How to Cross the Border from Liberia to Ivory Coast

I love crossing land borders on foot. Arriving one way or another at a remote crossing, unsure of what to expect. Walking from one country into the next, reaching the other side just in time for a new adventure. No matter the dust, dirt, confusion or possible mishaps – it’s so much more satisfying than stepping off a plane.

In yet another of our West African adventures, we travelled from Liberia to Ivory Coast overland – that is, by bus, bike, or bush-taxi – spending just over 3 weeks in the two countries combined. There are two crossings between Liberia and Ivory Coast (CDI): one near Ganta which brings you into Ivory Coast near Danane and one near Harper which brings you into Ivory Coast near Tabou. This border crossing guide is about the crossing we used, near Ganta/Danane. If you ever wondered how to get from Liberia to Ivory Coast, then read on.

Before You Go

It’s worth noting that many/most foreign governments advise against all non-essential travel in Ivory Coast to within 20-50 km of the Liberian border, due to an unstable security situation and the presence of armed militias nearby. Obviously crossing the border will take you into and through this area. There hasn’t been any violence here since 2015, but doing some research, asking around about the latest situation, and checking what your own government has to say before you set off is a good idea (at the very least, in case your travel insurance is impacted by what’s considered a ‘high-risk’ zone).

You need an Ivory Coast visa and your yellow fever vaccination certificate to cross the border. It’s a good idea to bring some CFA (the currency used in Ivory Coast) as well. There are plenty of unofficial money-changers hanging around at the border: know the rate before you exchange.

The Route

You can get from Ganta (Liberia) all the way to Danane and on to Man (Ivory Coast) in a day. It takes about 10 hours in 3 stages including the border crossing and an extra stop to deal with the police in Danane, which is the first proper town on the Ivory Coast side. To come all the way from Monrovia in one day would probably take too long and result in after-dark travel, so breaking it up for the night in Ganta works well.

Ganta to the Border

The road out of Ganta to the border deteriorates swiftly into a rutted dirt track and the best way to travel it is by motorcycle-taxi (called pen-pens) so we hired two bikes and drivers. Otherwise, you can take a bush taxi (a shared passenger car) from Ganta to Saniquellie, which is the last town in Liberia before the border. Bush taxis will involve a longer wait with messing around, and slower going on the bad road. However – I wouldn’t go by bike without a helmet. We travel with our own.

Transport in Ganta congregates at a big parking lot/market on the side of the road on the southern end of the city. You can’t miss it. Here you’ll see bush taxis and a veritable fleet of pen-pens.

Organise your pen-pen the night before so you can get an early start. If you talk directly to the drivers hanging out at the station you’ll need to haggle the price a fair bit. The drivers there started at 40 USD per person and came down to 20 or 25. We spoke to the guy working at the desk at Jackie’s Guesthouse where we stayed. He called and arranged two pen-pen drivers he knew, who asked for 13 USD each. Besides the price, we also liked going with someone known at our hotel and arranged a bit more ‘officially’. Leave early in the morning – you shouldn’t travel after dark, and your chances of getting onward transport faster are better earlier in the day. The trip to the border takes around 2.5 hours. And expect to get dirty!

The Border to Danane

From where the bike drops you off near the border, walk a bit and then proceed with the usual back-and-forth of a border crossing: customs, immigration, forms, more officers, more customs, a medical officer who checks your yellow fever vaccination and apparently will administer shots if you are missing any (so make certain you are not). Then walk the short no-man’s land and repeat the process on Ivory Coast’s side. In all, you can expect about an hour, unless there is a queue. There seem to be quite a few people milling around and there is a bit of pointless waiting.

There is supposedly a bush taxi that runs from the border on the Ivorian side to the first proper town, Danane. There didn’t seem to be one going any time soon so we hired two more motorcycle taxi (here called motos) drivers who were also lurking around the border, and they drove us the hour or so on to Danane. This cost 5000 CFAs each. The road is bad and bumpy and there are a few police checkpoints along the way where you need to get off the bike and talk to the police, show your passport and visa, and so on.

On arrival in Ivory Coast, even though you’ve already been processed at the border you’ll have to go straight to the first police station and register there. The moto-drivers seem to know this anyway and will probably take you there directly. If not, ask your ride to drop you off there when you reach Danane – ask for the Gendarmerie.

At the police station it can take up to an hour with waiting around and then talking to the officer who takes photos of your passport and all the details. The officer we dealt with, who I’m pretty sure was the one in charge, was incredibly friendly and seemed to be on a mission to personally dispel all rumours of police corruption ever. He sent someone out to buy us water; he talked, he laughed; he called, directed and paid for onward transport for us.

Danane to Man

You can stay in Danane for the night if you want, or carry on straight to Man. To carry on to Man:

Take a moto to the edge of Danane, saying you want a minibus to Man. The moto will drop you off where the minibuses leave from and without too much waiting you can get one going to Man. It will be overcrowded and somewhat terrifying, but it will get you there in around an hour.

Or, in our case it took 2.5 hours as the minibus stopped halfway in a village street and we were pointed to another bus. We had to change for no apparent reason at all and wait for ages while they loaded and unloaded cargo. This kind of thing happens all the time, which is another reason why you want to always set off early and overestimate the amount of time you’ll need to get from A to B.

Once you get off the minibus at the station in Man you can easily walk or flag a taxi to a hotel.

Et voila! Bienvenue en Côte d’Ivoire!

Read More

For more about travelling in these two countries and things to see and do while you’re at it, check out my travel guides to Liberia and to Ivory Coast.

I also wrote a story about our experience crossing this border (it was a long, fun day):

Into the Next Unknown: Crossing the Border from Liberia to the Ivory Coast