Cameroon wasn’t supposed to be my last-visited country in 2024, but due to some last-minute changes in Gabon’s main airport, a small country nearby in West Africa, I had to fly back to Doula for a second time, not by choice, but due to some corruption in Libreville, really long story, might get into it another time!

I was excited to visit Cameroon for a long time, and recently, 2024, it became possible to pay for the visa on arrival option once payment is made and the application is approved, presuming that there is no Cameroonian embassy in your home country. That applied to me being from Ireland, and once payment was made and the documents were uploaded, passport, hotel reservation, flights, and insurance onto the website- https://evisacam.cm, after a few days,I was able to print out the letter and bring it with me and received my visa at the airport in Douala. It saved a lot of time and effort.

I was a bit worried beforehand going t a majority French-speaking region, Youande, the other side of the country, is the English-speaking region, Doula is the French-speaking part, but the locals also spoke reasonably good English. I’ve had issues in the past in France, Comoros, and Madagascar with the locals being rude when approached in English, or unwilling to speak English, but that wasn’t the case in Douala.

I took a tour around Douala with YengAfrica, one of the best tour agencies in the country. They do lots of trips, even to some of the other cities, for example, Yaounde. We went to a lot of the famous sights in the city, my favourite one was the Samuel Eto’o statue, a famous Cameroonian football player who once played with both Barcelona and Chelsea.

We spent a lot of time at the Maritime Museum and learned about the history of Cameroon and its British and French past, finishing up with a cool video in the new 3D theatre.

The coolest sculpture was the La Nouvelle Liberte – Rond Point sculpture, one of the most interesting things that I’ve seen in Africa.

Overall,I highly rate Cameroon. It was one of the most eye-opening experiences that I had in all the visited countries in 2024. I stayed at the Hotel Vendome Douala Hotel and they organized the airport pickup and there was a nice restaurant that served amazing French-style food.

I wouldn’t mind returning in the future, not top of my bucket list, but a place with so much to offer and so much to do and see.