Benin tourist information with details about travel
to and around the country. Where to stay and what to see is made easier with insider tips
and hand-selected Benin links, by dedicated editors and visitors to TravelNotes.org - The
Online Guide to Travel.
Countries neighbouring Benin are: Togo,
Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria.
Weather in Benin
View a graphical weather forecast for the week ahead in places around
Benin.
Cotonou
Weather, Porto-Novo
Weather.
The Republic of Benin is one of Africa's smallest countries;
formerly known as Dahomey.
Benin gained full independence as the Republic of Dahomey, in 1960,
and changed its name to Benin in 1975.
Abomey
was the centre of the early kingdom of Dahomey, with a rival state at Porto-Novo.
Travel in Benin
Benin has been something of a closely kept secret since a group of
young army officers, led by Major Kérékou, put a halt to twelve years of repeated coups
by taking control of the country themselves, in 1972.
Even now, after the relaxing of the Major's Marxist-Leninist line that
turned colonial Dahomey into the People's Republic of Benin - and earned it a somewhat
naive title of The Cuba of West Africa - the Gulf of Guinea's least known nation is still
not on most travellers' list of destinations.
Being in
Benin:
An account of travel through Benin by shared taxi; the easiest way to get around Benin,
but not always the safest.
For many Europeans on the Trans-Sahara Peugeot run, the road ends
in Niger; although flights to Europe are generally cheaper from
the northern Nigerian town of Kano.
Those who do travel along the coast between Abidjan
and Lagos, look at Cotonou as nothing more than a stop between Ghana's beaches and the flight home.
There's not really that much to do in Cotonou, except get out; unless
you like the idea of paying to join the French around the pool at the Sheraton.
International representation may be lodged in Benin's characterless
coastal town of Cotonou, but it is not the country's capital.
Principal status is reserved for a town with a more pleasant setting,
and a proper place in history; Porto Novo.
If all routes lead to Cotonou, then once official business is seen to,
diversions and ways out of the sandy grid are sought.
Budget Accommodation in
Benin.
Abomey and Ouidah
A two-hour drive from Cotonou takes you back to the former capital of
one of the great West African kingdoms in pre-colonial times.
Lake Ganvie:
The most accessible attraction to Cotonou, is the lake dwellings at Ganvie.
Lakes, Rivers and National Parks in Benin
Birdwatching
in Benin:
BirdLife International has identified six Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Benin: Lake
Ahémé and Aho complex, Lake Nokoué, Lama Forest, Ouémé river basin, Pendjari National
Park and W du Bénin National Park.
You really should visit Pendjari National Park, the best game park in
West Africa, on Natitingou and the Atacora region with its many waterfalls, caves, and the
famous 'Tata Sombas'.
When in Natitingou, travellers looking for good food and a good clean
room should stay at the Hotel Bourgogne (Tel. 82 22 40).
Sent in by: John Conry.
Books
on Benin Travel:
Browse Amazon's best-selling list of books on travel in Benin.
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