Cotonou - Post Report Question and Answers
What have been the highlights of your time in this country? Best trips or experiences?
Ouidah, learning about Voudou, Bab's Dock and natural environment. Being outside all the time in general. - Feb 2020
Being able to go to the beach nearly every weekend. Getting to know the expat community here. - Aug 2018
Getting to know local people, trying new foods. - Jan 2017
None. I have not enjoyed living here. - Oct 2015
Baby sea turtle release Grand Popo; Oidah - the Sacred Forest, Python Temple, Route des Èclaves; Bab's Dock; Ganvie. - Jun 2015
...saving money? I found Benin itself to be exceedingly forgettable. - Aug 2014
I taught at QSI and loved getting to know the kids and coworkers there. I ate delicious fish and veggies for less than US$10 a plate right next to the ocean (Restaurant Wado). I got to know some amazing people over dinners and drinks, because there's not much else to do here other than eat and drink. Our home was like a mansion and yet always felt, well, homely: a wonderful perk for a post where we spent so much time inside. - Jul 2013
The beach (although note that the undertow is strong, so swimming can be dangerous), seafood at beachfront restaurants, and Bab's Dock, a pleasant day resort on a lagoon accessible only by boat. - May 2013
Making friends with the international community, playing tennis at one of the two tennis clubs, playing rugby with the French rugby team, hanging out at the hotel pools and beaches with friends. - Mar 2013
I’ve gotten to make three, very extensive trips into the interior and very north of Benin on official business. If you get a chance to get out of the immediate area of Cotonou take advantage of it. Benin has some wonderful scenery but absolutely no tourist or transportation infrastructure beyond the capital and Ouidah. Getting out into the countryside takes some doing and, therefore, is usually limited to official trips. - Dec 2011
