Communication (1)
Namibia is a perfect country to explore Africa as a self-driving traveller. Roads are well maintained, regulations follow international standards and road signs are put at every important point. It is therefore straight forward to find the right way through Namibia.
Maps
A map is for 99% of the tourist routes (except for Kaokoveld) the only needed mean of navigation. Different maps exist, but only very few are of good standard. You can get a free road map from the Namibia Tourism Board, e. g. at their information booth at the Hosea Kutako International Airports’s arrivals hall.
Navigation / GPS
Just like in Europe (where it actually makes sense) a lot of tourists like to travel through Namibia with a GPS / navigation system. Unless you drive to really remote areas in Kaokoveld, a GPS is not needed (it might be a nice gadget though) in Namibia at all. Even in Windhoek it is easy to handle the streets with a map.
For the remote areas there is one good software that is based on experiences of thousands of users. This is called Tracks4Africa and it is available for a few Euro by download. It is only working on Garmin GPS devices. Other apps for Android or iOS are also getting better and betetr, especially when they are based on OSM.
Others (1)
Veterinary Fences are set up throughout Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. It is generally not allowed to bring things like meat, milk products, skins, etc. across those fences.
Within Namibia it is allowed to bring those products from South to North through the fence, but strictly not vice versa. By violating this you risk Namibia’s status as “foot-and-mouth-disease”-free country!
Transport (7)
Laws & Regulations
In Namibia traffic drives on the left hand site of the road, just like in all the neighbouring countries except Angola. It is compulsory to wear safety belts on all seats.
It is not recommended to take hitch-hikers in your vehicle and car rental companies generally do not allow it anyways. On the other hand, hitch-hiking is rarely seen in Namibia and officially not allowed (see the frequent street signs with a crossed “thumb up”).
A Namibian speciality is the “All-Way-Stop” (or 3- or 4-Way-Stop, depending on crossing roads). Here you have to stop at the stop sign and you are allowed to pass on in sequence of arrival. So the first car stopping at the stop sign can carry on first. Generally, you will find a small sign below the actual stop sign showing “All-Way” or a number, which refers to the number of roads meeting at this sign.
The speed limit in urban areas is 60 km/h (sometimes 80 km/h on major roads), 100 km/h on unpaved rural roads and 120 km/h on paved rural roads. Car rental companies generally set a much lower allowed speed in the contracts (70–80 on gravel and 90–100 on tar). Outside of schools the speed limit in towns is 30 or 40 km/h.
Outside larger towns along main highways you will generally have to stop at permanently set-up police checkpoints. Stop at the stop-sign (not the stopping line) even if you do not see any police around or even if it is darkest night. In 90 % of the cases the police will wink you through, however, from time to time they check drivers licences and the registration of your vehicle. Make sure, in case you have a rented car from e.g. South Africa, that you have the country sticker (e.g. ZA) at the back of your car. Also double-check that you, in case travelling inside Namibia with a foreign registered vehicle, have a valid cross-border charge permit (valid for 90 days from entering Namibia) with you at all times! Do not even try to bribe… often people end up in jail.
Always be friendly and polite… a smiling “Good Morning” or “Good Day” might help.
Traffic fines in Namibia are high and they were doubled at the end of 2010. So keep to the rules and regulations, even if you find yourself being the only one doing this (which is most probably the case in Windhoek at least). For example, talking on the cell phone while driving is getting expensive when you have to pay the fine of N$ 2000 (approx. € 110). If you got a fine, you have to pay it at the nearest police station within 7 or 30 days. Do so and always ask for a receipt. It is not allowed by police to take any money on site (so called “spot fines”).
Keep to “don’t drink and drive”, as if you get caught you will have to spend a night in prison (and if you get caught on a Friday it will be three days). The legal blood alcohol level is 0.37 per thousand.
Drivers Licence
It is a must to have an International Drivers Licence. There are many rumours around this topic, but without doubt an international licence together with your national licence is a prerequisite! Car rental companies might not ask for the international one, however, the police and for sure an insurance company will ask in cases of an accident.
