8 days tour : Visit Guinea Bissau and The Bijagos Islands

The great highlights of this exploration

-The Bijagos Archipelago or The “Polynesia of West Africa

- The paradise beach of Canhabaque

- Visit of the Queen on Bubaque Island, with their animist tradition and dance

- The decadent colonial buildings of Bolama and

The Ciudad Vieja of Bissau –

-Bissau itself with its Pastel coloured buildings, reminiscent of the Portuguese colonization

- Cacheu, with the Slaves Museum, and the most ancient church built by the Portuguese.

_ a visit to a Mandjago village

ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrival, welcome, and transfer to your hotel in Bissau.

Dunia Hotel or similar

Day 2: Bissau City Tour

Leave to visit Bissau, the small capital city, wandering through the narrow streets, seeing some pastel-colored buildings reminiscent of Portuguese colonization, which give us the feeling of exploring an open-air museum. We will see the National Heroes Square near the Presidential Mansion. We will also see the Statue of Amílcar CABRAL, the legendary revolutionary who led Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde to independence. We will drive by Badim Market, and we will also see the Bissau Craft Market, and also some frescoes called The Frescoes for the Independence, or do Mural Da Independência✊🏾🇬🇼

Lunch in Bissau and back to your hotel.

Dinner and overnight in Bissau

Day 3: Bissau – Cacheu

This day will be dedicated to visiting Cacheu.

Cacheu was a colonial settlement and a hub of the Slave Trade. It was established in 1588 as one of the very first European colonial outposts in sub-Saharan Africa

During the 17th and 18th centuries, it served as the official Portuguese capital and transshipment hub for the transatlantic slave trade in Upper Guinea

Exploration also of the Cacheu Fort: Built originally in 1588 and rebuilt with stone in the 1640s, this small, well-preserved rectangular fortification still stands on the waterfront.

We will also see the Slaves Museum in Cacheu , known as the Memorial da escravatura e do tráfico negreiro de Cacheu .

We will also see the Portuguese church, which is recognized as the first Portuguese church built on the west coast of sub-Saharan Africa

We will also take advantage of this day to visit a Mandjago village, where we will interact with the local population and learn about their culture.

Dinner and overnight at Carrene Tour Hotel

Day 4: Visit to Bissau and Transfer by fast boat to Rubane Island in the BIJAGOS Archipelagos

Leave for the port where we will take our fast boat to the Bijagos Archipelago.

The Bijagós archipelago is composed of a group of 88 islands, and only twenty-five of them are inhabited. The Bijagos Archipelago is located in Guinea-Bissau, in West Africa. If we are looking for wildlife and culture, the main islands to visit are Canhabaque, Orango Island, Bolama Island, Rubane Island and Bubaque.

This isolated Bijagos Archipelago paradise is the planet's unique preserved location, without mass tourism and with virtually untouched nature, but also with a preserved culture free of foreign influences. Besides its natural riches – turtles, mangroves, saltwater hippopotamuses – the islands are distinguished by their cultural and spiritual value.

Dinner and overnight at Kasa Africana

Day 5: Rubane – Canhabaque Bubaque - Rubane.

Leave Rubane a bit late for Canhabaque. Upon arrival, we will have lunch on the beach at a restaurant. After that, we will have a while to visit the beautiful forest looking for the monkeys

Then we board our fast boat again for Bubaque, which is one of the most beautiful islands. Once at Bruce Praia, we will take the tricycles, driving on the tracks, heading to Bijagos Island, where we will meet the Queen, and after we will have right at the Bijagos dance. After all that, we head to Bubaque to visit, then to Ponta Anchaca.

Canhabaque Island, also known by the name Roxa, has lush vegetation and boasts of having pretty virgin beaches

Long closed to tourism, it is considered the most traditional island in the whole archipelago in terms of customs and lifestyle. It competes with Caravela for the reputation of the most beautiful island. Canhabaque and Bubaque islands are matrilineal and animist societies. Women are highly predominant in the management and maintenance of balance in the “tabancas”. They are the homeowners and choose the names of their children.

Dinner and overnight at Kasa Afrikana

Day 6: Relax in your hotel

This day will be dedicated to relaxing in your hotel.

Dinner and overnight at Kasa Afrikana

Day 7 : Rubane – Bolama ,( former capital city of Guinea Bissau ) - Bissau

Leave Rubane Island for Bolama. Bolama is a fascinating time-capsule destination in Guinea-Bissau that served as the first official capital of Portuguese Guinea from 1879 until 1941. In the mid–19th century, both Portugal and England claimed ownership of the Island

The conflict escalated until Ulysses S. Grant, president of the US, was asked to act as an international arbitrator. A statue of President Grant stood in the town square for over a century to commemorate this event.

In Bolama, we will have a working tour to see the colonial buildings and revisit the colonial history.

Lunch in Bissau

Dinner and overnight in your hotel

Day 8: transfer to airport

What’s included

English-speaking guide

An air-conditioned minivan for 15 people

From Day 2 to Day 7, accommodations on a half-board basis

Day 1 and Day 8 double occupancy in Bed and Breakfast

Visits and excursions as scheduled

Private fast boat transfer from Bissau to Rubane ( Bijagos Islands )

Private excursion to Rubane and Bubaque to visit the Queen

Performance of the Bijagos ( the dance )

Private fast for Bolama excursion and transfer to Bissau

Visit to the Slaves Museum and fortress in Cashew

Visit Of The Mandjago in Cacheu

All transfers by minibus and private boat,

including driver/driver, petrol and tolls;

What’s Extra

Water

Lunches

Drinks

A visa, if you need one.