MapNamibiaWalvis BayWalvis Bay LagoonWalvis Bay

Walvis Bay Lagoon

Erongo Region · Walvis Bay

also known as Walvis Bay Kite Centre lagoon, Walvis Bay Kite Center lagoon

Part of Walvis Bay →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

lagoonbeginner-friendlylow crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Sep–Apr

Months riders and schools name

How windy

17-35 knots

Character: thermal

Room to launch

huge

access rules on record, below

Water

lagoon

22 °C in summer

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

low crowds · busy Dec Jan

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

16 min

Rooikop Airport (WVB)

On the clock

14:00

Lighter in the morning, filling in around midday and at full strength from about 14:00, then holding until nightfall. February and March are the exception: the easterly desert wind blows in the morning and dies off, so the useful window inverts.

The mark is the clock time the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The fade after it is not an end time, and not a promise of wind.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Walvis Bay Speed Stripno page yet
Second Lagoonno page yet
Donkey Bay / Skeleton Bay
Paaltjiesno page yet
Gunsno page yet
Tiger Reef, Swakopmundno page yet

The spot

Location and conditions

Walvis Bay Lagoon is Namibia's flat-water spot: sheltered water behind the Pelican Point sand-spit, a kite centre sitting on the lagoon with a large grass rigging area, onshore wind in front of it, waist-depth water much of the time, and a marked upwind area where beginners train.

Wind patterns

The wind is an afternoon job. The thermal usually starts around 14:00 and runs to nightfall, with light mornings and strong afternoons.

Riding areas

The main lagoon takes the lessons, the freeride and the freestyle, plus anyone working on flat-water progression; the 2.5 km Speed Strip one tack away is flatter and stronger and offshore, which makes it a buddy area rather than a beginner one.

Water and air temperature

Do not trust the desert setting: the Benguela Current keeps the water and the air colder than the scenery suggests, so pack neoprene even for summer.

Wildlife and local areas

The wetland here is internationally important for flamingos and waders, and for the migratory birds that stop over, so stay in the established kite areas unless a local operator tells you otherwise.

Travel

Travel is easy by Namibian standards, with the airport close and Swakopmund up the road, and a no-wind day goes on seal kayaking, Sandwich Harbour, the dunes or the flamingos.

The wind

locals call it Benguela-current thermal / coastal south-westerly

Direction

onshoreoffshorewind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

Onshore to side-onshore in front of the kite centre on the main lagoon. The Speed Strip, one tack away, is offshore - which is the whole reason it is flat and the reason not to go there alone.

Dominant direction

S to SW. Predominant directions at the kite centre run between SE and SW; S, SSW or SW all get used.

Kite sizes

56789101112

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

7-10m, indicative only. No local school publishes sizing guidance, so treat that range as unconfirmed.

Character

thermal

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

The 2013-2022 annual average for the Walvis Bay Lagoon station is SW at 8 knots; rideable afternoon/seasonal winds run around 15-35 knots.

Typical strength

17-35 knots in the November-April peak; more broadly across Namibia, 15-25 knots is typical, and the Speed Strip can run about 5 knots stronger than the lagoon.

Usually consistent and powerful in season, with calmer mornings for lessons and stronger afternoons for freeride/freestyle; February/March easterly desert wind can be gusty and is typically morning-only.

Walvis Bay works often, and the season windows on offer do not agree: November-April as peak; September-January as best, with usable wind statistics shown all year; January-March and August-December as the best moments; and the claim that most days are kiteable, with no month-by-month season given at all.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

riding season from the spot record · the wind series here holds no strength figure

No month-by-month share of windy days is held for this spot. The months riders and schools name are Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, and whatever the series does hold is in the table below.

Measured at Walvis Bay Airport, ~16 km from the spot (2003-08-01 to 2026-07-31 (observation window; not continuous)).

Every figure, month by monthWind from

Month	Wind from
Jan	WNW
Feb	WNW
Mar	W
Apr	W
May	W
Jun	NW
Jul	WNW
Aug	WSW
Sep	W
Oct	W
Nov	W
Dec	WNW

How this was measuredmeasured · 2003-08-01 to 2026-07-31 (observation window; not continuous)

What was recorded here is in the table above, but it holds no wind-strength figure for any month, so no season is drawn from it. The season is the one the spot record names.

