Benin Tours
ABOUT BENIN • WEATHER • LOCAL TIME • FACTS • MAP • AIRFARE • HOTELS • BOOKING

Explore Benin 8-days
Benin Voodoo Festival 11-days
Discover Ghana, Togo & Benin 12-days
Explore Ghana, Togo & Benin 14-days
Explore Mali, Burkina Faso & Benin 19-days
The West Africa Explorer 33-days

^back to top

About Your Tour of Benin

You will start your tour of BENIN by way of the capital city, main seaport and commercial center COTONOU. Formally an independent state dominated by the larger Kingdom of DAHOMEY, COTONOU is now the hub of this small French speaking country.

Unlike most West African countries it is not necessary for the traveler to overnight outside COTONOU in order to have a comprehensive tour. Most sites of interest are within a couple hours drive of lively COTONOU.

Nearby COTONOU is the picturesque fishing village of GANVIE, built entirely on stilts on a great LAGOON. All daily life is conducted on water.

An hour's drive from COTONOU is OUIDAH, once a prominent exporter of slaves to the America's including Haiti, Brazil, Cuba and New Orleans, before falling to the Kingdom of DAHOMEY. The slave trade is long gone but artifacts and museums including the "GATE OF NO RETURN" stand as stark reminders of OUIDAH'S past.

Of significance is ABOMEY in the north which has close affinity with the YORUBAS of western Nigeria; ALLADA, the birthplace of TOUSSAINT L'OVERTURE, the liberator and first president of Haiti whose direct descendant is now the king of ALLADA.

It is easy to understand the varied cultural and artistic traditions of BENIN, after all, this small place is a collection of once independent kingdoms that eventually formed the Kingdom of DAHOMEY, now BENIN.

^back to top

Local Weather in Benin

^back to top

Local Time in Benin

^back to top

Benin Facts

Full country name: Republic of Benin

Area: 110,620 sq km (43,140 sq mi)

Population: 6.1 million

Capital city: Porto Novo (pop. 225,000)

People: Fon and Adja (40%), Yoruba (12%), Bariba (9%), Betamaribé, Fulani (6%), and 37 smaller ethnic groups

Language: French (official), Fon, Yoruba and almost fifty other tribal languages

Religion: Animism (Voodoo) (70%), Muslim (15%), Christian (20%)

Government: Democratic republic

President: Mathieu Kérékou

Visas: 15 and 30-day visas are available. Many west and central African nationals don't require a visa. For applications or extensions, be sure to have a fist full of photos.

Electricity: 220 V

Weights & measures: Metric

^back to top

Map of Benin

^back to top