Travel to Togo

By | June 2, 2021

Entry

A valid visa is required to enter Togo. You can receive visa applications at the Togolese embassy in Berlin or at the consulates. You will also need the yellow international vaccination book with proof of yellow fever vaccination. The Federal Foreign Office publishes the entry regulations for German citizens to Togo. For a longer stay you need a residence permit.

The spread of Covid-19 continues to lead to restrictions in international air and travel traffic and impairment of public life. There are currently warnings against unnecessary trips to Togo. Togo is currently forbidden from entering the country for purely tourist reasons.

The land borders are still closed. Entry and exit is currently only possible via Lomé Airport. Travelers must register electronically in advance and provide evidence of a negative PCR test that is no older than 7 days before the date of departure.

It is currently only possible to leave the country via Lomé Airport. Similar conditions apply to exit as to entry (electronic registration, PCR test evidence)

Lomé is currently served by the international airlines Air France (via Paris), Ethiopian Airlines (via Addis Ababa) and Brussels Airlines (via Brussels) as well as several regional West African airlines. Air traffic has been significantly reduced and there are cancellations.

In principle, there is the possibility of moving around the country. Restrictions affect parts of public life, including no cultural or sporting face-to-face events, no events with more than 15 participants; Places of worship and cultural institutions are often closed. Based on previous experience, local barriers and curfews at hotspots that are ordered at short notice must be expected.

Please note the continuously updated information from the Federal Foreign Office on Covid-19 and inform yourself about current instructions in the country with the local media. The Covid-19 Coordination Office Togo offers current information.

On the website of the airport in Lomé you will find the departure and arrival dates of all flights to and from Lomé, as well as various tourist services. In Togo in 2009, the airline Asky Airlines, established in collaboration with Ethiopian Airlines will initially serve the intra-African air traffic with connections to Europe and Asia.

Travel in Togo

According to softwareleverage, all places in Togo can be reached in one day from Lomé. Roads and vehicles are often in poor condition.

For a longer stay, it is advisable to buy a car or at least to be able to use a company vehicle privately. Due to the difficult traffic situation, the employment of an experienced chauffeur is recommended. Overland journeys are risky due to pedestrians and animals on the road and often the lack of street and vehicle lighting. Overland trips in the dark are not recommended. The Sotral bus company offers long-distance routes across the country and several bus routes in Lomé.

You will find petrol stations, chilled drinks, restaurants (often also with European cuisine) and hotels at a distance of 30 – 50 kilometers along the major traffic axes. There are quite acceptable hotels in the larger towns. Only in smaller towns and away from the major routes should you not make too great demands. Camping is not common in Togo. In some monasteries or mission stations you can stay overnight on request.

Togo From a tourist point of view, it offers a varied landscape with different vegetation in a small space. Mountains, rock gorges, waterfalls, handicraft centers, colorful markets and some architectural relics from the German colonial past can be discovered. You can find more about this on the homepage of the official Togolese tourism authority.

What impresses most, however, is the friendliness and warmth of the people who are open to Europeans. Impressive annual folk festivals with music, dances and religious ceremonies take place in all regions. Ask your friends and work colleagues about it, because most of the time these celebrations are not set on a specific calendar day.

Tourist attractions are places or regions Kpalimé and surroundings: Mont Agou, Misahoé and the Danyi plateau. Good day trips from Lomé include Togoville and Lac Togo, Vogan (large market on Friday), Glidji with the extraordinary New Year celebrations of the Guin, Aného and Agbodrafo with the hotels / restaurants located on Lac Togo. In Baguida, a suburb of Lomé, there are several privately managed stretches of beach, some of which are also suitable for swimming, and numerous hotels and restaurants.

Further inland, for example, Badou and the Aklowa waterfall are worth mentioning, the Faille d’Alédjo and the village of Alédjo Kadara, the mountainous landscape of the Kara region. The hamlets of the Betamaribe (= clay masons) in northeast Togo (also called Pays Tamberma, Koutammakou or Somba) with their remarkable clay castles have been declared a World Heritage Site.

There is a German-speaking travel guide for Togo, for example. Not at the moment, so the petit futé Togo is recommended.

Travel in Togo