Travel to Cameroon

Cameroon: Various travel information

How do you get to Cameroon?

Airplane

direct flights go from Paris and Zurich to Douala. Other international airports are located in Yaoundé and Garoua.

Ship

There are also irregular ship connections between various European ports and Douala. Cargo ships are equipped with up to 12 passenger cabins.

Car

highways lead to Chad, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and Gabon. During the rainy season, however, they are partially impassable.

Travel in the country

Air connections

Domestic air connections exist between Douala, Yaoundé and other cities in the country.

Railways

The country’s railroad network covers around 1,000 km. Regular passenger trains run between Yaoundé and Ngaoundr as well as Yaoundé and Douala with connections to Nkongsamba.

Bus

Modern long-distance buses travel between Yaoundé and Douala, Bafoussam, Bamenda.

Roads, rental cars

The country has around 4,300 km of paved roads. Gravel roads lead from Douala to Yaoundé, Limb, Bua, Bafoussam and Bamenda. All other roads are impassable in the rainy season. An international driver’s license is recommended for rental cars. Travelers by car also need an international registration, the green insurance card and a “Carnet de Passage”.

Ferry connections

There are around 2,000 km of navigable waterways in Cameroon.

Traffic rules

Right-hand traffic prevails in Cameroon. In order to avoid trouble with the police or even the courts, one should strictly adhere to the traffic regulations in force in the country. The maximum speeds shown can of course be reduced or increased by traffic signs. Regardless of the information given here, it is advisable to obtain detailed information from the ADAC or the AvD. According to the German embassy there, the following rules have been in effect since 2005:

Top speeds

  • Urban: In built-up areas there is a speed limit of 50 km/h
  • Country roads: There is a speed limit of 90 km/h on country roads and 80 km/h in the rain. However, on the pothole slopes you often do not go faster than 20 km/h.
  • Motorways: There is also a speed limit for motorways, namely 110 km/h.

Blood

alcohol limit In Cameroon, there is a blood alcohol limit of 0.8 per mille for drivers of motor vehicles and 0.4 per mille in the air they breathe.

Special features

On many roads in the country you can see boards studded with nails lying on the street. With these drastic methods, all those passing by are checked by the police station and usually only allowed to continue after paying a “toll”.

International license plate

According to Abbreviationfinder, Cameroon’s international license plate is:

CAM

Tourist office

Cameroon Tourist Office for Europe

26 rue de Longchamp

75016 Paris, France

Tel: 0033 – (0) 1 – 4505 9648

Email: bitcam@wanadoo.fr

www.cameroun-infotourisme.com

Cameroon: entry and exit regulations

Tourists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland need a passport that is valid for at least six months after their planned stay, a visa and a return or onward ticket.

For entry by land with your own vehicle, an international driver’s license, an international registration, the green insurance card and a pass (“Carnet de Passage”) are required instead of the return flight or onward travel ticket.

A valid yellow fever vaccination must be proven when entering from a yellow fever infection area.

Foreign exchange and goods

The national currency of Cameroon is:

CFA franc 1 CFA franc = 100 centimes

Cameroon is part of the Central African Economic and Monetary Union. The CFA franc (Communanté Financiére Africaine) is the currency in 14 African countries that were usually French colonies in the past: Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Chad, Central African Republic, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoite, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. It is pegged to the euro and therefore the exchange rate of the euro and the CFA franc is always the same. For countries belonging to the Central African Economic and Monetary Union, the conversion rate is:

1 Euro (€) = 682.671 CFA Franc (XAF)

The import and export of the local currency is limited to 20,000 CFA francs.

The import and export of foreign currencies is unlimited.

The following articles can be imported into Cameroon duty-free:

– 400 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 5 packets of tobacco

– 1 bottle of alcoholic beverages

– 5 bottles of perfume.

Travel medicine, vaccinations and warnings

Infectious Diseases

In Cameroon, the following infectious diseases, which are not or less common in Germany or Central and Northern Europe, are to be expected:

  • Malaria: There is a risk of infection with malaria throughout the country, all year round. About 80 to 90% of infections are caused by the very dangerous malaria tropica, the remainder by malaria tertiana.
  • HIV, AIDS
  • Amoebic dysentery
  • Bacterial agitation
  • Schistosomiasis
  • Cholera – but there is only a risk of infection for travelers who come into contact with polluted water or contaminated food.
  • Intestinal infections from contaminated food or water, including amoebas, lamblia, salmonella, shigella, worm infestation and all kinds of viruses and bacteria
  • Filariasis
  • Typhus
  • Early summer meningoencephalitis
  • Yellow fever
  • Hepatitis A and B
  • Kala Azar disease
  • Polio, polio
  • Leishmaniasis Disease
  • Meningococcal meningitis
  • Sleeping sickness
  • tetanus
  • rabies
  • Typhoid – however, there is only a risk of infection for travelers who come into contact with polluted water or contaminated food.
  • Tick bite fever

Vaccination recommendations

  • Cholera – but only for travelers who can come into contact with polluted water or contaminated food.
  • Diphtheria – a vaccination against diphtheria should always exist, also in the home country.
  • Yellow fever
  • Hepatitis A and B – vaccination against hepatitis B is only necessary for those people who may come into contact with blood or who are looking for sexual contact.
  • Polio, polio – vaccination against polio should always exist, also in the home country.
  • Meningococcal meningitis
  • Tetanus – a vaccination against tetanus should always exist, also in the home country.
  • Rabies – but only for high-risk travelers who can come into contact with the vector animals.
  • Typhoid – but only for travelers who can come into contact with polluted water or contaminated food.

