At Bénin
Welcome to the heart of Benin
Benin is now one of the most open countries in the world. This means that traveling to Benin at any time of year is no problem at all. You can obtain a visa online in less than 48 hours from your home or village. What's more, you have a wide choice of airlines. While Air France, Brussels Airlines, and Royal Air Maroc are the most traditional airlines, other airlines now offer flights to Benin at lower prices. These include Tunis Air, Turkish Airlines, and Ethiopian Airlines from Paris.
As soon as you set foot on Beninese soil, you will be welcomed at the airport by the Hyppolite Tours Africa team. Young, dynamic, and dedicated professionals will give you a warm welcome. To help you learn about your destination and make it easier for you to navigate the social environment in the country, here is some useful information about the conditions of your stay in Benin.
Benin is renowned as a great destination for taking photos and making beautiful videos. However, many people visit this country without the necessary equipment to capture images and preserve their memories. Hyppolite Tours Africa, a cultural and tourist travel agency, offers some recommendations to help you immortalize your travel memories in the land of Behanzin. Equipment for simple photos When traveling, we discover beautiful landscapes and vegetation. We meet many people and marvel at the artistic and cultural creations of the host country. With new information technologies, there are now specialized cameras for taking beautiful photos. These high-definition cameras can also shoot videos because they are equipped with digital cameras. You need to bring one of these cameras with you to take beautiful photos. It is also advisable to bring SD memory cards or USB sticks to store your data. Before coming to Benin, you should bring two or three batteries with several chargers in case of power cuts or energy shortages. Microphones for recording voices, songs, and interviews. Equipment for birdwatching.
The monetary and banking system in Benin
Benin is part of the WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union). These countries use the CFA franc as their currency. There are coins in denominations of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 250, and 500 francs. There are also banknotes in denominations of 500F, 1000F, 2000F, 5000F, and 10000F. The exchange rate is stable. €1 = 655 CFA francs. You can exchange euros on arrival at the airport, in banks, or even at currency exchange offices. Within the country, you can do so at financial institutions. Your guide is available to help you with this process. Benin is a country where agri-food products are relatively inexpensive because they are grown locally. The country is also self-sufficient in food. Only the prices of capital goods are slightly higher because they are imported.
For your stay in Benin, we recommend that you have cash available for personal expenses and extras. However, you can withdraw money with Visa or Mastercard at ATMs throughout the country.
Your guide to discovering Benin
Our constant concern is to offer impeccable and flawless service to our guests. To achieve this, we place great importance on training our guides. In Africa, and particularly in Benin, everything related to human beings is sacred. Our values at Voyages Hyppolite Tours Africa are based on respect for human beings, professionalism, rigor at work, integrity, and dexterity. Therefore, in addition to the theoretical and practical training they receive, our guides are trained in psychology and personal development to enable them to have self-control and know how to adapt to all circumstances. Our guides are not high-level lecturers but rather tour guides. We also have experienced “fixers” who work as sentinels and pioneers in prospecting and building tourist routes. Hyppolite Tours Africa is proud of the caliber of its guides, most of whom are educators as well as tourism professionals. We have:
French-speaking guides who speak French fluently,
English-speaking tour guides who speak English fluently.
They are well paid to do their job efficiently. Drivers who are also familiar with the roads are often available to accompany the guides on their assignments. At our agency, we value teamwork and everyone works together in solidarity.
Memory of a People: Cities That Tell the Story of Benin
1. Abomey
Abomey was the capital of the powerful Kingdom of Dahomey from the 17th to the 19th century. It is home to the famous royal palaces listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, built by successive kings. For tourists: it offers an immersion into the history of African kingdoms, with traditional architecture, bas-reliefs, museums, and crafts.
2. Ouidah
Ouidah was one of the major ports on the West African coast for the slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Portuguese fort São João Baptista de Ajudá, now a museum, bears witness to this era.
Today, it is also the birthplace of the Voodoo religion in Benin, adding a rich cultural dimension to any visit.
3. Porto‑Novo
Porto-Novo, the official capital of Benin, was founded in the 16th century and has played an important role in regional history.
It is home to vestiges of the colonial era, Afro-Brazilian architecture (such as the Grand Mosque), and an active royal heritage.
A visit here combines culture, history, and urban life—perfect for those curious about historical and architectural heritage.
4. Natitingou
Natitingou is a town located in northwestern Benin, capital of the Atakora department.
It is an excellent starting point for exploring the Atakora Mountains region, learning about the traditional houses of the Somba people (called “Tata”) and visiting authentic natural landscapes.
From a tourism perspective, it offers a combination of local culture, natural environment, and the discovery of traditions that have changed little over time.
