Alcohol & Drinking

Namibians are generally quite comfortable with a cold beer, a glass of wine or a sundowner at the end of the day.

What sometimes surprises visitors is that the rules around buying alcohol are more specific than the social atmosphere suggests.

Buying alcohol from shops

Bottle stores and grocery liquor outlets may currently sell alcohol from 08:00 to 19:00 on weekdays and from 08:00 to 13:00 on Saturdays.

For these off-sales licences, Sundays and public holidays are closed days.

That means it is worth buying anything you need before the Saturday lunchtime cutoff if you are heading into a remote area for the weekend.

Restaurants, bars and lodges are different

The rules for alcohol sold for consumption on the premises differ from those applying to bottle stores and supermarkets.

Restaurants, hotels, bars, clubs, tourism establishments and other licensed premises operate under licence-specific trading conditions.

So the fact that you cannot buy a bottle of wine from a shop on a Sunday does not automatically mean that you cannot order one with dinner at a licensed restaurant.

The drinking age

Namibian law prohibits licensed premises from selling certain alcoholic drinks to people under the age of 18.

Travellers who look young should not be surprised if they are asked for identification.

Local beer

Beer has a particularly visible place in Namibian social life.

Namibia has a long brewing tradition and local beers are widely available in bars, restaurants, lodges and shops.

A cold beer after a hot day on the road has become something of a Namibian travel ritual — although there is no requirement to participate.

Sundowners

The sundowner deserves its own mention.

It is simply a drink enjoyed around sunset, usually somewhere with a good view, and it has become firmly embedded in southern African safari culture.

The drink itself can be alcoholic or non-alcoholic. The important part is generally the sunset.

Do not drink and drive

Namibia is a country of long road journeys, and alcohol and driving are a particularly poor combination.

Police conduct alcohol-related road-safety operations and may test drivers at roadblocks and checkpoints.

If you are driving, the simplest approach is not to drink.

Alcohol in remote areas

Do not assume that every lodge, campsite or small settlement has a fully stocked bar or bottle store.

Remote establishments may have limited selections, and some communities have additional local restrictions or practices around alcohol.

If something specific matters to you, check before travelling rather than treating the nearest dot on the map as a guaranteed liquor outlet.

Drink water too

Namibia’s dry climate can make dehydration surprisingly easy, especially when combined with alcohol.

If you are enjoying drinks outdoors, particularly during summer, drink water regularly as well.

Your future self will generally approve.

The useful rule

Enjoy Namibia’s bars, restaurants, local beers and sundowners, but plan your shopping around the trading hours and never mix drinking with a long drive home.