Conakry Travel Guide, Guinea

Conakry Travel Guide- Things to consider when traveling there

Conakry is the capital of Guinea, founded by the French in 1884. However, since 1958 it has been independent. The initial settlement was on Tombo Island, but now it includes the Kaloum Peninsula.

From the very beginning, this Conakry travel guide wants to point out that it is not a destination for anyone, only for those endowed with a spirit of adventure. The political situation is not quite good due to the uncertainty lingering after the death of leader Lasana Conte. During Conte’s regime, problems such as corruption, drug trade, poverty, abuse of power existed as well, but now soldiers are filling the streets worsening the already bad image of the country. Even if they are harmless, the view of armed men is not very nice. It seems the country is subject to another attempt of seizing power without elections made by Camara and his Council for Democracy and Development.

Meanwhile, democracy and development are just promises to gain the support of people, who are beginning to run out of patience and goodwill. Any policemen and authorities are to be avoided when in Conakry as they are very corrupt.

Other aspects one has to take into account is the fact that electricity is a problem, even luxury hotels being sometimes dependent on generators and running water is rarely available.

Good hotels in Conakry might be Novotel, Mariador.

Conakry Travel Guide - Life on the streets

If you stop comparing an African city with European destinations, you will discover a very nice mixture of life moments: genuine crafts practiced on the streets such as drum carving, sheep and goats grazing, overloaded “bush- taxis”, meaning a Peugeot transporting ten people, trade in open markets, nights illuminated with candles and good music. The northwestern African music has rhythms and tunes which seem to cover melodic lines from all over the world- Peru, France or Asia, it is hard to establish the inspiration of the composer.

Conakry can offer you romantic nights, funny or simple life episodes, it all depends on how you open your heart and use your sense of humor to see it. Streets can offer you anything, but take care where you change your money in Guinea Francs (make sure to have cash, cards are almost useless), where you buy your phone cards from or any goods and be aware of prostitution. If you really want some European like places to visit, choose Palais du Peuple, the National Museum and also there is a superb botanical garden. You may also visit one of the largest mosques in this part of Africa- Conakry Grand Mosque.

Conakry Travel Guide – Economy

Conakry has a very large deep water harbor. This is the gateway for the country’s exports of treated bauxite (alumina), fruit (bananas, oranges, pineapples), coffee and palm tree products. Amongst the products manufactured in Conakry, there are fruit cans, car parts, tools made of plastic and aluminum. There is also a university and its students become teachers, nurses, midwives and military employed people. The average salary for those lucky enough to have a place to work is around 50 US dollars per month.

We recommend other guides like Freetown Travel Guide and Monrovia Travel Guide