Things to do in Conakry
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Conakry
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season and the best time to come, peaking December to February with almost no rain, reliable boats and passable Fouta roads.
Shoulder months: rain returns or retreats, May is already wet, and early October brings Independence Day at the rains' end.
The heavy rains, worst in July and August, when roads flood, island trips wash out and the city is at its hardest.
What's on
- Independence Day 2 October
Guinea's national day, marking the 1958 break with France, with parades, concerts and cultural performances in Conakry.
- Tabaski (Eid al-Adha) Moveable, lunar calendar
The great family festival of the Guinean year: Conakry empties toward the villages beforehand and celebrates on the day.
- Mamaya Day after Tabaski, in Kankan
A famous traditional dance celebration in Kankan that has grown into a national festival drawing thousands.
- Eid al-Fitr Moveable, end of Ramadan
The festival ending the Ramadan fast, marked by morning prayers across hundreds of sites in Conakry and family visiting.
- Ramadan Moveable, lunar month of fasting
Daytime Conakry quiets and services slow, while nights fill with food and family. Visit only with that rhythm understood.
Best things to do in Conakry
National Museum of Guinea
The one hour that explains Guinea, with Baga and Nimba masks and statues gathered from every region of the country.
Conakry Grand Mosque
Guinea's largest mosque and its most imposing building, viewed from gardens that hold the tombs of national heroes.
St. Mary's Cathedral
A cool, red brick colonial cathedral that offers the quietest twenty minutes in the middle of busy Kaloum.
Marché Madina
One of West Africa's great markets, where a guided morning teaches more about Guinea than any museum can.
Centre Culturel Franco-Guinéen Sory Kandia Kouyaté
Conakry's arts living room, with live Guinean music, film and drum classes in a sociable garden setting.
Palais du Peuple
Guinea's ceremonial stage, worth a visit whenever the national ballet or a state orchestra is performing.
Jardin Botanique de Conakry
A shaded old botanical garden of giant trees that gives Dixinn and Camayenne families an easy green hour.
Stade du 28 Septembre
A Syli National match day turns the whole district red, yellow and green hours before kick off.
Where to stay in Conakry
Kaloum
first trip, sightseeing and dining on foot
The peninsula tip holds the sights, the port, the cultural centre and several top restaurants, with the sea on three sides.
Camayenne and Dixinn
a quieter sea facing base near Kaloum
Greener corniche districts by the Grand Mosque, fifteen quiet minutes from Kaloum, with the city's resort feeling hotel.
Kipé, Taouyah and Ratoma
space, expat life and longer stays
Where expats live, with bigger hotels, the Prima Center area, Rogbane beach and everyday restaurants, at the cost of downtown traffic.
Think twice about
- Bambeto to Hamdallaye to Cosa corridor
The recurring flashpoint for protests and roadblocks on the main axis, and a bad address on any day the city closes its main road.
- Matam and the Madina market district
A wholesale market and transport scrum with no visitor accommodation, severe congestion and high petty theft. Visit guided in the morning, do not sleep there.
- Matoto and the Gbessia airport corridor
Distant, traffic bound transit districts where a visitor is isolated without being anywhere peaceful or useful.
Best restaurants in Conakry
Avenue
The city's special occasion table, a Japanese and seafood kitchen with the largest review base in Conakry.
Restaurant La Paillotte
A simple Italian dinner on a hotel terrace above the Atlantic, taken for the sunset as much as the food.
Le Cèdre
Kaloum's Lebanese table of record, built for long shared lunches of mezze, grills and shawarma.
Les Jardins de Guinée
A long running garden restaurant where French technique meets Guinean fish and ingredients.
Italia Box
The city's best rated small Italian, an easy crowd pleasing pizza dinner for families and groups.
Hanoi
The long standing Asian kitchen that gives Conakry noodles, stir fries and soups with fresh herbs.
Istanbul Restaurant
A dependable Turkish workhorse in central Kaloum for pizzas and grills when the day has run long.
L'Étoile - Petit Bateau
The port quarter fish restaurant where you eat what the boats landed, grilled with attieke and chilli.
