Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast?
Mar 20th, 2006, 03:43 PM
#1
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Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast?
My husband and I are going to Ghana this summer on business with a side trip to Togo. He has just been asked to include a quick trip to the Ivory Coast - specifically to Abidjan. We are weighing this decision carefully because of the travel warnings from the U.S. Department of State urging Americans to defer non-essential travel to that country.
Have any of you visited Abidjan recently? If we plan on going and then reevaluate when it is time to go, will someone residing in Abidjan be the best source of information or the U.S. Department of State? A friend in Abidjan is assuring us that it is safe to travel there, but he admits that people outside of the Ivory Coast may have more information....
Any thoughts on the safety of travel to the Ivory Coast at the present time? Any tips for traveling to Ghana (Accra and some other areas) and Togo?
Thanks for your help!
Mar 21st, 2006, 04:13 AM
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I visited all three in November 2000, and even then, I felt very unsafe in Ivory Coast. I was stopped by armed police on my way into the city from the airport, they rifled through my luggage and they demanded a bribe -- all this while aiming their AK-47s at me. Its not high on my list of places to revisit.
On the other hand, I felt perfectly safe in both Ghana and Togo, and had no issues wandering by myself in Accra and Lome. If you have free time in Ghana, the coastal forts are fascinating, and lunch at Hans Botel (a restaurant on a crocodile infested lake) is a good day outside the city.
I was only in Lome for a day, and I was principally interested in visiting the fetish market (voudou stuff), which is one of the largest in West Africa.
On the other hand, I felt perfectly safe in both Ghana and Togo, and had no issues wandering by myself in Accra and Lome. If you have free time in Ghana, the coastal forts are fascinating, and lunch at Hans Botel (a restaurant on a crocodile infested lake) is a good day outside the city.
I was only in Lome for a day, and I was principally interested in visiting the fetish market (voudou stuff), which is one of the largest in West Africa.
