1

Which border crossing are you talking about?

Can you name towns both sides of the border please?

It may be the one that has been closed for a while due to pro-Gbagbo supporters to stop any further attacks against police/UNOCI etc

Kira

2

Hi Kira
as far as I thought there are only Tabou - Harper in the south and Danane (Man) and Saniquelli in the north. And the latter is the main border crossing into Liberia. I am talking about this border (west of Danane near Man).
Kind regards,
Hemis

3

Tabou - Harper is open as far as I'm aware

I wouldn't be surprised if the Man border from Liberia is closed ... it seems to be where the mercenaries & pro-Gbagbo militia are coming from but that shouldn't be a worry for you

What about going further north & crossing from Guinea???

Kira

4

Is it open or is it closed ?
Did you find out ?
Apparently it looks like it is but we will do another check here in Monrovia before we set out.

5

Just met a Liberian, a Nigerian, and a family of Liberian/North Americans who all crossed this Liberia-Ci border.

A bit ticked that the information from LP Throntree swayed me towards not going (since i didn't want to go all that way after a long ride from BF to Abidjan then across CI and then find out it's closed only to have to go to the far south/ocean road. What a mess, for what it would be only for Liberia and is Liberia alone worht all that???)

The border is "closed" officially, but of course money talks and probably both sides of the border talk to each other about how much money they manage to get from travelers since officially "...the border is closed but we can let you through for $$$$"

It's not as simple as one fee on each side, but rather bribes were paid to 3 differennt groups/points on the Liberian side (Duane/customes, then police, then actual border ..and with no exit stamp...which was not an issue. On the CI side, guards demanded a higher amount.

Just passing along what i heard from the travellers. I did not make this trip myself.
Their stories are corroborated.

6

The border is not closed by any means, only in some regions & I don't believe it's ever been said it's been 'closed' as such since the crisis

It would be helpful if you told us which crossing you're talking about

$$$ should not pass hands at any border, if I can cross them alone without greasing palms, so can others!

Kira

7

Hi Kira, i refer to the border in the subject heading ("north" border of Liberia& CI),

ie, Sanniquellie -> { Liberia/CI border... i.Customs, ii. police checkpoint iii.Liberia border iv. CI border } -> Saleu -> Bnzereu -> Danane

bribes were demanded and paid at points i. ii. iii. iv.
i don't agree or pay bribes knowlingly (i think the bus transport co's pay bribes and collect this mobey from passengers in the form of baggage fees/border fees...look a company STC what a rip-off Abidjan to Accra bus ticket CFA 14,000 + CFA 6,000 border fee + baggage fees)

8

Hey,
We are in Man, CI.
We crossed into Guinea from Ganta, Liberia, and then into CI east of Lola. We had picked up a new Guinea visa in Monrovia because nearly everyone we had met ( including the Ivorian Consul in Monrovia... ) told us the Liberia-CI border post east of Sanniquellie was closed. I enquired with the UN folks in Ganta and several other people there and it turns out that border is actually open...
No big deal for us as the detour via the rainforest south of N'Zerekore and the climb up Mount Nimba in Guinea was really worth the expense of the new Guinea visa...
Hope that helps,
L.

9

Liberia/Ivory Coast Border Fully Reopens

The full border between Liberia and Ivory Coast very recently re-opened in mid-April, which means that it is now possible to cross into Ivory Coast between Saniquellie (past Ganta) and Man. Here is the news article:

http://www.africareview.com/News/Liberia-Cote-dIvoire--border-reopened-/-/979180/1752552/-/shvknyz/-/index.html

Due to the attack in June 2012, the Liberia Ivory Coast border had been closed completely for several months, but then in September 2012 it was partially reopened, but only in Maryland County in the far southeast.

This meant you had to travel 2 days to Harper in order to cross into Ivory Coast, and the border points further north were closed (UN, IRC, and other international organizations were allowed to pass, but most travelers were not – I have friends, both ECOWAS citizens and foreigners, who couldn’t pass there).

But now it should be possible to pass through into Ivory Coast from Saniquellie to Man, which is the main and most direct route.

Katie

Edited by: katydid_too