Windhoek

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
3
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
4
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
3
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
4
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
3
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
3
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
35 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
427th/454
Bottom 10%
continent
Africa
country
Namibia
Length of time
1-2 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$50 (typically $30 - $80)
Time of year visited
September
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Bustling restaurants
All Tags
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
Gash

Summary

There’s nothing particularly wrong with Windhoek, it is a nice town, it’s just that it pales into insignificance compared to the places to visit in the rest of the country.  Stay if need to rest after a long flight or after a lot of driving from one of the trips, but don’t waste further days.

 

Tips:

 

1. Where to stay?  We stayed in 3 places and would highly recommend The Weinberg, which was beautiful and had the added advantage of being next to the wonderful Olivia’s Kitchen for great food throughout the day; plus Ti Melen Boutique Guesthouse which was more out of the way and you need a car, but a very nice and cheaper alternative.  Don’t stay near the city centre (Hilton area) – it is soulless and, if just arriving in the country, may feel a little intimidating.

 

2. Joe’s Beerhouse is a classic tourist spot to visit – good food, lively atmosphere, but super toursity.  We preferred Olivia’s.

 

3. To see how Windhoek fits acts as the start and end point of a 1-2 week detailed roadtrip itinerary for Namibia – have a look at this individual travel entry, Driving through Namibia, for plenty of tips, highlights and what to prioritise

 

How does Windhoek compare to the other wows of Namibia

Namibia is just built for a 4×4 roadtrip.  Of all the trips I’ve done round the world I would place it in the top 10 because it has that wonderful combination of ✅ outstanding individual destinations + ✅ dramatic scenery in between + ✅ real feeling of adventure.  To help prioritise, this is how I see the wows:

 

  • Sossusvlei – Wow factor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.  Giant red sand dunes and white salt pans – one of the most surreal and iconic landscapes in Africa and a must for Namibia. The red desert dunes of Sossusvlei.
  • Etosha National Park – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.  One of Africa’s best national parks for easy wildlife viewing, with huge salt pans and animals gathering at waterholes. Also don’t miss this. Self-drive Etosha National Park.
  • Damaraland – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.  Stark desert landscapes, ancient rock art and the chance to see desert-adapted elephants and lions in one of Namibia’s wildest regions.  Damaraland’s desert landscapes.
  • Skeleton Coast – ⭐️⭐️.  A remote, foggy and haunting coastline of shipwrecks, seals and empty beaches stretching into the Atlantic.  Nice but overrated.  Driving the Skeleton Coast.
  • Windhoek – GASH.  Clean, quiet but fairly unremarkable capital that most people just pass through at the start or end of a trip.

 

Extras.  Whilst the two below are in Botswana, they make it onto most itineraries due to their proximity, the ease of doing a loop to get there and their sheer wow factor.

 

Experiences Nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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