EQUATORIAL GUINEA – The Trip

Equatorial Guinea is a small country in West Africa, divided into two parts, the mainland and the islands. The mainland is wedged between Cameroon and Gabon. Unique among sub-Saharan countries, it was a Spanish colony, whose only other African colony was Western Sahara. It is one of the largest oil producers in Sub-Sahara, behind Angola and Nigeria.
For travellers, Equatorial Guinea is infamous for its high prices and hard-to-get visas, at least for non-Americans. This is nominally a police state, akin to Turkmenistan and North Korea (minus the minders and organized persecution of its inhabitants). As a result, tourist infrastructure is sparse and it is not a high priority for the government. You are likely to face harassment by police forces curious about what you are doing in the country as a “tourist”. Since the oil companies operating here are mostly American, Americans may receive marginally better treatment compared to other nationalities (e.g. visa-free entry, less suspicion by police).
Since the discovery of oil, Equatorial Guinea has—at least on paper—one of the highest per-capita incomes on the planet. Despite this, income and day-to-day life for many Equatorial Guineans has improved little, due to the endemic corruption siphoning off oil revenue into the hands of a small wealthy elite. Progress is moving along, though, and new infrastructure and modernization projects are under construction or even finished, especially in Bioko and around Malabo.
And of course, what dictator’s realm would be complete without a vast, lavish capital? Work is in progress (2016) building this new city, called Oyala or Djibloho, on the mainland between Bata and Mongomo. Despite the impressive-looking new infrastructure, few Equatorial Guineans have access to it, and while the government throws billions of dollars at new construction, less than half the country’s population (of fewer than 700,000) have access to clean drinking water. Multi-lane highways and vast new squares in Malabo remain empty.

SEE
There is little tourist support in Equatorial Guinea. Prices for a ‘tour’ of the island are shocking ($3-400/day), bargaining may reduce price to $150. Equipment can be a clapped-out van. One needs to get a tourism permit in Malabo, Ebebiyín or Mongomo from the Ministry of Tourism and submit a detailed letter of request, then wait a minimum of 2 days for permission to be granted.
Permits: Needed to visit the national parks; Ureka and Pico Basile. It is checked for these two but not for other cities on the island. The driver’s name needs to be on the permit with all travellers. Obtain the permit from the Ministerio de Turismo in town – 16,500 cfa (15,000 for the permit + 1500 paper fee). They issue the permit on the spot. You or your driver can visit the tourism office the day before to get the permit, to be on the safe site.
Checkpoints are common. Most of the time, you get waved through, and some may ask to see your passport.  If driving on the main road, especially the east, tell the regular checkpoints that you are staying at a hotel in Moca. The only places that require permits are Ureka and Pico Basile. Roads are good but grades are steep (18%) to Ureka and Pico. Pico is usually cloudy.
Tourist attractions are the colonial quarter in Malabo, the southern part of the island Bioko where you can hike to the Iladyi cascades and to Ureka with remote beaches to watch nesting turtles, Bata with its shoreline Paseo Maritimo and the Tower of Liberty, Mongomo with its basilica (the second largest Catholic church in Africa) and the new planned and built capital Ciudad de la Paz.
There are lots of beaches. Generally, there is not much to see or do – just overcome one logistical nightmare after another. There are many Range Rovers, clean and calm by African standards. There are a few natural things to see. Ureka is the only real highlight.

Flights. Ethiopian Airlines CTDYRP
May 9 ET701 LHR-ADD – 21:15-07:00+1. 2′ layover
May 10 ET913 ADD-DOU-SSG @09:00-13:15 /6’15”
BIOKO. Island in the Gulf of Guinea, includes the capital city, Bubi culture

Day 1 Fri May 10
MALABO is a great city for walking around and chilling. Explore Malabo indépendantly without a guide?
Arrive at 13:25. Permits at Tourism office.
Malabo National Park. Urban Legends
Museum of Modern Art
Presidential complex (54 houses for each African head of state when they meet once in 5 years)
St. Elizabeth’s Cathedral
Ministry of Mines building,
Campo Yauonde: See local life, driving or walking through this area of Malabo was fantastic. Plenty of colour, vibrancy and the chance to see everyday life.
Eat in Malabo (smoked beef with a black pepper). Coffee shop at Hotel Sofitel, Hotel Bahia’s main restaurant, Pizza Place Restaurante Bantu (Chinese).La Luna (Morrocan and European). *L’atellier $$$, Italian restaurant Bidji Binia $$, Black spoon $ (chicken skewers). Restaurant Carrefour. A cheap place near the cathedral. Malabo, promenade and Sofitel bridge, church, presidential palace, Campo Yauonde.
ON Casa Guineana Céntrica (Casa Particular Air BnB Host Nuria Balbina) C de Mongomo de Guadalupe, Malabo. +240 555743200 / nuriabalbina@gmail.com CA$74 (cancellable)

