West Africa travel guide
West Africa is a place where darkness and light sit side by side, balancing, complementing and creating an intriguing mix of culture and history that fascinates travelers. Its grim stories of slavery contrast with its vibrant contemporary cultures – all singing, all dancing, draped in a rainbow of wax print cloth. The darkness of voodoo stands amid stunning tropical landscapes – wild beaches, ancient rainforest and undulating, sun-baked dunes.
It could be the animistic, the romance of the Sahel nomads, the unsettling voodoo carvings or the sense of venturing into Africa's cultural heart, but West Africa has a sense of magic that a few other places can match.
Unlike in much of the continent, many of West Africa’s countries are compact, meaning it is possible to travel overland between two or even three different countries in a single, two-week trip. However, their diminutive size does not make these nations any less diverse; West Africa encompasses both Franco- and Anglophone nations, speaking between them hundreds of tribal languages. It also stretches from the arid Sahel, at the Sahara’s edge, through monkey-filled forests all the way to the Atlantic.
Our West Africa travel guide welcomes you into this most fascinating of regions.
Our West Africa travel guide welcomes you into this most fascinating of regions.
West Africa is/isn't
West Africa is...
one of the most culturally diverse places on earth. Over 600 languages are spoken here, with many more dialects.
West Africa isn't...
a no go zone. Most are stable, safe and welcome tourists.
Our West Africa Vacations
West Africa Explorer, Guinea-Bissau & Senegal
Historic towns, vibrant tribal culture & the Bijagos Islands
From
£3249
15 days
ex flights
Ghana, Togo and Benin vacation, gold and magic
Traditional villages and voodoo in Ghana, Togo and Benin
From
£2299
12 days
ex flights
Sao Tome & Equatorial Guinea small group vacation
The highlights of two of Africa's least known countries
From
£3599
12 days
ex flights
Ghana, Togo and Benin cultural vacation
Explore the unique African culture in three countries
From
£2012.35 to £3189.38
8 days
ex flights
Ghana, Togo and Benin vacation
Tribal culture, colourful customs and Ouidah Voodoo Festival
From
£2349
12 days
ex flights
Cultural vacation in Ghana, Togo and Benin
Join an amazing group trip through Ghana, Togo and Benin.
From
£2249 to £2345
12 days
ex flights
West Africa overland expedition
Travel from the Sahara to the Ocean at Guinea Bissau
From
£6995
4 weeks
ex flights
West Africa tour, Bissau to Cotonou
Voodoo heartlands, traditional storytellers and lush islands
From
£6699
23 days
ex flights
West Africa tours, Ghana Togo & Benin
Explore West Africa's highlights overland
From
US $1280 to US $1350
21 days
ex flights
Burkina Faso & Mali vacations
Experience the magic Mali and Burkina landscapes and people
From
€2080
15 days
ex flights
Guinea and Sierra Leone tour
Breathtaking mountains, idyllic islands and wild chimpanzees
From
£2649
18 days
ex flights
Guinea Bissau to the heart of the Sahara overland tour
Travel from Guinea Bissau to the heart of the Sahara
From
£6995
4 weeks
ex flights
Senegal and Guinea Bissau cultural vacation
Discover Senegal and Guinea Bissau on this 14 day group tour
From
£3165
14 days
ex flights
Western Sahara overland tour, Marrakech to Bissau
Travel from North Africa through the Sahara to the tropics
From
£6649
4 weeks
ex flights
West Africa map & highlights
Most of our West African vacations take advantage of these tightly clustered borders to visit more than one country on a 10-day or two-week trip. One classic combination is Ghana, Togo and Benin – for voodoo culture, slave forts and gorgeous coast, as well as the opportunity to discover both Anglo- and Francophone Africa. The other combo is Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, with brief excursions across the river into Mauritania.
If you’d rather stay in one place, Ghana and Senegal both offer ample attractions for a fortnight’s break. Alternatively, lengthier overland tours cross the Sahara, before reaching the lusher southern regions and finally the Atlantic. Organised tours – whether small group or tailor made – give access to these little visited corners of the world, with expert guides, local insight – and opportunities to encounter many local people along the way.
If you’d rather stay in one place, Ghana and Senegal both offer ample attractions for a fortnight’s break. Alternatively, lengthier overland tours cross the Sahara, before reaching the lusher southern regions and finally the Atlantic. Organised tours – whether small group or tailor made – give access to these little visited corners of the world, with expert guides, local insight – and opportunities to encounter many local people along the way.
