Conakry - Post Report Question and Answers
What are some typical ways to socialize, either with local people or with other expatriates? Are there groups or clubs that you can recommend?
Get togethers at houses/ restaurants. - Sep 2022
People visit one another's houses, especially if you have kids. There are regular events programmed at the French Cultural Center, and each Embassy sets things up for their own community (with others often invited). You can also swim at other people's housing compounds if they have a pool and you don't. The Noom hotel does a mean Sunday buffet with swimming included. There's also a country/athletic club that some people are into (Le Sporting, I think it’s called). Also for kids, doing locally run classes (soccer, dance, etc.) is a great way to interact with local kids. Also, many neighborhoods where expats live lend themselves to kids just playing outside with the neighbors on tranquil streets, or within shared housing compounds. My kids have learned most of their French just out of necessity, by playing with non-Anglophone kids on our block. Another common weekend plan is to do a day trip to the nearby Iles de Loos. There are three islands, with daily boat trips to all three; expat communities often plan group trips out there, or you can just go yourself and commune with the Conakry masses on their weekend escape. - Jun 2021
People usually socialize at one another's homes. Some go out to eat. - Nov 2019
House parties. Trips to the islands. Restaurants. - May 2016
Dinner parties, pool parties, weekend excursions, dinner out, etc... - Dec 2014
Most entertaining is done within the embassy community. There are a few music clubs, and the French cultural center puts on some shows from time to time. - Sep 2009
Lots of house parties. It is a make-your-own-fun kind of place. Good concerts at the Franco-Guinean cultural center. - May 2009
With embassy folks socializing, living and working together, Conakry can be insular and stifling. Dinner parties and movie nights at the Marine House are de rigueur. Singles wishing to date and families wishing to frequently socialize may find Conakry difficult IF they insist on interacting with the expat community exclusively. Those who get to know Guineans invariably enjoy more active and satisfying social lives. A command of French is essential, although many elites speak English, and college students will want to practice their English with you. There is an active network of dynamic, young Guineans -- many educated in the US -- strongly engaged and determined to better their country. The expat community is smallish, and although all the groups are penetrable, cliques tend to stick together e.g., diplomats, missionaries, business folks, NGOs types. As with most things, social life in Conakry is what you make of it. - Mar 2008
