Accommodation
There are a few higher end places on Bubaque and Rubane and a Google search will quickly find these. We visited Bob’s Fishing Club on Rubane and Casa Afrika and Lodge les Dauphins on Bubaque. All three are very professional outfits run by French people. We were particularly impressed by Bobs as they sent a boat for us (free of charge) and we had an excellent 3 course lunch for 8000 CFA. The beer on tap was the icing on top.
These 3 places rely heavily on people interested in fishing so if fishing is your thing and your pockets are a little deeper, then you could do far worse than to try capture a room at one of them. All of them, including les Dauphins, can organize fishing trips in the local waters.
The following 2 places are perfect hotels on Bubaque for the more budget orientated traveller.
Casa Dora – Great place. 18 rooms in a large compound with a nice garden. 5 minute walk from the port. Solar power but power is only available during the night. Rooms contain a double bed with private bathroom. Cold shower but you are on a tropical island so it’s hardly necessary to have hot water. Simple breakfast of coffee, tea, bread and local honey is included in the price. Casa Dora has a Facebook page moderated by Gloria so you can message her on there or try WhatsApp (+2459063585). She mentioned it might take her a day or 2 to respond due to the constant network issues.
Awesome budget option run by a Spanish guy, Mel. 3 rooms with a relaxing garden space and amazing views across the channel to Rubane Island. It is situated directly behind Casa Dora with beachfront access. You can take a steep set of stairs down to the beach. Not the best beach but at high tide you can swim. The current is quite strong though. Food is excellent and Mel prepares most of it himself. The wood fired pizzas are incredible. You can also wash your pizza down with a cold beer or his favourite, red wine from a cask. Mel has the local beer, Djumbai on tap and to be honest, in a country that relies so heavily on imports, they managed to get the production of this beer locked down nicely. The rooms are simple and the bathroom is outside and shared but for 8500 CFA per night, you won’t do better than this at the price. Breakfast costs 2000 CFA and consists of the usual bread, jam, coffee etc but you also get a very tasty omelette. Also, free Wi-Fi is available. His restaurant is open to the public from Thursday to Sunday and plates cost 4500. The menu is dictated by what he can find in the market. He cooks for the hotel guests every day of the week if they require it so even if you are not staying there, pop in and say hi and with advance warning he might add you to the list for lunch or dinner.
