travelasorousAfter my overland trip from Cape Town to Namibia I stayed in Swakop(mund) for 6 weeks volunteering in a hostel.
This is a guide on things to do when in Swakop and of course where to get the best coffee.
Coffee Shops / Cafes
Slow Town
Best coffee in town! First place I’ve found a mixture of decaf, almond milk and gluten free / dairy free cake! What more could I need plus it has a cool vibe and a snail theme that my snail obsessed friend in the UK loves.
The manager is lovely, the coffee great and my adopted hostel dog gets free ham. Perfect place to grab a coffee with friends or go for a meeting if you happen to have business in the area.
The main business is coffee, they have 6 or 7 different beans and rotate the bean each day. So if you are here for a while you can taste all the beans. My roommate at the hostel has been obsessed with trying all the beans and keeping a log of her favourite so that she can buy some to take home. The bean roasting workshop (warehouse?!) is also in Swakop, they have an outlet in Windehoek as well to met all the coffee needs.
Bojos
This is my favourite as it has a nice vibe and they sell gluten free bread and chocolate cake!
As I have been staying in Swakop for a while I have been ordering gluten free bread from Bojos to take home and freeze.
I have to use quite a lot of self control when I walk by to not go in and buy a slice of cake! Every time I do go to buy cake, it’s almost guaranteed that I will pay and then go to walk out of the shop without my cake!
Cordes and Co
Good menu selection, also do gluten free bread!
I’ve had a good smoothie in here.
Hansa Hotel
Colonial Coffee at the Hansa Hotel is a pretty cool activity.
I talk about it in my food tour blog, the coffee is good but watching the coffee being made is the fun bit!
Food
The Tug – good seafood, huge burgers!
Gabrielles Pizza – best pizza in town
Royal Bull – good for meat
Napoleanas
Kuckis
Fish Delli
Activities
Food walking Tour, I really enjoyed this tour and found it was a good way to pass an afternoon and night!
Ran by Richard and Frances this is a great afternoon out to sample the Swakop food scene. Check out my blog post for more details.
Gabrielles Pizza
Sandboarding hands down my favourite activity. Beth and her team are amazing. I have one terrible snow boarding experience and I loved it. In fact I kept going back!
The Aquarium, it’s small and if I’m honest not great, the best time to go is 3pm for Shark feeding.
The Museum, cheap entrance and interesting stuff what more could you ask for. I spent about an hour in here but I don’t read everything!
The Snake Park, unfortunately I never made it here but everyone who went said it’s good.
Surfing, Oli from Salty Jackal is your man here for some surf lessons.
There are lots of activities to take part in or trips to take, you could blow your budget on all the different things there are to do!
Horse Riding
Quad biking
Fat biking
Kayaking
Sandwhich Harbour trip
Living Dessert tour
Where to stay
I was volunteering at Salty Jackal and would defiantly recommend it as a good place to stay.
Another option is Swakopmund Backpackers which is run by the owners of Gabrielle’s pizza.
Hair and Beauty
I went to the The Strand Hotel a couple of times for beauty treatments. The beautician I saw was very professional and very good at her job.
I decided to have my hair cut before I left Namibia, I went to Sovereign. Thomas cut my hair, he was brilliant, and way cheaper then the UK! He had lie down hair washing beds which is a game changer!
Swakop is a great little town to rest and get some decent coffee in! It seems really small initially but don’t write it off there are plenty of things to do.