1. Benin
2. Burkina Faso
3. Ghana
4. Guinea-Bissau
5. Senegal
6. Togo
2. Burkina Faso
3. Ghana
4. Guinea-Bissau
5. Senegal
6. Togo
Benin
1. Benin
Benin is synonymous with voodoo, and this ancient and misunderstood religion casts a powerful spell over this little country, with festivals, fetishes and temples to discover. Darker still is the history of slavery which taints this region, marked by the tragic Door of No Return. Explore a village in the middle of a lake, track big game in a national park, and meet the Somba – who live in impressive clay fortresses.
Burkina Faso
2. Burkina Faso
A forgotten nation marooned in a sea of sand, Burkina Faso has been left to its own devices to preserve its own culture beautifully. This is perhaps most evident in the incredible Festival of the Dancing Masks, which takes place every two years. But don’t fret if you miss it; there are nomadic Tuaregs and Bella merchants to meet, marimba music to tap your feet to, and stunning mud villages to explore.
Ghana
3. Ghana
As one of the only Anglophone countries in the region, with gregarious inhabitants and political stability, Ghana is a kind of “West Africa for beginners”; a safe, welcoming introduction to this vibrant region. The coast has idyllic beaches, shocking slave forts and tropical forests; or head north for the elephants of Mole National Park, and classic scenes of ochre-painted villages against a backdrop of baobabs.
Guinea-Bissau
4. Guinea-Bissau
A little Portuguese slice of West Africa, Guinea-Bissau today remains virtually unexplored, even by West African standards. But that’s not for a lack of places to explore. There are the tropical Bijagos Islands, which form Africa’s largest archipelago and shelter elusive, saltwater hippos. Discover the “ghost town” of Bolama, remote villages within a flooded forest, and the animistic Pepel tribe – with no other tourists in sight.
Senegal
5. Senegal
A country of two halves – quite literally, as it is virtually bisected by the Gambia – Senegal is seriously cool, with buzzing bars in Dakar, the Saint Louis Jazz Festival and French-West African fusion food. Take a multi-day cruise up the Senegal River, which forms the border with Mauritania; meet the semi nomadic Fulani people; or take a ferry to the lush Casamance region, with its sacred forest and animistic tribes.
Togo
6. Togo
Best visited as part of an overland tour that criss-crosses Benin and Ghana, Togo acts as the filling in a particularly scrummy West African sandwich. Laidback Lake Togo is a hub of traditional culture, with voodoo sculptures, and wooden canoes to cruise in. Visit the artisan villages of the Kaby Mountains, with round houses arranged in a ring, and admire the towering mud forts of the Taberma in Koutammakou.
Our top West Africa Vacation
West Africa Explorer, Guinea-Bissau & Senegal
Historic towns, vibrant tribal culture & the Bijagos Islands
From
£3249
15 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
2019: 13 Apr, 2 Nov, 21 Dec
2020: 11 Feb, 27 Mar, 6 May, 13 Nov, 23 Dec
2019: 13 Apr, 2 Nov, 21 Dec
2020: 11 Feb, 27 Mar, 6 May, 13 Nov, 23 Dec
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about West Africa or need help finding a vacation to suit you we're very happy to help.
More about West Africa
The best time to go to West Africa is in the dry season from October to March, packing plenty of moisturiser and lip balm form when the arid harmattan wind blows in from December onwards.
With 15 countries on the mainland, it can be difficult to decide where to go in West Africa, especially if you want a flavour of its many different cultures and landscapes.
Many vacations to Togo and Benin explore the vibrant Vodou culture of these nations. While this official religion may not be as “dark” as many Western myths suggest, there is one aspect of it which is very dark indeed.
West Africa river cruises explore the Gambia River and the Saloum Delta by land, motor cruiser and pirogue, encountering a host of wildlife, beautiful colonial architecture and a riverside landscape as mysterious as it is scenic.
protection
Photo credits: [Page banner: Alfred Weidinger] [Ghana dancers: Brendan]
[Benin: Dan Sloan]
[Burkina Faso: Cordelia Persen]
[Guinea-Bissau: ora international]
[Senegal: Magicc0077 ]
[Togo: Grete Howard]
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