Douala

Douala is the largest city and the commercial centre of Cameroon. Douala is really quite a hot and sticky place, and the grimy state of the infrastructure in parts leaves a lot to be desired. With more and more people coming here to seek a better life, it is struggling to keep up with issues like pollution and overcrowding. Sadly, it doesn't have a whole lot in the way of tourist attractions either, and prices tend to be elevated because of all the commerce and industry.

Understand

With a metro population over 2.8 million in 2015, Douala is the biggest city in Cameroon and sits on the Wouri River Delta where it hosts a port and some 95% of industrial activity for the country. While originally inhabited by peoples from the Congo River, the rest of its history follows much of the same track as the rest of Cameroon: Portuguese colonists supplanted by Germans supplanted by French and English after WWI, and then lastly independence. From 1940 to 1946, it was the capital of the country, before Buea and then Yaounde finally took that designation. But it has always featured as the center of commerce.

Bonamousadi douala Cameroon

Get in

By plane

• 1 Douala International Airport (DLA  ^IATA). Serves as the main entrance point in the country. Camair-Co (national carrier) is the main service provider to the city of Douala. Other airlines also fly from Europe - Air France (Paris), Royal Air Maroc (Morocco), Brussels Airlines (Brussels) and Turkish Airlines (Istanbul). Several airlines provide links from African destinations. Flights to Douala with major airlines are not available daily, hence a flexible schedule and a timely reservation is required. On flights out of Douala a cash-only airport tax of FCFA 10 000 is payable after you have checked in but before passport control.  

By train

Passenger services are operated by Camrail. There are several daily services from the capital Yaoundé, brand new Intercity trains takes 3 hr 45 min to complete the journey. There's also a slower service from Kumba twice a week. The central station in Douala, 2 Bessengue station (Gare de Bessengue) is located just off Blvd. de la Réunification.

By car

The Route Nationale 3 (N3) from Yaoundé to Limbe and the Route Nationale 5 (N5) from Bafoussam to Douala are the two main roads linking Douala to other cities of the country.

Pont sur le Wouri

By boat

There are passenger ferries, usually one sailing per week, from Bata and Malabo, both located in Equatorial Guinea.

Get around

Rue du marché Mboppi à Douala1

Ride-hailing app Yango is available.

See

• 1 Douala Maritime Museum, Rue de l’Hopital, ☏ +237 33 42 21 65. Museum showcasing the rich maritime history of Douala. Entrance 5000 CFA. (updated Oct 2017)
• Douala Memorials, Douala water park, Douala shops
• 2 Place du Gouvernement. old colonial type building, next to Doual'art and Parc Bonanjo across the street, which has a monument to an unknown soldier. (updated Aug 2020)
• 3 Cathedral of St Peter and Paul Bonadibong, Rue Joss, ☏ +237 6 90 90 50 08. (updated Aug 2020)
• 4 Doual'art, ☏ +237 2 33 43 32 59. Housed in La Pagode, a structure that resembles a pagoda, showcases local artists' work and facilitates arts and culture in the community. 
• 5 La Nouvelle Liberté (in Rond-Point Deido (Deido roundabout)). Renowned statue made of recycled metal by Cameroonian artist Joseph-Francis Sumégnél in the 1990s that is supposed to express freedom. Watch out for heavy traffic, including motorcycles coming up onto the sidewalk to maneuver, as well as people who may be up to no good. (updated Aug 2020)
• 6 Palais Dika Akwa. Former estate of a noted anthropologist named Dika Akwa that shows elements of Sawa architecture and culture. (updated Mar 2022)
• 7 La Nouvelle Liberté. Abstract roundabout art. (updated Mar 2022)
• Rond-Point Deido, historical landmark.

La Nouvelle Liberte Statue

Do

• 1 CanalOlympia Bessengué, ☏ +237 6 93 23 22 13. Movie theater and event venue for performing arts. (updated Aug 2020)
• Games Arena 237, recreational center.

Buy

• 1 Marché Mboppi. Douala's main city marketplace. (updated Mar 2022)
• Ecobank. 10 Mastercard/Visa card ATMs all over Douala. (updated Jul 2016)

• China Mall PK13.

• Marche PK14.

• Super U Bonamoussadi, supermarket

• Santa Lucia Bonamoussadi.

• Carrefour Supermaket Douala.

