Swakopmund is Namibia's adventure capital, as Queenstown in New Zealand: So there are a lot of opportunities to do leisure activities:

  • Do a tour A tour is a must in Swakopmund. You can check the tap “must see” for the different opportunities and likes. Find a local operator and plan your individual tour together. 
  • Elephant Conservation Go on a locally based desert elephant conservation trip with EHRA, Tel.+264 64 402 501 (info@desertelephant.org). EHRA stands forElephant Human Relations Aid which enables volunteers in Africa to contribute to elephant conservation and do a volunteer project aims to reduce conflict between elephants and humans. Very interesting and a must see. 
  • Beach Hang with the Namibians away on school holiday and go to the beach. You'll find cold water, but warm sands. Especially during the summer holidays, there is a lot of activity in Swakopmund, because the metropolitans of Windhoek want to escape the great heat and spend some time in the much colder Swakopmund area. At the beach you will find good opportunities to enjoy life for example nice cafes and museums.
  • Helicopter flights You can take different helicopter companies for a ride or choose small plane for a trip around the Skeleton Coast or around the Namib desert (the oldest desert in the world, with the tallest sand dune in the world).
  • Sandboarding You can ski the dunes just like you do snowboarding, or ride the board on your butt. An extremely high speed is guaranteed. A good opportunity is  Dune 7 Sandboarding, Tel.064220881 (wayne@duneseven.com, fax: 064220881). Quadbike is also possible there. If you are a group with different interests, here you have different practical opportunities.
  • Quad-biking is a perfect way to see the Namib desert. Several tour operators offer lessons and guided tours on four-wheel motorbikes through the desert. You must be very careful to select the right one, because the desert is a very sensible ecosystem and the operator must know which areas are available for a right and which are closed for conservations. If you keep this in mind enjoy the breathtaking views of the dunes and the Atlantic Ocean.
  • Skydiving or Parachuting, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal velocity. Here in Swakopmund you have the chance to learn to jump or do a tandem with the best professionals in one of the best skydiving schools on earth.

  • Self-Studying The SAM–COHEN–LIBRARY in Swakopmund is one of the best libraries in Africa. Situated on the corner of Sam Nujoma Avenue and Windhoeker Street - is a reference library of approximately 10.000 books. It also includes the well-known Africana Collection of the late Ferdinand Stich. The archives, forming part of the library, contain a collection of newspapers from 1898 up to the present as well as a comprehensive collection of historic photographs, maps and documents.

  • Okakambe Trails, Horse Rides Tel +264 64 402799 Okakambe Trails has received its name from the native languages Herero and Shivambo where it means "HORSE". Okakambe Trails, is situated on the banks of the dry Swakopriverbed, 12 km outside Swakopmund, and was founded by Kathrin Schaefer Stiege eighteen years ago.  Kathrin, who comes from Germany, fulfilled her dream of having her own horse riding school in Africa and started off with only two horses for horse riding lessons. today this little horse farm in the middle of the Namib Desert hosts a varity of animals, with the special attraction still being the horses, but with the difference that today there are over 40 well trained and well fed horses on the farm (which include hanoverians, Throughbreds, Friesians, Arabs and others).

  • Camel Safaris About 8km outside Swakop. Tel +264 64 400363. Live out your Lawrence of Arabia fantasies on a camel safari and enjoy the ride. 
  • Surf Hit the surf spots to the north of town, such as 'Thick Lip' and 'The Wreck'. Travel further south towards Langstrad for 'Guns'.
  • Hotair ballooning: Ballooning, pioneered in France during 1783, can be likened to floating on a magic carpet. This combination is the perfect venue to enjoy the exhilaration of man's first form of flight and provides for exquisite views of the Namib Desert, Swakopmund, and the dune belt.
     
  • Walk in the dunes Just south of town on the road to Walvis Bay, there are some nice sand dunes. Cross over the Swakop River, smile at the fact that there's rarely any visible water in it, and stroll through the dunes.