Nestled on the Imbo plan between mountains on both side (Burundi and DR Congo) on the shores of Lake Tanganyika about 10 kms outside of Burundi’s capital city of Bujumbura, Bujumbura International Airport is actually a very cool looking airport – somewhat resembling inverted cones. One of the nice things about this airport – in stark contrast to most other African airports that I have used – is that it is relatively hassle free. You don’t have to show your ticket to ten different people and no one is going to ask for bribes for anything. The interior is very airy but recent security upgrades have made it a lot less user friendly than it was in the past. In the past, friends and relatives would come to the airport and go up to the second floor restaurant/bar which overlooked the runway to wave hello/goodbye to arriving or departing passengers. A 10 foot wall with no windows now greets anyone who goes upstairs – all but rendering the restaurant/bar an afterthought. Positive changes include new x-ray machines to screen outgoing and incoming baggage. If you are departing, make sure you get there at least 1 hr and 15 minutes before the scheduled departure. They have a habit of closing the gate and not budging – regardless of your excuse! The departure gate has a small restaurant to buy a cup of coffee, a beer or a soft drink/juice, but not much else. There is a small "duty free" shop as well, but there is really nothing of great interest at all – perhaps some excellent Burundian coffee, but you can get that much cheaper in town. There is talk of them opening up a larger duty free store in both the departure and arrivals areas, but it seems senseless. The majority of flights connect through Nairobi or Addis Abbaba where there are excellent duty free shops with a large variety of merchandise and good prices. Overall, while the new security "improvements" have definitely subtracted from the airport’s overall charm, it is still a quaint little airport. Taxis to/from town should cost around 10,000 francs ($10 US). Porters are abound in the baggage retrieval area to help you bring them to your waiting vehicle or taxi and while the service is supposedly free, they expect a dollar or two for their services. If you knew how much they were paid per day, then you will gladly give them a little something.