Niger Driving Advice and Car Hire Info
Driving In Niger
First of all, before driving abroad in Niger you need to check your Government’s website for the latest advice on the situation in the country. Most Governments currently advise against travel to most regions.The roads listed below in northern Niger are permanently closed to tourists, except with special authorisation: Chirfa (Djado) / Djanet (Algeria) ,Achouloma (north Djado) / Salvador Pass (Libya) ,Adrar Bous (north Aïr) / Djanet (Algeria) ,Adrar Bous (north Aïr) / In Azawa (Algeria), Agadez / Arlit / Iferouane and Agadez / Tahoua.
Around 10% of Niger’s 10,000km of roads are paved.The country has two major highways- The so-called Uranium highway runs from Arlit in the north to the Benin and is part of the Trans-Sahara Highway system. Another paved highway runs from Niamey via Maradi and Zinder towards Diffa in the far east of the nation, although the stretch from Zinder to Diffa is only partially paved. Portions of this route are used by the Trans-Sahel Highway route. The national road system (“Routes Nationale”) are numbered and prefixed with “RN”, as RN1. Many of these routes are unpaved.
You can drive in Niger on an International Driving Permit for up to 3 months, after which time you must apply for a local permit.The main roads between Niamey and other large towns are generally satisfactory but most roads will have potholes, and poorly lit make driving after dark unadvisable. In Niamey only main roads are sealed and street lighting is poor. Driving standards are poor and there are many unsafe and overloaded vehicles on the roads. There have been cases of cars hitting landmines in Niamey, and reports of land mines being used in Burkina Faso on the road to Ouagadougou from Niamey. Travel outside Niamey and other cities usually requires four-wheel-drive vehicles, which creates an additional security risk, since these vehicles—especially Toyota Land Cruisers—are high-theft items. Banditry is a continuing problem in northern and eastern Niger, as well as along the border with Mali. There have been occasional car-jackings and highway robberies throughout the country.
Although I try and keep the information in the site updated as much as possible, in a rapidly moving world, situations can change daily. Therefore please use the site as an approximate guide, and in conjunction with other resources in order to form your view on driving conditions, roads, safety etc.
Niger Car Rental –
Avis have an office in Niamey which mentions things like CDW and age of drivers so I assume its self drive. Europcar have an office but this looks to be chauffeur drive only.
We currently have no local car rental partners in Niger. If you are a local car rental company who would like to feature on DriverAbroad.com please check details on our Partnering page or contact us on ADriverAbroad@Outlook.com.
