Four weeks, seven countries: from Dakar to Abidjan

From Dakar to Abidjan: an overland journey through Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. The trip ran through December and January and was less like a holiday than genuine travel on the move—dusty, direct and unforgettable.

This is not an all-inclusive trip. Borders, ferries, shared taxis and encounters set the pace. Not everything works, and that is exactly where some of the stories that stay with you begin.

The journey begins amid the Atlantic, fishing boats and the first traffic chaos. In Ngor, the opening moments bring the mix of friction and joie de vivre that makes West Africa so distinctive.

A narrow country with a great river: ferries, Stone Circles, hippos and chimpanzees. A local’s spontaneous generosity even turns him into a guide for the journey inland.

La Varela lies right on the Atlantic and feels like an oasis after border stress and crowded minibuses. Christmas on the Buba River becomes a quiet highlight.

Jungle borders, motorbikes, improvised boat crossings and checkpoints: the road to Boké tests your patience, but rewards you with moments no travel brochure could have planned.

New Year in Freetown, beach parties at Beach No. 2 and encounters with the history of the civil war give the journey a new emotional depth.

After dust, potholes and improvised accommodation, Abidjan feels almost like another universe: modern cafés, good roads and the perfect place to let the journey sink in.

West Africa is not polished, but it is full of life. The route asks for patience, flexibility and respect; in return it offers encounters, landscapes and moments that cannot be staged.