What To Do In Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is on the West Coast of Africa. The Republic of Guinea is to the north and northeast; Liberia is to the east and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west and south. It has 402 km of coastline.

Sierra Leone will celebrate its 50th anniversary of independence from Britain in 2011. Since the end of its civil war in 2002, the government, with considerable international assistance, has made modest improvements in the country's infrastructure which should help the tourism sector: the highway linking Freetown and Bo is now tarred from start to finish and Bumbuna hydroelectric dam supplies electricity when water levels are high enough (both completed in 2009).

While the government sector still suffers from chronic shortage of resources, the private sector is booming. The potential for tourism is vast, but largely unrealised. Tourists are starting to return and tour operators are looking closely at what the country has to offer. Sierra Leone is rich in natural resources. It has some of the best beaches in the world, a rich colonial heritage, and some stunning scenery, but its greatest asset is its welcoming, friendly populace, most of whom will go out of their way to make a foreigner comfortable.