Day 2 Sat May 11
Rent a car or scooter to see Bioko. Globalbush Car Rental +23723347000 QQ3J+6H (very near Air BnB 125€/day with a driver.
BIOKO.  You need permits (which you can arrange yourself if you have time) and a 4×4 car (public transport or hitchhiking will not get you to the hiking places I did). Another person tried it but could only get to the towns.
Day tour of Bioko. The Island of Bioko can be seen in its entirety in one long day. Itinerary:
The scenery is very lush, with tropical rainforest on a coastal plain that rises to the top of the extinct volcano, Pico Basile. Exceptionally good roads are empty of traffic.
Arena Blanca Beach
Luba fishing town
Batete Church
Ureka: a small village home to the Bubi ethnic group. Long beach on the southern coast The highlight is the long walk to the second waterfall – cross a river and wade a sea inlet – 45 minutes each way. This is often done as an overnight trip because of the long drive and 2-3 hour hike to the second falls. Stay at BBPP base camp in the heart of the jungle. Shelter and tents. Turtles at night (turtle season is from November to March).
Ureka payment to the police/locals because permits weren’t done (these were applied for several weeks before). €40. Need a local guide to see 2nd waterfall.  Steep grades so need AWD at least.
Iladyi Waterfalls (Ilachi Waterfalls). The highest waterfall in EG are located in the Moka Valley, Bioko Sur. Three separate branches in a canyon along a jungle path from Moka town – descendants of the kings of the island, landscape, animals, Moka Church. Moka, visiting the lake requires hiking several hours.
Pico Basile National Park: 3011 meters, the highest mountain in Equatorial Guinea is a 20-25 minute drive on a very windy road. May be cloudy and see nothing. Steep grades of 18%, need at least a good AWD.
Church of Mother Bisila and statue (Estatua de la Virgen Maria de Bisila). 2800 meters above sea level, volcanic crater.
CCEI Bank HQ (Modern Architecture Buildings).
ON Casa Guineana Céntrica for the second night.

Day 3 Sun May 12 Note need a drive ver early 03:30?
Flights. Royal Maroc QR4548 SSG-Casablanca (CMN) @05:40-10:55 / 4’15” / 3’15” trans
Qatar QR 4566 CMN-Doha (DOH) @14:10-23:35 / 8’25” / 2’45” trans
May 13 QR1040 DOH-Abu Dhabi (AUH) @02:20-04:25

Accommodation
Malabo, Airbnb Elena. Casa Particular
Ibis Hotel $110 a night (over budget).
Colinas Hotel. Good reputation. Expensive
Yoli Hotel (a local hotel not on any booking sites for about $50 a night).
Food. La Luna cafe by the port as they had good WiFi. Food not impressive. Breakfast at Cafe Malabo one day. The best meal was fresh grilled fish by the roadside (there are many sellers).

Guides.
Augustin – for three – $350 for a day tour (other tour operators both wanted $400) and we thought we couldn’t use taxis because of the permit situation. The permits are a joke, pay a few dollars to the gatekeepers at Pico Basilé and Ureka (real highlight). Best to find a taxi or rent a car, and tip the gatekeepers.
Rumbo. Malabo two-day tour was a mistake, no help with the visa or PCR tests, once he got the money, the communication was awful. The driver was an hour late, had issues with car documentation at the checkpoint and had to go back to Malabo to get my permit. Hector just went offline when the issues started happening. info@rumbomalabo.com
+240 222 109 147 / @RumboMalabo
Eduardo WhatsApp +240 222 274 612 super helpful and cheaper, speaks English. Make sure you contact him a few days before arrival as he will need to arrange your permits.
angel@ruta47.com
Eulogio WA+240222620882 €150 for a tour around the island (without going to Ureka) but maybe cheaper. Originally offered tours for €500 and €300, and I said: €150?
Luis. WA +573105570759

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RIO MUNI Mainland Equatorial Guinea
BATA
Airports: Bata (BSG)
St. James and Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral
Liberty Tower. Modern Architecture Buildings
*Lighthouse. Views of the city. Colonial
Eat: Bata City: Manila Restaurant $ (music, views), La Ferme Restaurant (beach)
OTHER DESTINATIONS on Rio Muni
Corisco island. M@P. Vast white beaches, difficult to access.
Reserva Natural de Rio Campo (Rio Muni Northwest)
Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Mongomo

ANNOBON is a small island between Sao Tome Island and Principe Island in the Gulf of Guinea Volcanic origin surrounded by several islets, a wonderful beach, lagoon (Lake Mazafin) in the center of the island.

