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Ocean Calling

Ocean Atlas · Africa

Africa

Namibia

A cold desert coast for watching seals, dolphins and seasonal whales from the boat or shore, still being researched.

Flamingos gathered along the shore of Walvis Bay, Namibia
Walvis Bay · Photo: Andrew Svk on Unsplash
Exploring

Ethics pass, with care. We found a way to visit this country that meets our animal-welfare standard, as long as we work with the right local operator. Checked by Ocean Calling on 26 Sep 2026. Sources: Walvis Bay boat cruise report (seals and pelicans come aboard for fish), Time Travel Turtle, updated Jun 2026; Namibian seal harvest, Ocean Conservation Namibia; Namibia's Cape fur seal trade remains shrouded in secrecy, National Geographic.

🧭 Travel advice, checked 30 Sep 2026. The US State Department rates Namibia at Level 2, exercise increased caution, because of crime (May 2026). Smartraveller advises normal safety precautions and notes petty crime and malaria in the north. Sources: US State Department travel advisory, Namibia · Smartraveller travel advice, Namibia Advice differs by passport: check your own government before you plan.

WhalesDolphinsWildlife watching

Why Namibia

Walvis Bay and Swakopmund sit on a cold desert coast, where Cape fur seals and Heaviside's and dusky dolphins are present all year and are watched from the boat or shore. Humpback and southern right whales may be seen from about June to November.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

FijiTanzaniaDem. Rep. CongoSouth AfricaLesothoZimbabweBotswanaNamibiaZambiaMalawiMozambiqueeSwatiniAngolaMadagascarWalvis Bay and Swakopmund, Namibia

When to go

Year-round. Timing changes by place and by animal, so check each place below.

We have researched this place and keep learning about it. There is no trip here yet.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

Ethics pass, with care

Good with the right operator. Here is how we choose.

The cold coast near Walvis Bay is full of life, with seals, dolphins and seabirds to watch from the boat. On many cruises, pelicans and seals are called on board and given fish, and Namibia still allows a yearly commercial seal harvest, including at a colony that tourists visit. Ocean Calling chooses small boats that do not feed animals, watches quietly from a distance, and never buys seal products.

Checked 26 Sep 2026. Places change, so we look again every year.

Sources for this check
Places we are exploring

Where in Namibia

Short notes from our research. Wildlife is never guaranteed.

Walvis Bay and Swakopmund

Exploring

A cold desert coast for watching seals, dolphins and seasonal whales from the boat or shore.

⛵ From the boat or shore, never in the water: Cape fur seals, Bottlenose dolphins (resident, from the boat), Heaviside's dolphins (resident, from the boat), Humpback and southern right whales (seasonal)

When: Year-round. Seals and dolphins are present all year. Whales may be seen from about June to November. There is a rabies warning for Cape fur seals, so we watch them only from the boat or shore and never go close or touch.

