Kolmanskop and the town itself

Lüderitz is one of the strangest ports on the African coast: a small German colonial town of gabled houses and a hilltop church, dropped onto bare rock between the Namib desert and a cold, wind-blown Atlantic. Diamonds built it, and when the diamonds moved south the money left with them, which is why so much of the original architecture is still standing.

Ten kilometres inland lies Kolmanskop, the mining settlement abandoned in the 1950s and slowly filling with sand. You walk through the old ballroom, the hospital and the manager’s villa with dunes pouring through the doorways, and it is as photogenic a place as Namibia has. Our combined Lüderitz tour puts Kolmanskop together with the town’s landmarks and a drive out onto the Shark Island peninsula, with views over the bay and, in season, flamingos and seals.

The whole excursion is private and timed around your ship. You are collected at the quay, travel in an air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking guide, and are back on board in good time. Entry permits for Kolmanskop are arranged for you in advance. Choose the Lüderitz tour below or ask us what else is possible during your call.