Salty Jackal Backpakers & Surf Camp (Swakopmund, Namibia)

ABOUT THE SURF CAMP

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LOCATION AND SURF CONDITIONS

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Our surf camp is located in Swakopmund, a picturesque town in the Namib Desert between sand dunes and the Atlantic Ocean. Nature is on its doorstep - a walk along the beach or into the dunes is literally around the corner. The town is small and safe, so it’s possible to get around on foot or bicycle very easily, even at night. Various supermarkets are 5-15 minutes walk away.

ACCOMMODATION AND CATERING

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ACCOMMODATION TYPES

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Surf camps are hosted at our surf house in the town centre.
“Surfing | Sustainable Living | Extraordinary Food” is our way of life here.

The surf house sleeps 14 guests: 6 in the dorm, the rest in four private rooms. Each room has a unique look & style and included in the accommodation are:
- Breakfast, seasonal fruit, coffee & tea, drinking water
- Unlimited, fast wifi

Lunch & dinner are not provided by us as there are so many good and affordable options in our area to eat & drink - just ask us for recommendations for seafood, traditional Namibian, German cuisine, pizza, Indian etc. We also have a fully equipped self-catering kitchen and BBQ area where we all gather around a fire sharing stories from the waves. Sometimes we do “sign-up dinners” where we cook something amazing for a small fee for those who want to join. Other days we end up all going out for a fun night of drinks & food together, or BBQ under the stars.

The property features:
- A big room full of surfboards and wetsuits for surf camp guests to use
- Beautiful garden with lawns and edible plants & herbs for delicious, healthy cooking
- Chill areas, hammocks and a comfy lounge with board games and books to read
- Fitness equipment, table tennis/beer pong, slackline and balance board
- 4 bicycles for guests to use
- Honesty bar stocked with beers, wines, soft drinks, snacks and chocolates

We also have international volunteers who help at the surf house and not all guests booked into the surf house are surfers - this means there are always fun people around to spend time with outside of surfing. Our friendly staff and volunteers will gladly advise you on anything you need and we offer a service to book activities, airport transfers and safaris.

The surf house has many systems in place to make our operations as eco-friendly as possible including energy- efficiency measures, compost & recycling systems, even biogas to cook on!
We also wish to support our local community and therefore support the development surfing NGO “Namib Sustainable Waves” and it can be arranged on request that surf camp participants join the NGO's events with the kids like surf lessons, beach cleanups and educational outings. If you want to get a feeling of what Namib Sustainable Waves is all about, you can watch our Project-Promo-Video on YouTube "Namibia - Making Waves with Local Kids".

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CATERING

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Self-Catering Kitchen & BBQ
Breakfast included each morning
Fully Stocked Honesty Bar with Beer, Wine, Soft Drinks and Snacks

SURF COURSE AND ACTIVITIES

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THE EXPERIENCE WITH SALTY JACKAL

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Are you tired of surfing in crowded lineups making it hard to catch enough waves to improve your surfing?
Or are you chasing the longest barrel in the world, the world-famous Skeleton Bay, which lies only 1 hour from the surf camp?
Either way, you have come to a country offering fantastic waves - high quality, consistent and uncrowded spots for all levels. In many surf sessions it is only our group in the water, sometimes joined by a handful of local surfers. In Namibia surf spots rarely have more than 10 local surfers out - 20 is already a crowd for us.
This means more waves for you!

A typical day at our surf camp:
breakfast and a morning surf session followed by a world-class coffee in one of the town's cafes to unwind and share stories of the surf. After lunch we spend the afternoon relaxing, exploring nearby sights & attractions or getting adventurous with some adrenaline-packed activities. The evening leaves time for a sundowner in the sand dunes or a cold drink by the ocean. Dinners are often spent together around a BBQ fire, in a beer garden with live music or at a delicious wine bar & pizzeria. On prime surf days, we’ll do two sessions or spend the whole day at one of the far-away point breaks in the wilderness - surrounded by shipwrecks, jackals & seals, usually dolphins and sometimes even whales & penguins!
 
Summer months
November-April are ideal for beginner-intermediate surfers - for complete beginners, you'll learn in a fun, step-by-step way how to surf according to ISA guidelines and in safe beginner conditions. May- October is great for intermediate to advanced surfers - here the focus is on surfing many different spots and conditions to push your surfing. Our surf camp dates will always clearly state which level of surfer a specific surf camp is suited to and each surf camp will have a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 8 participants.

