have them added onto your room bill and settle it all out on your CC when you leave.

Last note - the main CBD in Windhoek is on Independence Ave and that area can be reached by taxi for under $150ND from just about anywhere in the city. There are now several large shopping malls out away from the CBD and expect a fare to be around $200ND

If you're going to be in town for a few days, there are some pretty good restaurants and some pretty interesting curios stores/shops along the CBD. Be sure to hit the Namibia Craft Center on the N. end of Independence Ave. Everything there is made in Namibia by Namibians. They also have a Diamond Center where you can buy Namibian diamonds, mined off the coast and cut/polished there. Can buy loose stones and mounted jewelry of all kinds. They even have some very nice Tanzanite. Lots of street side souvenir vendors with some of the same "stuff" as the Craft Center but a lot of it is brought in from ZIM and Malawi.

If you want to hire a guide/taxi for the day to take you around, just ask your hotel to coordinate for you, easily done. I've got contact info for a couple of taxi guys I use for airport transport. Not sure if they would do the private day guide gig or not.