GENERAL
Get In. By plane. Malabo (SSG), and Bata (BSG). Five airports in Equatorial Guinea, but all international flights are presently landing in the city of Malabo. With covid, this entire list has been suspended or obsolete so check flights with each airline using the links below.
Madrid (Spain): Ceiba Intercontinental (4 flights per week), Paris (France): Air France (3 flights per week), Frankfurt (Germany): Lufthansa (3 flights per week), Istambul (Turkey): Turkish Airlines (1 flight per week)
Casablanca (Marroco): Royal Air Marroc ( 2 flights per week); Cotonú (Benin): Cronos Airlines (2 flights per week); Abidjan (Ivory Coast): Ceiba Intercontinental (3 flights per week); Accra (Ghana): Ceiba Intercontinental (3 flights per week); Sao Tome (Sao Tome y Príncipe): Ceiba Intercontinental (3 flights per week); Duala (Cameroon) Ethiopian Airline (3 flights per week); Cronos Airlines (3 vuelos semanales); Libreville (Gabon): Royal Air Marrocc (2 flights per week); Port Harcourt (Nigeria): Cronos Airlines  (2 flights per week); Addis Ababa (Ethiopia): Ethiopian Airlines (3 flights per week)
Ecuato Guineana de Aviación operates national and international flights from Malabo International Airport.
By car. The capital is on an island. Mainland accessed from Gabon via paved (tarmac) roads and from Cameroon via dirt tracks (inaccessible in the rainy season). Many roads in EG, however, are in a very dilapidated state (even for West Africa), and a 4×4 is necessary many months of the year.
Extortion by security forces is not uncommon including local police exacting bribes for trumped-up traffic violations. The hospitality can be great but the corruption by intimidation can be extreme. Best to have a local with you who knows how to navigate it.

Douala (DLA) Cameroon – transit visa for 24 to 72 hours allows you to spend overnite in Douala with no problems exiting the airport and coming back the next day. No visa is necessary. Need flight itinerary, and hotel booking (extra copies needed).
If not possible, stay and spend the overnight at the transit zone of the airport.

Get Around. In general, the country has an enviable infrastructure. Many roads in rural areas are not paved, and rain can cause you some trouble. Public transportation is limited to taxi services. If you want to avoid them, most likely your only way to move around Equatorial Guinea is to drive, rent a driver or hire an agency that includes transportation.
Taxis 500 CFA for urban Malabo and 300 CFA for Bata. Barter with any car or taxi for the day. Illegal taxi drivers may increase prices for tourists. Negotiate the price before you go up. Taxis are shared.
Share cars and vans (cheapest, crowded, unsafe? and the routes not very clear) and leave when full (2 people to 1 seat is the norm- pay extra if you want more space).
Car rental. Under no circumstances do we recommend renting a car and driving it yourself. GPS and maps are not very useful, as most sites will not appear.

Costs. Street food can be quite cheap whereas in a nice restaurant, you can easily spend over 10000 CFA ($17).
Accommodation. Ample hotels in Malabo. There are very few tourists. Nearly everyone who travels to EG is on an expense account, so nice hotel prices reflect this. Hotel prices from 5000 CFA ($8.50) a night to 200000 CFA ($340) depending on the amenities one wants. As in other African countries, the cheapest hotels are often little more than brothels. There are however plenty of cheaper options that poor locals use for a night out with their girlfriends or when they need to stay in another town. Travelling is off the beaten tourist path. In Rio Muní likely the only tourist.

Official visit permissions. On Bioko Island, it is necessary to obtain official permission to visit some areas of tourist interest, such as the Moka Valley, Ureka and Basilé Peak (tourist agency).
In the Continental Region, authorization to travel is issued by the Regional Tourist Office or, the Bata regional police.

