Niger Taxis and Car Rental

Taxis are available in Niamey. They run at a fixed price for a short journey around the downtown area, or more to go across the whole city. Taxi drivers may charge inflated prices for tourists, so it is expected that you haggle with them to get the lowest price. In particular, coming from the airport taxi drivers charge an inflated price, and it is difficult to get them agree to lower the cost, even after haggling, so expect to pay more for this particular journey. You can contact Niamey Taxi (+11-227-734-468) to book.

There is only one major rental car provider in Niger, and they only rent SUV vehicles for safety reasons, due to the inadequate state of most roads in the country. You can contact Europcar (+11-227-2073-6931) to book. Road distances in Niger are generally quite long from place to place, and driving times often take longer than expected because of the poor state of infrastructure. The journey to Agadez, for example, takes at least twelve hours, although if driving this distance expect longer travel times. East of Agadez is the desert region with no maintained roads, although there are well used sand tracks. However, even with an all-terrain vehicle, accessing this area is extremely difficult and should not be attempted by an inexperienced navigator. Otherwise, the rest of the country is connected by roads beginning with the prefix ‘N’ (for ‘national’), and often these routes continue as far as international road borders.

Niger Water Taxis

There are no official water taxi services in Niger, but if in Niamey you can travel up and down the Niger River by chartering a pirougue from the docks. It can be a pleasant way to travel to other destinations along the river, although much slower than road transport.

Niger Trains and Buses

There are no railroads in Niger, it is only possible to travel long distances of the country by bus. Niger has a recently introduced bus service along major routes in the country, connecting larger cities and towns. Prior to this, and still in operation, are private minivans. These smaller vans are notoriously unreliable and uncomfortable, and can take a long time. If you are going a long distance you are better off seeking one of the larger government buses, which are also safer to travel on the unmaintained roads, and also carry a security guard for personal safety at night times. In towns and cities there will also be a selection of private minibuses operating certain more popular routes, but as a tourist you may be better off traveling short distances by taxi.