Guinea-Bissau Safety Guide
Health, security, and travel safety information
Emergency Numbers
Save these numbers before your trip.
Healthcare
What to know about medical care in Guinea-Bissau.
Public wards run out of gloves. Private clinics in Bissau can patch you up long enough for a Dakar or Lisbon evacuation.
Hospital Nacional Simão Mendes (Bissau) owns the sole intensive-care unit; Euro-Bissau Clinic and Clinica Española give you cleaner sheets and doctors who speak English.
Pharmácia Central and Farmácia Nova carry European generics. Yet shelves empty every month. Pack your own anti-malarials, rehydration salts and any prescription, count on stock-outs.
Buy insurance that spells out medical evacuation. Clinics will ask to see the guarantee before they even find a bed.
- ✓ Bring a full course of any prescription drug, substitutes are often unavailable.
- ✓ Malaria never takes a holiday. Start prophylaxis early and carry repellent with at least 20% DEEE.
Common Risks
Be aware of these potential issues.
Phones and small bags lifted in crowded markets or shared taxis.
Transmission occurs nationwide, peaking in rainy season (June-Oct).
Poor lighting, wandering livestock and speed bumps without signage.
Scams to Avoid
Watch out for these common tourist scams.
A guy in jeans flashes a badge, insists on checking your cash for 'counterfeits', then palms a few notes.
A friendly vendor offers to pop in a local SIM; while you watch, he swaps your original into his phone and bills a fortune.
Safety Tips
Practical advice to stay safe.
- • Head for the sept-place (shared Peugeot) yards inside Bissau instead of hitching by the roadside. They log every passenger.
- • Allow extra time at army roadblocks, carry photocopies of passport and visa.
- • CFA francs rule; ATMs outside the capital are unicorns, withdraw inside bank hours while the guard is still at the door.
- • Stash a thin roll of notes apart from the rest. Hand it over fast if cornered and the mugging ends in seconds.
- • Log your presence with your embassy on day one. Buying a local SIM means handing over a passport copy in the provider's shop.
- • Download offline maps, street signs are rare and taxis often rely on landmarks.
Information for Specific Travelers
Safety considerations for different traveler groups.
Solo foreign women seldom meet violence, yet cat-calls trail them; a sharp 'não' normally ends the game.
- → Slide into the front passenger seat of taxis. It keeps unwanted thigh pressure from the back seat.
- → Pick mid-range Guinea-Bissau hotels with 24-hour reception over budget pensões that lack internal locks.
The law stays silent on same-sex relations; anti-discrimination clauses do not exist.
- → Book twin rather than double beds outside Bissau to avoid awkward questions.
- → Steer conversation away from LGBTQ topics in late-night bars. Perceived slights against local customs can ignite quickly.
Travel Insurance
Protect yourself before you travel.
A medical lift to Dakar costs the same as a mid-range family car. Insurance is non-negotiable in Guinea-Bissau where the state will not fund foreign evacuations.
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