Find places in Guinea-Bissau

Must-Haves

• Bissau Velho (Old town)
  Wander the crumbling pastel colonial streets of the old port quarter, the most atmospheric part of the capital.
• Praça dos Heróis Nacionais (Avenida Amílcar Cabral)
  The grand square at the top of the main avenue, framed by the presidential palace.

Fun for Everyone

• Avenida Amílcar Cabral (Centre)
  The broad main boulevard linking the port to the palace, good for a first orientation walk.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Porto de Pidjiguiti fishing boats (Bissau Velho)
  Watch colourful pirogues unload fish and passengers in the busy morning bustle.

Off the Beaten Path

• Mansoa river day trip (Mansoa)
  A quiet market town on the Mansoa river an hour or so inland, good for a glimpse of rural life.

Must-Haves

• Fortaleza de São José da Amura (Bissau Velho)
  An eighteenth century Portuguese fort that now holds the mausoleum of independence leader Amílcar Cabral.
• Pidjiguiti Memorial (Porto de Pidjiguiti)
  A memorial to the dockworkers killed in the 1959 strike that sparked the independence struggle.

Fun for Everyone

• Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Candelária (Avenida Amílcar Cabral)
  The white Catholic cathedral in the centre, a calm and cool stop on a city walk.
• Centro Cultural Franco Bissau-Guineense (Centre)
  The French cultural centre hosts concerts, films and exhibitions by local artists.
• Centro Cultural Português (Centre)
  The Portuguese cultural centre runs a library, talks, film nights and music events.

Must-Haves

• Mercado de Bandim (Bandim)
  The capital's biggest and loudest market, packed with fabrics, fish, spices, cashews and everyday life.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Mercado do Caracol (Caracol)
  A sprawling neighbourhood market for produce, cloth and household goods away from the tourist eye.

Off the Beaten Path

• Panu di pinti weavers (Bissau)
  Look for the handwoven striped cloth used at weddings and funerals, sold in markets and by weavers.

Must-Haves

• Bissau Carnival (City centre)
  The country's biggest party, with masks, music and parades from every ethnic group in the weeks before Lent.

Fun for Everyone

• Independence Day celebrations (Praça dos Heróis Nacionais)
  Parades and celebrations each 24 September mark the 1973 declaration of independence.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Pidjiguiti Day (Porto de Pidjiguiti)
  Each 3 August the city remembers the 1959 dockworkers' massacre with ceremonies at the port.

Off the Beaten Path

• Mangroves of the Geba estuary (Bissau waterfront)
  Watch fishing pirogues and wading birds along the wide estuary at low tide.

Fun for Everyone

• Quinhámel (Biombo region)
  The Pepel heartland west of the capital, known for weaving, a riverside setting and a calm pace.

Must-Haves

• Azalaï Hotel 24 de Setembro (Centre)
  A long established hotel with gardens and a pool, set in former colonial buildings.
• Ceiba Hotel Bissau (Near the airport road)
  A large business hotel with a pool and dependable power and water.

Fun for Everyone

• Hotel Malaika (Centre)
  A modern mid-range hotel in the centre, convenient for walking to the old town.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Grilled fish stalls at Bandim (Bandim)
  Freshly grilled fish with rice and spicy sauce, eaten where the locals eat.
• Caldo de mancarra at a local cantina (Bissau)
  Try the national peanut stew with rice at a simple neighbourhood cantina.

Must-Haves

• Hotel 24 de Setembro restaurant (Centre)
  A reliable garden restaurant for a first evening meal in the capital.

Fun for Everyone

• Pastelarias of Avenida Amílcar Cabral (Centre)
  Portuguese style bakeries for coffee, pastries and fresh bread rolls in the morning.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Street cafés serving cafe touba (Bissau)
  Spiced Touba coffee sold from small stands across the city, a cheap early morning ritual.

Must-Haves

• Live gumbé nights (Bissau)
  Look for bars hosting gumbé, the country's signature rhythm, especially at weekends.

