Plan your route
Getting between places in Angola
Angola is big. These 12 routes show how far apart the main places are, how long the drive takes and when flying is the better choice.
- Road distance and drive time
- Domestic flights where they exist
- Our advice: fly or drive
Distances are rounded indications and driving times are calculated as a band at 50 to 70 km/h, because road surface and season vary a lot. Treat them as planning figures, not as a schedule.
- Luanda to CabindaFlyabout 1 hour 10 minutes no practical roadCabinda is an exclave. Going overland means crossing two other countries and their borders, so effectively everyone flies.
- Luanda to Kissama National ParkDrive about 2 hours each wayThe most realistic wildlife day trip from the capital, and close enough that you can leave after breakfast.
- Luanda to Namibe (Mocamedes)Fly 1200 km by road 17 h to 24 hflight availableThe longest domestic run in the country and usually routed via Lubango. Almost nobody drives it in one go by choice.
- Luanda to LubangoFly 1000 km by road 14 h to 20 habout 1 hour 35 minutesA thousand kilometres is two long days of driving each way. On a trip of two weeks or less, flying buys you back three or four days.
- Luanda to HuamboFly 600 km by road 9 h to 12 habout 1 hour 25 minutesA long day of driving up onto the central plateau, for a city most travellers pass through rather than linger in. The flight is the better use of a short trip.
- Luanda to BenguelaEither works 540 km by road 8 h to 11 hflight availableDriveable in a long day, and the coastal road is genuinely part of the trip. Flying into Catumbela makes sense if your time is short.
- Benguela to LubangoDrive 470 km by road 7 h to 9 hThe natural inland link if you are working your way south along the coast and then turning into the highlands.
- Huambo to LubangoDrive 410 km by road 6 h to 8 hA plateau route between the two highland cities, useful if you are looping the interior rather than sticking to the coast.
- Luanda to MalanjeDrive 380 km by road 5 h to 8 hThe shortest of the long inland runs and the standard way to reach the Kalandula Falls. Malanje is not on the scheduled domestic network, so driving is the practical option.
- Benguela to HuamboDrive 330 km by road 5 h to 7 hThe classic climb from the coast up to the central plateau, and the shortest way onto the highlands from the Benguela coast.
- Lubango to Namibe (Mocamedes)Drive 190 km by road 3 h to 4 hShort, spectacular and the reason many people come south at all. This is a drive you plan the day around, not a transfer you rush.
- Benguela to LobitoDrive 35 km by road about 30 minA short hop between two coastal cities. Treat them as a pair rather than as separate destinations.