Money & insurance in Namibia

[Jeandeskinker]

We are going to Namibia in May. Can one draw money from a ATM in Namibia using a SA Autobank card and if so are there ATM's easily available. Insurance - will my normal SA insurance cover the trip to Namibia as well.
Thanks for all the info on Namibia it is very helpfull in planning a trip.
Regards
Jean

[JohnDough]

Your insurance normally covers all SADC countries so that should not be a problem but I would check and ensure that it covers offroad driving. SA cards will work and in the larger towns.

[Elders]

Jean we are also doing our first Namib trip in April/May. As such I have been asking the same questions.

ABSA - YES, you can draw money from any ATM in Namib. BUT, transaction fee of at least R40 PER TRANSACTION. Also you must have the four digit security pin, not the old 5 digits we got in the 80's. Mastercard (credit card) should also be accepted all over.

R1 to 1 Namib dollar, so conversion is easy.

Apparently one CAN pay with SA rands - I am taking a wad of cash, and hoping to avoid using the cards.

Insurance - I know my Santam cover has extended 4x4 cover, so I am covered. BUT, I will be contacting them this week to try and get written confirmation of this - the way the police states this is not very clear.


You will see that I also have thread running next to this one asking various questions. So some of the questions you are about to ask have been answered already by the friendly folk on this forum.

[JohanJvV]

Just compare your Santam insurance with other like Tuffstuff and X-Country.

I am busy with that and have realized that you get much better options with both Tuffstuff and X-Country than with Santam (I am also currently with Santam).

See here: http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/...t=38792&page=7

[Elders]

Johan NO question about it. Tuff Stuff beats Santam hands down !

After a near incident last month on a trail I DID check what Santam "really" covers .... after all those "fancy terms" it is actually useless (in my opinion) !

When asked DIRECT questions they come up with statements like: "If you sustain damage on the lip of a dune, it is a dangerous situation you could have avoided ...." (LOOSELY TRANSLATED).

The way I understand it - in the event of bringing a broken down 4x4 back to SA YOU pay the costs and they will re-imberse you "a reasonable fee". Stuff like a drowned motor is also not covered .....

Since one has to give 30 days notice, it was too late for me to do anything about this before our Namib trip. But I will be attending to this later this year.


PLEASE NOTE : The wording in the Santam policy is to "double jointed" to really understand it. Thus I started asking some DIRECT questions, various evading answers led to more DIRECT questions. The statements above are my understanding from these answers.

[Jeandeskinker]

Thanks for the info. Will contact the insurance this week for clarification.

Is it only ABSA that have a 4 digit pin as my Standard Bank one have a 5 digit for donkie years and that makes me worried. Will take cash with and keep the ATM for emergency.

Thank again

[hillsj]

I have been to Namibia several times;
1. You can pay using your card at all shops
2. you can use your garage card
3. R 1 = N$ 1
4. Do not end up with N$ as you can not use it in RSA
5. I use at the last filling station before entering RSA all n$ to put in fuel
6. You need your insurance to issue you with a "across border" letter, what your insurance cover is another issue
7. You need a certified copy of your registration paper if on HP from the bank
8. Arrange medical travel insurance cover, normally its free
9. Pass port and drivers license
Regards

[Elders]

Jean I confirmed this for ABSA, but I do believe the 4 digit thing is an international norm.

It took about 1 minute per card to change this at ABSA.

[galius]

Jean I confirmed this for ABSA, but I do believe the 4 digit thing is an international norm.

It took about 1 minute per card to change this at ABSA.

Chris,

Moenie jou bekommer oor geld nie. Ek ry 12x+ per jaar Noorde toe. My Garage Card werk ooral vir brandstof waar daar 'n masjien is wat WERK.
Visa kaart werk ook oral.
WAT EK DOEN is om R 5 000 kontant saam te vat en dan hou ek die N$ vir 'n volgende keer - jou posisie is anders, so gebruik dit.
Het nog nooit N$ in RSA getrek nie.

[Elders]

Galius as ek te veel N$ huis toe bring sal ek maar net GOU weer n trippie moet inpas.

[goody2shoes]

Thanks for the info. Will contact the insurance this week for clarification.

Is it only ABSA that have a 4 digit pin as my Standard Bank one have a 5 digit for donkie years and that makes me worried. Will take cash with and keep the ATM for emergency.

Thank again

Kom net man, julle SA bootjies worry te veel. Jean, rather use your standard bank card or credit card, im not sure about ABSA working here. All ours have 5 digit except credit card 4. I wouldn't carry too much cash around cos tourists usually get targeted. Other than that u'll have a jol. U must come to Swakop, the beer tastes so much better here.

[Bosveld Tv]

We are going to Namibia in May. Can one draw money from a ATM in Namibia using a SA Autobank card and if so are there ATM's easily available. Insurance - will my normal SA insurance cover the trip to Namibia as well.
Thanks for all the info on Namibia it is very helpfull in planning a trip.
Regards
Jean

We went in Dec 2010 , and already planning our return trip

ATM do not always work also the credit card machines are not always working , distances are far apart for fuel in the southern area , so plan your trip and filling stations well ,
ABSA never worked for my mothers card , Standard bank worked well ,
if it was available ,
Garage card worked every place ,
Take a lot off cash ,

Awesome place , awesome people