Cheap Car Hire Walvis Bay

Car hire Walvis Bay - Explore the lagoon and discover its exotic inhabitants

When hundreds of flamingos ascend upwards, it appears that the blue colour of the sky has disappeared behind a pink curtain.  On the west coast of Namibia you will find the oldest lagoon in the country.  In the shallow water you will find up to 150,000 flamingos and pelicans that come here to feed as well as around 200,000 tern that rest here on the way to Antarctica.  Rent a canoe or a kayak from the coastal resort of Walvis Bay and explore the lagoon.

Witness an amazing changing history of Walvis Bay with car hire

Walvis Bay was once populated by Dutch tradesmen and whale-catchers.  After that the Brits, then the Germans and finally South Africans claimed the town for themselves.  Since 1994, Walvis Bay belongs to Namibia.  As well as being the most significant sea port of the country, the town has around 50,000 inhabitants.  In the Local History Museum the changing history of the town is explained.  The oldest building in the town is the timber Rhenish mission church.  The church was built in Hamburg in 1880 and then shipped to Africa.  Both of these attractions can be easily reached in your hired car.

Have some fun with the cheeky animals in Walvis Bay

Tourists can board the boat trips that take them out to sea to observe the seals and dolphins.  Not long after you have set off you may find from time to time other visitors on the boat:  a brave seal dares to come on deck in the hope of a little snack- if it’s not grabbed quick enough, it could be that the other visitors  are quicker: Pelicans eat fish from the out stretched hands of the visitors!  

The fresh water lagoon Sandwich Harbour is about 40km (25 miles) away and is a paradise for anglers and bird-watchers.  It can be reached by boat as well as in a hired car.  The lagoon is surrounded by dunes so a trip there must be over land but the last few metres must be made on foot.  

Visit interesting and exciting attractions with car hire in Walvis Bay

Over the well built A-Road 2 in your cheap rental car you will reach the northern resort of Swakopmund. Here there is a museum that explains the pre-history, early history and the German Colonial history of Walvis Bay.  In addition you can visit the Crystal Palace and admire the biggest display of quartz crystal in the world.  The Sea Aquarium should be visited by tourists in the afternoon:  Every day at 3 o’clock you can see the sharks being fed!   It is also really worth it to take a long walk through the town.  The Hohenzollernhaus, the Military Hospital and the old Magistrate’s Court are definitely buildings worth seeing.  The old train station that was once constructed by Germans has now been converted into a hotel that has a casino.

Outside of Swakopmund the Namib-Naukluft National park stretches out to the south.  Along a 50km (31 mile) long stretch you can discover strange plants.  The Welwitschia is a plant that is just 2 leaves, they can live to more than 100 years old and can only be found in the Namibian desert.  At the end of the Welwitschia Drive you can find the oldest of its kind with leaves over a metre long.

With a hire car witness the picturesque landscapes in Walvis Bay

From Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, visitors that are not prone to dizziness can fly over the seemingly endless Namibian desert in an aeroplane or a hot air balloon.  Just as impressive is a visit on the ground:  The dunes around the huge clay pan in Sossusvlei rise over 300m into the sky and with that they are the biggest in the world.  You should not shy away from a walk up the biggest dune- dune number 7 despite its 380m height.  From above you are rewarded with a fantastic view of the other red giants.  It’s worth going up early in the morning or late afternoon when the when the sun is low in the sky for a breathtaking show of light and shadow.             

More than just car hire in Walvis Bay - Hiking!

East of the national park stands  the Naukluft Mountains which rise up 2.000 metres in the sky. Thanks to reasonably high rainfall and springs that flow the whole year round, the region is relatively densely vegetated.  The sheer steep hillsides and the deep canyons are a paradise for any hiker.  On the 2 day routes there is a 120km (75 mile) Naukluft Hiking Trail that is believed to be the hardest route in South Africa and is reserved only for the experienced hiker.


CarDelMar wishes you a wonderful and exciting stay in Walvis Bay with car hire!