Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

SN Brussels has twice-weekly flights from Brussels to Freetown and is your best bet from Europe and the US. British-based Astraeus airlines fly twice a week from London Gatwick and Bellview fly three times a week from London Heathrow. Kenya Airways connects to Nairobi through Lagos twice a week.

Bellview also connects Freetown to Accra, Banjul, Dakar, Douala and Lagos; Slok Airlines to Accra, Banjul and Monrovia, Gambia International to Banjul and Dakar and GR-AVIA to Conakry. The airport departure tax is 40.00. There continues to be talk about reviving the passenger ferry between Conakry to Freetown.

The main overland route to Guinea is via Pamelap and the road is sealed most of the way to Conakry. All other crossings to Guinea require more patience and less comfort. To Liberia (inquire locally before making this trip) the only practical option is via Zimmi and Bo (Waterside) and this journey takes two days in the dry season.

Getting around

It's getting easier to get around Sierra Leone. Bush taxis and poda-podas (minibuses) connect most towns, though not always frequently to the smaller ones, and large comfortable buses link the cities. There is some advantage to renting a vehicle (which always comes with a driver) in Freetown, though the convenience comes with a high cost.

Visa information

Everyone except citizens of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) requires a visa. Most nationalities pay 40.00 for single-entry, 90-day tourist visas, though some pay as much as 100.00. Application forms can be downloaded from the Sierra Leone High Commission website (www.slhc-uk.org.uk). Visas can easily be extended at the immigration office in the centre of Freetown.