West & Central Africa Multi Tour 09 Days

Visitors are welcomed by our representative upon arrival at the SSG airport where they are provided with airport assistance, baggage clearance and ushered to their private car for hotel transfer. After hotel check-in, a short briefing with the guide will enable fine-tuning of details for travel in Equatorial Guinea. Dinner and overnight at Ibis Bata or similar hotel.

In the morning after breakfast, we leave the hotel and drive through the beautiful city of Malabo. We visit the cathedral, with Gothic-styled architecture that was designed by Luis Saegarra Llairado. Next to the cathedral is the presidential palace with its numerous military installations and personnel. Please note that in Equatorial Guinea you are not allowed to take pictures of any public building without the required permit!! We also make a stop at the main market to witness a typical colorful market in the African ambiance.  Another interesting highlight includes the City Hall, the amazing architecture of numerous Spanish buildings and much more. We drive back to the hotel for lunch, with a breathtaking view of the Pico Mountain (3011m). We spend the rest of the day at leisure in the Ibis Hotel.

We leave after breakfast and head on to the airport for the morning flight to the mainland part of the country, Bata. After a 20 minute flight, we reach Bata Airport from where our local guide will transfer you to the hotel for lunch. In the afternoon, we enjoy a sightseeing tour of Bata where we visit the clock square, the cathedral, the vibrant and colorful market, the mosque and the central avenues. We return to the hotel for dinner.

After breakfast we embark on the three hour drive to Mongomo. The road  to Mongomo takes us through picturesque landscapes and villages and runs alongside the rainforest border.  Upon arrival, we transfer to the Akoakam Hotel from which we prepare for our afternoon sightseeing tour. Mongomo is the hometown of Equatorial Guinea’s first president, uncle to the current one. It is inhabited by the Fang ethnic tribe. With its more than seven thousand people, Mongomo is privileged to receive the president during long week-ends. The town itself has a beautiful stadium (that hosted the last African Cup Of Nations), and a recently built cathedral (a smaller version of St Paul’s Cathedral in Vatican City). In the centre of the city is the bust of the three leaders of the country: Bonifacio Ondo (former head of internal autonomy during the Spanish reign), Francisco Masias (the dictator who was assasinated), and of course the current president, Teodoro Obiang, who superseded him. Dinner and overnight at the Akoakam Hotel.

After early breakfast we depart Equatorial Guinea and move on to Gabon.  The border is only about half an hour’s drive from the main town of Mongomo. After the usual rigmarole of frontier  formalities, we meet our Gabon guide who will assist you with required entry formalities. Then we continue our adventure with a breathtaking seven hour drive towards Lambéréné. If time permits, we will stop at Oyem for a visit to the grammar school visited by Micheal Jackson some decades ago.  There are many small localities along the Lambaréné road including the beautiful town of Mitzic, Ndjole and Bifoun where we can have stops. Through forest, savannah and mountain landscapes, we expect to reach Lambaréné by 5:30 or so. Dinner and overnight in the Albert Schweitzer Guest House.

Today we explore the town of Lambaréné. Lambarene is located in west-central Gabon on an island in the Ogooué River and is best known for its hospital founded in 1913 by Albert Schweitzer, the theologian and mission doctor. There is a small museum devoted to Schweitzer’s life and work. The Paris Mission Society first established a mission there in 1876, and Lambaréné became the headquarters of Protestant missions in the former French Equatorial Africa. The town has a Protestant church, a Roman Catholic Church, and a mosque that we will visit among other highlights during our day trip. This route is also the best opportunity to stand on the equator as we drive through the outskirts of Lambarene. Later in the afternoon, we check-out the Albert Schweitzer Guest House and drive back to Libreville where we spend the night (Tropicana Hotel) and if time permits, we go for a afternoon city tour of the Gabon capital.

This morning we drive to the airport so as to catch the domestic flight to Port Gentil (a 30 minute flight). Upon arrival in Port Gentil, we’re met at the airport and transferred to the pier over the Omboué River from where we embark on a 3-4 hours voyage as we transfer to the Loango National Park. The voyage gives us the opportunity to sail alongside lively fishing villages, patches of swampy forests and mangroves, and if we’re lucky we may encounter some rare bird species and wildlife on the bank of the River. We reach Omboué after three hours and take a 4WD jeep that drives us through forest up to the Loango Safaris Lodge where we check-in. In the afternoon, we go for a boat ride over the Mpive River up to the Evengue where we visit the Island of Lowland Gorillas and the St Anne’s Catholic mission designed by Gustav Eiffel. In the late afternoon we sail down the River and go for a well-deserved dinner in Loango Lodge.

Loango is one of the best parks in the Congo Basin where you can find big mammals roaming along the beach. These include Elephants, Antelopes, Chimps, Hippos, Gorillas, and a good variety of Monkeys, as well as diverse bird life. This morning we take a boat ride to Akaka forest where we spend the afternoon roaming around the depth of the Loango Park in quest of the aforementioned wildlife species. We spend the night in the beautiful camp where we will provide you with your meals provided.

Dry season is the best time for a tour in the north-western part of the park, when verdant savannah is dominant. There are breathtaking views of the ocean/savannah/forest from the Akaka Camp, a beautiful lodge in the midst of the jungle, where you have the unique chance to spot hippos surfing on the beach, buffaloes and other big mammals grazing on the savannah or roaming along the beach, as well as a great flock of birds swooping from the forest to the Savannah and to the beach.

We have an array of activities that can be undertaken this afternoon including kayaking in the nearby lagoon, or walking around the vicinity of the forest adjacent to the camp.  

Today we have a renewed chance to spot some animals as we leave the park for Omboué where we board the boat for the ride to Port Gentil. From here on, we drive to the airport and catch the regular flight to Libreville which we reach at 6pm. Here you will check-in for your homeward flights. Tour ends.