Currency Menu

Shopping in Namibia

Namibia-Shopping

Shopping is a treat in Namibia. Local handicrafts, combined with top German quality ensure that a variety of superb items are on offer. Shopping malls can be found in Namibia’s capital city, Windhoek. Shopping arcades are popular shopping hot spots when browsing Swakopmund on foot, and roadside crafters in the more remote areas feature magnificent works of art.

Amex outlets PDF
 Download the American Express Foreign Exchange outlets in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana PDF

Gift Ideas
Fashionable karakul jackets and quality leather items, including ostrich can be found at SWAKARA in Windhoek. The tannery in Swakopmund makes authentic veldskoene, and these leather shoes (and sandals) will be lasting memoirs of your safari in Namibia.
 

One of Namibia’s top local industries is handcrafted jewellery, featuring Namibian precious and semi-precious gemstones, especially diamonds.
 

Informal roadside markets are treasure chests filled with interesting souvenirs. The crafts and designs vary from the south to north of Namibia – every African tribe displaying a flair for a different art form. These handcrafted items are usually made from the natural resources that are readily available in this stark landscape.
 

In the south of Namibia, rugs and karosses made from goat and springbok skins are common, however in northern Namibia where the landscape is transformed from desert to bushveld, beautifully woven baskets, woodcarvings, clay pots, wooden toys, musical instruments, items for the home and soapstone sculptures are available.
 

The San Bushmen have adorned themselves with beadwork through the centuries. Delicate jewellery featuring handcrafted ostrich shells, beads and porcupine quills woven into leather are traditional crafts made by San Bushmen, and still proudly worn by them today.
 

Namibia has a very limited supply of natural resources and thus recycling is slowly being integrated in Namibia’s towns and rural areas.
 

In Kaokoland, for example (home of the Himba people), belts made from leather embellished with colourful plastic strips are worn by men; while bracelets and belts (epateka) made from PVC plastic, are particularly popular with women and children. Designs are etched into the plastic, and then rubbed with ochre. White ivory bracelets with ochre inlay are especially sought after by visitors to Namibia.