To enter Burundi, an entry visa is required, for tourism, to be requested at the Embassy of Burundi based in Via Enrico Accinni n. 63, Scala B, internal 10 - 00195 Rome, E-mail: ambabu.roma@yahoo.fr, presenting the following documents:
- original passport (valid for no less than 6 months);
-2 color passport photos taken recently;
- passport photocopy;
- hotel booking;
- Completed and signed entry visa application form;
- copy of the Yellow Fever booklet;
- Bank transfer of Euro 50.00 in favor of the Embassy of Burundi in Rome;
The entry visa is issued in about 1 month if there are no problems and allows entry into the country for 30 days.
For the courier you have to make your own arrangements for both the delivery and the collection of the passport.
With the visa in order, you can get the entry stamp in Burundi at the Kayanza Haut border desk. Then there is a quick baggage check. Subsequently, it is still possible to exchange money at clearly advantageous rates compared to the capital.
There are no time zone hours, compared to Italy.
Bear in mind that there are much more roadblocks in Burundi than in Rwuanda and also the minibus drivers are much more unruly here.
At this stage, be very careful because there is a lot of confusion as everyone offers their own means of transport to reach Bujumbura. The collective taxi costs 12,000 BFR and leaves when full (4 people). It takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach Gare du Nord, located on the northern edge of the capital.
With 1,000 BFR, the driver took me to the La Tulipe Hotel, located in Bujumbura, 2 km from Gare du Nord. I booked the aforementioned hotel with Booking by paying 40 USD per night for a double including breakfast. It is a very elegant and safe hotel.
It goes without saying that Bujumbura is not a safe city and if during the day, for better or for worse, with caution you can walk through the crowded streets of the center, in the evening it is a must to stay in the hotel or move with a taxi.
To reach the nearby Gare du nord, you can take a minibus in front of the La Tulipe Hotel for 300 BFR. You pay the attendant before descending. A taxi on the other hand costs 3,000 BFR. A motorcycle taxi on the other hand costs 1,500 BFR.
From Gare du nord, in Bujumbura, several minibuses leave when they are full a day in the direction of Gitega, the second largest city in Burundi. The ride costs BFR 5,000 with regular minibuses and BFR 6,000 with the more comfortable Volcano Express Company minibus. You pay before you get off. The journey takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes.
The Gitega Bus Station is located on the northern edge of the center.
Gitega is great on foot, but beware of the couple of policemen who hang out near the largest mosque in the city, on the main street, near the president's monument, who do not hesitate 1 second to extort money from unsuspecting tourists as they did with me (everything I had in my pocket and that is 80,000 BFR, allowing me to keep 10,000 BFR to return to the capital), with trivial reasons such as having taken a photo where it is forbidden, but essentially the photo is never interested in them, I do not they didn't even ask for my passport, they were only interested in my money and they made me understand it immediately, taking me to an isolated street, asking me for money and telling me not to tell anyone.
A motorcycle taxi ride to Gitega costs 500 BFR.
The most beautiful tourist attraction in Burundi is Saga Beach, located a few kilometers from the capital on Lake Tanganyka. To reach it from Gare du nord, you need to take a minibus to the Central Market Bus Station (350 BFR), where you need to take one directly to Gatumba which on request also stops after about 15 minutes at Saga Beach (600 BFR).
To return to the La Tulipe Hotel, located in Bujumbura 2 km from Gare du Nord, take any minibus from the Central Market Bus Station to Gare du Nord, which stops on request in front of the aforementioned hotel (350 BFR).
Several taxis stop day and night in front of the La Tulipe Hotel in Bujumbura and therefore it is not difficult to find a taxi before dawn to reach the nearby Gare du Nord. The cost of the ride is BFR 3,000.
Keep in mind that to reach Tanzania from Bujumbura, the cheapest and fastest solution is to take the comfortable minibus of the Volcano Express Company, directed to the town of Kobero. There are departures approximately every hour starting from 6.00 and until the early afternoon. The ride costs BFR 11,000. You pay at the desk and get the ticket even the day before if you want. The trip takes about 4 hours.
Once in Kobero keep in mind that several guys will approach to change money. Remember that this is the last chance to change the Burundian Francs. Beyond this point, no one in any other state in the world will want to change your Burundi currency.
Keep in mind that the Tanzanian border is about 3 km from Kobero and as if that were not enough with a nice uphill stretch. So it is advisable to take a motorcycle taxi that for the price of TSH 1.000, or the equivalent in BFR, takes you to the sign of Tanzania and no further as the driver of the motorcycle cannot cross the border and therefore it is necessary to take a another moto taxi that at the price of TSH 2.000 takes you to the building where there is both the Burundi and Tanzania Customs, waits for you to carry out all the bureaucratic procedures and then takes you to the nearby town of Kabanga.
At the Burundi Customs they measure your fever, ask you for the original yellow fever certificate, check your backpack and finally stamp you out of the country, after carefully checking the validity of the visa. Then you go to the Tanzanian border, where you will be stamped to enter the country, after checking the validity of the tourist visa.
My complete travel report
with map, photographs and videos is available at this link:
http://vivendosalendo.blogspot.com/2018/02/viaggio-in-rwanda-burundi-tanzania-e.html
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