Benin cultural exchange: wetland communities
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Basic information
Location: Benin, Atlantic Ocean, rivers and lakes
Dates: January, February, March, August, november, December
Duration: 8 days
Group size: 4 +
Price: From £413 including full-board, transport in minibus and guiding all along the tour, accommodation in hotels and lodges, breakfast, lunch & diner. Not including flights, visas and required vaccinations, drinks, personal expenses and tips.
Location: Benin, Atlantic Ocean, rivers and lakes
Dates: January, February, March, August, november, December
Duration: 8 days
Group size: 4 +
Price: From £413 including full-board, transport in minibus and guiding all along the tour, accommodation in hotels and lodges, breakfast, lunch & diner. Not including flights, visas and required vaccinations, drinks, personal expenses and tips.
What will I be doing on this trip?
This 8 day cultural exchange holiday takes you from the Atlantic Ocean, rivers, and lakes, to give you the opportunity to experience daily life and traditions of Benin's wetland communities. A journey in a dugout canoe will take you through unforgettable scenery and allow you to meet the local people from fishing communities, or you can learn how to fish in a traditional way and eat your catch, braised on a wood fire, on a beach whilst enjoying a beautiful sunset. This holiday idea is designed to immerse you in the daily life of Benin's wetland communities.
This 8 day cultural exchange holiday takes you from the Atlantic Ocean, rivers, and lakes, to give you the opportunity to experience daily life and traditions of Benin's wetland communities. A journey in a dugout canoe will take you through unforgettable scenery and allow you to meet the local people from fishing communities, or you can learn how to fish in a traditional way and eat your catch, braised on a wood fire, on a beach whilst enjoying a beautiful sunset. This holiday idea is designed to immerse you in the daily life of Benin's wetland communities.
My holiday itinerary...
Day 1: Cotonou
Meet and greet at the airport of Cotonou, and settled in your hotel. Briefing about the trip agenda.
Day 2: Trip to Ouidah - ecological paradise
Taking a dugout from Togbin, you will arrive in the Avlékété village, famous for its ecological tradition. After lunch, you can just relax in this calm environment, drinking coconuts and listening to the sounds of the mangrove. But you can also take a walk through the village and watch the women preparing salt with traditional techniques. Night in a seaside hotel in Ouidah.
Day 1: Cotonou
Meet and greet at the airport of Cotonou, and settled in your hotel. Briefing about the trip agenda.
Day 2: Trip to Ouidah - ecological paradise
Taking a dugout from Togbin, you will arrive in the Avlékété village, famous for its ecological tradition. After lunch, you can just relax in this calm environment, drinking coconuts and listening to the sounds of the mangrove. But you can also take a walk through the village and watch the women preparing salt with traditional techniques. Night in a seaside hotel in Ouidah.
Day 3: Ouidah village - Slave road
Visit the Historical Museum of Ouidah, where you will learn about the relations between the colonisers and the kings of Dahomey. Experience a trip full of emotions along the “Slave road” where you will learn about the different steps of slavery from the marketplace to the infamous “Door of no return”. Trip to Grand-Popo followed with a relaxing moment on the beach of Grand-Popo. Night at Grand-Popo. Day 4: Grand-Popo - beach picnic and sunset Grand Popo shares a bordering township with Togo Republic. On the pristine beach, enjoy an exotic picnic made of fresh fish braised on fire wood at the “Boca Del Rio”, the Mono River estuary. Allow your thoughts to wonder whilst appreciating a remarkable sunset on the beach. On the way to Possotomè, you can stop in Kpétou village where you will be given the opportunity to plant mangrove plants to compensate the CO2 emission of our trip. This activity will help the restoration of the wetlands biodiversity. Night at Possotomè Day 5: Avlékété - Lake & sacred forest tour After an earlier breakfast, indulge in a tour of the local lake. From your dugout, observe fishermen casting their nets and discover their traditional techniques. The Avlékété sacred forest, where various species of birds can be seen, is a treasure of nature and also the place where various “voodoo” rituals and secret take place. |    |
In the afternoon, you will be completely immersed in the “traditions voodoo culture” during which you will taste, first of all, the local alcohol Sodabi. The local guide will teach you about different divinities that protect the village from bad spirits. A 3 hour walk along the lake and though the sacred forest will allow you to discover the voodoo culture, its rituals and significances while learning about the local plants secrets. Night at Possotomé.
Day 6: Abomey - the kingdom of Dahomey
A trip to Abomey allows you to meet the 'larger than life' women dealing with tropical fruit drying. Then enter the world of the Kings of Dahomey in the Historical Museum of Abomey. Here, you will see thrones built on human skulls, paintings of impressive amazone warriors, jewels of the queens, the place where King Glélé and his wives were buried, and the Goho monument. Night in Abomey Day 7: Kpotomey to Ganvié - fishing and thatched bamboo houses Early in the morning, visit the village of Kpotomey with its interesting project of fish farming located in Sitatunga Valley. This project deals with the production of catfish, tilapia and ornamental fish. It is also dedicated to training, demonstrations and experimentation. Enjoy your lunch on site with fresh fish caught by yourself. Boat trip to Ganvié, a traditional fishing village made of thatched bamboo houses perched on stilts over a lake. Night at Ganvié. Day 8: Ganvié to Cotonou - the 'lantern market' and Dantopka Earlier in the morning, discover a 'lantern market' where women sell food, fruit and vegetables from their canoes. Cross the path of men going fishing with their traditional nets. Trip to Cotonou. Visit the tropical fruit market of Cotonou before going to the Zinsou Foundation. If you wish, you can choose to go one of the largest markets of West Africa, called Dantokpa. The market being quite crowded, you may prefer to go to the Centre of Promotion of Crafts Industry. End of the tour. |    |
How does this holiday make a difference?
Through carbon offsetting by planting mangrove plants on a river bank to walking through villages and landscapes to reduce the effects of tourism on the environment, this tour is organised to have the least impact possible on the destinations that are visited throughout the itinerary.
A tour cannot be responsible without the tourists being responsible, and this is why the operator hands out guidelines on how to make sure that your holiday will have the least impact possible, before and during the tour.
Also, By taking part to this ecotour, you contribute to:
Where is it?
Through carbon offsetting by planting mangrove plants on a river bank to walking through villages and landscapes to reduce the effects of tourism on the environment, this tour is organised to have the least impact possible on the destinations that are visited throughout the itinerary.
A tour cannot be responsible without the tourists being responsible, and this is why the operator hands out guidelines on how to make sure that your holiday will have the least impact possible, before and during the tour.
Also, By taking part to this ecotour, you contribute to:
- The improvement of the local life as a part of the tour price is directly paid to the community development fund.
- Change the local vision of the tourist by avoiding giving gifts to populations but by financing development projects.
- Make tourism be an income generating sector in each locality visited as the hotels and restaurants chosen belong to populations.
- Take part to the environment protection by participating in some carbon offset projects like mangrove plantation.
Where is it?
Click here to enquire about or book this holiday!
To discover other Responsible Tourism projects, click here.
To discover more about Benin, click here.
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