Bissau

Get around

Shared taxis are cheap and plentiful. Stop taxis and tell them where you want to go (or tell the passing taxis by pointing), and they will either accept "na bai" (I'm going), or decline "não" (no) if people, already in the taxi, are going to another part of the city. Prices are more or less fixed, and you'll normally not get cheated, except when you're an obvious foreigner and taking a taxi from the airport or Hotel Bissau Palace.

Group travel is cheaper, for example: 1 person CFA 300, 2 persons CFA 300, 3 or 4 persons CFA 600.

There are also minibuses "toca-tocas" going on fixed routes, you'll pay CFA 100 a person for the ride, but the buses are often very crowded!

See

thumb|Former Presidential Palace thumb|Bissau Velho thumb|Porto Pidjiguiti

Bissau Velho - the old Portuguese colonial centre where some pharmacies and businesses operate out of the colonial-era buildings. Not much life there nowadays, but still a nice place to walk around. Don't miss the prison with pink flowers painted on its front (At the corner of the fort, close to the harbour). Porto Pidjiguiti - walk out the little port and talk to the fishermen, watch the pelicans and see the city from a distance. The Pidjiguiti port was the site of the Pidjiguiti massacre on 3 August 1959, where police shot 50 striking dockworkers. This became the beginning of the active resistance against the Portuguese colonial power. There is a monument shaped as a gigantic black fist commemorating the massacre. Mercado de Bandim - Bissau's main market.

Do

thumb|Centre Culturel Franco Bissau Guineen The French Cultural Center in the Bayana roundabout often features concerts, movies, dance classes, French classes etc. The Portuguese Cultural Center (next to the Portuguese embassy, behind "Benfica") also hosts concerts, but in slightly less inviting surroundings. Swim at Ceiba Hotel, Hala Hotel, Azalai Dunia Hotel or Campo Sueco (CFA 3000 - somewhat more noisy and crowded, but more African atmosphere). Exercise on the running lanes or in the gym in Estadio 24 de Setembro. Play tennis in the tennis club at the Bandim Harbour (close to Estadio 24 de Setembro) or in Campo Sueco.

Buy

Wood carvings Try the Centro Artistico Juvenil, close to "Chapa de Bissau" with fixed prices and no need to bargain - or the market in front of Pensão Central (here you'll need to bargain). Hand woven textiles Good shop underneath University Bemantecs next to the cathedral selling textiles from NGO Artissal of Quinhamel - or at the Bandim Market. Batik Next to the Post Office. Cashew nuts, the main export and cash crop Tiniguena in Bairro de Belém is an NGO working for sustainable community development, food and income security as well as a greater control over the natural resources on which the local population is depending. It has a little shop selling high-quality wall-calendars and postcards with Guinea Bissau motives as well as locally produced baskets, marmalade, rice, spices, palm oil etc. Ponto de Encontro has a large selection of quality DVDs, that can be ordered from Portugal and picked up the following Friday.

Drink

There are quite a few discos and nightclubs, one nightclub popular with expats is X-Klub which has pool tables and a small dance floor.

Discos include Plack, Bambú, etc.

Sleep

Hotels in Bissau are generally overpriced. There's hope that prices will decrease as new hotels are open.

Connect

Orange sells SIM cards for 500 CFA. Inexpensive data packages available. In front of Spanish embassy. Bring ID.

Go next

Ilheu do Rei - a nice get-away for a picnic if you're in Bissau on a longer term. Go to Porto Canoa (behind Mavegro and the cemetery) and ask around for a canoa to take you to the island, it takes about 10 minutes and you should not pay much for the return ticket (CFA 1000?). Once there, check out the abandoned peanut oil factory, and continue through the little village down to a little "beach" (ask people where it is), from where you can turn left and walk along the coast, if you don't mind climbing a little over trees and rocks. For once there is no mangrove, so you can actually get the feeling of strolling along the coast.

Volta de Bissau Starting at the Porto Canoa, this track goes around Bissau, passing rice fields and small suburbs, the big cemetery in Antula, São Paulo etc., and eventually you'll end up at the airport road close to Hotel Bissau Palace. A nice Sunday walk, some 4 hours, not all stretches are suitable for vehicles.

Hotel Mar Azul, in Quinhamel. Makes a fine daytrip for swimming and lunch, and maybe a fishing trip. In the town of Quinhamel there's also an interesting weavery, "Artissal", producing handwoven textiles.

Praia Suro in Prabis is the Guineans favorite weekend get-away in the dry season. The beach is a bit muddy, but there's always good ambient with music, people dancing, barbecuing, playing football and swimming. Just follow Estrada de Bor out of Bissau, continue when it turns into a dirt road, and eventually you'll reach the beach (might be…