Outdoor things to do in Conakry
Île de Kassa
The closest Los island, with the calmest swimming of the three and grilled fish where the boats land.
Île de Roume
The quietest Los island, made for walking across to a wilder south shore and reading under a tree.
Île de Tamara
The biggest Los island, where the walk to the lighthouse makes this the active day of the three.
Les Cascades de la Soumba
Forest cascades and swimmable pools an hour and a half from the city, best just after the rains.
Guinea Treks Travel and Tours
The specialist operator for hiking the Fouta Djallon highlands, its waterfalls, villages and cooler air.
Plage de Rogbanè
Conakry's own city beach, a local weekend scene of football, vendors and grilled fish in Ratoma.
La Villa Elijah - Guinea Fishing Camp
A small specialist fishing camp for a day trolling rich Atlantic grounds offshore from Conakry.
Best hotels in Conakry
Noom Hotel Conakry
The city's flagship hotel, with sea view rooms, a pool and the most professional front desk in Guinea.
ONOMO Hotel Conakry
The sensible mid range base in Kaloum, clean and modern with a pool and a free airport shuttle.
Grand Hotel Central GHC
An old school central business hotel whose virtue is its position in the middle of Kaloum.
Palm Camayenne
The resort feeling hotel of the capital, built around a big pool, gardens and sea air on the corniche.
Riviera Royal Hotel
The highest rated hotel in the city on review numbers, with space and calm in the northern hotel zone.
Hotel Millenium
A smaller, well run northern hotel in Kipe that reviewers praise for its food and a good night's sleep.
Residence Schaka
A warm, good value guesthouse in residential Ratoma that suits longer budget stays and repeat visitors.
Hotel Mariador Palace
A faded grande dame by Rogbane beach, better used for its pool and terrace than for a first trip room.
Is Conakry expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | GNF 450,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | GNF 1,050,000 a person |
| Splurge | GNF 2,500,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Centre Culturel Franco-Guinéen Sory Kandia Kouyaté: a few days ahead
- Stade du 28 Septembre: a few days ahead
- Île de Kassa: a few days ahead
- Île de Roume: a few days ahead
- Île de Tamara: a few days ahead
- Les Cascades de la Soumba: a few days ahead
- Guinea Treks Travel and Tours: weeks ahead
- La Villa Elijah - Guinea Fishing Camp: weeks ahead
- Book top hotels weeks ahead in conference, mining or summit weeks, when good rooms sell out.
- Book the Fouta Djallon trek and fishing days weeks ahead, in writing, with inclusions listed.
- Book Avenue for dinner and Le Cedre on weekend nights days ahead through your hotel.
- Check visa and yellow fever certificate requirements with official sources well before travel.
Is Conakry safe?
- Crime, unrest and inadequate health infrastructure are the headline risks; use caution at night, stay aware of your surroundings and do not display signs of wealth.
- Avoid demonstrations and the Bambeto, Hamdallaye and Cosa protest corridor, and never try to drive through a roadblock.
- Carry full supplies of your own medication, take malaria prophylaxis as advised, and hold insurance with medical evacuation.
- There are no lifeguards on city or island beaches, Roume has strong currents, and island boats should be checked for lifejackets.
Conakry travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Faded grande dame hotels sold on old names, so inspect any cheap room before paying.
- Informal taxis at hotel doors quoting exorbitant fares, so fix every fare before the car moves.
- The fluctuating entry fee at Soumba falls, so agree it through your driver before arrival.
- Photographing government buildings, checkpoints, the port or the airport without permission.
Getting around Conakry: public transport and more
- Use a car with a local driver arranged through your hotel, agreed by the day with fuel and waiting time in the price.
- Budget around traffic, not distance: cross town at peak can take one to two hours, and the Kaloum airport run needs two hours.
- For island boats from Boulbinet, agree price, destination, return time and pickup point before boarding.
- Carry small franc notes, because change for a 100,000 GNF note is a daily problem and cards are rarely accepted.
Who Conakry suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Conakry your trip
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