Henties Bay lies by the bed of the Omaruru on the Atlantic coast, in the Erongo Region. Swakopmund is 72 kilometres away according to Wikipedia, 76 by road according to route planners. If you are heading north along the coast, to the seals at Cape Cross or the Skeleton Coast, this is where you fill up and shop properly for the last time. At the 2023 census the town had 7,569 residents.
- Henty van der Merwe reaches the bay
- 1929
- residents, 2023 census
- 7,569
- to Swakopmund, tarred
- 76 km
- to the Cape Cross seal colony
- 46 km
The town takes its name from Hendrik Stefanus van der Merwe, known as Henty. In 1929, after a rhino hunt, he was looking for water and found it here in the bed of the Omaruru. Henties Bay is Afrikaans for Henty's bay. The first houses stood in the riverbed itself until building there was banned.
This coast has always been rich in fish. Bartolomeu Dias called it Praia das Sardinhas, sardine beach, in 1488. The fish drew the first holidaymakers, and anglers are still the town's main visitors. Then there are the four-wheel-drive crowd who head up the coast. Since the late 1990s many expensive holiday homes have gone up.
Henties Bay lies in the National West Coast Recreation Area. Driving off the tracks is barely restricted there, and that damages the lichen fields on the coastal gravel. So keep to existing tracks.
North along the coast and inland
From Henties Bay the C34 continues along the coast as a salt road. After 46 kilometres you reach Cape Cross, where Diogo Cão raised a stone cross in 1486 and where one of the large Cape fur seal colonies lives today. Since April 2026 Cape Cross has been a premium park, with foreign adults paying N$ 280 a day, as of October 2026. Further north the Skeleton Coast Park begins. There is no fuel inside the park, so fill up in Henties Bay.
Inland, the C35 runs to Uis and on into Damaraland. It is being tarred. In June 2026 the regional government reported the project 86 percent complete, with 16 kilometres still to go. Spitzkoppe is reached via the D1918, and travellers and guidebooks describe its condition very differently.
Today, as of Until 2019 the coast road from Swakopmund to Henties Bay was a salt road that turned slippery in fog. Since then this stretch of the C34, formerly the MR 44, has been tarred. And the town is growing fast: 3,285 people lived here at the 2001 census, 7,569 in 2023.
- Time needed
- one night, if you head on to Cape Cross and the Skeleton Coast the next morning
- From Windhoek
- 436 km, 310 minutes
Our tipDrive up to Cape Cross in the morning and come back via Henties Bay. That way you can fill up here once more before the C35 takes you into Damaraland.
Places to stay in Henties Bay and Cape Cross
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Beachfront 3 bedroom house
Kiewiet
- Kitchen
- Parking
- Wi-Fi
from €77per night on 23 November 2026
Check prices on trivago
Huis Klipdrift
142 Kabeljou Street
- Restaurant
- Parking
- Wi-Fi
from €51per night on 23 November 2026
Check prices on trivagoHenties Bay and Cape Cross: frequently asked questions
How did Henties Bay get its name?
Henties Bay is named after Hendrik Stefanus van der Merwe, known to everyone as Henty. Looking for water in 1929, he found the bay at the mouth of the Omaruru; the name is Afrikaans for Henty's bay.
Is the road from Swakopmund to Henties Bay tarred?
The C34 between Swakopmund and Henties Bay has been tarred since 2019; before that it was a salt road. North of Henties Bay towards Cape Cross you are back on salt.
Where do you refuel before the Skeleton Coast?
Coming from the south, Henties Bay is the last place to fill up before Cape Cross and the Skeleton Coast Park. There is no fuel inside the park.