Gabon Info
Joined: 23 Feb 2007
Posts: 15
Home Country: gabon
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 Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 6:08 am Post subject: GETTING AROUND IN GABON / GABON TRANSPORTATION GUIDE |
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GETTING AROUND IN GABON
BY AIR
Air Service has scheduled flights to Oyem, Makouko and Franceville/Mvengue. Air Nationale flies to Franceville/Mvengue. There are flights to Franceville/Mvengue every day of the week except Tuesdays and Thursdays.
BY SEA
Ferries run regularly along the coast from Libreville to Port Gentil (travel time – 4 hours).
BY RIVER
Riverboats ply the Ogoué River between Port Gentil and Lambaréné (travel time – 10 to 24 hours). Some boats continue on to Ndjolé.
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 centre) 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. Children under four years travel free. Children aged from four to 11 years pay half fare.
BY ROAD
Traffic drives on the right. There are nearly 7518km (4672 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 will be asked to show passports, driving license or vehicle registration documents.
Bus
A few wealthy Gabonese entrepreneurs have invested in new buses for bus lines to service the larger interior cities. Mostly these buses serve the cities with paved roads leading to and from them. Since Air Gabon closed down, these bus lines have greatly increased their routes.
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 (0600-0800). There are also conventional buses on the Mouila route and other services out of Mouila.
Car rental
Cars could be rented from main hotels and airports, although they tend to be expensive.
Documentation: International Driving Permit and international insurance are required.
URBAN TRANSPORTATION
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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