A Warm West African Welcome

Sierra Leone- a new destination ready and able to give the tourist a warm West African welcome. Its varied landscapes, from sandy beaches to mangroves, from fertile farmland to mountains; its wildlife, from chimps to hippos, from birds to manatees; its culture and religions, and its hospitality, will all add up to a memorable experience.
See our 'Tours' page for accommodation, possible itineraries, destinations, and other important details.
Leone Tours offer accompanied tours with both English- and German- speaking guides, to see our country and the unique experience it has to offer.

Tourism is not new

The 10 years of civil war in Sierra Leone has had a serious impact on the lives of the people. People are now rebuilding their lives. Before the war, tourism formed an important part of the Sierra Leone economy. People from many parts of the world used to go to Sierra Leone to have a taste of its fine environment, natural beaches, national park, Gola rain forest and above all to have the feeling of being in an atmosphere of friendly people.
Enjoying good hospitality in a traditional African setting, we aim to bring Sierra Leone tourism back into the spotlight

The Countryside

Sierra Leone has very beautiful landscapes. The North is mountainous and the South is relatively flat. The West has mountains from where the country derived its name "Sierra Loyal" which later became Sierra Leone. The East has dense forests and is hilly. The coast has long stretches of Atlantic beaches around the Freetown peninsula, and mangroves to the south. There are also a number of offshore islands being considered for future tourist development. We will be offering adventure and safari tours to areas of the countryside.

The Economy

Today's economy depends largely on agriculture. The people from the hinterland grow crops and rice mainly for home consumption. In the north of the country, people rear cattle, grow crops and rice. In the South and South-East the main source of income comes from the abundant mineral resources (diamond, ruthile, bauxite, gold, iron ore etc). There is also much agricultural activity in this part of the country. Freetonians consume more fish than meat. This makes the fishing industry an important part of the country's economy. From experience, tourists enjoy fresh fish and local meat especially when it's barbecued for them on the beach.

Religion

There are two main religions in Sierra Leone- Christian and Muslim, but there is also what is left of African traditional religion. How far have Christianity and Islam influenced old traditional African religion? The rituals of traditional religion are largely practiced in the hinterland. You will have the chance to see the remains of this African religion and to see real traditional African life which is in complete contrast to modern day Africa. You may also stay for two nights with an African family to experience traditional African hospitality.

Climate

Sierra Leone has an average temperature of about 32 degrees C. (80 degrees F.) Mostly, it is hot and humid depending though on the locality and time of year.

Sierra Leone has two major seasons.

The rainy season starts in May- June and ends in September. The month of August has the heaviest rainfall.
The dry season starts in mid October and ends in April. The Hamattan wind from the Sahara, which affects much of northern Sierra Leone, blows between November and mid- February . This is not an ideal time for photography because of the weather. During this time it is cooler in the north than in any other part of the country. You may, of course, visit Sierra Leone at any time of the year, but July and August can be very wet. Contact us for more details.