Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GETTING THERE & AWAY
This section tells you how to reach West Africa by air, land and sea from other parts of the world and outlines the routes
for onward travel from the region. Flights, tours and rail tickets can be booked online at
www.lonelyplanet.com/
Entering West Africa
Entering West Africa varies from country to country but is generally hassle free, provided you have all your documents in
order. In order to smooth your entry, there are a few things .you must have when you arrive at your first West African bor-
der:
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Valid entry visa, unless you are entering a country where the visa is available on arrival.
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Your up-to-date international vaccination booklet
(livre jeune),
which contains proof of yellow-fever vaccination.
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Enough empty pages in your passport for visas, entry and exit stamps, and registration with police within some coun-
tries - make sure you have at least two pages per country.
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A passport that expires at least six months after your trip ends - it's not mandatory in all cases but some officials will
cause problems if your passport is about to expire.
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The patience of a saint: bureaucracy can be epic in its obsession with minutiae.
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An awareness that some officials will assure you that your perfectly valid visa has expired - unless it has, they're just
asking for a bribe.
Air
There are direct flights from Europe into every West African capital, although very few airlines fly into Bissau (Guinea-
Bissau), Freetown (Sierra Leone) and Monrovia (Liberia). Most of the best connections between Europe and sub-Saharan
West Africa are via Casablanca with Royal Air Maroc. It's also relatively easy to fly into West Africa from North Africa
and the Middle East, with a handful of airlines offering services from elsewhere in Africa. If you're travelling from Aus-
tralia, Canada or the USA, you'll usually need to connect to a flight from Europe, the Middle East or South Africa.
Airports
International airports with the greatest number of incoming flights (and the best onward connections) include:
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Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire)
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Accra (Ghana)
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Casablanca (Morocco)
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Dakar (Senegal)
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Douala (Cameroon)
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Lagos (Nigeria)
There are also international airports at:
