Benin

Benin is a developing country in West Africa. Its political capital is Porto Novo; however, its administrative capital, Cotonou, is Benin's largest city and the site of most government, commercial, and tourist activity. Read the Department of State’s Fact Sheet on Benin for additional information on U.S.- Benin relations.

Transportation

TRAFFIC SAFETY AND ROAD CONDITIONS: While in Benin, you may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below is provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance. 

With the exception of the road linking Cotonou in the south to Malanville on the border with Niger in the north, roads in Benin are generally in poor condition and are often impassable during the rainy season. Benin's unpaved roads vary widely in quality; deep sand and potholes are common. During the rainy season from mid-June to mid-September, dirt roads often become impassable. Four-wheel drive vehicles with full spare tires and emergency equipment are recommended.
 
Most of the main streets in Cotonou are paved, but side streets are often made of dirt and have deep potholes. Traffic moves on the right, as in the United States. Cotonou has a very limited public transportation system; many Beninese people rely on bicycles, mopeds, motorbikes, and zemidjans. U.S. Embassy personnel are required to wear safety helmets when on a motorcycle and are prohibited from using zemidjans. Travelers using zemidjans, particularly at night, are much more vulnerable to being mugged, assaulted, or robbed. Buses and bush taxis offer service in the interior. Maintenance and operation of public transportation may fall significantly below U.S. safety standards.

Gasoline smuggled from Nigeria is widely available in glass bottles and jugs at informal roadside stands throughout Cotonou and much of the country. This gasoline is of unreliable quality, often containing water or other contaminants that can damage or disable your vehicle. Drivers should purchase fuel only from official service stations. There are periodic gas shortages, which can be particularly acute in the north of the country where there are few service stations.
 
U.S. citizens traveling by road should exercise extreme caution. Poorly maintained and overloaded transport and cargo vehicles frequently break down and cause accidents. Drivers often place branches or leaves in the road to indicate a broken down vehicle is in the roadway. Undisciplined drivers move unpredictably through traffic. Construction work is often poorly indicated. Speed bumps, commonly used on paved roads in and near villages, are seldom indicated. Drivers must be on guard against people and livestock wandering into or across the roads. Nighttime driving is particularly hazardous as vehicles frequently lack headlights and/or taillights, and brake lights are often burned out.

With few exceptions, Cotonou and other cities lack street lighting, and lighting on roads between population centers is non-existent. The U.S. Embassy in Cotonou prohibits non-essential travel outside of metropolitan areas after dusk by diplomatic personnel and strongly urges all U.S. citizens to avoid night driving as well. There have been numerous carjackings and robberies on roads in Benin after dark, several of which resulted in murder when the driver refused to comply with the assailants' demands. The national police periodically conduct vehicle checks at provisional roadblocks in an effort to improve road safety and reduce the increasing number of carjackings. When stopped at such a roadblock, you must have all of the vehicle's documentation available to present to the authorities. 

Please refer to our Road Safety page for more information.

AVIATION SAFETY OVERSIGHT: As there is no direct commercial air service to the United States by carriers registered in Benin, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed the government of Benin’s Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards. Further information may be found on the FAA’s safety assessment page.

Safety and Security

Freedom of assembly is guaranteed under Benin’s constitution. Public demonstrations, political gatherings, student protests, and strikes are relatively common in Benin, both in Cotonou and in outlying regions, particularly on Friday afternoons. In the past, these events have occasionally turned violent. Because of the potential for violence, U.S. citizens should avoid political gatherings and street demonstrations, and maintain security awareness at all times. Security messages issued regarding demonstrations and strikes are posted on the Embassy website.

You should not walk on the beach, at any time of day, alone. The U.S. Mission recommends that U.S. citizens not carry a passport or valuables when walking in any part of the city. Instead, carry a notarized photocopy of the photo page of your passport (see Crime section). You should not walk around the city after dark, and should take particular care to avoid the beach and isolated areas near the beach after dark.  Due to safety and security concerns, personal travel for all U.S. Embassy employees in Park W, the national park on Benin’s northeastern border with Niger and Burkina Faso, is prohibited.  

The ocean currents along the coast are extremely strong and treacherous, with rough surf and a strong undertow, and several people drown each year. Swimming conditions along Benin’s coastline are notoriously dangerous due to strong and changeable tides, waves, and rip currents. There is no safe way to determine whether conditions on any given day are suitable for entering the water, in part because waves and rip currents can develop and intensify abruptly. The U.S. Mission strongly discourages beachgoers from entering the ocean, regardless of a person’s age, size, fitness level, or swimming ability.

To stay connected:

• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program so we can keep you up to date with important safety and security announcements.
• Follow the Bureau of Consular Affairs on Twitter and Facebook.
• Bookmark the Bureau of Consular Affairs website, which contains the current Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts as well as the Worldwide Caution.
• Follow the U.S. Embassy in Benin on Facebook, Twitter, and by visiting the Embassy’s website.
• In the event of an emergency, contact us at 1-888-407-4747 toll-free within the United States and Canada, or via a regular toll line, 1-202-501-4444, from other countries.

