Gabon Solo Female Travel Safety Tips and Advice

On this page you will find first-hand, unbiased, and real safety tips, advice and reviews from women traveling solo, submitted directly from their personal experiences in the country.

Their opinions are unfiltered and submitted independently as part of the Solo Female Travel Safety Index, a ranking of 210 countries and regions based on how safe they are for women traveling solo.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers.

You don’t need to login to read the below reviews. But do sign up or login to share your solo travel experiences, country safety rating and comments.

Gabon Country data

We have compiled a few data points below that can help you better understand Gabon and have more context when thinking about travel safety.

Official country name: Gabonese Republic.

Etymology: The name originates from the Portuguese word "gabao" meaning "cloak," which is roughly the shape that the early explorers gave to the estuary of the Komo River by the capital of Libreville.

Capital: Libreville.

Independence / foundation: As the slave trade declined in the late 1800s, France colonized the country and directed a widespread extraction of Gabonese resources.

Anti-colonial rhetoric by Gabon’s educated elites increased significantly in the early 1900s, but no widespread rebellion materialized. French decolonization following World War II led to the country’s independence in 1960.

Population: 2 million.

Currency: Central African CFA Franc (XAF)
1 USD = 599 - 610 XAF
1 EUR = 656 XAF

Time zone: UTC+1

Languages spoken: French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi.

Religions: Roman Catholic 42%, Protestant 12%, other Christian 27%, Muslim 10%, animist <1%, other <1%, none/no answer 7%.

Climate: Tropical climate that is always hot and humid.

Real GDP (ppp – purchasing power parity): $33 billion.

Real GDP per capita (ppp): $13,900.

Main airports: Libreville Leon M'ba International Airport, Port Gentil Airport.

World heritage sites in Gabon

There are over 1,100 world heritage sites spread across more than 165 countries. New ones are added every year, and some may be removed from the list for various reasons.

Number of UNESCO listed sites: 2.

Top world heritage sites:

- Ivindo National Park.
- Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda.

Interesting facts about Gabon

- Gabon has a significant population of lowland gorillas, the world’s largest primate. It is also home to Loango National Park, known as “Africa’s Last Eden” and is considered one of the world’s best wildlife-watching destinations, including the world’s largest species of sea turtle, the leatherback, which can grow up to 2.1m in length and weigh as much as 900kg.

- The capital city Libreville was settled by freed slaves in 1849. Libreville means “free town” in French which imitates Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.

Further reading: N/A.

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Gabon Travel tips

More about Gabon on Solo Female Travelers

Coming soon.

Did you spot any errors? We do our best to keep this information updated and accurate, but things change. If you saw anything that is not right, let us know so we can fix it: [email protected].

About the Solo Female Travel Safety Index

Safety matters to solo female travelers, you told us so in our annual Solo Female Travel Survey, where year after year, women prove that this is their most important concern when traveling solo.

We wanted to do something about it, so we built these country-specific pages where you can find reviews and scores for 7 key variables affecting the safety of women traveling solo.

How to use the Safety Index

On this page, you will find the country score and the personal opinions on safety of other women traveling solo.

You can sort the comments by:

• The level of experience traveling solo of the reviewer (beginner = <5 trips solo, Intermediate = 5 to 10 trips solo, Experienced = >10 trips solo).
• The age of the traveler.
• Whether they are a visitor or local.
• The date they were posted.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers. 

Thus, the lower the score, the safer the country.

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Looking for more safety resources?

This entire website is devoted to helping women travel solo. Check out the links below to learn more:

Solo Female Travel Stats: Results from the the largest, most comprehensive and only global research study on solo female travel trends, preferences and behaviors published.

Thanks to Jacobo Vilella for creating the Solo Female Travelers Safety Index ❤️