Customer Reviews

Cameroon: The Bradt Travel Guide

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have just returned from 3 weeks in Cameroon and this book made the trip with me. My trip was not the usual tourist excursion, as I traveled with expat Cameroonians and lived exclusively with africans. I could go for days without seeing another european and when I did they were usually zipping past in a tour bus or in an NGO vehicle.

First, the positives. The book is well organized and the local Cameroonians were usually impressed that someone would write so much about their country. The advice presented in the book is generally sound and the descriptions accurate. Douala is an "armpit": shrouded in smog during the dry season, scented by the smoke of burning garbage, and made all the more enjoyable by sweltering heat and oppressive humidity. On the basis of the positives, I would award the book 4 stars.

The negatives? Much of the information regarding accommodations is quite dated. For instance, the description of the Skyline Hotel in Bamenda is at least five to seven years old. It has been years since the pool had water, the night club is closed, the hotel is frequently without electricity and is in a general state of disrepair and decay. Of course, this is merely symptomatic of the overall decay prevalent throughout Cameroon. Do not rely on the phone numbers listed for the hotels, as many may have changed. On the basis of the negatives I would award the book 2 stars.

Overall, however, I can recommend the book as a serviceable resource for planning a trip and as a useful tool while in country.

I used this guide in Cameroon for one year while I was on a Fulbright grant from 05-06. I have to say that the guide was surprisingly accurate for about 90% of things I wanted to know: lodging, restaurants, and museums. I toured much of the country when my family visited, and it helped us immeasurably in our travels. I would take the sections regarding trails and nature sites (waterfalls, caves, etc.) with a grain of salt. We spent a day or two in Western Cameroon fruitlessly searching for some caves that the book mentioned. All in all a great guide, but hold out for the revised edition if you can!

This book describes Cameroon as the armpit of Africa. Seriously. It said that. At least 1/3 of the book is on all the different types of diseases one is sure to catch being there. It says that Cameroon is unique in that there is a type of malaria that will KILL you in 24 hours of the first symptom. This book scared me so much that I went to Egypt alone instead of going with my friends to Cameroon. There arent really any books just on Cameroon. Lonely Planet has one on West Africa which I should have gotten. My friends went and had a wonderful time. The book should have talked about the good things this country has- which as it turns out there are other things there that Malaria! Perhaps if I would of read a different book then I would have not canceled my flight to Cameroon.