Great for Date Night

• Sunset drinks on the waterfront (Bissau Velho)
  Watch the sun drop over the Geba with a cold Pampa or Cristal beer.

Fun for Everyone

• Cashew wine in season (Bissau)
  From April to June, local cashew wine is sold fresh across the city, a true taste of the harvest.

Must-Haves

• Arquipélago Bolama-Bijagós Biosphere Reserve (Bijagós)
  A UNESCO biosphere of more than eighty islands, mangroves and sandbanks rich in birds and marine life.
• Praia de Bruce (Southern Bubaque)
  The finest beach on Bubaque, a long sweep of sand at the island's southern tip.
• João Vieira and Poilão Marine National Park (Southern Bijagós)
  Among the most important green turtle nesting sites in the Atlantic, visited only with permits.

Off the Beaten Path

• Orango Grande lagoons (Orango)
  Freshwater lagoons where hippos rest by day, reached on guided walks.
• Ilha de Canhabaque (Canhabaque)
  A rarely visited island with strong traditions and very few outsiders.

Must-Haves

• Orango National Park (Orango)
  Home of the rare saltwater hippos that graze in the lagoons and swim between islands.

Fun for Everyone

• Bubaque town and port (Bubaque)
  The archipelago's small hub, with the ferry jetty, a market and simple places to eat.
• Cycling across Bubaque (Bubaque)
  Hire a bike in town and ride the island's roads to Praia de Bruce and through palm groves.

Off the Beaten Path

• Sport fishing in the channels (Bijagós)
  The islands are known for big tarpon, barracuda and other game fish in the tidal channels.

Must-Haves

• Eticoga village (Orango)
  A traditional village where Bijagós culture, including its matriarchal customs, remains strong.

Off the Beaten Path

• Bijagós masks and carvings (Bijagós)
  The archipelago's bull and fish masks are among West Africa's most striking art.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Bubaque market (Bubaque town)
  A small market for fish, palm oil, fruit and island goods.

Great for Date Night

• Ponta Anchaca (Rubane)
  A beach lodge of bungalows facing Bubaque, popular for fishing and quiet sunsets.

Must-Haves

• Orango Parque Hotel (Orango)
  An eco lodge on Orango run with the local community, the base for hippo trips.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Grilled fish by the port (Bubaque town)
  Fresh catch grilled over charcoal and served with rice near the jetty.

Fun for Everyone

• Oysters from the mangroves (Bijagós)
  Wild mangrove oysters, often grilled, are a local treat when in season.

Off the Beaten Path

• Fanado initiation season (Bijagós)
  Initiation ceremonies are held in some years; outsiders may only watch if invited, and some areas become off limits.

Must-Haves

• Praia de Varela (Varela)
  A wild, wide Atlantic beach backed by dunes and pines near the Senegal border.

Off the Beaten Path

• Varela dunes and pine forest (Varela)
  Walk through the dunes and casuarina pines that line the coast north of the village.
• Cabo Roxo (Northwest coast)
  The country's far northwest point, with lonely beaches near the Senegal border.

Fun for Everyone

• Rice paddies of the Felupe (Varela)
  Bright green paddies carved from the mangroves, best seen in the rainy season.

Great for Date Night

• Sunset walk on the beach (Varela)
  Kilometres of empty sand at golden hour, often with no one else in sight.

Fun for Everyone

• Varela village (Varela)
  A small Felupe village where life follows the tides, rice fields and fishing.

Off the Beaten Path

• Suzana mission village (Suzana)
  A Felupe village inland from Varela known for its church and nearby rice paddies.

Low Cost and Authentic

• São Domingos market (São Domingos)
  A busy border town market for cashews, cloth and goods from Senegal.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Seafood at Varela (Varela)
  Fresh fish, prawns and oysters cooked simply by village cooks.

Off the Beaten Path

• Felupe culture (São Domingos region)
  The Felupe, or Jola, people have their own festivals, rice farming and sacred forests.

