Gabon Transportation

Overview

Outside of Africa, travellers from Europe have the best air access to Gabon. There are direct flights to Libreville from Brussels, Paris, Rome, Madrid and Geneva. Most travellers consider Air Gabon to be one of the three or four best African airlines serving central and west Africa. There is no departure tax.

You can take the train from Brazzaville to Mbinda, make the hop to Franceville via a series of bush taxis, then take the Transgabonais to Libreville; the total trip should take a minimum of six days. The other border crossing between Gabon and the Congo involves a string of trucks and bush taxis running from Loubomo, Congo, through Doussala to N'Dendé; it's about two days from N'Dendé to Libreville. The stretch between Loubomo and Brazzaville is normally done by train and takes about six days.

Travelling by bush taxis and minibuses between Youndé, Cameroon, and Libreville takes about three days. The crossing is between Bitam and Ambam. Coming from Cameroon, you absolutely must get an entry stamp in Bitam from immigration. The standard fine for infractions is over 60.00.

The Libreville-Bata (Equatorial Guinea) route is via the town of Cocobeach, where (if you're going north) you should spend the night, as accommodation is a problem until you get to Mbini or Bata. The leg between Libreville and Cocobeach is 2.5 hours by pick-up. Getting between Cocobeach and Acalayong involves taking a pirogue (motorised dugout canoe) across the Estuaire du Muni. The pirogues leave when full and take about four and a half hours to cross. You'll be charged an 'exit fee' of around 10.00 at Cocobeach and a similar 'entry fee' at Cogo, but the latter fee is negotiable. There are pick-ups from Acalayong to Mbini and there are others from there to Bata.

There are occasional freight boats that ply between Libreville and Douala that may take passengers. Fares are negotiable, but don't expect any comforts and bring your own food and drink. Enquire at Port Môle (the old port) in Libreville about the possibility. The Solmar II sails between Libreville and São Tomé on a fairly regular schedule; the one-way fare is under 100.00.