Namibia has state-regulated petrol and diesel prices. This allows the same prices at every fuel station at any given time and eliminates competition in the fuel sector. The prices are set by the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy on a monthly basis (always valid from 00:01 hrs on the first Wednesday). Base price is given for Walvis Bay; prices for other areas are set by this base price plus an additional price for transport (around 5-75 cents per litre).
Valid as per 1 April 2026 (base price in Walvis Bay per litre)
- 95-Oktan – N$ 22.08 – change compared to previous month: +250 ct
- Diesel 50 ppm – N$ 23.63 – change compared to previous month: +400 ct
- Diesel 10 ppm – N$ 23.73 – change compared to previous month: +400 ct
Please note: Fuel stations generally accept credit cards (Visa/Mastercard only); however, especially in remote areas only cash might be accepted. At these sites, generally also ATMs are not available, so do have enough cash for remote areas with you.
The following companies have fuel stations (known as “petrol station”, “service station”, “garage” or “diensstasie”) in Namibia:
- Caltex – 3 retail sites
- Engen Namibia – 56 retail sites
- Meru – 9 retail sites
- NAMCOR – 18 retail sites
- Petrosol – 10 retail sites
- Puma Energy – 50 retail sites
- Shell – 82 retail sites
- TotalEnergies Namibia – 34 retail sites
The following establishments are offering long-term parking facilities for your own car in Namibia. For further options and more details please have a look at the web site of www.dt800.de (in German only).
- Airport Guest Farm
Uwe Trümper
info@airportfarm-namibia.com
www.airportfarm-namibia.com
very close to HKIA
- Elisenheim Guest Farm
Andreas Werner
awerner@mweb.com.na
northern outskirts of Windhoek
- Klingenberg Motors
Paul Theunissen
delpama@mweb.com.na
141 Mandume Ndemufayo Ave, Windhoek
- Nubuamis Hills
Klaus
casarusski@yahoo.de
approx. 20 km north of Windhoek
- Ondekaremba
Peter Talkenberg
www.elitours.de
5 km from HKIA
- Store-All Namibia
store-all@africaonline.com.na
www.store-allnam.com
Southern Industrial, Windhoek
- Trans Kalahari Inn
Wil Bouwers
grimm@transkalahari.com
www.transkalahari.com
20 km from Windhoek, 20 km from HKIA
- Hunters Home Vehicle Storage
Manfred Gorn
manfred@kgss.com.na
www.kgss.com.na/hunters-home-vehicle-storage/
20 km from Windhoek on way to HKIA
- Auto Hotel Giel
Andrea & Karl Giel
kgiel@iway.na
5 km from from HKIA
- Gut Richthofen
Michael Florin
richthofen@iway.na
www.natron.net/gut-richthofen
20 km from Swakopmund to the east
- Car-In Park / Rent-A-Garage
081 1282110
www.rentagarage.com.na
5 kms north of Windhoek (Brakwater) - Car Storage Namibia
Markus Batz
061 400071
www.car-storage-namibia.com
9 kms on Dordabis road, 30 kms from Airport
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Namibia is a perfect country to explore Africa as a self-driving traveller. Roads are well maintained, regulations follow international standards and road signs are put at every important point. It is therefore straight forward to find the right way through Namibia.
Maps
A map is for 99% of the tourist routes (except for Kaokoveld) the only needed mean of navigation. Different maps exist, but only very few are of good standard. You can get a free road map from the Namibia Tourism Board, e. g. at their information booth at the Hosea Kutako International Airports’s arrivals hall.
Navigation / GPS
Just like in Europe (where it actually makes sense) a lot of tourists like to travel through Namibia with a GPS / navigation system. Unless you drive to really remote areas in Kaokoveld, a GPS is not needed (it might be a nice gadget though) in Namibia at all. Even in Windhoek it is easy to handle the streets with a map.
For the remote areas there is one good software that is based on experiences of thousands of users. This is called Tracks4Africa and it is available for a few Euro by download. It is only working on Garmin GPS devices. Other apps for Android or iOS are also getting better and betetr, especially when they are based on OSM.
