GUINEA BISSAU REPORT TRAVEL.

 

There is a 1 hour time zone compared to Italy.

To enter Guinea Bissau an entry visa is required, both for tourism and for work.

The same, for tourist reasons, can easily be obtained at the Consulate of Guinea Bissau in Ziguinchor (Senegal), located in Quartier Santhiaba apres Boutique expresso. Au Radier take the Rue à Gauche. The visa office is open from 8.00 to 14.00 from Monday to Friday, but if you call the following numbers: 775126497 or 775560960 and pay a supplement for the trouble, you can get a visa even outside office hours. Please note that the Embassy staff speak French and Portuguese. The documents to be presented are: passport, passport photocopy, and 20,000 CFA in cash (other currencies are not accepted). Usually the visa is issued without problems in less than half an hour. The tourist visa occupies a page of the passport and is valid for 30 days for 2 entries.

Keep in mind that there are very few vehicles on the roads of Guinea Bissau, with the exception of large cities such as Bissau;

In Guinea Bissau the Official Language is Portuguese, although some people also speak French. English is not widely used.

Religions: Muslim (45%), Christian (5%), animist (50%).

In Guinea Bissau the Police are generally kind to foreigners and do not bother foreigners with requests for money.

Keep in mind that at the land border post of Sao Domingos, between Senegal and Guinea Bissau, there are no money changers as the currency of Senegal is the same as that of Guinea Bissau and that is the CFA.

From the Border Post of Sao Domingos, in Bissau, there are several checkpoints, where you are sometimes forced to get off.

Taxi Brousse coming from Ziguinchor, leave you on the western outskirts, about 4 km from the center of Bissau, which can be reached by taking a collective taxi at the price of 500 CFA, which can drop you off right in front of your hotel if you have stayed overnight at the Pensao Creole.

An hour's walk from the town is the beautiful Ofires Beach. The same can also be reached with a motorized vehicle at the price of 5,000 CFA, for the round trip, including one hour of rest. In this case I shared the expense with 2 other Italian tourists.

One of the cheapest solutions to sleep in the center of Bolama is to stay overnight at the Fishing Training Center, located less than 300 meters away. from the port. Cost for a room with shared bathroom: 12,500 CFA. Wifi not present. Breakfast included in the price.

To reach Bolama Island, keep in mind that almost every morning at 7.00 or 8.00, from the Port of Bolama, there are Pirogues or the Public Ferry Boat. The cost of the Pirogue Ticket is 2,500 CFA, while for the Ferry it is 3,500 CFA for residents and 8,000 CFA for foreigners. In theory, you can get a ticket the same morning by showing up at least half an hour before departure, but in order not to risk running out of tickets, it is better to buy it the day before, as I did. The trip lasts at least 3 hours and it is much safer to do it with the Ferry boat than with a pirogue that sinks from time to time.

The historic center of Bissau appears deserted and a bit disturbing on Sunday. Avoid wandering around the same after dark. However, during the day the capital of Guinea Bissau appears safe and can be explored on foot.

From Av. Francisco Mendes in Bissau I took a collective taxi which, at a price of 300 CFA, took me to Paragem, located 4 km west of the center, where the Minibuses (Transporte Misto) leave for Quinhamel. They leave when they are full. The fare is 500 CFA. You pay on board. The journey takes approximately 1 hour.

Quinhamel, offers nothing special.

Once back in Bissau, I asked the driver to leave me as close as possible to the Paragem where the buses for Gabù leave and then he left me on the main road between the airport and the center of Bissau, about 5 km west of it. , from which a dirt road branches off that I had to walk for almost 1 km, before reaching the aforementioned Paragem. From there, when they are full, the Sept Places leave regularly for Gabù. The fare is 3,100 CFA. You pay at the desk before boarding. The trip takes about 3 hours.

Gabù is a city that can be explored on foot even if it has very little to offer to tourists,

To change money you have to go to the Gare Routiere, near the Piazzola where the means of transport to the border with Guinea Conakry are parked. There is usually a Dude here who applies the following exchange rates: $ 1 = GF 7,000 (if you have $ 50 or $ 100 pieces), $ 1 = GF 4,000 (if you have $ 20 or $ 10 pieces), 1 Euro = 8.400 GF.

One of the cheapest solutions for sleeping in the center of Gabù is to stay at the Hotel Visiom, located about 500 meters away. from the Gare Routiere. Cost for a double room with private bathroom: 10,000 CFA. No wifi and air conditioning. Breakfast not included.

From Gabù in Guinea Bissau, if you want to reach Labè, the capital of the Fouta Djalon Region in Guinea Conakry, it takes a whole day.

From the Gare Routiere in Gabù, when full, the minibuses (Transporte Misto) leave for the border post of Buruntuma. The fare is 1,500 CFA. You pay at the desk before boarding. The trip takes about 2 hours. I showed up before 7.00, and I had to wait more than an hour for the bus to fill up and in fact I had to pay 200 CFA, to get it going faster.

At the Buruntuma border post, I got the Guinea Conakry exit stamp pretty quickly.

Then I took a motor taxi to tackle the 2 km of dirt road that separates the Guinea Bissau border with that of Guinea Conakry, paying 500 CFA.

My complete travel report with map, photographs and videos is available at this link:

https://vivendosalendo.blogspot.com/2018/11/viaggio-in-mauritania-nouakchott.html