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Required travel documents for Benin

Required travel documents for Benin: passport [...]

Electric power

Electric power: 220V / 50 Hz [...]

Area code to Benin

Area code to Benin: +229 [...]

Communications:

The postal service is fairly reliable in Benin, and there are branch offices all over Cotonou, in all large cities, and many smaller villages. Look for the PTT sign.

Telecommunications is a burgeoning business in Benin, and making an overseas call [...]

Currency:

The unit of currency in Benin is the West African CFA.
The value is (estimated) 700 CFA = $US 1. You can change money at the airport upon arrival. There are a variety of banks in Cotonou that will change money and travelers checks, including Ecobank, F [...]

Transportation:

Within all large cities, towns, and some villages, you'll find motorcycle-taxis called "zemidjans." You'll recognize the drivers by their colored shirts (yellow in Cotonou, purple in Porto Novo, etc.). These are by far the fastest, most convenient, cheap [...]

Transportation in Benin

Railways: total: 578 km (single track) ; narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (1995 est.) ; Highways: total: 6,787 km paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1997 est.) ; Waterways: navigable along small sections, impo [...]

Communications in Benin

Telephones - main lines in use: 28,000 (1995) Telephones - mobile cellular: 1,050 (1995) Telephone system: domestic: fair system of open wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atl [...]

History

The African kingdom of Dahomey originated in Benin. By the 17th century, the kingdom, ruled by an oba, stretched beyond the borders of present-day Benin, covered a large part of West-Africa. The kingdom was prosperous and established slave trading relatio [...]

Pendjari Game Park

This game park is an animal lover’s delight for the type of fauna it houses is some of the best in West Africa. One will find elephants, baboons, bucks, antelopes, lions, and many birds. There are picturesque waterfalls nearby which are wor [...]