Douala → Yaoundé: train, bus or plane? Who arrives first, who pays least

Douala – Yaoundé: 45 minutes by plane… or 4 h 45 min by train? And what about the bus? Djo, Ebelle and Vora each take the first departure of the morning. Who arrives first, and who pays the least?

The comparison

The bus: fast… if the road is good

Djo takes a VIP bus at 5 in the morning, for 6,000 to 8,000 FCFA. Along the N3 (Nationale 3), it's about 240 km: 3 to 4 hours if the road is good. But on a bad day, with potholes, breakdowns and traffic jams, the journey can take up to 7 hours.

The train: a timetable that doesn't depend on the road

Ebelle takes the Camrail Express train, at 6:30 am, from Bessengué station in Douala. 6,000 FCFA in Premium, 10,000 FCFA in first class. Arrival around 11:15 am, right in the centre of Yaoundé. Zero traffic jams.

The plane: 45 minutes… on paper

Vora takes the morning Camair-Co flight, around 7 am: 45 minutes in the air. But:

• you need to be at the airport 1 h 30 min to 2 hours before (check the check-in deadline on your ticket);
• Yaoundé-Nsimalen airport is 27 km from the city centre;
• and the ticket costs from about 35,000 FCFA one way. The video mentioned up to 84,000 FCFA; on 26 October, comparison sites were showing more like 31,000 to 70,000 FCFA depending on the day.

The race: who arrives first?

• Vora (plane) leaves home at 5 am, like Djo, and reaches the city around 9 am. First… but he left at 5 am for a 45-minute flight.
• Djo (bus) also arrives around 9 am if the road is good. On a bad day, much later.
• Ebelle (train) arrives at 11:15 am, right in the city centre.

Going further?

Douala is also your starting point for travelling abroad. On Travora, the Cameroon visa guide lists the countries you can visit without going to an embassy. And the country-by-country details: 90 countries without an embassy visit with a Cameroonian passport.