How to Find Hotels in Brazzaville, Congo

As the capital of Congo, Brazzaville holds about 70 percent of the population and almost every one of the locals will make you feel welcome. The city offers attractions featuring the history of the Congo and is a great starting point to explore the entire country.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer with Internet access for making reservations
• All visitors need a visa

Prepare for Your Trip to the Congo

1. Don't confuse Congo with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC is different country than the Republic of Congo (ROC), also known as Congo-Brazzaville.
2. Parlez Francais. The official language in the Republic of Congo is French.
3. Visit between June and October, which are the drier, cooler months. Overall, the weather in Brazzaville is warm and extremely humid. In accommodations without air conditioning, you will find that the bedding is always slightly damp.
4. Change dollars to the Congolese franc at your hotel. Exchanges are not easy to find.

Find Your Way To and Around Brazzaville

5. Fly to the MayaMaya airport in Brazzaville from major airports in Gabon, Cameroon, and Angola.
6. Ride with the locals (and potentially their chickens) in one of the shared buses and taxis that run within central Brazzaville and nearby villages.
7. Walk between almost all the tourist attractions, including the zoo and museums. Most accommodations are also within walking distance to attractions.

Find Accommodations

8. To book accommodations, contact Ministère du Tourisme et de l'Environnement at 011 ([phone].
9. Find a hotel near the city center to experience great shopping by day and lively clubbing by night.
10. Consider volunteering to teach English or help aid workers in exchange for free accommodations. If you have the time, this is the best way to experience the culture of the city.
11. Check out the Brazzaville Catholic Cathedral, which offers inexpensive rooms and is one of Brazzaville's biggest tourist attractions.

Be Familiar with Local Information

12. Look across the river towards Kinshasha, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire. Stay in one city and visit the other.
13. Visit Brazzaville's markets to find everything from peanut butter to aphrodisiacs. Marche Total, named after the Total gas station marking the entrance, is the largest market and offers great people-watching.

Tips & Warnings

• Most of the city is without electricity, so venture out at night with caution.
• All phone numbers include the United States international prefix "011." When calling internationally outside the United States, substitute that "011" with "00." All country codes are within parentheses and begin with a "+" sign.
• Drinks at the nightclubs will often set you back more than a meal at any restaurant in Brazzaville.
• Malaria is a real threat, so see your doctor before visiting.
• Congo is only a few years into peace, so expect a strong military presence and no tourism infrastructure.