Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

Flights direct from Europe, non-European cities and other islands in the area, although few and far between, land at either Moroni, on Grande Comore island, or Mayotte. Once in Mayotte, inter-island flights on local airlines are possible, but very expensive.

The airport at Moroni, Hahaya, is 19km (12mi) north of the city centre. After paying for your on-the-spot visa you can get to the city centre by taxi, although a lack of money-changing facilities at the airport means the fares rocket into the upper stratosphere. Planes flying into Mayotte land at Petite Terre (Pamandzi), and getting to the mainland of Grand Terre requires catching a share taxi to the ferry terminal at Dzaoudzi, and then catching another taxi, or walking, to your hotel, at the other end. There are no money-changing facilities at Pamandzi airport either, so fly in with euros already in your pocket.

You can sometimes get a berth on ships sailing from mainland Africa to Madagascar, and they'll drop you off at either Grande Comore or Anjouan on the way. This method requires diligence and patience, as there are no ready-made systems to handle foreigners from the mainland travelling to Comoros by sea.

Getting around

All the islands of Comoros have taxi-brousses to take you from destination to destination, although the frequency and efficiency of the service vary from place to place. Share-taxis operate in well-populated areas but tend to be rare in the more remote villages. Cars can only be hired on the larger island of Grand Comore, but for most travellers it's still cheaper and easier to flag down a taxi-brousse. Hopping from island to island can be done by plane,but flights originating in Mayotte are limited and very expensive. Travelling on cargo boats or ferries is usually the cheapest method of getting from island to island, but it's time-consuming and uncomfortable.

Visa information

A visa is required for all visitors to Comoros. You must have onward plane tickets. Thirty-day visas can be obtained upon arrival, but can only be paid for in euros, and there are no money-changing facilities at the airport. Nationals of countries that need a visa to enter France will require a visa for Mayotte. Except for a handful of non-EU European countries, everyone else must have a visa.