With over 20+ spots to choose from in our area, we drive you to suitable spots according to your surf level. We believe that a week spent surfing in Namibia will expand your surfing comfort zone and make for some unforgettable sessions. In every surf, whether a beginner lesson in the whitewash or a barrel riding session at Skeleton Bay, our coaches, experienced surfers with ISA qualification, will be helping you improve and make sure you are safe and having fun.

Surf photography & video analysis can be booked at additional cost and are charged per group per session. For those who want to experience more of Namibia’s waves, we also offer a 3-day Skeleton Coast Surfari on request - a surf trip to the Skeleton Coast Park, either camping or lodging to suit your budget & preferences.

Apart from surfing, Swakopmund is great to hang out in. There is a huge variety of things to see and do, from adrenaline activities like skydiving, quad biking & sandboarding in the dunes, to cultural tours, desert wildlife tours, dolphin cruises, fishing and many more. We as your hosts also take you into the Namib desert for a spectacular sundowner or a BBQ under the stars for star photography.
Yoga classes are available at Salty Jackal - join the regular classes of vinyasa power or book private classes. Rock climbing, paragliding and kitesurfing are also possible nearby.

Nature & waves are outside of our control, but we can almost 100% guarantee:
- Uncrowded, often empty waves.
- Surfing with seals, dolphins and amazing birdlife.
- Minimum 5 surf sessions in your 7 days with us, but if conditions allow 2 sessions per day for 7 days is totally possible!

Besides the surfing, we trust you'll have an unforgettable trip to beautiful Namibia with its vast, beautiful landscapes, raw wildlife and amazing people.

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SURF COURSE DETAILS

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- Accommodation in surf house (choose your room type)
- Surf transport & ISA qualified surf coach/guide: at least 5 surf days of 1-2 sessions/lessons or full surf days (more if conditions allow)
- Surfboard & wetsuit use (only pay if you break it)
- Surf wax & sunblock
- Breakfast, seasonal fruit, coffee & tea, drinking water
- City tour & welcome dinner at arrival
- Picnic lunch if we go on full-day surf trips
- Unlimited fast wi-fi
- Fitness equipment, table tennis, slackline, balance board
- Bicycle use (4 bicycles available)
- Kitchen, BBQ, food garden, chill areas, hammocks
- Desert sundowner and/or stargazing trip
- Photo memories (mixed group photos)
- Organic cotton utility bag
- Booking service for activities, safaris & airport transfer
- Room cleaning: max 2 per week
- Insurance that covers driving & surfing with us

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WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO?

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Activities for all tastes and budgets: quad-biking, sandboarding, skydiving, cultural tours, dolphin cruises, fishing and many more!

Safe neighborhood with restaurants, beer gardens, bars and supermarkets few minutes away. Nature on our doorstep: dunes, beaches, desert.

Yoga, rock climbing, paragliding and kitesurfing nearby.

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WHAT TO BRING?

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- Travel insurance - Medical, injury, trip cancellation, lost baggage, theft etc. - PLEASE organise it Boards (or use ours)
- Wetsuit 4/3mm (or use ours)
- 3mm booties for reefs recommended
- 3mm hood for windy days (optional) Clothes for warm and cold/windy weather Reusable flask for water, tea, coffee

MORE INFO, HOW TO GET THERE & FAQ

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 SURF CONDITIONS

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Seasonal conditions

Dec-Feb:
Small to medium sized swell perfect for surf lessons and intermediate level surfers. It's our summer with water temperatures of 14-17 deg C and in January and February as high as 25 deg C. Of course for advanced surfers, there are options too and there can always be an unexpected big swell or two.

March-April:
An exciting mix of conditions for beginners, intermediates and advanced surfers with usually mid-sized swell and the odd big one. A bonus is some of the mildest and warmest weather of the year with favourable winds. Water temperatures drop to 12-20 deg C.

May-Aug:
Swell season a.k.a Donkey Season is May-August. This is our winter, when frequent far away storms in the South Atlantic send big, clean ground swells towards Southern Arica's coast. These first hit the Western Cape in South Africa and then make their way up the West Coast of Africa to Namibia together with Saffas heading north on the N7 highway towards the barrel of all barrels.

As for the weather, May-July usually have the lowest wind and are surprisingly warm, while in August is starts to get colder and windier. Water temperatures are usually 12-15 deg C, hardly ever colder. Best for intermediate to advanced surfers, as we surf a variety of break types not suitable to beginner lessons. Of course there are exceptions, so lessons are not impossible, just unlikely.

Sep-Nov:
Certain spots come alive during these colder and more windy months, which are best suited to ambitious beginners, intermediates and advanced surfers. Water temperatures are typically 12-17 deg C and there is a mixture of small, medium to large swells.