A station this far away — often inland or at an airport — can understate accelerated local wind. The direction is a column of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

Walvis Bay Airport · windfinder.com · 2003-08-01 to 2026-07-31 (observation window; not continuous)

The water

Type

lagoon

Standing depth

A large shallow lagoon, waist height most of the time in front of the kite centre, with waist-deep flat sections further out that suit beginners and freestyle.

Tides

Tide changes are part of the lagoon system, and the Ramsar wetland includes intertidal mudflats. Whether kiting depends on the tide is unconfirmed: conditions here are called tide-independent, while the intertidal ground and the separate riding areas at the Speed Strip and Second Lagoon argue the other way.

Temperature

22 °C summer · 14 °C winter

Wetsuit

Neoprene most of the year. The open Atlantic coast is cold and the lagoon warmer: a 2-3 mm shorty is often enough in summer and a 3-4 mm full suit in winter, though a full suit year-round is the safer packing call for water this cold.

Currents

Generally sheltered lagoon water compared with the ocean side; no strong-current warning is published for the main kite-centre lagoon, but tide and offshore-wind sections of the Speed Strip require local judgment.

Conditions

Main lagoon water is flat to lightly choppy, with a sand/lagoon launch environment and colder Benguela-influenced Atlantic water nearby.

The 2.5 km Speed Strip is a separate flat-water section reached by a tack from the centre, with offshore wind and stronger wind than the main lagoon; the Second Lagoon beyond it can have waves up to about 1.5 m on good days.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Beginners train upwind of the regular riding area at Namibia Kite Center so obstacles are downwind, and both Namibia Tourism Board and multiple kite guides call the lagoon suitable for beginners as well as advanced riders.

Intermediates and advanced riders use the main lagoon for freeride/freestyle, the Speed Strip for very flat/offshore-speed conditions with a buddy, and guided trips to Donkey Bay or other wave spots.

The scene

What riders come here for

freestyleflat waterfreeridebeginner lessonsspeedwindsurfingwingfoil

Who it suitsbeginner

A small wind-focused scene of locals and visitors on kites and windsurfers rather than a resort beach. The lagoon is big enough to feel secluded, and it stays uncrowded by the standards of any popular kite spot.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: huge

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

3 spots nearby

All 3 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No dedicated rescue service.

The kite centre helps with launching and landing, supervises its own lessons, and tells riders not to go to the Speed Strip or Second Lagoon alone because neither is visible from the premises.

Assume you are self-rescuing: know how to pack down and swim in, and take a buddy anywhere out of sight of the centre.

Any suggestion of lifeguard cover on this lagoon is unconfirmed.

Launch

Launch from the kite centre premises on the lagoon. There is a large grass area for pumping kites, rigging sails and running the final checks before launching and landing, plus sandy beach and lagoon options around the rest of the main lagoon.

Hazards riders report 24 reported

Wind

strong, sometimes very strong wind
Cold Atlantic/Benguela-influenced water and wind chill
Strong afternoon thermal wind and stronger wind at the Speed Strip
Offshore wind on the Speed Strip
February and March easterly desert wind is gusty and blows in the morning only
Strong afternoon thermal wind, and roughly 5 kt more again on the Speed Strip
Offshore wind on the Speed Strip, with open water downwind of you
February and March easterly desert wind is gusty and usually blows only in the morning

Crowds and zones

shipping/port traffic in parts of the bay
Namibia's main commercial port: stay clear of the harbour, shipping approaches and industrial frontage

Waves and currents

Remote wave/coast trips and Donkey Bay require local guidance or 4x4 logistics
Intertidal mudflats that dry and flood with the tide
Donkey Bay, Pelican Point and the remote wave coast need 4x4 logistics or a guide, not an afternoon whim

Protected areas and rules

flamingo and other protected bird habitat areas to avoid
Do not ride the Speed Strip or Second Lagoon alone; parts are not visible from the kite centre
Second Lagoon can have waves up to about 1.5 m on good days
Ramsar/KBA wetland with large flamingo, wader and migratory bird concentrations
Walvis Bay is Namibia's main port, so stay clear of harbour, shipping and industrial areas outside the kite lagoon
Cold Benguela-influenced Atlantic water and wind chill; the lagoon is warmer than the ocean side but not warm
The Speed Strip and Second Lagoon cannot be seen from the kite centre: do not ride there alone
Waves up to about 1.5 m in Second Lagoon on a good day
Ramsar wetland carrying over 100,000 birds in summer, up to 162,000 at peak and around 50,000 in winter, concentrated on the intertidal mudflats, the saltworks evaporation ponds and the Pelican Point sand spit

Other

cold water requiring a proper wetsuit
No dedicated rescue service: a buddy and self-rescue are the plan

Rules & access

1 min read

No kite regulations

2026: no kite-specific municipal permit, bylaw or seasonal restriction was found for Walvis Bay Lagoon. The lagoon is a Ramsar wetland and a confirmed Key Biodiversity Area, but it holds no formal protected-area status: the reserve covering it was never re-gazetted under the 1994 legislation, so what constrains riders is conservation practice, not an enforced kite rule.