CRIME: Street crime is a significant problem in Cotonou. Robbery and muggings occur along the Boulevard de France (the beach road by the Marina and Novotel Hotels), on the beaches near hotels frequented by international visitors, and within the Haie Vive and Les Cocotiers neighborhoods (where many bars and restaurants frequented by expatriates are located), in addition to other parts of the city. Most of the reported incidents involve the use of force, often by armed persons, with occasional minor injury to the victim. Travelers should avoid isolated and poorly lit areas and should not walk around the city or the beaches between dusk and dawn. U.S. diplomatic personnel are prohibited from visiting the Dantokpa market between the hours of dusk and dawn. Even during daylight hours, foreigners on the beach near Cotonou are frequently the victims of robberies. When visiting the beach, you should not carry valuables, and should carry only a photocopy of your passport. If you are a victim of crime, you should contact the U.S. Embassy immediately. 

There has been a continued increase in the number of robberies after dark, both within metropolitan Cotonou and on highways and rural roads outside of major metropolitan areas. Motorists are urged to be wary of the risk of carjacking in both urban and rural areas. Keep the windows of your vehicle rolled up and the doors locked, and stay alert for signs of suspicious behavior by other motorists or pedestrians that may lead to carjacking, such as attempts to stop a moving vehicle for no obvious reason. Motorists should be aware of obstacles or obstructions, such as a branches, tires, or ropes, that would-be robbers place in the roadway in an effort to ambush victims. Travelers should avoid driving outside the city of Cotonou after dark and should exercise extreme caution when driving inside of Cotonou after dark (see Traffic Safety and Road Conditions below). Overland travel to Nigeria is dangerous near the Benin/Nigeria border due to unofficial checkpoints and highway banditry.

You should exercise extreme caution when using credit cards and automated teller machines (ATMs) in Benin due to a high rate of fraud. Perpetrators of business and other kinds of fraud often target foreigners, including U.S. citizens. While such fraud schemes in the past have been largely associated with Nigeria, they are now prevalent throughout West Africa, including Benin, and are more frequently perpetrated by Beninese criminals. Business scams are not always easy to recognize, and any unsolicited business proposal should be carefully scrutinized. There are, nevertheless, some indicators that are warnings of a probable scam. Look out for: 

• Any offer of a substantial percentage of a very large sum of money to be transferred into your account, in return for your "discretion" or "confidentiality”;
• Any deal that seems too good to be true;
• Requests for signed and stamped, blank letterhead or invoices, or for bank account or credit card information;
• Requests for urgent air shipment, accompanied by an instrument of payment whose genuineness cannot immediately be established;
• Solicitations claiming the soliciting party has personal ties to high government officials;
• Requests for payment, in advance, of transfer taxes or incorporation fees;
• Statements that your name was provided to the soliciting party either by someone you do not know or by "a reliable contact”;
• Promises of advance payment for services to the Beninese government; and
• Any offer of a charitable donation. 

These scams, which may appear to be legitimate business deals requiring advance payments on contracts, pose a danger of both financial loss and physical harm. Recently, U.S. citizens have been increasingly targeted. The perpetrators of such scams sometimes pose as attorneys. One common ploy is to request fees for “registration” with fictitious government offices or regulatory authorities. The best way to avoid becoming a victim of advance-fee fraud is common sense – if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Travelers should carefully check out any unsolicited business proposal originating in Benin before committing funds, providing goods or services, or undertaking travel. For additional information, please see the Department of State’s webpage on International Financial Scams. Scams may also involve persons posing as singles on Internet dating sites or as online acquaintances who then get into trouble and require money to be "rescued." If someone you met online asks you to send them money, please contact the U.S. Embassy before doing so. 

Don’t buy counterfeit and pirated goods, even if they are widely available. Not only are the bootlegs illegal in the United States, if you purchase them you may also be breaking local law. 

Over the previous three years, there have been numerous pirate attacks off the coast of Benin. The attacks have been focused on oil tanker ships, not container ships or other types of vessels (see Special Circumstances section). It is unlikely that tourists would become victims of piracy, but be cautious if approached by an unknown vessel while at sea. If you spot any suspected pirates, do not approach them; immediately contact port officials, local police, and the U.S. Embassy.

VICTIMS OF CRIME: If you are the victim of a crime abroad, you should contact the local police and the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate (see the Department of State’s list of embassies and consulates). We can:

• Replace a stolen passport.
• Help you find appropriate medical care if you are the victim of violent crimes such as assault or rape.
• Put you in contact with the appropriate police authorities, and if you want us to, we can contact family members or friends.
• Help you understand the local criminal justice process and direct you to local attorneys, although it is important to remember that local authorities are responsible for investigating and prosecuting the crime.

The local equivalent to the “911” emergency line in Benin is 117 for Police and 118 for Fire.

Please see our information on victims of crime, including possible victim compensation programs in the United States.