Compulsory vaccination

For all persons older than one year and coming from a yellow fever infection area designated by the WHO, there is a compulsory vaccination against an illness with yellow fever.

Yellow fever vaccination for children

In most countries where a yellow fever vaccination is compulsory, this also applies to children over one year of age, in some countries even from six months. It should be noted that vaccination against yellow fever had a number of side effects, such as encephalitis. Around two-thirds of those affected were children under six months. Therefore, under no circumstances should children under this age be vaccinated. But children under one year of age should also not be vaccinated if possible. If in doubt, yellow fever infection areas must then be avoided. Any vaccination against yellow fever may only be carried out in specially authorized yellow fever vaccination centers!

Malaria prophylaxis

When traveling in the country, it is strongly advised to undergo malaria prophylaxis. However, if the side effects seem questionable to you, you should at least have a “stand-by preparation” with you.

Current warnings

Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany

Citizens’ Service

Tel: 0049 – (0) 30 – 5000 – 2000

Fax: 0049 – (0) 30 – 5000 – 51000

www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de

Shop

Shop opening times

Cameroon’s shops are generally open from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays, and from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Shops are increasingly open all the time.

Inexpensive or country-specific goods, souvenirs

Tourists in Cameroon like to buy ceramic goods such as earthenware bowls, grass-woven mats and rugs, baskets made of raffia, camel-hair blankets, embroidered clothing and jewelry.

Cameroon: Diplomatic missions

Visit Countryaah for a full list of Cameroon embassies and consulates in each country around the world.

Representations of Cameroon in Germany

The embassy building has been located on Ulmenalle and Eschenallee in the Neuwestend villa district in Berlin-Charlottenburg since October 2010. Behind the embassy building parallel to Eschenallee is the embassy garden with a beautiful copper beech. The district in which the embassy is based is located between Spandauer Damm, Reichsstrasse and Königin-Elisabeth-Strasse.

Embassy in Berlin

Ulmenallee 32

14050 BERLIN

Tel.: 0049 – (0) 30 – 89068090

Email: berlin@ambacam.de Consulates

German representations in Cameroon

Embassy in Cameroon

Rue Nouvelle Route Bastos, Bastos-Usine

Yaoundé

Tel: 00237 – (0) 22 – 210 056

00237 – (0) 22 – 200 566

00237 – (0) 22 – 214 434

00237 – (0) 22 – 217 292

Fax: 00237 – (0) 22 – 21 62 11

00237 – (0) 22 – 207 313

Email: info@jaunde.diplo.de

www.jaunde.diplo.de

The German embassy in Cameroon is still responsible for:

  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Central African Republic

Legal and Consular Office

Rue Charles de Gaulle (opposite CNPS)

Tel: 00237 – (0) 22 – 223 881

Austrian representations in Cameroon

The Federal Republic of Austria does not have a diplomatic representation in Cameroon; the embassy in Nigeria is responsible.

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Austria in Nigeria

Plot 9, Usuma Street

Maitama – Abuja

Tel: 00234 – 706 – 418 3226

Email: abuja-ob@bmeia.gv.at

The Austrian Embassy in Nigeria is still responsible for:

  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Benin
  • Gabon
  • Ghana
  • Cameroon
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Chad
  • Togo
  • Central African Republic

Representations of Cameroon in Austria

Honorary Consulate in Vienna

Villa Flora, Hüttelbergstraße 23a

1140 Vienna

Tel: 0043 – (0) 1 – 9147 7440

Email: konsulat@society.at

Swiss representations in Cameroon

Embassy in Cameroon

Angle rues 1811 et 1814, Quartier Bastos

CM- Yaoundé

Tel: 00237 – (0) 222 – 050 67

00237 – (0) 222 – 118 57

Fax: 00237 – (0) 222 – 093 86

www.eda.admin.ch/yaounde

The Swiss embassy in Cameroon is still responsible for:

  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Central African Republic

Representations of Cameroon in Switzerland

Embassy in Bern

Brunnadernrain 29

3006 Bern

Tel: 0041 – (0) 31 – 352 4734/37

Email: ambacam.berne@yahoo.fr

www.ambacamberne.ch

Travel to Cameroon