Day 1 - Tue Jan 3, 2023: Arrive in Lome, Togo
Arrive at Lome Airport in Togo. You will be met by a representative and transferred to your hotel (Note that check out is at 12 noon and check in 2pm so your rooms may not be ready if you arrive on a morning flight). Overnight in Lome.
Accommodation: Hotel Napoleon Lagune or similar
Meal included: -
Day 2 - Wed Jan 4, 2023: Lome City Tour
Visit the National Museum, the independence square, cathedral and the ever colourful Grand
Marche where you can find some very colourful African fabrics. Also, visit the Akodessewa market (Voodoo market) where everything from traditional charms and medicines to the most bizarre items including snake potions are sold. Visit the arts and craft market. Lome is also a shopper’s paradise for high quality tribal masks and crafts. Overnight in Lome.
Accommodation: Hotel Napoleon Lagune or similar
Meal included: Breakfast
Day 3 - Thu Jan 5, 2023: Lome – Sokode
This morning, we continue the city tour of Lome. Late morning depart Lome through Notse, a town where the Ewe tribe in Ghana migrated from, Atapkame and also make a stopover in Anie, a town noted for its elaborate adornment of calabashes. Arrive in Sokode and check in your hotel. After dinner, attend a ceremonial dance (The Fire Dance) around a huge bonfire, where the villagers fearlessly eat and dance through hot flaming charcoal with no harm. Overnight in Sokode.
Accomodation: Hotel Central, Sokode or similar
Meal included: Breakfast
Day 4 - Fri Jan 6, 2023: Sokode – Kpalime
Today after breakfast, drive to Kpalime. Arrive and visit the village of Kouma-Konda known for their coffee growing. Experience how the local people process the coffee beans into organically certified coffee. Visit Kloto, known for her Arts and Crafts, batik, pottery and wood carvers. Due to its proximity to the Ghana border, Kpalime has become a busy and important market (Market days are on Tuesdays and Saturdays) where local farmers sell their products along with the usual clothes, plastic, utensils etc. In the evening we will enjoy Akpesse dance by a local dance troupe (Akpesse dance is a Ewe dance. Ewes are a tribe found in Ghana, Togo and Benin). Overnight in Kpalime.
Accommodation: Hotel Jess, Kpalime or similar
Meal included: Breakfast
Day 5 - Sat Jan 7, 2023: Kpalime - Lome, Togo – Cotonou – Ouidah, Benin
Today, we cross the border from Togo to Benin. On the way, we will visit Kpasse Forest where a 14th-century chief is said to have hidden himself from his enemies by transforming himself into a tree. Also visit the Python Temple, where Ouidah’s ancient snake cult is still very much in practice. Snakes are still an important feature of many voodoo rituals, believed to be able to bring vitality and protection.
Arrive in Ouidah and check in at you hotel. Overnight in Ouidah
Accommodation: Djegba Hotel, Ouidah or similar
Meal included: Breakfast
Day 6 - Sun Jan 8, 2023: Ouidah - Ganvie – Porto Novo – Ouidah
Today, we depart Ouidah to visit Ganvie, a village on stilts spread across Lake Nokoue and inhabited by a population of about 25,000 people. The ancestors of the Tofinu people who now live in this village created the settlement in the 16th century to escape being captured by the Dahomey army to be sold as slaves to the Portuguese. Visit Porto Novo, also known in goun as Hogbonou and in Yoruba Adjatche. This town was named Porto-Novo in 1730 by Eucharistus de CAMPOS a Portuguese merchant because of the resemblance of the area to the Portuguese town of Porto. Visit the Ethnographic Museum, the 300 year-old Palace of King Toffa and also the Brazilian church turned into a mosque. Return to Ouidah and to your hotel. Overnight in Ouidah
Accommodation: Djegba Hotel, Ouidah or similar
Meal included: Breakfast
Day 7 - Mon Jan 9, 2023: Ouidah - Abomey - Allada - Ouidah
Today we depart early to Abomey. Arrive and take a tour of Abomey, capital of the former Dahomey Empire. This empire which lasted 300 years, rivals that of the Ashanti both of which established their power by constantly being at war and capturing prisoners for the Slave Trade. Visit one of the 12 magnificent palaces built by the Dahomey Kings which is now a Slave Trade Museum. We will visit the war room, the common grave of the 42 wives of King Glele and the throne room. Return to Ouidah with a stopover in Allada and witness the King of Allada and his people celebrate their own mini Voodoo festival at the royal palace. This is a curtain raiser to the main Voodoo festival in Ouidah. Witness costumed Zangbetos also known as ‘Guardians of the Night’ dance at the festival grounds. This ceremony is significant because the King of Allada is the head of all traditional kings in Benin and also Voodoo religion was established in the 13th century in Benin by Adjahounto, the founder of Allada, a forefather of Toussaint Louverture (father of Haiti.) Arrive in Ouidah in the late afternoon. Overnight in Ouidah
Accommodation: Djegba Hotel, Ouidah or similar
Meal included: Breakfast
Day 8 - Tue Jan 10, 2023: Ouidah Voodoo Festival Day
Today the followers of various voodoo cults will gather at the “Port of No Return”, a memorial
dedicated to those who left the shores of Benin through slavery to celebrate the Voodoo Festival. In 1996, the government of Benin declared voodoo, which is practiced by 60% of the population, the official religion and on every January 10, there is a big festival to celebrate the religion. Experience the mysteries of Voodoo as the followers of Kokou from various temples perform their own rites and rituals. At this ceremony, we will witness the dancers go into deep trances while possessed by ancestral spirits. Overnight in Ouidah
Accommodation: Djegba Hotel, Ouidah or similar
Meal included: Breakfast
Day 9 - Wed Jan 11, 2023: Ouidah – Cotonou - Departure
After breakfast and check out, depart Ouidah to Cotonou airport for your international flight back home.