Stay Safe. Don’t photograph airports, government buildings, or anything of military or strategic value. Local folks including children are generally averse to foreigners taking their picture. As a general rule, it is not advisable to bring a camera while walking around town as this can cause real trouble with the police.
Avoid any and all conversation related to politics. Criticizing the government, and especially the president, will lead you into trouble. Your local contacts will most likely suffer an even worse fate. If you feel that you are being dragged into a political conversation, or if you are asked for your opinion regarding local politics, stay neutral and don’t offer your opinions.
Equatorial Guinea despite being a country with enough resources and is the country with the highest economic growth in Africa, does not provide any legal certainty for European, American or Asian working within the country.
You must visit with a guide and need special permits in some locations. Consult to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where information is used to extend over the areas of risks.
An organized tour is recommended to avoid unpleasant situations with military checkpoints on the roads. Equatorial Guinea is, overall, a safe place to visit, especially in Malabo and Bata. Low Risk of natural disasters and zero terrorism risk.

HEALTH
Food/Water: The government has invested in clean water infrastructure though you can never be 100% sure it is clean. Bring a steri-pen just in case.
Wear Shoes: Beaches in Malabo and Bata are beautiful however, due to discarded trash and unsafe sand bugs it is a good idea to always wear shoes. This applies to walking on carpeted areas as well.
Malaria Medicine: Malaria is a leading cause of death in this country.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA BODY PAINTING FESTIVAL
2^ND Annual 2020 dates January 11-12, 18-19. There is no reference to be found in July 2022 about the 2023 festival.
Malabo National Park
Info@egbodypaintingfestival.com
Whatsapp: +57 322 534 95 68
Royal Air Maroc has flights.
Registration: To attend the festival and participate in the activity program, visitors must register before September 1^st, 2020 – the registration fee per person is 150 Euros.
Includes – Visa for entry into the country (the only way to get a visa on arrival for EG) – airport transfer, free workshops, and Internal transportation according to the schedule of festival activities. – Entrance to the festival areas. – License card for photography and video. – If you stay at the hotel sponsoring the event you get to hang out with some of the best photographers/body painters/artists in this industry.
Does not include – Flights – Hotels and food. – Private transport
The festival and activities are open-air events. If work is impossible due to bad weather, the organization can cancel that day. Presentations may be moved to the next day, if the program allows, the festival organization will do everything possible to continue with the program as planned. There are barely any tourists for this. It’s mostly people working for the event.
Hotels: Full list of hotels and flights on the website. ***Save up to 50% on the cost of the hotel, and up to 30% on the flight ticket, if you separate your place by filling out the registration form and advance the payment of 10 Euros (Non-refundable) that will be deducted from the total payment of 150 Euros
If you stay at the Sofitel you get to experience everything with the entire team, they even did a trip to the park. They pick you up for everything. It’s 100 euros a night for a 5-star hotel and then any other meals as well as join them for the activities.
Activities:
Body paint shows
Music and Dance
Tribal cultures and customs – themed tours, typical food, local crafts
Ecological tour through the beaches and forests of the island
Experience sharing with the local community in Malabo: parties on the beaches of Sipopo, a gastronomic tour, a visit to the local craft market, an adventure tour in the Ureka waterfalls, and a fantastic journey where you will meet the characters of myths, legends and many more traditions of the Guinean culture. Tour around the island.
Why would body painters choose the most restrictive country in Africa for their event? Because the organizers have fallen in love with the local people here and do it for them. Tourism is of no importance to it running annually.

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History. First colonized by Portugal in 1474, the island, adjacent islets, and commercial rights to the mainland between the Niger River and Ogoue Rivers were ceded to the Spanish Empire in exchange for territory in the American continent in 1778. Between 1926 and 1959 all three regions were united as the colony of Spanish Guinea. Spanish settlers arrived and created plantations in the colony.
Equatorial Guinea gained independence from Spain in October 1968. Since then, it has been ruled by two men. Francisco Macías Nguema, the first president, was a brutal dictator who despised intellectuals, killed a large number of the ethnic Bubi minority, banned fishing, and awarded himself a huge number of grandiose titles (including President for Life). He was overthrown by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in 1979 and later captured and executed by shooting. Obiang’s rule has been less violent, but his regime is still brutally repressive. Political power is centralized in his small mainland clan, and most senior members of the government are related. The discovery of oil reserves offshore in 1996 has brought considerable wealth to the country, giving it one of the highest GDPs per capita in the world, yet much of the money goes into the hands of a thuggish and corrupt government, with the vast majority of the people remaining very poor.