Unlock Angola’s Hidden Wilderness: The Untamed Route from Calai to Dirico That Travellers Dare Not Miss!
Southern Angola Travel Tips
- Rundu-Calai Border Crossing: From Rundu, Namibia it’s a 15-minute cab ride to this river border post. After doing exit paperwork on the Namibia side, walk across the floating bridge to the Angola immigration office. No visa or entry fee is required.
- Time Change: Note, there is a one-hour time difference between Angola and Namibia. Both borders are open during the same hours, 8am-5pm Angolan time.
- Language: Portuguese is the official language of Angola, with 47 recognized local languages. There is limited English spoken in Southern Angola, but between that and/or Spanish, people can often understand, if you speak slowly. Since I only know a handful of words in Portuguese, I spoke Spanish with a Portuguese inflection, and it worked pretty well…especially when combined with an offline version of Google Translate’s Portuguese language dictionary! Be sure to download it before you go!
- Money: The Angolan Kwanza (Kz) is the national currency, exchanging at 917 Kz to $1 USD. In Calai and Dirico, the Namibian dollar is widely accepted, so we never needed to exchange money. Southern Angola is incredibly affordable, with our hotel running us $16 a night, a meal $2, and a beer $1.
- Connectivity: WiFi and cell reception are hard to come by in Southern Angola. If you have a Namibian SIM card, it should pick up signal in Calai. Best to download maps, currency conversions, and media you might need before you go.
- Transportation: Most people who come to Southern Angola from Namibia arrive by 4×4 overland vehicles for camping adventures. This would undoubtedly be fun and an easier choice, but we’re happy to report that a trip to Calai can be done on foot, by moto-taxi, and by befriending someone with a car, lol.
We embarked on this Angola trip with zero expectation and a few jitters, but were met with the pure kindness and unbridled adventure…exactly what we dream of in travel! We hope you too can take the road less traveled to Southern Angola.
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