Gabon facts
Capital: Libreville
Language: French.
People: Fang, Eshira and other Bantu.
Religion:
Size (sq km): 267,667.
Population: 1,454,867.
Population density/sq km: 5.4.
Never photograph military installations.
Stone carvings, masks, figurines, clay pots, traditional musical instruments.
Many restaurants serve Cameroonian, Congolese, French and Senegalese food. Bush meats such as wild boar, antelope, porcupine, monkey and crocodile often form part of Gabonese cuisine. French baguettes are one of the Gabonese staples, along with smoked or salted fish, fish stew, manioc, plantain and rice.
International Airports in Gabon
Libreville (LBV) 12 km from the city.
Internal travel in Gabon
Air Gabon flies between major towns and cities. The Transgabonais train runs between Qwendo (a few kilometres south of Libreville) and Franceville. Minibuses and bush taxis are popular transport but bush taxi. Road travel during the rainy season is inadvisable. There are boats between Libreville and Port-Gentill and less regularly onto Lambaréné and Ndjolé. Car hire available at main hotels and airports.
Gabon visas
(UK/US) Required.
Gabon vaccinations
required BCG, Cholera, Diphtheria, Hep. A, Hep. B, Malaria, Rabies, Typhoid, Y. Fever1
Gabon driving requirements
International Driving Permit and international insurance.
Gabon reps in UK/US
UK: 27 Elvaston Place, London SW7 5NL, tel (020) 7823 9986, fax (020) 7584 0047. US: 2034 20th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009, tel (202) 797 1000, fax (202) 332 0668.
UK/US reps in Gabon
UK: PO Box 486, Libreville, tel 762 200, fax 765 789. US: BP 4000, Boulevard Bord de la Mer, Libreville, tel 762 003/4, fax 745 507.
Gabon currency
Communauté Financiaire Africaine franc (CFA) = 100 centimes.
Gabon finance
Relatively limited acceptance of credit cards, limited acceptance of traveller's cheques.
Gabon business hours
0800-1200, 1500-1900 Monday-Saturday. Some shops close Monday.
Gabon safety information
Generally stable.
Gabon life expectancy
Life expectancy: M 52.85, F 55.17.
Useful websites for travel to Gabon
http://gabon.embassyhomepage.com, www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/gabon/, www.legabon.org/uk/invest
Local media in Gabon
No English-language newspapers
Gabon tourist boards
n/a.
Equatorial climate with high humidity. Dry season from May to September, the rest of the year is hot and humid with heavy rain.
GMT +1.
Communauté Financiaire Africaine franc (CFA) = 100 centimes.
Get foreign currency online
