Things to do in Kribi
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Kribi
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Long dry season and the best all round months, driest weather, calmest sea and peak domestic demand.
Short rainy season building through May, with the Mayi Festival centred on 9 May as the cultural highlight.
Short dry season, cooler, greyer and quieter, a workable second choice for the falls and Campo Maan.
Long rainy season, wettest in September and October, rough seas and hard roads, with the falls in full flow.
What's on
- Mayi Festival centred on 9 May
Batanga festival of return at Kribi and Grand Batanga, with dances, pirogue processions and a communal sea bath. Confirm the year's programme locally.
Best things to do in Kribi
Kribi Lighthouse
A 1906 German era lighthouse by the Kienke mouth, an exterior landmark and fixed point for the town beach walk.
Batanga Tragedy Memorial
The Batanga memorial by the lighthouse, focal point of the Mayi Festival and the story of the 1916 return home.
Debarcadere Mboa Manga
The town fish landing by the old port, best early for boats landing and the catch moving to the grills.
Marche de Kribi
The everyday town market for produce, spices and fabric, the best window into Kribi as a working town.
Kribi Balneaire
The town beach walk from the lighthouse south past the hotels, for dawn, dusk, sand and watching the sea.
Where to stay in Kribi
Town Centre and Old Port
transport, market and town eating
Walk to the landing, market, lighthouse and bus stops, with the beach in front and a working port town feel.
Beach Strip South toward Grand Batanga
beach, falls road and quiet nights
Sand, sea air and the Lobe Falls road south of the centre, quieter at night, with taxis needed for town.
Think twice about
- Kribi public beaches for unsupervised swimming
Powerful waves, rip currents, no lifeguard system and documented bathing water contamination. Walk and wade, swim only on local advice that day, and use hotel pools for children.
- Port Autonome de Kribi industrial site at Mboro
A working deep sea port and industrial zone, not a visitor attraction. Do not enter or photograph port or government installations.
Best restaurants in Kribi
Au Plaisir du Gout
The most reviewed restaurant in Kribi, daily market fish and wood fired pizza on a beachfront terrace.
La Crevette de la Lobe
The falls restaurant for Lobe shrimps and grilled fish, eaten slowly by the cascades under the trees.
Restaurant Le Badamier Chez Paul
A small, highly praised beach restaurant for seafood dinners on the sand at sunset.
Pieds dans l'Eau
A French influenced beach restaurant for long fish lunches with your table at the edge of the sand.
La Vie Est Belle
A seafood restaurant where regulars preorder the best fish early, because the menu follows the landing.
Chez Jonas
A simple local restaurant and bar at the lowest price band, for everyday Cameroonian plates and grills.
Outdoor things to do in Kribi
Chutes de la Lobe
The Lobe River cascades drop straight into the Atlantic, the one sight every Kribi visitor should see.
Lobe River pirogue trip
A dugout pirogue run to the base of the falls and up the calm forest river, about 30 minutes as standard.
Grand Batanga
A historic Batanga village south of Kribi with a wide beach, grilled fish places and pirogue trips.
Bagyeli village visit on the Lobe River
A pirogue visit to a Bagyeli forest community, worthwhile only with a known guide and a fair agreed payment.
Campo Ma'an National Park
A vast Congo Basin rainforest park reached via Campo, with gorillas, elephants and rich birdlife, shy and wild.
Londji village des pecheurs
A fishing village north of Kribi with pale beaches, a fish market and community run mangrove boat trips.
Ebodje Plage et ses Tortues
A community sea turtle beach on the Campo road, with a small museum and nesting from about November to March.
Plage de Ngoye
A busy local town beach north of the centre, good for a walk, a drink and sunset, with local bars.
Best hotels in Kribi
Hotel du Phare
A courtyard hotel by the old port with a pool and a well known seafood restaurant, the convenient town base.
Hotel La Grace Kribi
A small, simple town hotel with a restaurant and bar, the honest budget pick in the centre of Kribi.
Hotel Ilomba
The top stay in Kribi, bungalow rooms on the beach with a pool and seafood and Cameroonian restaurants.
Les Gites de Kribi
Bungalows and chalets on the falls road with a pool and a serious beachfront restaurant, good for groups.
Hotel Tara Plage
A long running beach hotel with rooms and apartments stepping almost straight onto the sand south of town.
Hotel Lobe
A small hotel with balconies and a terrace, about 11 minutes on foot from the Lobe Waterfalls.
Is Kribi expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | FCFA 25,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | FCFA 50,000 a person |
| Splurge | FCFA 95,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Bagyeli village visit on the Lobe River: a few days ahead
- Campo Ma'an National Park: a few days ahead
- Ebodje Plage et ses Tortues: a few days ahead
- Hotel du Phare: a few days ahead
- Hotel Ilomba: a few days ahead
- Les Gites de Kribi: a few days ahead
- Hotel Tara Plage: a few days ahead
- Au Plaisir du Gout: a few days ahead
- Book beach hotels ahead for December to February, holidays and Mayi week, when Douala and Yaounde visitors fill Kribi.
- Arrange Campo Ma'an guides, Bagyeli visits and Ebodje turtle trips a few days ahead through a hotel or known local guide.
Is Kribi safe?
- Serious conflict and kidnapping risk concentrates in the North West, South West and Far North regions and border strips, not in Kribi or the South Region.
- Malaria risk is present on this coast, so take prophylaxis advice, use repellent and nets or air conditioning, and test any fever promptly.
Kribi travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Agree pirogue totals, not per person prices, at the Lobe Falls before boarding, and do not pay for a guide for the shore visit alone.
- Do not swim off public beaches on assumption, take overloaded boats, or accept a night bus to save a hotel night.
Getting around Kribi: public transport and more
- Kribi is about 170 to 180 km by road from Douala, roughly 2.5 to 3.5 hours by car, and about 270 to 285 km from Yaounde, roughly 5 to 6 hours by road.
- In town use taxis and moto taxis, agreeing every fare before departure, and travel intercity roads in daylight only.
Who Kribi suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Kribi your trip
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