• Terminus St Michel.

• China Mall Ndokoti.

• Douala Grand Mall, shopping mall.

Eat

Budget

• Nice Cream, Bd de la Liberté. A very cozy diner serving pizza and ice cream, just what every traveler needs after melting in the sun. Plus shawarma and milk shakes. +237 6 90 03 03 44

Mid-range

• Mediterranee, Bd De Liberte. Greek and pizza, so exciting because it's open 24 hours. +237 6 99 98 09 30
• Saga Africa, Bd de la Liberte. Regional fare. +237 2 33 42 23 81
• Aladdin (Lebanese), +237 2 33 43 28 27
• La Sorento, Carrefour de l'Air, Bonapriso. Italian pizzas. +237 6 99 91 01 66

Splurge

• Le Dernier Comptoir Colonial, Rue de Verdun. Fish, prawns. +237 6 77 76 04 05

Drink

• Ngodi Bakoko Two Castles, bar.

• La Casa de Papel Douala 237.

• Maison Blanche Lendi.

• Onomo Hotel Douala.

Sleep

Budget

• 1 Planet Hotel, Akwa, west of the city, ☏ +237 33 43 31 31. Modern and marginally maintained hotel which is convenient for airport. Wireless internet works well, air conditioners do not. Rooms are generally clean and have TV with a few English channels. If you need entertainment, there is a nightclub across the street. FCFA 41245 (Mar 2022). 
• 2 Peninsula Plaza Hotel, Voie Makepe Est (North side of the city), ☏ +237 347 1741. A modern hotel which is on the northern side of the city. Rooms are quite good, with air conditioning. Internet might not work and hot water from in room boiler may not work. FCFA 22117 (Mar 2022). 
• 3 Loumia Residency, ☏ +237 6 53 89 43 92. Kind of geared for more long-term stays, with accommodations in the form of apartments. No pool or restaurant, but it does have a gym plus private balconies and wifi and is close to restaurants in the Bonapriso neighborhood. FCFA 37471. (updated Aug 2020)
• Hotel Vallee Des Princes, Boulevard de la République, ☏ +237 2 33 40 37 45. Indoor splash pool. FCFA 38256 (Mar 2022). (updated Mar 2022)

Mid-range

• ibis Douala, 184 Rue Pierre Loti, ☏ +237 6 99 99 99 43. Outdoor pool with lots of vegetation around and restaurant on premises. FCFA 55591 (Mar 2022). (updated Mar 2022)
• 4 Hôtel Akwa Palace, 920 Boulevard de la Liberté. FCFA 58580 (Mar 2022). 
• 5 Hotel Sawa, 488 Rue de Verdun. Strikingly yellow exterior. FCFA 53798 (Mar 2022). 

Splurge

• 6 Pullman Douala Rabingha, 35 Avenue Des Cocotiers. (updated Oct 2017)
• 7 Hôtel La Falaise Bonapriso, Rue Njo-Njo, ☏ +237 2 33 43 99 12. A new luxury highrise for those who want to spend big money in Douala. Looks like a big concrete monolith rising up from the flats. Has a gym and outdoor pool and restaurant/bar/Sunday brunch, plus a/c, wifi, and airport shuttle. It's close to some other restaurants in the happening Bonapriso neighborhood. Tres cher. FCFA 83087. (updated Aug 2020)

Stay safe

Vendeurs à la sauvette 10

Cope

English and French language broadcasts can be heard on BBC World Service on 101.3MHz.

Embassies and consulates

• Greece, B.P. 617, 349 Rue Joffre, ☏ +237 3343-7742, fax: +237 3342-9935, grecoms-dla@hotmail.fr. 
• British Honorary Consulate, BP 1016 Douala, ☏ +237 3343 9732, fax: +237 3343 9732, Constance.Njike-HonCon@fconet.fco.gov.uk. 
• 1 Nigeria, No.161 Dominique Savio Street, Bonapriso, ☏ +237 654 54 90 90, nigeria.douala@foreignaffairs.gov.ng. M-F 08:30-16:30. (updated Aug 2024)

Go next

• Yaoundé — the capital of Cameroon.
• Calabar, Nigeria, is 470 km by car, or 9 hours, but you travel through the English-speaking parts of Cameroon, where there has been a successionist guerrilla war underway since 2017.