Sandboarding in Namibia

Read time – 3 minutes

Tracing a circular route through Namibia, we arrive into the coastal town of Swakopmund. The town spreads itself from the mouth of the Swakop River out into the surrounding desert plain. Carved by thousands of years of wind, the sand dunes offer wave after wave of desert exploration and adventure.

Leaving footprints in the Namibia desert

Learning how to sandboard

With a free day to enjoy by the coast, we opted for an afternoon of sandboarding! Equipped with a flexible wooden board, floor wax for speed, a helmet and an instructor to help us, we climb our first sand dune for an afternoon of speeding down the sand dunes.

With 360-degree panoramic views, surrounding us are rolling peaks and golden dunes that contrast against the electric blue sky and the wild lapping of the South Atlantic Ocean against the horizon.

Sandboarding in Namibia Vast desert dunes

I kneel beside the board. We’re instructed to lie flat on our stomachs, descending headfirst down the sand dunes with our feet to control the direction of the board.

The first dune we encounter is gentle, straight forward and exhilarating. Rolling with the shape of dunes we come to a gentle stop at the bottom.

We’re left with a feeling of wanting to do more, as our guide introduces us to longer, steeper and faster dunes to tackle.

Sandboarding in Namibia Our sandboard instructor

We reach a top speed of 60mph. With spectacular scenery as far as the eye can see, there was no greater way to experience the historic sand dunes of Swakopmund than sliding down them headfirst.

Our instructor Peter is calm and watchful, stating that he had moved from the city to become a sandboarding instructor, a role that he has enjoyed for over 8 years.

Sandboarding in Namibia Gliding down the dunes

Want to experience a sandboarding adventure?

Exodus offers sandboarding as an optional activity on several trips to Namibia.

The excursion includes return transfers, a local guide, all equipment and drinking water throughout the activity and the price starts from $500 NAD / 30 GBP / 35 USD.