Air traffic and port

The one documented access restriction in the wetland is a minimum-height rule for light aircraft over the lagoon and mudflats, which is regularly ignored and regularly disturbs feeding birds. Walvis Bay is Namibia's working commercial port, so the harbour, its approaches and the industrial frontage are not kite water.

Check locally

Confirm current no-go areas with the kite centre before riding away from the established area in front of it.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Come here to drill freestyle: steady strong wind over flat water, and enough room to keep repeating the same trick.
Book lessons and first sessions for the lighter morning period.
Expect the real wind from about 14:00 until nightfall, and save the long session for then.
Rig on the grass at the kite centre rather than the sand; there is room to pump, run your final checks, and launch and land.
Ask the kite centre where the beginner, regular-riding, Speed Strip and Second Lagoon boundaries currently sit before you launch.
Do not go to the Speed Strip alone: it is not visible from the premises.
Respect what the Speed Strip is: offshore wind, about 5 kt stronger than the lagoon.
Keep out of Second Lagoon without a buddy; waves get to about 1.5 m there on a good day.
Visiting in February or March, invert your day. The easterly desert wind is gusty and blows in the morning only.
Pack a shorty and a full suit if you are crossing seasons: 2-3 mm in summer, 3-4 mm in winter.
Take the thicker suit for anything on the ocean side; the lagoon is warmer than the open Atlantic, not warm.
Keep off the intertidal mudflats, the saltworks ponds and the Pelican Point spit. That is where the birds concentrate.
Stay well clear of feeding or roosting flocks: there are over 100,000 birds here in summer.
Stay out of the harbour, its approaches and the industrial frontage. Walvis Bay is a working commercial port.
Take a 4x4 or a guided operator to Donkey Bay, Pelican Point and the remote wave coast rather than treating them as an add-on to a lagoon session.
Save Skeleton Bay, one of the world's longest left-hand barrels, along the same Pelican Point spit for a no-wind or surf day.
Base yourself either side of the lagoon: the airport is about 15 minutes out, Swakopmund about 30 minutes north.
Fill a no-wind day with seal kayaking, a Sandwich Harbour dune trip or the flamingos.

Getting there

Airport

Walvis Bay Airport / Rooikop Airport (WVB)

Route

Fly to Walvis Bay Airport or drive the Namibian coast; the lagoon/kite-centre area is in Walvis Bay, about 30 minutes south of Swakopmund. A normal car is sufficient for the main lagoon, while a 4x4 is recommended or essential for harder-to-reach wave/desert spots and guided coastal kite trips.

Transfer

16 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Walvis Bay has lagoon-side and town accommodation, and accommodation near the spot; Namibia Kite Center can arrange accommodation and tours. Swakopmund is also commonly used as a coast base about 30 minutes north.

No-wind days

Dolphin and seal cruises, kayak tours, Sandwich Harbour trips, Pelican Point tours, scenic flights, fishing, horse riding, quad biking, sandboarding, skydiving, SUP. Regional operators also sell flamingo lagoon and seal-kayaking day trips.

Photos

FAQ

Is Walvis Bay Lagoon suitable for beginners?

Yes, the local kite centre runs a dedicated beginner training area with waist-deep water most of the time, and the spot is described as suitable from beginner through advanced level.

What is the wind like?

Wind is a Benguela-current thermal that is typically light in the morning and builds from around 14:00, with peak-season speeds commonly 17-35 knots from the S to SW.

When is the best time to go?

The most-cited peak season is November through April, though useful wind is reported over a broader September-to-April window.

Are there kite schools or rental?

Yes, Namibia Kite Center / Walvis Bay Kite Centre operates directly on the lagoon with lessons, rental, launch assistance and a beginner upwind training zone.

What hazards should riders know?

The lagoon sits in a Ramsar wetland with large flamingo and wader populations to avoid disturbing, and riders should not go alone to the nearby Speed Strip, where wind runs about 5 knots stronger and it is not fully visible from the centre.

The bigger pictureEverything about Walvis Bay

Last updated: August 2026