Benin Getting There & Away

Getting There & Away

By plane There are many international flights arriving at the main airport in Cotonou. From here you can connect to Paris, Amsterdam, Moscow, and a variety of cities in West Africa. By train Travel into Benin via train is not possible. However, there is a train route that goes halfway up the country, from Cotonou to Parakou. While it takes longer than a bush taxi, it's a much more relaxing way of traveling. First class tickets are only slight more that second class ones and are worth the extra expendature. The train leaves Cotonou three times a week (tuesday, thursday, and saturday) at 8 am precisely and returns the next day, leaving at 8 am from the Parakou train station. By car Travelling by car is recommended only between major cities. For example to travel from Cotonou to Porto Novo or Cotonou to Abomey etc. Most of the time you would be required to share the car with many other travellers who are going it the same direction as you. Expect to be cramped and hot as most bush taxis are in hard shape and drivers try to cram as many people as possible into the car to make the trip as financially rewarding as possibly. However if you want to throw the extra money you can hire a car to take you personally where ever you want to go with no stops. The price would depend on the driver and you would definatly need a local (Beninois) to help you to negotiate the price or you will be taken advantage of. For example a 3 hour car ride from the South Central region along the main highway would cost you about 30 000 - 40 000 CFA if only 2 passengers are present, where as if you share the ride and pick people up on the way you would only speand about 5000 - 10000 CFA. This of course all depends on if you have a local present or not. Travelling in such a manner is not recommended without a local present. The danger is minimal but the financial price would be excessive. Also random police roadblocks at night occur regularly as a way of ploicing the highways and if you were travelling alone with a driver (esspecially if you are a woman) it may put him in an akward position explaining to the police and it may cost you more money. Travelling by car within the city is not recommended at all due to the fact that it is simply unneccessary and uneconomical, the best way to travel in any city or village is by motorcycle taxi. The are very cheap and the drivers know the city well. You can recognize them by their yellow shirts in most cities. Choose your driver carefully, drinking and driving in Benin is very common. These guys a very reliable if you need to go somewhere and enter a building for example, for a little extra money they will wait outside for as long as you want, just make sure you don't pay them first! For example you can go just about anywhere in Cotonou by zem (zémidjan = moto taxi) for as little as 500-1000 CFA if you get a local to negotiate. It is recommended to travel with a local as much as possible, mainly from a financial aspect. Also driving yourself around in a car is not a good idea. The roads are mostly of hard packed sand, with a few paved main roads in the cities and on the highways between the major cities. Traffic is chaotic, there are no rules of the road. If you are planning on driving in Benin an International Driver's liscense is required. Traffic drives on the same side of the road as in the USA and Canada.