The hidden secrets of Guinea-Bissau: 4 reasons to visit the country

 

 

Guinea-Bissau is not the typical five-start resort country that you book your next summer trip to.

You can't also expect huge museums, vast culture with operas and theaters. 

Most of the people that travel to the country are there for work, to live, or to visit family relatives.

It is, however, a beautiful country, but it is also a very poor one with many challenges.

The infrastructures are very weak, the sanitary system is lacking, the roads are lacking, the energy is lacking, etc.

So, why could it be interesting to visit this country?

In my opinion, there are 4 main reasons to visit Guinea-Bissau:

1) Climate

2) Untouched Beaches

3) Untouched natural beauty

4) Time Travel and detox

1. Climate

The average of maximum temperatures are around ºC 35 (95 Fahrenheit) and average minimums are ºC 19 (66 Fahrenheit). 

Regardless of the averages you an find on google, easily, the temperatures reach 40 ºC (104 Fahrenheit) during the day and I've experienced the temperatures not going below 30 ºC (86 Fahrenheit) at around midnight.

It is a very warm country.

 

July, August and September are the rainy months, but the temperatures will still be high.

So, if your looking for an excellent weather during the entire year, Guinea-Bissau is the place.

You won't need anything other than a t-shirt, shorts and sandals. Don't even bother to think about packing fancy clothes. This is the peak of relaxation.

It does get a little too warm...

But honestly, that has never been a problem to me.

We should look for shadows to avoid any sunburns, but it is the perfect always-summer climate.

 

2. Untouched beaches

How many times in your life have you been to a paradise beach with white sand and clear waters without anyone there?

I have to say that I haven't been too many times in my life to beaches in such conditions. Especially nowadays that tourism is everywhere.

There are some unforgettable beaches in Guinea-Bissau.

I spent a day in the Varela beach, in the north of the country, and this is precisely what I saw. A huge fantastic beach with hardly anyone there.

I don't think a beach could be much better than Varela!

There are downsides to this, of course.

If you're looking for a resort to stay close to this beach, there are none.

I came across with only one hostel in the way to the beach and it was already full.

It's also not easy to get to this beach, since it's approximately 175 kilometers away from the capital Bissau and part of that drive is done in sand roads, so it takes a long time to get there and return.

But don't think this is the only fantastic beach in the country, there are others.

In fact, one of the most well known places in Guinea-Bissau are the Bijagós islands. These islands are beautiful and are not mainstream tourism.

To visit the Islands you must catch a boat from Bissau harbor. 

To visit the Islands you must catch a boat from Bissau harbor. There are 2 options here: you can either catch the ferry or negotiate with a boat owner at the harbor to take you there.

It's possible to go and return in the same day, but to truly enjoy this region, you should stay the night. Also, because the trip takes about 3 hours. 

There are hotels in the islands, but do not expect something cheap.

Beaches are one of the Guinea-Bissau most well kept secret. Untouched and beautiful. No one that visits them will ever forget it.

If you want to learn more about it I would recommend the KalmaSoul website. They have excellent information on Guinean Beaches.

3. Untouched natural beauty

Guinea-Bissau is a green and brown country. There are a lot of trees and a lot of sand. 

However, this mixture creates a very unique and beautiful landscape.

This mixture becomes more balanced towards the browns when you go north. This area is more arid than the south, where there are some beautiful natural parks with untouched jungle.

 

 

It is particularly impressive when you travel through the country and realize that most of the areas are still virgin jungles, with scarce constructions and no mobile network.

Because this is a poor country, people still live embedded in nature, which is much different from European or American cities, where you'll see a lot of concrete.

 

One of the most unique places in Guinea-Bissau is the Saltinho waterfall. 

This is not a completely hidden secret where you need to hike for 3 days in the jungle to get there. It is actually right beside a road and even has a bridge.

However, the area is still used by locals to wash their clothes, bathe, and for children to play in. So it's almost untouched.

You can still hear the calmness of the waters flowing without a horde of tourists chatting or taking pictures, which is incredible.

Lastly, there are also natural parks which are precisely that.

There are no gates with lines of tourists to buy tickets to go inside the park in a safari-like truck. It's just a natural park. You go in and see the nature. 

There are no noises other than your car going through the sand, birds singing or wind shaking up tree leafs.

Experiencing nature untouched is particularly impressive and one of the best reasons to visit the country.

If you want to learn more about it I would recommend the KalmaSoul website.

4. Time Travel and detox

Guinea-Bissau was a Portuguese colony until 1974 and this is still visible and many places, mostly in the buildings architecture.

However, most of the buildings haven't changed and are almost as they were in 1970's.

The city of Bafatá is a good example of this. The roads are empty, and have sand and pothole.

 

Visiting these places makes you feel like you're traveling to a place where time has stopped.

People live calmly and don't really care about rushing to their jobs, or to go and buy something. Life in the country is very relaxed and calm.

People don't have a lot, but they do seem happy.

Also, there aren't a lot of companies and since people do not have a lot of money to buy many products, the marketing campaigns are not as widespread as in more developed country.

This calmness starts changing you and you truly feel relaxed.

You don't feel the constant urge to buy things, to visit as much of the country as possible and rush through your vacation, and especially you don't feel you need to rush through life.

You'll still see people washing their clothes in untouched rivers, or catching cashews or peanuts from trees just beside the country's main road, or children playing football in the street.

For someone that does not live in the country, I truly believe that we can experience real relaxing times.

There aren't a lot of places that I visited that made me relax like I did in Guinea-Bissau (not even in a beach resort in the Caribbean!). Guinea-Bissau is on a completely different level.

So if you want to go to a place where you can make all your stressed life disappear, forget about your job, forget about your shopping list and really focus on relaxing, this is the place to go.

I guarantee no one will be able forget a trip to Guinea-Bissau.

Conclusion

Guinea-Bissau is not the typical five-start resort country that you spend your summer in.

This is a poor country, but has many aspects that make it a worthwhile visit.

I highlight the following 4 reasons to visit Guinea-Bissau:

 

1) The temperatures in Guinea-Bissau are warm during the entire year.

2) There are still areas with empty beaches where you can bathe alone with only the sound of the ocean.

3) There are many areas with untouched jungle and natural parks.

4) To detox from working stress, nothing better to visit Guinea-Bissau where you won't feel work pressure, a rushing culture or marketing pressure.