Travel and Tourism

Travel and Tourism in Guinea

Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Guinea.

Practical Information

Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.

Travel Alert Status: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
Time Difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Currency: Guinean franc (GNF)
Climate: The coastal areas and most of the inland regions of Guinea have a tropical climate, with a rainy season lasting from May to October, uniformly warm temperatures, and moderate to high humidity. The upper Guinea region has a hotter, drier, more desert-like climate. The Niger, Gambia, and Senegal Rivers are among the 22 West African rivers that originate in Guinea. Conakry is located on a narrow, 36-kilometer-long peninsula that juts into the Atlantic Ocean. The peninsula has low, rolling hills, tropical vegetation, and many vistas of the sea. Conakry”™s year-round high temperature averages 85°F, and rarely rises above 90°F or falls below the mid-70s. Relative humidity is generally 70% or higher. Conakry”™s average annual rainfall of 169 inches, almost all of which falls during the May-October period, makes it one of the world's rainiest capital cities. Americans living in Guinea generally find the climate pleasant overall, although the dry season can be very dusty and the rainy season quite damp.
Ethnic Groups: Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 10%
National Holiday: Independence Day, 2 October (1958)
Geographic Coordinates: 11 00 N, 10 00 W
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone
Airports: 16

Health and Safety

Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.

Medical Facilities and Care

Medical Facilities and Health Information: Medical facilities are poorly equipped and extremely limited, both in the capital city and throughout Guinea. Medicines are in short supply and of questionable quality, sterility of equipment should not be assumed, and treatment is frequently unreliable. Some private medical facilities provide a better range of treatment options than public facilities, but are still well below western standards. There is one ambulance in Conakry but there are no ambulance or emergency rescue services in Guinea. Trauma care is extremely limited. Water in Guinea is presumed to be contaminated, so travelers should use only bottled or distilled water for drinking. Malaria is a serious risk to travelers in Guinea; prophylaxis against malaria, purchased in the United States, is recommended. For additional information on malaria, including protective measures, visit CDC’s malaria web page. In addition, in recent years, meningitis outbreaks have occurred periodically, in particular during the rainy season and especially in the eastern part of the country, but also in the capital; therefore vaccination against meningitis is recommended.
Accessibility: While in Guinea, individuals with disabilities may find accessibility and accommodation very different from what you find in the United States. Guinea does not have legislation that mandates access to transportation, communication, and public buildings for persons with disabilities.

Disease Risk

Degree of Risk: Very high
Animal-Contact Diseases: rabies
Food and Waterborne Diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Soil-Contact Diseases: Lassa fever
Vectorborne Diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever
Water-Contact Diseases: schistosomiasis

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