After the Cotonou Marathon: Two Nights in Ouidah

The Route: Cotonou hotel → Ouidah (2 nights) → Cotonou hotel Logistics: The Benin tourism portal gives about 40 km and an hour. Book the lodging and a driver together. Marathon Month: February Duration: 2 nights

Cotonou hotel ──(about 40 km, 1 hour)──> Ouidah (2 nights)
                                              │
Cotonou hotel <──(car)────── free middle day <┘

Two nights in one place let you split the Ouidah sites over a whole day with rests in between. This is an itinerary built around the town's heritage sites, and it is not a package tour.

February in Ouidah: it is warm and humid, with roughly 30 mm of rain in a typical February. The January Vodun Days are over by then.

Getting There

Travel on the Monday with a booked driver, and ask for their own journey time on top of the portal's hour. Keep a water bottle within reach.

The Days

Spend the first afternoon settling in. On the middle day, visit the Captives' Route and the Gate of No Return in two parts, with a long break between them. The route is about four kilometres in total, so use a vehicle for stretches of it. A local guide helps with the history. A memory museum is described as forthcoming, so confirm that it is open before you plan around it.

The Lodging

Choose lodging through your driver or a hotel and ask about shade, the distance from the room to the dining area, early breakfast and luggage security. Check what the quote includes.

Getting Home

Return to Cotonou on the third day and leave slack for the road. Cotonou airport (COO) is the arrival point for most visitors, and a booked transfer is the simplest way to reach it.