West Africa:The Rough Guide

This guide has involved the authors in more than 20,000 miles of overland travel from Algeria to Cameroon and from Sierra Leone to Mauritania. The coverage of all the region's 17 countries amounts to a guide to each one. It includes 130 maps, many commissioned directly from field research, including plans of cities and city centres, parks and islands, maps of visa availability, flight routings, languages and currency. It gives information on eating and drinking, fruits and vegetables, media, music, advice on handling West African sexual attitudes, useful phrases and word lists in over 30 languages. Ouagadougou, Praia, Bissau, Conakry, Nouakchott and all the better known capitals are given pages of full coverage. Historical, cultural and natural backgrounds are discussed. The book provides information on travel by car, taxi, bus, train, plane, ferry, bicycle, canoe or on foot. The guide includes contributions by female writers and an essay by a long-time resident of Nigeria.