Animals

Animals recorded in Namibia

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Land animals
African penguin standing in the surf at the water’s edgeAfrican penguinSpheniscus demersusSeen in 3 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredCrowded Cape fur seal colony on the shore at Cape Cross, NamibiaCape fur sealArctocephalus pusillus pusillusSeen in 3 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernScalloped hammerhead shark cruising in deep blue Red Sea waterScalloped hammerheadSphyrna lewiniSeen in 57 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredCommon bottlenose dolphin swimming over a seagrass bedCommon bottlenose dolphinTursiops truncatusSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSouthern right whale surfacing with V-shaped blow and pale callosities, ArgentinaSouthern right whaleEubalaena australisSeen in 7 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHumpback whale swimming close with long pectoral finHumpback whaleMegaptera novaeangliaeSeen in 87 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernBryde’s whale surfacing and exhaling in deep blue open oceanBryde's whaleBalaenoptera edeniSeen in 36 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernOrcas surfacing close together in calm Arctic Norwegian watersOrca (killer whale)Orcinus orcaSeen in 55 countries in the AtlasData DeficientLeatherback hatchling crossing the sand toward the seaLeatherback turtleDermochelys coriaceaSeen in 76 countries in the AtlasVulnerableBump-head sunfish swimming in blue water off Nusa PenidaOcean sunfish (mola)Mola molaSeen in 29 countries in the AtlasVulnerableHeaviside's dolphin leaping clear of green water, showing its dark back, pale flank and white underside patchHeaviside's dolphinCephalorhynchus heavisidiiSeen in 2 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedGreen turtle resting on the reef, shell and head pattern in sharp detailGreen turtleChelonia mydasSeen in 103 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSperm whale mother raising her fluke beside her calf off DominicaSperm whalePhyseter macrocephalusSeen in 114 countries in the AtlasVulnerableLoggerhead turtle at the surface feeding on Portuguese man o' warLoggerhead turtleCaretta carettaSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasVulnerableBronze whaler shark swimming in green-blue waterBronze whaler (copper shark)Carcharhinus brachyurusSeen in 11 countries in the AtlasVulnerableDense Cape gannet colony at Lambert's Bay, Western CapeCape gannetMorus capensisSeen in 7 countries in the AtlasEndangeredBlue shark swimming in open blue water off the Azores with a diver in the backgroundBlue sharkPrionace glaucaSeen in 50 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedHippopotamuses resting in a lagoon on Orango island with only their backs above the water and trees along the shoreCommon hippopotamusHippopotamus amphibiusSeen in 17 countries in the AtlasLives on landVulnerableSpiny dogfish resting on the seabed at the Josephine Marie shipwreck, Stellwagen Bank National Marine SanctuarySpiny dogfishSqualus acanthiasSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasVulnerableThree black-browed albatrosses with their bills together at a Steeple Jason Island colony, against blue skyBlack-browed albatrossThalassarche melanophrisSeen in 21 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernCommon dolphins feeding on a dense shoal of sardines off the east coast of South Africa during the sardine runSouthern African sardine (sardine run)Sardinops sagaxSeen in 13 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernCommon smooth-hound swimming just above a sandy seabed, with a slim grey-brown body and two dorsal finsCommon smooth-houndMustelus mustelusSeen in 35 countries in the AtlasEndangeredAmerican flamingo wading in shallow water with its head lowered toward the surface, Yucatán, MexicoAmerican flamingoPhoenicopterus ruberSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasLives on landLeast ConcernGreat cormorant perched on a branch, with white head plumes and a glossy blue-black backGreat cormorantPhalacrocorax carboSeen in 90 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHuge flock of sooty shearwaters flying low over the sea beside a rocky coastSooty shearwaterArdenna griseaSeen in 53 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedWilson's storm-petrel resting on calm water with its wings raised above its backWilson's storm-petrelOceanites oceanicusSeen in 41 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLeach's storm-petrel in flight over water, wings spread, with a pale patch at the base of the tailLeach's storm-petrelHydrobates leucorhousSeen in 35 countries in the AtlasVulnerableReed cormorant perched on a low stump among tall reedsReed cormorant (long-tailed cormorant)Microcarbo africanusSeen in 27 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernAfrican darter with wings spread low over the water, droplets flyingAfrican darterAnhinga rufaSeen in 21 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernThornback ray swimming over a rocky seabed in shallow green waterThornback rayRaja clavataSeen in 16 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedSmooth lanternsharkEtmopterus pusillusSeen in 16 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernWhite-chinned petrel floating on blue water with its white chin patch showingWhite-chinned petrelProcellaria aequinoctialisSeen in 14 countries in the AtlasVulnerableLongnose velvet dogfishCentroselachus crepidaterSeen in 11 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedBlack dogfishCentroscyllium fabriciiSeen in 7 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernBlackbelly lanternsharkEtmopterus luciferSeen in 6 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Read before you go

Planning and destinationsNamibia’s Seal Rabies Warning: Keep Your DistanceRead ↗
Dreaming of Namibia?

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