Monrovia / Liberia
 

Hi,

boss wants to fly to Monrovia in September, any comments on that?

Security? HOTAC? Airport facilities?

Would be thankful for any input

HD

Make sure you have lots of USD cash. Airport is not so bad but ONE hour drive from town.
Handling is expensive but also make sure you have the necessary overflight and landing clearances.
Hotels i have stayed in are basic, hot water and aircon and clean but nothing to write home about. I must stress i have not seen everything and can only comment on where i have stayed.

HD
Make sure some of the cash USD is in small bills, 1, 5, 10, 20's.
Makes accounting easier as the European bean counters might not understand the "we have no change for your $100 bill" statement that Africa is well known for!!:E::E:E
Also in the East of the continent, bills, especially $100's, were sometimes not accepted unless they were post 2006! (Might not be a problem but just a heads up!)
Enjoy...:ok:

Liberia
 

Kendeja Resort good place to stay. Stop at the gbeen restaurant (Sam's Place) near the airport, look for flags outside, for good chicken and rice and cold beer. Firestone supermarket has most things, short detour on the way back. Indian restaurant saaj in town good.
Don't drink more than 3 large club beers

The USD thing is sorta standard on the dark continent, at least where I´ve been.

I sure hope the boss rethinks this one. We go to Congo regularly and I thought Kinshasa is bad enough... some have called me a pussy...

Thanks guys!

Monrovia's fine, so long as you have people on the ground to point you in the right direction. The airport is very small and hence it can take a while to get processed. Try not to arrive immediately after a scheduled flight.

The drive into Monrovia can take a while - the traffic can get very bad. There's a few decent hotels and restaurants.

Security in general is fine - the UN are there in force. But of course there's the usual petty stuff that you will find anywhere in that region.

In my view, Liberia is vastly better than the truly awful DRC.

Monrovia's a lot better than Kinshasa, Navaids are intermittent, the airports is spacious and nothing like the crowded pandemic in Kinshasa...I've never had to bribe anyone in Liberia, found the airport staff to be friendly and helpful. Solenta flies a DHL contract daily into Monrovia, give them a call to get the latest red flags at the airport and useful info

That sounds good, somehow I still have had bad stories in my mind reg. Liberia.

Thanks Guys!

Another thing just came up:

Luanda and Lobito in Angola.

can you shed some light on these for me? Lobito is an air base I think and will have no immigration/customs, correct?

Thanks!

Okay, next try:

has anyone been at FNLB - Lobito ? From googlemaps its looks like a decent runway ?

The alternative might FNBG - Benguela if we cant get permission for FNLB...from googlemaps the runway looks not that good, any been there lately?

Any input highly appreciated...

h_d

You'll have to clear customs / immigration in Luanda. LAD and Lubango (SDD) are the only two international airports in the country.

These three airports all serve the same "area":

FNLB - Lobito
FNBG - Benguela
FNCT - Catumbela

Lobito airport and Benguela airport both take smaller props, not jets. TAAG and SonAir fly 737s into Catumbela, however, which is an airbase.

Angola has been completely rebuilding most of its airports, so I'm not quite sure of the status of Lobito and Benguela, but I know Catumbela remains operational.

Hi, thanks.

I was told by the handler in Luanda that they can accept aircraft up to 17 tons, our doodle bug has only 13,7...

I shall wait and see when my passengers have made up their mind where to go when. Then I´ll apply for permits.

RLJ Kendeja resort is the only place to stay. Halfway between airport and city centre, on the beach. We manage the place, it's delightful. Kendeja Resort

MONROVIA
 

Only one place to stay in the city.That is MAMBA POINT HOTEL,very near US embassy.
Ask for Anna and Showi the owners, send my BEST rgds.