PoPville T-Shirts continue to Travel the Globe – Democratic Republic of the Congo

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by Prince Of Petworth — May 24, 2016 at 10:02 pm 5 Comments

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“Congo river, Kinshasa DRC”

palisades

What’s the process like to travel there? Any particular dangers? Seems like an interesting place to travel to.
- MP
  
  Getting a visa is straightforward and there are regular flights from Dulles (via Paris, Brussels, Addis). Virunga Nat’l Park would be a facinating place to visit (see movie “Virunga” on netflix) . But not now – unstable political situation on top of other safety issues would make it a “no-go” to go as a tourist
  - anon
    
    @MP. The DRC and the broader “Great Lakes” region has been politically unstable for decades. If you are seriously interested in going there, I wouldn’t wait for the situation to somehow improve. That said, there are very real safety and security concerns there. Personally, I’d go to Uganda or even Rwanda first; more or less the same regional/cultural flavor and in general much better tourist infrastructure.
    - just my opinion
      
      Uganda and Rwanda are not very similar at all culturally to DRC. Many countries have unstable political situations (Thailand which no one thinks twice about visiting has over the past few years, and Kampala has been targeted by an al Shabaab attack). Only you can determine your risk threshold but if interested, encourage you to consider DRC.
      
      A challenge within DRC is air travel given domestic safety airline records. To travel to the east, it might be preferable to fly to Kigali and go overland. You do need to be mindful as DRC moves into elections later this year, but I would not rule out a trip out of hand.
    - MP
      
      Agree with JMO, DRC is potentially less stable overall because of recent court ruling re elections. Lots of unknowns about how things will unfold, tbd. Not so dissimilar to other places that are higher on tourist destination lists.
      Fly into Kigale, spend a few days, then head over to DRC.
      Take a PoPville t-shirt picture, enjoy some Tembo beer

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