Tour the pre-WW1 German architecture of Swakopmund in comfort

Swakopmund was settled by Germany before the first World War in 1892. In the old part of town there are many beautiful examples of German architecture of the period up to the first world war. With it’s focus on tourism, Swakopmund is a pleasant town to visit, with a pleasant atmosphere and good weather for a stroll. The town center is has a lot of nooks and crannies with interesting little shops.

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This tour shows off the best parts of Swakopmund, and it’s surroundings. As the town history is quite interesting your tour guide is well versed in the history, and as a local understands the German language when spoken slowly. For couples, the tour vehicle is a town car that is easy to get in and out of. You are collected at your address in Walvis Bay. If you arrive on a cruise liner, you will be picked up at the ship in port.

Dune 7

There are two roads from Walvis Bay to Swakopmund. To give some variety to the tour, you will be shown the road around the dune belt first. Along the way is the Bird Paradise and Dune 7. The bird paradise is formed by Walvis Bay returning purified waste water into the desert. The fresh water lakes are surrounded by green plants and small yellow dunes. Flamingo really love the lakes, and make for some nice photos in their unique surroundings.

Dune 7 is very easy to get to, with a nice picnic area. The picnic area is maintained by Dune 7 Adventures, who are nearby. You are welcome to climb the dune on the stop here, if you feel like it. The track up the dune is fairly steep, but the view of the surrounding landscape is worth it. The rest of the road around the dune belt is a newly constructed dual lane highway that takes about 20 minutes to drive. The landscape along this road is beautiful, with the magnificent dunes on the left and the gravel plains of the Namib on the right.

The railway follows the road and with a bit of luck you might see a train with the dunes as a backdrop.

Historic Buildings of Swakopmund

You will see Swakopmund’s historic buildings on the tour through the old part of town. There are plenty of photo stops, and if you want to stay longer at any of the buildings for photos you are more than welcome. Some of the buildings you will see are:  Altes Gefängnis prison, The Lutheran Church, The historic railway station, The Woermannhaus, Haus Hohenzollern, Altes Amptsgericht and many more. If you have a specific interest in any of the buildings in Swakopmund, please let us know. You are also welcome to visit the Swakopmund Museum if you would like to learn more. Some of these buildings allow access only with prior arrangements.

These buildings are constructed with the style of late 1800’s Germany, and makes a nice contrast to the beautiful sand dunes opposite the Swakop river. You really get a good feel of how it was to live here when the town was started. These days Swakopmund is a pretty big and busy town, with world class facilities. You can visit the Kristall Gallerie if you are interested in the semi-precious stones that first attracted Germany to settle in Namibia, and prompted the railway to be built from the coast to Windhoek.

Landmarks of Swakopmund

Some of the landmarks you will see of Swakopmund includes the lighthouse, the Jetty from 1902 and the Mole. The lighthouse was opened in 1902, and originally stood 11 meters tall. A further 10 meters was added in 1910.

The Mole was the first attempt to build a structure where ships could dock as Swakopmund does not have a natural harbor. It has a nice view of the lighthouse and the museum. The Mole silted up really quickly, and so the Jetty was built to allow larger vessels to offload cargo in Swakopmund.

There is enough time to explore Swakopmund on foot, and maybe visit some of the shops in the area. With it’s focus on tourism, the city center around the mole as some very nice attractions for everybody! Some of the shops of interest are the arts shop where the local artists display their hand made crafts to a leather shop where you can buy handcrafted leather shoes, belts and handbags.

Coastal Road

Returning to Walvis Bay along the coastal road you get to experience a totally different landscape. This road is quite scenic with the dunes on the left hand and the ocean on the right, there are a few interesting sights along the way. There are still some remnants of the old railway bridge across the river, and at Vierkant rock the ocean is right up against the road. On most days there are some Paragliders in the dunes, which makes for some beautiful photos of the bright colors against the sandy dunes back drop. The Bird island is a man-made structure that is close to Walvis Bay with an interesting purpose.

Details

• Duration: 5 hours
• Activity level: Moderate to relaxed

Inclusions

• Cool bottled mineral water, still and sparkling
• Free pickup in Walvis Bay
• Private, air conditioned transport
• Local guide that understands German

Optional Extras

• Special or alcoholic beverages
• Pickup inside the harbor for cruise liner passengers

Pickup Services

You will only get the best service at Awesome Chapters:

• Free in Walvis Bay
  • Your adventure starts at your accommodation because your private tour guide will pick you up with the tour vehicle.
• Time:
  • Contact us for free help in picking the best time.
  • Your pickup is flexible, but fixed during the booking process.
• Cruise liners:
  • If you are arriving on a cruise liner, you have the option to be collected from the ship, inside the harbor gates.

Booking – Email

If you are interested in this tour, but you would like to have a discussion with us first, you are welcome to contact us for some human interaction. The booking will be made for you with the information from our chat. We love hearing from you, so even if you do not want to book the tour, and just want some more information, you are still welcome to drop us an email.

Alternatively, drop us a line on the contact form below and we will come back to you!