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Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 2 Aug 2007
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Visas for the West coast
Hi Guys,

Myself and two friends are biking up the West coast from Cape Town to Europe starting Dec 1. We both have South African and European passports.

One of the issues we have is Visas. We contacted a local company to organise all the neccessary visas, but got a huge quote - R12,000!!!

So, i want to know if it's possible to do the following:
We orgainse visas for Angola, Congo, DRC & Cameroon before the trip from Cape Town,

then could we get visas in Cameroons capital (Yaunda??) for Nigeria, Togo, Ghana…
that only leaves the Ivory Coast ,Mali and Mauritania. Where would you suggest we get these visas?
We don't need visas for Gabon, Namiba and Morrocco.


Our trip is scheduled for 2.5 months, so not much time left for sorting out visas.



Any informaiton will be much appreciated.:confused1:



Luke
Capetown
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  #2  
Old 3 Aug 2007
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YOu can usally get visas for the next country in the capita=ol of the country you are than in.. if you follow.

It may not be the cheapest/quickest way. In some countries you can get visas on the boarder (or close to it).

The Angola vist tends to be a transit visa .. a few days ... way too quick.

Ivory Coast is just coming out of strife .. not certain I'd go there? See as you get closer.. From Nigeria you can do Niger Mali etc.. skips a few boarders.. might be quicker..
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  #3  
Old 3 Aug 2007
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Just sorting out my own Cote D'Ivoire visa, bit of a nightmare to do it in Europe & particularly in France.

Essentially the main 'pain' is a letter of invitation and trying to get one ... I'm very close to writing my own letter on fake paper and seeing if it'll get past the 'powers' that be in Marseille!

Cote D'Ivoire is calming down, the IRIN NEWS claimed that war is finally over. The south is OK, the north is rebel held; crossing between the two is a 'no-no' ..

As for the other visas, I'm with the above comment, get them as you go!

Kira
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  #4  
Old 3 Aug 2007
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Dodgy Green Mamba passport!
Always best to get the visa for the next country, in the bordering country you are travelling in. sometimes it is cheaper and you will have a very good idea when you will be entering the country! But it is a day lost, sometimes more! I will be heading down from november.(london-sa) It would be good to meet half way and share good up to date info.
Orrin
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  #5  
Old 4 Aug 2007
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Sweet route...can't wait to read up when you post!

As others have noted, its probably more beneficial to pick up the visas a couple countries ahead of time as your schedule will shift. Thats the nature of these trips...

Although getting visas are not the sexy part of your trip, none of our trips are devoid of administrative necessities such as this...
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  #6  
Old 4 Aug 2007
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Get a Visa Touristique Entente (suggest the Cote d'Ivoire embassy in Yaounde), it is valid for Benin, Togo, BF, Niger and Cd'I, saves time and money.

For Nigeria the consulate in Buea, Cameroon is easy and friendly.

Ghana - get it in Lomé.

For Mali, in Yaoundé.

For Mauritania, in Bamako.

Did I miss any?

The situation with the border region Cd'I to Mali is still to be regarded as tense pending a few reports to the contrary - keep an eye on developements. If there is no positive news when you get closer I'd suggest heading Ghana-BF-Mali instead.

Dave
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  #7  
Old 4 Aug 2007
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Does the Visa Touristique Entente actually exist?

I've heard people recommend this but do we know actually anyone that has gotten it?
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  #8  
Old 4 Aug 2007
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I got mine 18 months ago at the Cd'I consulate in Bamako. They were very polite and accomodating. I've heard similar reports from Togo consulates in the region, yoo.

Dave
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  #9  
Old 5 Aug 2007
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Nice!

But then why don't they offer it at the consulates outside of the zone?

How did you get into Mali before acquiring the Visa Touristique Entente?

I guess I'm just bitter I didn't get it at the Mali/Niger consulates in Rabat back in November 2006

Ahh...the nonsense of visas continue to make West Africa more interesting!
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  #10  
Old 5 Aug 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wilco View Post
I got mine 18 months ago at the Cd'I consulate in Bamako. They were very polite and accomodating. I've heard similar reports from Togo consulates in the region, yoo.

Dave
It's also very cheap (or cheaper than Bamako) in Ouaga ... in a warehouse type building 1km from the centre of town as you're heading in from the west

As far as Cote d'Ivoire goes, don't attempt to go from the north down to Abidjan; I have a feeling the 'zone' across the middle of the country will take a bit longer to calm down!

Kira
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  #11  
Old 5 Aug 2007
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Edde, the VTE isn't valid for Mali, only Niger, Togo, Benin, BF and Cd'I. Many consulates don't offer it to we rich folk from the West as they want us to pay for each country - you can't blame them. They may pretend it doesn't exist too, but will often change their tune if you politely explain that your friend/brother/neighbour etc obtained one only last month. It's all part of the game in Africa.

Dave
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  #12  
Old 6 Aug 2007
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Which embassies issuing Touristique Entente Visa in North of Africa? Can I get it in Morocco, Senegal or in Mali in the embassies of Niger, Togo, Benin, BF or Cd'I?

It will really help to save some time and meaningless embassy paper works.
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  #13  
Old 6 Aug 2007
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I got it at the Cd'I consulate in Bamako. If you're heading there from Senegal try Dakar first.

Dave
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  #14  
Old 7 Aug 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wilco View Post
Edde, the VTE isn't valid for Mali, only Niger, Togo, Benin, BF and Cd'I. Many consulates don't offer it to we rich folk from the West as they want us to pay for each country - you can't blame them. They may pretend it doesn't exist too, but will often change their tune if you politely explain that your friend/brother/neighbour etc obtained one only last month. It's all part of the game in Africa.

Dave
You slick bastard!!!!! Damn, if I had known...I woulda picked it up in Dakar...thanks for posting this great lead for future travellers....
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  #15  
Old 13 Aug 2007
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Thanks for all the valueable information guys. That Touristique Entente Visa sounds like it will save us loads of work.

Check out our blogg site african west coast adventure
Cheers
Luke
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