Benin
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Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
We entered Benin from Burkina Faso at Porga. The border guards were very helpful but could issue only 48 hour transit visas for CFA10,000 but advised us that we could extend these in Natintingou. Our plan was to make our way to Cotonou via Parakou, Sevare and Abomey so we needed the extension. On the same day we went to the police station at Natitingou and the first police sergeant we met was very willing to issue the visa extension for CFA12,000. Great, then in walked his superior who wasn't in the least bit friendly and basically accused us of getting a visa on the border because it was cheaper than at home etc. Unfortunately our French wasn't good enough to get across the fact that CFA 10,000 initially followed by a CFA12,000 extension fee probably isn't too different from the charge for a Benin visa in the UK. So in the end we left Natitingou with only 42 hours left on our visa and a distinct dislike for Beninoise immigration officials. In Cotonou 30 day/multiple entry extensions are issued next day for CFA12,000 with no disputes or complications although they do take 1 ½ hours to issue you with a receipt for your passport when handing it in.
Anna Salter & Mike Beck, UK (Dec 04)
Visas for Togo are not delivered in the French consulate in Cotonou anymore. They will be delivered within 10 minutes directly at the border of Togo for CFA10,000 (no photos required), valid for one week. They may be extended with the immigration police in Lomé for up to one month for free, but 4 photos are required.
Heiner H. Schmitt, Benin (Sep 03)
If travelling from Niger to Benin via Gaya, the best option is to get across the border and then hire a car heading south in the Malanville "tasha", or autoguard. Although they are not the safest option, the small motorbikes, or "cobble-cobbles" as they are known in Niger, are the cheapest and quickest way to get from Gaya to Malanville. They will take you to the border check point and wait as you do your immigration papers and then take you through to the autoguard in Benin. From there you can pick up a car going south. If you are headed all the way to Cotonou, as we were, it is best to get a Peugeot all the way through. The ride might be a bit hair-raising, but they move quickly and efficiently which is more then you can say for the majority of transportation in West Africa. The ride is about 8 hours (ours was only 7, but we were averaging about 140 km/hr) and they will stop in Parakou for lunch.
Kendra Bischoff, USA (Aug 03)
Gems, Highlights & Attractions
Malanville, the northern border town, is a great place to stop and rest for a day or two of hard travel in Benin. It is a bit more like Niger in this part of the country, with a laid back friendly character. Here, you will find the country's second-largest market: a busy hub of international commerce from all the surrounding regions. It is open everyday but gets especially busy on Fridays and Saturdays (not Sunday, as misreported in West Africa 2002). Due to a less aggressive atmosphere than its southern counterparts, Malanville's market offers one of the best prices on fabric and leather goods in the country, especially on those from Niger and Burkina Faso. Take a walk or a zemidjan (CFA300 RT) past the market and through the sprawling corn and rice fields to the scenic bridge over the Niger River. It was built in 1996 to support the increasing numbers of transporter trucks which use this route to carry goods and imported vehicles from Cotonou's port into northern Nigeria, Niger and beyond.
Pair an overnight stay in Malanville with a day-trip to the transit centre of nearby Guene, 30 minutes south by bushtaxi. Vehicles are easily found at the gare or just on the roadside at the end of town (CFA500). Their Thursday market is an important meeting place for the region's Foulani who come to sell livestock, leather, basketry and even the beads and haircoins for which they are known. There is no hassle as tourists are rarely spotted.
Sierra Hutchinson, USA (Oct 03)
Yarns, Fables & Anecdotes
On January 10 of this year (2003) there was a huge voodoo festival in Benin. I did not have an opportunity to ask if it is always on the same date or if it's always on a Friday. I think most places shut down to honour that day. I went to a ceremony in the south, near Bopa, and it was extraordinary. I saw a woman in a trance and speaking in tongues, and when she found out the yovo (that's me) wanted to take a photo she broke the trance and asked me for money, which I gladly gave her (all I had was CFA1000 and I was happy to give it to her).
Nancy Kramer, USA (May 03)
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