Walvis Bay (meaning "whale bay") is Namibia's principal port located mid-way down the Namibia coastline. It is situated just north of the Tropic of Capricorn in the Kuiseb River delta approx. 300NM north of Luderitz. It is the country's only natural harbor of any size and offers good protection protected by the Pelican Point sand spit.
Walvis Bay is considered the beginning of the Skeleton Coast, where the desert meets the sea. The Namib Desert is one of the driest deserts in the world.
Fog is common along this stretch of coast. Cold water surrounding the bay generates a damp fog which settles over the area every morning. As the desert heats up each day a sea breeze rushes in from the coast generating similar weather patterns each day like clockwork - strong winds every afternoon and evening so be prepared. Call Port Control on VHF Channel 16 for permission to enter the port.
Port of Entry; good provisioning (for ocean crossings); easy access to game parks; international airport; very welcoming Yacht Club; Dune 7 sand dune; sandboarding; kiting; surfing (world famous "Skeleton Bay"); abundant bird life.
22° 57’S, 14° 28.6’E.
Last updated: January 2025
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May 2023 update:
The Yacht Club has a pontoon (NAD 200 per day, which includes the fee for the Yacht Club). No water and electricity. It’s a bit of a walk (10 min) to the yacht club from there. The YC Manager Antoinette was most helpful. Be sure to email her before you set sail for WB (wbyc@iway.na). She’ll take you to the authorities by car.
The town itself is not very inspiring but has everything you need (albeit a bit of a walk away – 3.5km to the supermarket). It’s difficult to hire a 4WD car in Walvis Bay. We managed all roads with a 2WD through Superior Car Rental. Friendly and easy-going service. They have automatic transmission cars and will meet you at the Yacht Club. Contact Jalene: +264 81 4655992.
Walvis Bay is large commercial port, but has an anchorage with yacht club aside from the main commercial docks. The anchorage has many mooring balls which seem to be mainly privately owned, but believe the yacht club may maintain a few. The anchorage is exposed to wind and we had a consistent 20-25 kts of wind most days which would come up towards mid day. Mornings were nice and still so best to head to shore earlier. The small waterfront consists of several restaurants and casual cafes and food was decent.
The local yacht club is the feature with helpful staff and popular restaurant. Checking in requires a taxi ride to port and was fairly straight forward. Stores are a taxi ride away and charged about 30 NAD (2.50 USD) per person. There is modern mall called Dunes Mall that has many major brands from South Africa. Cell reception was really poor at the anchorage and WiFi was equally poor at the yacht club.
Fuel and water can be arranged through Steven – Namib Marine Services. A trip to Swakopmund is a must. Local seals are friendly and have been trained to board the charter boats to entertain patrons so expect a visit. Beautiful flamingos and enormous pelicans can be found along the anchorage. Overall we felt safe, but felt little need to remain in Walvis longer than needed.
Updates from Walvis Bay Yacht Club:
Our Mooring Fee is N$150-00 per day.
Yacht Club Fee is N$300-00 per week (which includes fresh Water, Showers, Wifi, Electricity).
Daily Shuttle to Swakopmund (reliable & safe) N$170-00 per person return. Visitors will be collected from the Yacht Club and taken to Swakopmund & will be collected when they are ready to return to Walvis Bay. (EC – Execu-Cab) +264 81 267 3392 or + 264 81 205 9934.
Bulk Fuel & Water can be delivered to your boat.
Our Restaurant offers great food & service.
We visited Walvis Bay earlier this year and consider it a dangerous harbor for the following reasons. It is very shallow and open north and from time to time strong northeasterly winds send a big swell into the harbor which whilst we have there destroyed a pier, damaged restaurants and made the surf landing at the yacht club impossible. There is usually a certain amount of surf. Dredging has reduced the area available for anchoring considerably.
We anchored well outside the mooring field and after checking the holding for several days in all conditions we traveled inland for a few days. However, the mooring of a yacht belonging to a club member was moved into our anchor radius whilst we were away and a collision resulted causing considerable damage. No responsibility was accepted. If you would like more information please email me at roger@wapitiyacht.com.
Meanwhile, we would recommend that boats are never left unattended, which is also what the harbor master recommends.