Muanda

The country has around forty kilometres of Atlantic coastline, and Muanda is the town on it. It is an oil town as much as a beach one, with offshore installations visible from the shore, but it has long sandy beaches, a fishing fleet and the mouth of the Congo just to the north, where the river's brown water pushes out into the ocean and the boundary between the two is visible from the air and sometimes from the beach. Sea turtles nest along the coast and are monitored by the marine park.

What you actually see

• The beaches - long stretches of Atlantic sand, the only sea coast in the country.
• The river mouth - the Congo meeting the ocean north of the town, with the plume visible offshore.
• The fishing fleet - pirogues and small boats working from the beach.
• The oil installations - offshore platforms visible from the shore, part of what the town runs on.

When to go

May to September is the dry season and the coolest, with the sea at its calmest. The wet season from October brings heavy rain. Turtle nesting runs through the cooler months and is monitored by the park.

Honest expectations

This is an oil town and parts of the coast are industrial, with pollution a real issue in places. Facilities are limited and prices are inflated by the oil economy. Currents at the river mouth are strong and swimming needs local advice.

Nearby

The Mangroves Marine Park is north at the river mouth, and Boma is inland up the river.