The Windhoek Guide - Your Guide to Namibia's Capital

"A matter of money!" In every hotel and larger guest house, restaurant and bar you can pay with a credit card. In most cases Mastercard or Visa, rarely American Express or Diners are accepted. Namibia Dollar (NAD or N$) or South African Rand (ZAR or R) are the only legal cash currency; do not try to buy anything in cash with €uro, US-Dollars or so. Some e.g. Guest Farms accept cash in other currencies, however, it is difficult for them (restricted by law) to exchange this money. Try to pay with plastic, Rand or Namibia Dollar. Some expensive Lodges give their prices in Euro or US$... this is actually not legal in Namibia as these are not official currencies. You can always pay here in Rand or N$ as well.

Cash can be exchanged at most bank branches, however, the process is bureaucratic and takes quite some of your time (an hour or so is the average). Same applies to foreign exchange bureaus. The easiest way to get cash is to use the ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) throughout Windhoek. You can withdraw - depending on your bank and card used - up to N$5000 per day, but sometimes only N$1000. Make sure the ATM is guarded by a security person, as fraud is a common problem at ATMs. You can generally withdraw with major credit cards or with their debit card counterparts (e.g. Maestro, Visa Electron). All banks accept all cards, except for Bank Windhoek which only does VISA and its sister cards.

Tipping is the way in Windhoek, Namibia and the whole world to show that a service was of an exceptional standard. In Namibia many people rely to a large extent or solely on tips. As a rule of thumb approx. 10% are good enough for e.g. a waiter in a restaurant. A parking guard should get between N$2-3 as well as the guys filling up your car at a petrol station. On guest farms there is often a tip box where you can put in your cash; it will be equally shared between all employees.

Beggars do not offer you any service, so they deserve no "tip"!

 

[If you are the owner or manager of a bank or foreign exchange bureau, please contact us to add information about your business here!]