Ivory Coast formerly known as the republic of Cote d’Ivoire is a beautiful country found on the southern coast in West Africa. The country prides in beautiful beaches, verdant rainforest as well as a number of ancient French colonial architecture. There are several cultural and religious structures including iconic buildings and museums that you will be able to visit during your holiday in the Ivory Coast. The idyllic beaches that are lined with fined sand that is scattered with starfish are some of the must-visit places while here on holiday.
4 Days Ivory Coast Tour – Abidjan, Grand-Bassam, Culture, Art, and History
5 Days Ivory Coast Tour – Abidjan, Grand-Bassam, Yamoussoukro & Cultural Experience
9 Days Ivory Coast Culture, Wildlife, History, and Relaxation Tour
Why Choose Côte d’Ivoire For Your Tour
Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) offers West Africa’s most economically dynamic country tourism circuit, combining the commercial capital Abidjan‘s extraordinary contemporary architecture and cultural scene with the UNESCO-listed Tai National Park (one of West Africa’s last primary rainforests with chimpanzee populations), the historic Akan trading town of Grand-Bassam (a UNESCO colonial heritage site on the Atlantic lagoon), and the traditional Kôngo-Boukrou village cultures of the interior. Mid-range guided tours cost approximately $120 to $200 per person per day. Côte d’Ivoire covers 322,463 square kilometres in West Africa, bordered by Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and Liberia, with a population of approximately 27 million people.
Where To Go in Côte d’Ivoire
Abidjan
Abidjan, the commercial capital and largest city in French-speaking West Africa, is an extraordinary urban environment of high-rise modernist towers in the Plateau district, the lagoon-side neighbourhoods of Cocody and Deux-Plateaux, the vibrant Treichville market and music district, and the Musée des Civilisations housing significant West African art collections. The city’s French-influenced restaurant scene is the finest in West Africa. The Cathédrale Saint-Paul in Abidjan, designed by Italian architect Aldo Spirito and completed in 1985 with a suspended structure over the sea, is architecturally remarkable.
Grand-Bassam
Grand-Bassam, 40 kilometres from Abidjan, was the first capital of the French colony and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of colonial-era architecture, now a protected historic quarter of French administrative buildings, trader houses, and the beachfront Quartier France. The town’s Atlantic beach stretches for kilometres and is one of the most atmospheric day trips from Abidjan.
Taï National Park
Taï National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in western Côte d’Ivoire near the Liberian border, is one of the last significant areas of primary humid tropical forest in West Africa and holds one of the most studied chimpanzee populations in the world. The park’s biodiversity includes pygmy hippos (rare and endangered), forest elephants, bongo, and over 200 bird species. Research stations in the park have been studying chimpanzee tool use for over 50 years. Visitor access requires advance arrangements through the Ministry of Environment.
Yamoussoukro
Yamoussoukro, the political capital, is home to the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, the largest church in the world, built by President Houphouët-Boigny in 1989 on the Côte d’Ivoire savannah and consecrated by Pope John Paul II. The structure is larger than St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The guided tour of the empty but architecturally extraordinary building is one of West Africa’s most surreal cultural experiences. The adjacent hotel and the sacred crocodile pools are additional Yamoussoukro attractions.
When Is the Best Time To Visit Côte d’Ivoire
The dry season from November to March in the north is optimal for wildlife viewing at Comoé National Park. The south around Abidjan has a more complex rainfall pattern but is generally drier from December to February and June to August. Taï National Park is more accessible in the drier months from November to February.
What is the Average Cost of a Tour to Côte d’Ivoire
Mid-range guided tours cost approximately $120 to $200 per person per day. Hotels in Abidjan’s main districts cost from $80 to $200 per night. Grand-Bassam day trip from Abidjan: approximately $30 to $60 per person. A Côte d’Ivoire e-visa is available at snedai.ci for approximately $80 USD. Ethiopian Airlines, Air France, Brussels Airlines, and Royal Air Maroc serve Abidjan. French is the official language. The West African CFA Franc (XOF) is the currency.
Côte d’Ivoire pairs Africa’s most unexpected single building, the world’s largest church standing empty on the savannah, with West Africa’s most dynamic French-speaking city and the continent’s best-studied wild chimpanzees, creating a cultural and natural circuit that rewards visitors willing to explore beyond the established West Africa tourist trail.