Hotel Heinitzburg, Windhoek

Advantages: Centrally Located, Good shops and restaurants
Disadvantages: Lack of public transportation

...Windhoek (pronounced Vint-Hook) which means "Windy Corner" in Afrikaans, is the capital city of Namibia, South-West Africa. A cosmopolitan melting-pot of cultures, it makes an interesting base to tour the country from, being centrally located on a high plateau. With a good street market of African art and pedestrianised walkways with fine German cafes, you can take your time in the relaxed atmosphere that the city exudes. Featuring an excellent road system and traffic flow, you'll not find driving around this city of 190,000 people much of a problem. Downtown, the majority of shops and mall entrances connect with "Independence Avenue" (formerly Kaiser Strasse - prior to Independence), which is the main thoroughfare connecting the more affluent housing zones with the township of Katutura on the outskirts. The old German fort... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Pleasant and relaxing city, gateway to wonderful Namibian attractions
Disadvantages: No "essential" sights in the city.

...The Namibian capital of Windhoek is a really pleasant and compact city that can easily be explored on foot. It's a very relaxed, almost European type of place packed full of colonial German architecture. Although it has no really major attractions, it is well worth spending some time strolling around the city. A brief tour should include a walk down Independence Avenue (Windhoek's main street) noting the Kudu Memorial statue built in 1960 and should take in the Railway Station with the 'Poor Old Joe' locomotive. Then head for the centre of town and the Post Street Mall with its colourful Clock Tower. The mall is the city centre's major business and shopping district. This is a modern area of wide pavements, shopping malls and continental style cafeterias. It is here that the largest known collection of meteors in the world stands... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Not many tourists, easy to get around without being on a tour
Disadvantages: Wildlife is less abundant than in some parts of Africa

...-made itinerary for us, was waiting to take us to our hotel. Heinitzburg Hotel, Windhoek is a great place to stay at the beginning and end of a safari trip in Namibia (or Botswana which is easily accessible by small plane from here too) This splendid old castle which has been extended and converted into a luxury hotel, with a fine wine cellar, good food and a terrace with views over Windhoek. We briefly ventured into Windhoek (I had been before a few years earlier for a trip to the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, but that is the subject of a future review) There are the usual African tourist shopping opportunities, but I didn't sample anything more cultural there. We had our car delivered to the hotel and set off into the wilderness. Our first stop was Sossusvlei, 4 to 5 hours drive away, stopping only... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful