Sandwhich Harbour Dune 4x4 Half day

The two of us had booked the morning Sandwich Bay dune bashing activity at the nearby tourist center. It cost about $160 per person, which was very expensive. The original plan was to set off at 9 a.m., but the guide was 45 minutes late. A simple lunch and soft drinks were included at noon. However, this caused all of us to suffer from diarrhea and acute gastroenteritis that evening (due to stomach pain, we skipped dinner). Throughout the trip, the driver played loud nightclub music, which was very annoying. The activity ended at 1 p.m., and we were not taken to the most iconic sand spit. We do not recommend this tour company at all.

What a stunning experience! After picking us up at the hotel in Swakopmund our great tour guide Benny first showed us the Salines and the pink sands at the shore before we moved on to the "Kodak Point"... and you can guess, where it has its name from! ;o) After enjoying the marvelous view from top of the dunes to the ocean, Benny demonstrated his excellent 4x4 driving skills and provided a breath-taking "roller coaster ride" up and down and across the dunes at Sandwich Harbour! :oD We finished with a tasty picnic in amazing scenery to make it a perfect day! Thank you, Benny!

+3

This was a well organised tour with a lovely finger food lunch and drinks on the beach. We were part of a convoy. Unfortunately according to our driver the tour was shortened by almost 2 hours to return to ship by Princess. Princess denies. However surely I don't need to constantly tell our experienced driver that we could hardly hear him in the back of the 4wd. Similarly, despite the 'Photo' in their name,  he seemed obvious to the difficulties in taking photos from the back-seat behind the driver. Taking photos through the front windscreen and anything on the left hand side of the car being almost impossible  especially with no consideration  from our fellow passengers. Yet the only offer to take photos from our driver was to the person in the  passenger seat.....as it was too difficult to take a photo through the front windows. This situation existed the whole excursion while in the 4wd. I assumed I could catch up on photos I missed on left hand side on return trip. After the lovely lunch the drivers all went into the sand dunes. Unfortunately every large dune we descended was useless to photograph/video from the driver's  side back seat. After each descent the car turned left and stopped to allow photos to be taken from 4wd. So only people on the passenger side were able to take photos of the dune we had just descended and or photograph/video those 4wds following us during the descent. This happened repeatedly. So no photos of these adventures in the dunes. Finally on the last stop...I said I'm getting  out to take a photo. So one photo of a dune we descended. For a supposedly photo aware tour why park each time for only one side of the car to photograph. If you stopped the car facing the dune...both sides of the car could lean out the windows and take photos. Not a very difficult thing to do, especially if you park in a line so no other 4wds in front of you. As we left the dunes the fog rolled in ...so no catch up of missed photographs. If possible try to travel with considerate fellow travellers who hopefully will swap around and share videoing etc going down the dunes  and not miss out, especially considering the price of the tour. We felt quite isolated in the back,  with very limited interaction with driver.  When we did try to interact we were spoken over. If the driver does offer to take photos he needs to offer for all in 4wd not just one. This continuing situation only reinforced our isolation within the car. We returned to the ship feeling quite let down and what should have been a great day was not.

Pieter van Zyl was an amazing guide. His extensive knowledge of the Dunes and the Walvis Bay in general made our trip one of the best. The exhilarating drives in the Dunes were exceptional 👌. The picnic by the Pacific Ocean was awesome (some chairs would make this experience even better 😀) I would unreservedly recommend Pieter. He knows his stuff

Great trip to the beautiful Sandwich Harbour with guide/driver Pieter. Thrilling driving in the sand dunes. Good lunch provided. We also saw hundreds of flamingos, other birds, oryx and springbok.

+1

If I ever come back to Walvis Bay, I would do the sandwich harbour tour with Photo Ventures again. The landscape is beautiful, really beautiful, the dune drive thrilling. It was an unforgettable experience, and the knowledgeable driver/guide made it that extra exceptional. From explaining why some flamingos are pink to why the pink lakes are pink, to digging up a desert gecko… and much more. And we felt we were in safe hands all through the exhilarating dune drive, thank you! We possibly didn’t pick the best time, or maybe day; the sun only started coming out on our way back, but that didn’t take away anything, it was well worth spending the time and the money, me and my husband found.

We took an afternoon trip from Walvis Bay to Sandwich Harbor and enjoyed every second. Our guide, Pieter Van Zyl, was highly informative and an excellent companion. The tour started with a visit to an estuary populated by numerous Lesser Flamingos that were habituated to people and presented first-rate up-close photo opportunities. We then drove through the large salt "farms" where there were plenty of shore birds before we entered the first of many dune fields. A highlight of the trip was Pieter finding us a beautiful Namib Web-footed Gecko, which was tiny but colorful, We then drove down the beach for miles, encountering Black-Backed Jackals, and the occasional Springbok before entering the giant dunes nearer Sandwich Harbor. The scenery on the trip was stark and spectacular. We were taken to the top of the highest dune, giving us a panoramic view, and then went (steeply!) down hill to have snacks at the Sandwich Harbor estuary. The trip back was a wild ride through the giant dunes, that was one of the best thrills we've ever been on! Overall, this tour was one of the highlights of our trip to Namibia! It's a "don't miss" experience.

We had an excellent day out, the tour itself was wonderful and the guides were safe, knowledgeable and informative.

If you have time to do just one activity in Walvis Bay, this is the excursion you should do! Excellent drivers and loads of fun on the sand dunes in 4X4s along with spectacular views. Our guide/driver Lana Joubert was amazing and did a great job to make this excursion very special. Highly recommend it. If I had and extra day in this area, I would have done this excursion second time. Well worth spending the time and money.

The chauffeurs are active drivers and experienced guides. Dream landscape definitely not to be missed.