Cameroon Driving Advice and Car Hire Info
Driving In Cameroon
Before driving abroad in Cameroon check your Government’s website for latest advice on visiting the country. This will detail any recent incidents of unrest and will carry recommendations on areas to avoid. There are usually ‘avoid all travel’ advisories in place for the areas bordering Chad, Central African Republic and Nigeria.
Your photo licence plus International Driving Permits may be used on first arrival, but if staying for any length of time a Cameroonian licence as soon as possible after arrival. You can do this by filling in a form at the Delegation of Transport.
Ensure that any car you hire is adequately insured, preferably by written confirmation from the insurance company (rather than the car hire firm). If you are hiring a driver and car, again ensure that you are not liable for any accident or damage.
Roads in Cameroon are generally in poor condition. Many are badly pot-holed, and street lighting, where it exists, is poor. After rains, roads in some regions can become a quagmire. There are plenty of YouTube clips demonstrating this . Pedestrians and stray animals on roads are a frequent hazard. Many vehicles are poorly lit and badly driven.
Roadblocks set up by the police or gendarmerie, are common throughout Cameroon. You may be asked to show your passport, driving licence or vehicle registration documents. There are regular reports of uniformed members of the security forces stopping motorists on the pretext of minor or non-existent violations of local vehicle regulations in order to extort small bribes. We recommend that you do not pay bribes but each situation obviously should be judged on its own specific circumstances. Where possible you should request the officer to provide a ticket, detailing alleged offences of violations that can be paid at a local police station. (See my Planning a trip page for advice on dealing with the police in Africa).
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.
Cameroon Car Rental –
Europcar, Alamo , National, Avis, Alamo, have branches here.Cameroon also features on some Car Rental broker sites.
We currently have no local car rental partners in Cameroon. 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.
Cameroon Self Driving Rules –
Avis,National and Alamo all have outlets in Yaounde and Douala and one way rentals should be possible but no company seems to allow the vehicle to leave the country. Europcar mention restrictions on taking the car to certain countries but don’t provide details on which these are.
