Here are some Kinshasa travel agencies that can assist with tickets and airport transport:
Jeffery Travels www.jeffery-travels.com
ICARE Travel Kinshasa: Boulevard du 30 Juin, Building de la Rwindi Tel (+243) 818957000 Email: icare@generalco.cd
ICARE Travel Lubumbashi: Tel. 0819724103 Email: icarelubum@yahoo.fr
Congo Travel Service (CTS)
Papa Mukila Tel. # 243 854 535 264 0r Tel. # 243 999 917 678
Arriving at Ndjili Aiport
Before landing, have the following documents together and easily accessible:
- Passport
- Vaccination card
- Address for where you are staying
- Baggage claim tags
- Letter of invitation
Immigration:
When you land, there will be buses to shuttle passengers to the main building at N’djili Airport. Exiting the bus, you will enter a room where there are usually three sections indicated. Get in the line marked for Expatriats line “All Passports”). You may be directed to other lines however, if there are a number of desks open. When you are called to the window, present your passport . (Carry the address of where you will be staying, as you will need to provide that on the immigration form.) Keep your letter of invitation handy, in case they ask to see your letter. Health officials standing beside every immigration booth will ask for your vaccination/health card. They are usually dressed in a white jacket with a red cross. They will check to see if you have a current Yellow Fever vaccination which is mandatory (valid for 10 years and to be given no later than 10 days before traveling.)
Baggage Claim:
After your get your documents back, turn to the right and continue to the large wooden doors. You may be asked for your documents again, but most often not. Someone will open the door and you will find yourself in Baggage Claim. If the airport authorities are letting in airport transport and protocol agents, look for a sign with your name or travel agency name such as “Jeffrey Travels”. Give that person your baggage claim slips. If no one is there, continue straight ahead to the carousel and locate your bag. The baggage claim area can be crowded and noisy. Be patient and wait for the baggage which can take a while to manually arrive. There may or may not be baggage carts available. Again, if allowed by airport authorities, your airport transport/protocol travel agent will take you to their waiting room where you can wait while they look for your bags. When they find your bags, they will come and get you.
Once you have your bags, go to the exit. At some point, you will be asked for your baggage claim tags to match with the one on your bags. Continue on outside where you will be met by a representative of your Travel agency, again, with your name, if this hasn’t happened already. You will be led to a mini-bus or to a waiting room if they are collecting other travelers. The mini-bus will take you to your destination.
- To facilitate collection of your luggage, attach some kind of cloth, ribbon or sticker to your bags to easily identify your bags.
- “Systems” at Ndjili change frequently. So, you may find that none of the above applies….. The airport can be noisy and chaotic. Take a deep breath.
- There is a lot of road work going on in Kinshasa. It may take 1 to 2 hours to get across town to your destination. (Without traffic, it takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour to get to MPH.)