Crowd factor and local people
The crowds are generally very low. Namibia has a population of only 2.4 million, of which only about 5-7% live at the coast. Of these only a tiny percentage surf, as for some the water is too cold or they are simply not aware of the fact that there are surfable waves in Namibia. On a day with excellent swell conditions, good weather and when people have time to surf, namely weekends and evenings, there may be 20-25 surfers at one spot. More than this is very uncommon and one can always just move to another spot - there are many options. In most of our surf sessions we are alone in our group or with a handful of other locals. One exception is Skeleton Bay, which on a perfect and huge swell easily attracts 100+ expert surfers from around the globe. However here the strong current which can send you 500m down the point in a few minutes makes it impossible to stay in position by paddling - hence the crowd naturally gets thinned out by this conveyor belt style setup.

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 JOURNEY - HOW TO GET TO THE CAMP

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Ways to get to the camp

Namibia has two international airports:
1. Windhoek Hosea Kutako (+-410 km from Swakopmund) - daily shuttle buses operate door to door from Windhoek to Swakopmund.
2. Walvis Bay International ( +-45 km from Swakopmund) - airport shuttle to Swakopmund available.

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 JOURNEY - FLIGHTS TO NAMIBIA

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It's easy. There are direct flights from Frankfurt to Windhoek with Lufthansa group as well as flights via Ethiopia, Qatar and South Africa.

You have the choice to fly either to Namibia's capital Windhoek and catch a daily door-to-door transfer bus (4 hour trip costing +-NAD 300 / ca. 18€) to our town Swakopmund at the coast or you can fly to Walvis Bay, which is only 40 km from the surf camp and get an airport shuttle to our doorstep.

PACKAGES & PRICES

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SURF CAMP DATES, ROOMS & PRICES

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Our surf camps are run over 7 nights and 7 days. During your stay, you'll get at least 5 surf days with 1 or 2 sessions in our area on each surf day or full day trips to spots further away from Swakopmund. And if the conditions allow we'll surf even more! Usually, we surf in the mornings due to the best wind conditions, which leaves the afternoon for chilling, activities, exploring the town & nature and nightlife.  

Day 0: Arrival, town tour & welcome dinner.
Day 1-6: Surf 1 or 2 times per day, rest is free time.
Day 7: Surf in the morning, departure.

Prices per person until December 2023                          Room sharing pp     Single Room

7-day Surf Camp

Surf'n'Dream 6-bed Dorm (shared bathroom)                             575 €                      -
Secret Cave Twin Rroom (shared bathroom)                               630 €                    720 €
Driftwood Cabin Twin Room (shared bathroom)                          630 €                    720 €
Sun Room Double Room (shared bathroom)                               640 €                    745 €
Space Room Double/Twin Room (private bathroom)                    660 €                    785 €

Extras

Surf photography & video analysis - charged per group per session.
3 day Skeleton Coast Surfari (surf trip to add on after the surf camp finishes) -ask for quotation.

Surf Photography 

Half day session                 45 € per group
Full day                            115 € per group

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SURF CAMP DATES

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Our surf camps run all year long - Thursday to Thursday 
To tailor the experience on the needs and surf level of each participant we accommodate as follows:
- January to April: Beginners & Intermediates
- May to August: Intermediates to Advanced
- September to October: Beginner to Intermediates

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INCLUDED IN SURF CAMP

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- Accommodation in surf house (choose your room type)
- Surf transport & ISA qualified surf coach/guide: at least 5 surf days of 1-2 sessions/lessons or full surf days (more if conditions allow)
- Surfboard & wetsuit use (only pay if you break it)
- Surf wax & sunblock
- Breakfast, seasonal fruit, coffee & tea, drinking water
- City tour and welcome dinner at arrival
- Picnic lunch if we go on full-day surf trips
- Unlimited fast wi-fi
- Fitness equipment, table tennis, slackline, balance board
- Bicycle use (4 bicycles available)
- Kitchen, BBQ, food garden, chill areas, hammocks
- Desert sundowner and/or stargazing trip
- Photo memories (mixed group photos)
- Organic cotton utility bag
- Booking service for activities, safaris & airport transfer
- Room cleaning: max 2 per week
- Insurance that covers driving & surfing with us

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EXLCUDED FROM SURF CAMP

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- Drinks from the honesty bar
- Lunch & dinner (except where otherwise stated)
- Yoga classes available on request (additional cost)
- Transport between airport & surf house (daily affordable transfers available)
- Personal laundry washing service
- Insurance for medical issues, injury, trip cancellation, lost baggage, theft.
- Damages to surf equipment (cash deposit payable to use our gear, from which ding repair costs are deducted)