Gabon Travel Tips

Social Conventions
Dance, song, poetry and myths remain an important part of traditional Gabonese life.

Photography: It is absolutely forbidden to photograph military installations. In general, permission to photograph anything should be requested first, to prevent misunderstandings.

International Travel:

Getting There by Air
The national airline is Air Gabon (GN), which operates direct flights from Paris and London to Libreville.

Departure Tax
None.

Main Airports
Libreville (LBV) is 12km (7 miles) north of the city. To/from the airport: Taxis are available to the city (journey time – 10 minutes). Facilities: Bureaux de change, shops, tourist information, left luggage, car hire, hotel reservation desk and duty-free shops.

Getting There by Water
Main ports: Owenda, 10km (6miles) from Libreville. Ferries depart quite regularly to São Tomé. Freight ships to Cameroon may take passengers; enquire locally for details.

Getting There by Road
There are roads to Bitam and Ambam (Cameroon), Bata via Cocobeach (Equatorial Guinea) and the Congo.

Overview
The following goods may be imported into Gabon by persons over 17 years of age without incurring customs duty:

• 400 cigarettes/cigarillos or 125 cigars or 500g of tobacco (women – cigarettes only).
• 1l bottles of wine (up to three), 1l of liquor.
• 50g of perfume.
• Two cameras.
• 10 rolls of film per camera.
• Gifts up to XAF5000.

Note: Guns and ammunition require a license from the Ministry of Home Affairs in Libreville.

Internal Travel:

Getting Around By Air
Air Gabon (GN) operates regular flights from Lambaréné, Libreville, Mitzic, Oyem and other cities. Gabon has a total of nearly 200 airstrips. There are local airports at Franceville (MVB) and Port Gentil (POG).

Getting Around by Water
Ferries run regularly along the coast from Libreville to Port Gentil (journey time – 4 hours).

Riverboats ply the Ogoué River between Port Gentil and Lambaréné (journey time – 10 to 24 hours). Some boats continue on to Ndjolé.

Getting Around by Rail
The Trans-Gabon Railway is the only railway line in Gabon; it is 410km (254 miles) long and connects Libreville (Owendo station, 10km (6 miles) from the city center) with Franceville. Stops along the way include Ndjole and Moanda. Plans proposing an extension of the railway to Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo regularly surface.

Getting Around by Road
Traffic drives on the right. There are nearly 7,518km (4,672 miles) of road, but only 614km (382 miles) are tarred. Most of the country consists of impenetrable rainforest and the roads are generally of a poor standard. Road travel in the rainy season (October to mid December and mid February to May) is inadvisable. There is no road connection between the second-largest city of Port Gentil or any other part of the country. Check points are common in Gabon and drivers are asked to show passports, driving license or vehicle registration documents.

Bus: Inter-urban travel is mainly by minibus or pick-up truck. Daily minibus services run from Libreville to Lambaréné, Mouila, Oyem and Bitam (the last two usually involving night stops). Seats for these and other less frequent routes can be obtained in Libreville. However, this is not normally necessary for the main routes as seats will be readily available in the ‘bus station’ near the central market. There are also conventional buses on the Mouila route and other services out of Mouila.

Car hire: Cars may be hired from main hotels and airports, although they tend to be expensive.

Documentation: International Driving Permit and international insurance are required.

Getting Around Towns and Cities
There are extensive share-taxis. There are bus services in Port Gentil and Masuku (Franceville), and share-taxis in other centers. Taxi rates vary.


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