Benin Solo Female Travel Safety Tips and Advice

On this page you will find first-hand, unbiased, and real safety tips, advice and reviews from women traveling solo, submitted directly from their personal experiences in the country.

Their opinions are unfiltered and submitted independently as part of the Solo Female Travel Safety Index, a ranking of 210 countries and regions based on how safe they are for women traveling solo.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers.

You don’t need to login to read the below reviews. But do sign up or login to share your solo travel experiences, country safety rating and comments.

Benin Country data

We have compiled a few data points below that can help you better understand Benin and have more context when thinking about travel safety.

Official country name: Republic of Benin.

Etymology: Named for the Bight of Benin, the body of water on which the country lies.

Capital: Porto-Novo is constitutional capital and Cotonou the seat of government.

Independence / foundation: The Kingdom of Dahomey emerged on the Abomey plateau in the 17th century and was a regional power for much of the 18th and 19th centuries.

France began to control the coastal areas of Dahomey in the second half of the 19th century and the entire kingdom was conquered by 1894. French Dahomey achieved independence in 1960 and it changed its name to the Republic of Benin in 1975.

Population: 14 million.

Currency: West African CFA Franc (XOF)
1 USD = 599 - 609 XOF
1 EUR = 656 XOF

Time zone: UTC+1

Languages spoken: 55 languages are spoken in Benin. French (official), Fon (a Gbe language) and Yoruba are the most important indigenous languages in the south. There are half a dozen regionally important languages in the north, including Bariba (once counted as a Gur language) and Fulfulde.

Religions: Muslim 28%, Roman Catholic 25%, Protestant 13% (Celestial 7%, Methodist 3%, other Protestant 3%), Vodoun 12%, other Christian 9%, other traditional religions 3%, other 3%, none 6%.

Climate: Tropical weather. Hot and humid in the south and semiarid in the north.

Real GDP (ppp – purchasing power parity): $46 billion.

Real GDP per capita (ppp): $3,400.

Main airports: Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport.

World heritage sites in Benin

There are over 1,100 world heritage sites spread across more than 165 countries. New ones are added every year, and some may be removed from the list for various reasons.

Number of UNESCO listed sites: 3.

Top world heritage sites:

- Royal Palaces of Abomey.
- W-Arly-Pendjari Complex. - Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba.

Interesting facts about Benin

- Benin is the only country to recognise Vodun (Voodoo) as an official religion. It is also the birthplace of Voodoo.

- Benin's population is very young, 42% of its population is 14 years old or less.

- The country is famous for their carved wood masks which celebrate their most important warriors. Some are displayed in acclaimed museums across the world.

Further reading: N/A.

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Benin Travel tips

More about Benin on Solo Female Travelers

Coming soon.

Did you spot any errors? We do our best to keep this information updated and accurate, but things change. If you saw anything that is not right, let us know so we can fix it: [email protected].

About the Solo Female Travel Safety Index

Safety matters to solo female travelers, you told us so in our annual Solo Female Travel Survey, where year after year, women prove that this is their most important concern when traveling solo.

We wanted to do something about it, so we built these country-specific pages where you can find reviews and scores for 7 key variables affecting the safety of women traveling solo.

How to use the Safety Index

On this page, you will find the country score and the personal opinions on safety of other women traveling solo.

You can sort the comments by:

• The level of experience traveling solo of the reviewer (beginner = <5 trips solo, Intermediate = 5 to 10 trips solo, Experienced = >10 trips solo).
• The age of the traveler.
• Whether they are a visitor or local.
• The date they were posted.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers. 

Thus, the lower the score, the safer the country.

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Looking for more safety resources?

This entire website is devoted to helping women travel solo. Check out the links below to learn more:

Solo Female Travel Stats: Results from the the largest, most comprehensive and only global research study on solo female travel trends, preferences and behaviors published.

Thanks to Jacobo Vilella for creating the Solo Female Travelers Safety Index ❤️