Guinea (and Bissau), Ivory Coast and then Ghana

[MoMix]

Hi there,

I'm considering the option in the subject. I'm trying to ship the bike to Dakar and start touring from there. I'd like to get to Benin via Ghana and Togo and get back through Burkina and Mali.

Since I've already done an extensive trip in Mali and Burkina and since (IIRC) the visa only allows for one entry, I'd like to avoid crossing them twice. This leaves just one solution: reach Ghana via Guinea and Ivory Coast. I know someone did the south of Ivory Coast with little or no problem but can't find any advice (apart from the official "keep away from there") on crossing the border from Guinea.

Any (first hand) info would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Mario

[TT-Kira]

Originally Posted by MoMix

Hi there,

I'm considering the option in the subject. I'm trying to ship the bike to Dakar and start touring from there. I'd like to get to Benin via Ghana and Togo and get back through Burkina and Mali.

Since I've already done an extensive trip in Mali and Burkina and since (IIRC) the visa only allows for one entry, I'd like to avoid crossing them twice. This leaves just one solution: reach Ghana via Guinea and Ivory Coast. I know someone did the south of Ivory Coast with little or no problem but can't find any advice (apart from the official "keep away from there") on crossing the border from Guinea.

Any (first hand) info would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Mario

I'll try to help, although done part of it 'on foot'; it would help if I knew you had a bike or 4x4 ...

Bissau crossings vary - if you're on a bike I'd highly recommend going south via Quebo and across to Boke, the only problem you might have is crossing the river as the bridge at Sansale hasn't existed for a year or so now. There's a pirogue between the two sides of Kandiafara which would support a 'lighter' bike.

Guinea - Ivory Coast - I've not done this but will be doing the reverse of a friends route (I met in Bissau) this Christmas hopefully. I am aiming to go from Abidjan to Kissidougou (Guinea) via Voingama (Liberia) and Monrovia ... going west to Monrovia isn't easy, it's all piste.

The crossing into Cote d'Ivoire from there is a NO GO at the moment, I was with a Spanish guy & his Unimog who live in Senegal who knows the roads there well as his company is registered in Abidjan.

The political situation in CI was calming down until they fired a rocket at the PM's jet last week, the French are trying to pull out of the north-south divide that straddles CI. FYI, the friend I met in Bissau was imprisoned in Bouake by the rebels in March this year (hence my border crossing south via Liberia unless things stabilize a bit more).

PM me if I can help any further & I'll get more info from my friend who I'm in touch with now plotting my own 'foot' route

Kira

SORRY COMPLETE IDIOT THAT I AM - you are taking a bike! BEWARE it wouldn't be suitable for a road bike!!!

[MoMix]

Hi Kira,

thanks for the reply. As for the bike, it's a KTM LC8, not the lightest bike on earth but it's not a Goldwing (and the other one is even lighter).

I'm considering the possibility to avoid Sierra Leone and Liberia but I'm still not sure how to deal with it: as far as I remember the visas for Mali and Burkina only allow for a single entry and since I must get back to Dakar I'll have to cross them twice.

Do you (or anyone else) know if the visa de entent allows for more than entry ? Is there a possibility to enter these countries twice or should I better forget it and get two visas ? What about Senegal ? Same story ?

Thanks again,
Mario

[TT-Kira]

Mario

I often travel with an Italian. I will check with him (he's near Turino) but as far as I know he used his to cross in and out of the Visa d'Entente countries, so it shouldn't be a problem.

I am sure however that both of us were fine (I'm Irish) to re-enter Senegal.

The pirogue crossing at Kandiafara ... it's a small pirogue, I know that they carried a Chinese motorbike across, we were 5 to a boat plus some luggage ... so you might get across there. The countryside around there is incredible and would love to re-visit it; there are elephants around and the piste is 'bad' but as I said, it's worth doing.

I don't think that you'd need to go into Sierra Leone (I'm not going to as the visa is US$100) but you could cross the border from Kissidougou to Voingama (Liberia) and then onto CI.

Kira

[Cam Johnson]

Hi,
Having just returned from a year in Sierra Leone, I can vouch for it! The war is over and by following the usual common sense rules, you should have no problem. I don't know about the costs of visas however. During my time in upcountry SL, I met an American driving a late model convertable Jeep and he was headed for Liberia and beyond. I want to travel back to the region with my bike this year and intend to follow the coast through Liberia and Southern CD'I. I'm not so confident about LIB just because I don't know it, but we did receive truck loads of medications coming up from Monrovia and there was no problems. Freetown is where all the NGO's and UN have there HQ's so there are great resturants (grilled barracuda, yum!), lively night life etc... However SL is the 2nd poorest country in the world and in FTN there is an amazing juxtaposition of incredible wealth mainfested by late model BMW's and absolute poverty. The area of northern CD'I is still a contested area. There are people with guns there.
CAVEAT: SL is having it's elections in August. So everything I have written may go out the window. Check first.
Happy travels.

[kanding]

In Guinea visa for Mali cost BELOW 2 EUR (for all except USA citizens that pay 100 USD) and its ready in one hour.
So ypu can arrange visa there.
Then Burkina Visa in Bamako is done on the spot again.