Must-Haves

• Fortaleza de Cacheu (Cacheu)
  A small Portuguese fort by the river, with colonial statues gathered in its courtyard.
• Memorial da Escravatura de Cacheu (Cacheu)
  A museum on the slave trade in one of the oldest slaving ports in West Africa.

Off the Beaten Path

• Manjaco cultural heartland (Canchungo)
  The Manjaco region is known for weaving, funeral cloth and strong diaspora links.

Must-Haves

• Parque Natural dos Tarrafes do Rio Cacheu (Cacheu river)
  One of West Africa's largest mangrove reserves, home to manatees, birds and crocodiles.

Off the Beaten Path

• São Domingos ferry crossing (Cacheu river)
  Crossing the river on the old ferry route shows the vast scale of the mangroves.

Fun for Everyone

• Cacheu river boat trip (Cacheu)
  Explore the mangrove channels by pirogue with a local boatman.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Cacheu town walk (Cacheu)
  A quiet riverside town of old churches and colonial houses, easy to explore on foot.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Canchungo market (Canchungo)
  The regional market town for the Manjaco people, lively on market days.

Low Cost and Authentic

• River fish and rice (Cacheu)
  Fresh river fish with rice and sauce from the town's simple eateries.

Must-Haves

• Cantanhez National Park (Tombali)
  Dense forest and mangroves where chimpanzees, monkeys and forest elephants once ranged.

Fun for Everyone

• Mangrove walks at Iemberém (Iemberém)
  Guided walks through forest, rice fields and mangrove edges full of birds.
• Primate spotting (Cantanhez)
  Look for colobus, green monkeys and baboons along the forest trails.

Off the Beaten Path

• Lagoas de Cufada Natural Park (Buba)
  Freshwater lagoons with huge numbers of waterbirds between Buba and Fulacunda.
• Cacine (Tombali)
  A remote river town near the Guinea border, set among forest and mangroves.

Must-Haves

• Chimpanzee tracking (Cantanhez)
  Walk with local guides to look for wild chimpanzees in the forest at dawn.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Village visits in Cantanhez (Cantanhez)
  Meet Nalú and Balanta communities with a local guide and see daily life.

Off the Beaten Path

• Buba (Quinara)
  A small river town on the road south, a stop on the way to Cantanhez.

Must-Haves

• Iemberém ecotourism camp (Iemberém)
  A community run camp of simple bungalows, the main base for exploring the park.

Off the Beaten Path

• Sacred forests of Cantanhez (Cantanhez)
  Village sacred forests protected by tradition, which helped save the area's wildlife.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Meals at the Iemberém camp (Iemberém)
  Simple home cooked rice, fish and forest produce served at the camp.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Catió market (Catió)
  The regional market town of Tombali, busy with rice, fish and palm oil.

Must-Haves

• Bafatá old town (Bafatá)
  Faded colonial buildings and a bustling market above the Geba river.

Off the Beaten Path

• Gabú (Gabú)
  The main town of the east, a Fula and Mandinka trading hub near the Guinea border.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Bafatá market (Bafatá)
  A lively market for cloth, cola nuts, cashews and goods from across the east.
• Gabú market (Gabú)
  A large regional market, busy with traders from Guinea and Senegal.

Fun for Everyone

• Geba river at Bafatá (Bafatá)
  Watch fishermen and washing on the riverbanks below the town.

Off the Beaten Path

• Saltinho rapids (Corubal river)
  Rapids and a bridge on the Corubal river, a scenic stop on the southern road.
• Boé hills (Boé)
  Remote laterite hills in the southeast with chimpanzees and very few visitors.
• Dulombi National Park (Dulombi)
  A wild park of savannah and forest in the east with little tourism infrastructure.

Off the Beaten Path

• Fula villages of the east (Gabú region)
  Cattle herding villages where Fula traditions and Islam shape daily life.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Street grills in Bafatá (Bafatá)
  Brochettes, grilled meat and bread sold at roadside grills in the evening.

Fun for Everyone

• Tabaski celebrations (Gabú and Bafatá)
  Eid al-Adha is a major festival in the mostly Muslim east, with family feasts and prayers.