Meal included: Breakfast
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Includes:
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Meeting and assistance upon arrival and departure
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Return Airport / Hotel Transfers
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Land transportation in private air-conditioned van or coach
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Accommodation (listed above or similar) with meals specified.
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Saga team leader (English/Thai)
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Local English-speaking guide
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Benin e-visa
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Travel insurance with 500,000 THB coverage only if traveling from/to Thailand
Excludes:
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Togo visa on arrival (pay at the immigration)
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International flight to Togo & from Benin
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Fees for COVID19 tests where applicable
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Extra travel Insurance (recommended)
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Meals not indicated in the itinerary
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Alcoholic Drinks and beverages at meals
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Entry fees to any extra evening entertainment program where applicable
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Camera fees at sites visited where applicable
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Personal expenses
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Tips for driver, guide and other service providers
Packing list:
• Clothes for hot and warm weather
• Long sleeve wears
• Mosquito/insect repellents (mandatory)
• Mosquito net for sleeping (mandatory)
• Comfortable closed-toe shoes
• Headlamp
• Small backpack for personal items
• Sunscreen lotion, sunglasses, hat
• Personal hygiene items
• Personal medical kits
• Yellow fever vaccination certificate (mandatory)
• Meningitis and cholera vaccination certificate (optional)
• Anti-malaria pills (optional but recommended)
• Cameras
Visa: For Thai passport holders, visa on arrival for Togo (pay at the immigration - excluded) and eVisa for Benin (done by our team - included) at https://evisa.gouv.bj. Please get in touch with us for updated visa information and advice.
Recommended flights:
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ET 609/508 Bangkok-Addis Ababa-Lome 1:50-11:15 on Jan 3, 2023
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ET 916/ET 628 Cotonou-Addis Ababa-Bangkok 13:45-13:15 (+1 day) on Jan 11, 2023
*Flights are subject to change.
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Saga club discount: You are automatically offered our club membership after your first expedition. The following discount applies: 3% on 2nd trip, 5% on 3rd trip, 7% on 4th trip or 10% all after. This cannot be combined with the early bird discount.
Payment & Deposit:
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50% deposit payment is required for reserving your spots
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Balance payment is due 60 days before the departure date. Failure to do so will result in cancellation of booking.
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If the booking is made within 60 days of departure date, full payment is required.
Cancellation policy:
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In any case of cancellation, 20% of the deposit payment is refundable or the whole amount can be kept as credits for any other Saga expeditions within 2 years of the cancellation date.
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In any case of cancellation, if full payment is made, a full refund will be issued minus a 10% cancellation fee and any cost to the third parties.
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If the cancellation is due to COVID19, a full refund will be issued minus any cost incurred. We always attempt to maximize the refund for our client’s benefit!
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In the event of premature departure during the expedition for any reason, no refund will be issued.
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Saga Expeditions is not responsible for any cancellations or changes in flights and visas. Please have your travel insurance for entire duration of your trip
Important note:
All of our expeditions take you through one of the most challenging roads in the world. While the Saga team endeavors to make the itinerary as accurate as possible, it should be considered as an approximate agenda of activities rather than a rigid schedule. Trip itineraries are subject to last-minute, and on-the-ground revision due to weather, road conditions, government and local restrictions, and other reasons beyond our control. Note that the order of visits and excursions can be modified according to local conditions (i.e. state of roads, market days etc.). If some visits and/or tours could not be done due to external conditions, they will be replaced when possible. Your safety is always our first priority!