Benin was exactly the kind of country I needed at the end of this trip through West Africa. I had intentionally planned the route so things would get easier as I went, starting in Nigeria, continuing through Niger, and finishing in Benin. After some of the stress and unpredictability earlier in the trip, Benin felt noticeably more relaxed.
I also found the country relatively easy to travel through. As a former French colony, French is widely spoken, and the country has long attracted travelers from France and elsewhere. Transportation was manageable, accommodation was reasonably priced, and the overall pace felt much calmer than what I had experienced earlier in the trip.
What makes Benin especially interesting, though, is its history and culture. The country played a major role in the Atlantic slave trade, and places like Ouidah still preserve that painful history. Benin is also one of the spiritual centers of Vodun, commonly known as Voodoo, a belief system that later spread far beyond West Africa into places like Haiti and other parts of the Caribbean.
Explore Cotonou
Cotonou is the largest city in Benin and the country’s main commercial center. Sitting along the Atlantic coast, it has a much more energetic feel than the rest of the country, with busy streets, markets, restaurants, nightlife, and long stretches of beach.
I stayed around Haie Vive, an area popular with foreign visitors and expatriates. It had some of the easiest places to eat and stay, along with a surprisingly wide range of international restaurants. After the rougher parts of my trip through West Africa, Cotonou felt comfortable and easy to settle into.
Explore Ouidah
Ouidah is one of the most historically important places in Benin. For centuries, enslaved Africans were brought through this area before being forced onto ships bound for the Americas. The Route of Slaves still leads toward the Atlantic coast, ending at the Door of No Return, one of the most powerful memorials in the country.
Ouidah is also one of the major centers of Vodun. Temples, shrines, ceremonies, and sacred sites are still part of everyday life here, including the famous Temple of Pythons and the Sacred Forest. The combination of slave-trade history and Vodun tradition makes Ouidah one of the most unique places I visited anywhere in West Africa.
Explore Coastal Benin
Benin’s Atlantic coastline is relatively short, but it adds a completely different side to the country. Places like Grand-Popo offer beaches, small resorts, fishing villages, lagoons, mangroves, and a slower pace than Cotonou.
I especially liked the coastal villages and mangrove areas, where boat trips provided a chance to see wildlife and local communities that would have been easy to miss from the main roads. The beaches can look inviting, although the strong currents and riptides are a good reason not to treat every stretch of coastline like a safe swimming beach.
Explore Porto-Novo
Porto-Novo is the official capital of Benin, although it feels much quieter than Cotonou. The city has a stronger historical and cultural atmosphere, with museums, old colonial buildings, traditional architecture, and sites connected to the country’s royal past.
One of the most interesting places to visit is the former royal palace associated with King Toffa, which gives a better sense of the political and cultural history of the region before and during colonial rule. Porto-Novo also has museums covering subjects ranging from Vodun traditions to the slave trade and European colonization, making it a good place to better understand the history behind the rest of the country.