The procedure to fly an aircraft in Namibia during your holiday or extended stay is pretty straight forward. The following procedures and costs are involved. Please note that a validation is only possible for PPL (not CPL or ATPL). All information are correct as of 1 July 2017.
Latest Updates (3 March 2016) in connection with Eros Airport can be found here as a PDF booklet. You may also obtain info from the Namibia Civil Aviation Authority.
Validation
- Namibian Medical Class II (approx. 2-3 hours and approx. N$ 700) at any medical aviation doctor
- pass with 70% written theoretical Namibian Air Law exam (about 60 minutes and approx. N$ 250) at any flight school (book can be ordered here)
- pass with 70% written theoretical (about one hour) and practical (about 30 minutes) Namibian restricted radio-telephony exam (approx. N$ 350) at NATA
- pass with 70% practical restricted radio-telephony test (about 30 minutes) (approx. N$ 150) at NATA
- get your Namibian Restricted Radio-Telephony Operators Certificate Aeronautical from CRAN (N$ 60)
- get your SPL (Student Pilot Licence) from NCAA (approx. N$300) – valid for three month
- do at least an hour flight with any flight instructor
- pass the Namibian practical flight test (at least an hour procedures and optional x-country)
Allow yourself at least 4-5 days for the whole procedure of validation. A validation (approx N$300) is valid for 3 months.
Aircrafts & Charter
Flying in Namibia requires, due to height and warm temperatures, aeroplanes with rather strong engines. Very popular are C210 and C182, while aircraft that are very popular e.g. in Germany like C150 and C172 are hardly found. Charter prices are generally high, rates are wet, however, exclude compulsory excess insurance. In Namibia charter prices are calculated on engine-running-time and not flight time. Please find a few charter prices (correct as of June 2012) below, while insurance depends on total flight time of pilot and aircraft (starting around N$ 250 for a month).
Flight Schools
- Signa Aviation Services (formerly Westair Flight Training Academy)
- Namibia Aviation Training College (NATA)
- Windhoek Flight Training Centre (WFTC)
Airfield Directories
Most of the tourists in Namibia travel the country by car… and most of those do an individual trip with a rental vehicle. Bus tours with mini busses as well as big cross-country busses are possible. Hitchhiking is not recommended throughout the country and the use of “Ovambo-Taxis” is very often not a safe means of transport. Public transport in Namibia is mostly used by the lower-income population, however, there are options for tourists as well.
The Desert Express was TransNamib’s luxury tourist train running infrequently (as of April 2026) between Windhoek and Swakopmund. It takes the train 22 hours per direction and includes two off-train excursions.
Long-distance busses connect major towns in Namibia and neighboruign countries. The Intercape ist the fastest, convenient and safest ground transport option in Namibia. The Mainliner and Sleepliner busses run throughout Namibia and even to neighbouring countries. They are affordable and quite luxurious. Another provider is The Oasis, a Namibian business.
Scheduled, reliable and safe mini shuttle busses operate mainly between Windhoek and Swakopmund. Examples would be Town Hoppers and Welwitschia Shuttles. Rates per direction are around N$ 350 per person.
Charter planes are readily available from Windhoek and Swakopmund, however, much cheaper are the scheduled flights currently offered by private local airline FlyNamibia. They also offer scheduled safari flights between major tourist destinations.
Ride-hailing has also become more and more in Namibia in recent years. LOcal provider is Lefa, currently (April 2026) driving in Windhoek only. It works just like international ride-hailing businesses and has its own app.
It is not recommended to take any public taxis anywhere in Namibia, unless you have a reliable driver recommended by e.g. your hotel. Public taxis are shared taxis and either have a taxi sign or a number-letter combination clearly visible. The prices are per person and are government-regulated.
Veterinary Fences are set up throughout Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. It is generally not allowed to bring things like meat, milk products, skins, etc. across those fences.
Within Namibia it is allowed to bring those products from South to North through the fence, but strictly not vice versa. By violating this you risk Namibia’s status as “foot-and-mouth-disease”-free country!
