Togo - West Africa - page 837

in Togo - ask your mobile network provider. You can also bring your phone and buy a
local SIM card. Top-up vouchers are easily available.
VISAS
Everyone except nationals of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas)
countries needs a visa.
One-week extendable visas (CFA10,000) are issued at major border crossings with
Ghana (Aflao/Lomé), Benin (Hilakondji) and Burkina Faso (Sinkasse), and upon arrival at
the airport.
The Service Immigration Togolaise ( 250 78 56; Ave de la Chance, Service des Passeports; 8am-4pm
Mon-Fri) , near the GTA building 8km north of central Lomé, issues 30-day visa extensions
in one or two days. They're free when you extend the seven-day visa. Four photos are re-
quired.
Visas for Onward Travel
The Visa des Pays de l'Entente, valid in Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, is
available at the Service Immigration Togolaise. Bring two photos, your passport and
CFA15,500. It takes 24 hours to process, but note that the office is closed on weekends.
If you're visiting only a single country, the following embassies deliver visas:
Benin A two-week/one-month single-entry visa costs CFA10,000/15,000. You need two
photos and photocopies of your passport. It takes one day to process.
Burkina Faso Contact the French consulate in Lomé.
Ghana One-month single-entry visas are issued within three days for CFA20,000 and re-
quire four photos and a photocopy of your yellow-fever vaccination certificate.
WOMEN TRAVELLERS
The Togolese are rather conservative when it comes to marriage: it is therefore incompre-
hensible to them that women past their 20s might not be married. This will lead to many
questions, but it is generally harmless. To avoid attracting any more attention, dress con-
servatively.
Getting There & Away
AIR
Togo's international airport is 5km northeast of the centre of Lomé. A few major airlines
operate in Togo and have offices in Lomé.