Guinea-Bissau Tours & Trips

This 10-day quest through Guinea-Bissau, priced around $5,600, reveals Cacheu's colonial past and the sacred Manjaco Kingdom of Bassarel. Traditional healers welcome visitors in Quinhamel, while Cantanhez National Park houses wild chimpanzees. The pristine Bijagos Archipelago awaits, with nights spent at the distinctive Dunia Hotel and Ponta Anchaca Resort.

Bafatá, the birthplace of independence hero Amilcar Lopes Cabral, features the Griote's xylophone performance in the historic Manding village of Tabato. The 16th-century fortress and slave museum in Cacheu offer historical context, then Canchungo provides a look at Manjaco traditions and local ways of life.

Kayaking through mangrove channels in the untouched Bijagós Archipelago leads to tracking saltwater hippos in Orango National Park, then camp on secluded beaches with bonfire dinners each night. Simple eco-lodges and beach camps house you while motorboats carry you between islands, where dolphins and sea turtles appear along the way.

The colonial center of Bissau leads to mystic Rubane Island through a culturally rich path. Local life unfolds at Porto Pidjiguiti and the bustling Central Market. A speedboat whisks visitors through the Bijagos Archipelago. Comfortable stays at Hotel 24 Septembro in Bissau and Orango Park Hotel provide bases for spotting rare saltwater hippos.

Guinea-Bissau's capital Bissau offers visits to the National Museum, Mercado Central Market, and the colonial architecture of Bissau Velho, then you'll head to the former capital Boloma to see UNESCO-nominated colonial buildings and the famous Bolama Court. Sailing to sacred Rubane Island in the Bijagós Archipelago, you'll stay at The Fishing Club while checking out Bubaque's local market and UICN museum. The trip continues to Sierra Leone's Freetown for St. George's Cathedral, the historic Bunce Island Slave Fort, and Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, with island stays at Banana Island Guest House where you'll wander through the twin villages of Dublin and Ricketts.

Bissau's colonial streets and Presidential Palace ruins make for interesting walks, then Bandim Market offers local life before boats head to Bubaque Island in the UNESCO Bijagós Biosphere Reserve. Local lodges provide your stays, and Orango Island holds matriarchal communities where priestesses still lead villages and sacred forests protect hippo lagoons. Animist rituals, canoe trips through winding mangrove channels, and a traditional music show performed by local youth fill the days.

Paddling through Orango National Park's mangroves with a ranger means tracking saltwater hippos and watching for dolphins around the Bijagós Archipelago. Eco-lodges and beach camps on Bolama and Príncipe Island provide your stays, with bonfire dinners on quiet beaches. Bolama's crumbling 19th-century buildings from its time as Guinea-Bissau's capital now stand as a ghost town where goats roam and kids play in the streets.