by Phil Paoletta | Jul 25, 2023 | Tips
Some years ago it was a piece of cake to snap up a sim card right on the border, load it with credit and be on your way. Many countries have since required telecom operators to register sim cards with the purchaser. You typically need to present your passport and an...
by Phil Paoletta | Jun 3, 2023 | On the Road, Tips
As we mentioned on our West Africa travel basics page, traveling overland in your own vehicle affords a certain freedom and flexibility that other forms of transport do now allow. The tradeoff is that you have to deal with the authorities. Border crossings in...
by Phil Paoletta | May 12, 2023 | Senegal
South of Dakar and north of The Gambia, the Sine-Saloum is the big ticket estuary that draws visitors from around the world for fishing, bird-watching, and indulging in sundowners next to one of the many waterways. But slightly further north, and much closer to the...
by Phil Paoletta | Apr 7, 2023 | Senegal
The Dakar Airport used to be smack in the middle of the city. Thirty minutes after landing you could find yourself drinking a beer next to the ocean in Ngor or Almadies. That is no longer the case. The new airport (as of December 2017) is nearly 60 kilometers away....
by Phil Paoletta | Mar 23, 2023 | Guinea-Bissau
Twenty-some kilometers inland from the Atlantic Ocean, there is a small town in Guinea-Bissau with a population of roughly 10,000 people. The town is called Cacheu, and it was one of the first colonial settlements in sub-saharan Africa. It served as a port for the...
