Togo

Several airlines offer regular flights to Lomé (). Ethiopian Airlines and Royal Air Maroc have some good return fares from Europe to Lome. You can also fly to Accra airport in Ghana then get a comfortable, air-conditioned, and reasonably priced bus from Accra to the border at Aflao. At Aflao, people must walk across the border into Lomé and find their own transport inside Togo.

The currency of the country is the West African CFA franc, denoted CFA (ISO currency code: XOF). It's also used by seven other West African countries. It is interchangeable at par with the Central African CFA franc (XAF), which is used by six countries. Both currencies are fixed at a rate of 1 euro = 655.957 CFA francs.

A taxi-moto (motorcycle taxi) will cost CFA 150-500 to get you around. You can tell who the taxi-moto drivers are: they will honk or hiss at you as they drive by and usually wear baseball caps and sunglasses. A taxi will usually cost about CFA 500 for a one-way short trip inside the city, for trips to the northern parts of the city expect to pay up to CFA 2,500. Taxis will have yellow licence plates and their registration number painted on the car. Always negotiate before you get on/in, the quoted price will include tip.

French is the national language and the lingua franca between ethnic groups. Virtually no English is spoken in the whole of the country, aside from business offices and major banks in the capital. Ewe is far and away the most widely spoken native language, with the Ewe people populating the southern half of the country. You may also come across the related Mina language in the area around Aneho. Kabiyè is the predominant language of the north.

As a rule, stay away from public beaches, where tourists find themselves mugged any time of day or night. Most of the country has little crime, but Lomé is a clear exception, and is a good deal more dangerous than any city in Ghana or Benin. If going somewhere at night, take a car taxi, and get the numbers of a few trusted taxi drivers if you plan to stay for a while.

Drink bottled water such as Volta or sachets of "Pure Water". Bissop juice is also fairly safe as it is boiled, and avoid the lemonade "citron" despite its delicious appearance. Stay away from roadside meals if possible. People relieve themselves in the streets in Lomé, so be aware of that.

From some time after 2011, telephone numbers throughout Togo have changed from 7 to 8 digits. The original 7 digit numbers are no longer working in May 2013. Fixed line numbers have an additional 2, so for example, a Lomé number 2## ## ## becomes 22 ## ## ##. Togo Cellulaire, old numbers of the format 9## ## ## become 90 ## ## ##, 0## ## ## and 8## ## ## both are now 91 ## ## ## (the 0 and 8 are both replaced with 91), 7## ## ## becomes 92 ## ## ##. For Moov, numbers starting with 0, 6 or 8 this…

Greetings are a little more elaborate in Togo. Say hello to everyone when coming and going. Handshakes are key. Also, maybe if you try to get to know them, you will fit in. Make sure you make yourself feel like you are at home. Don't make it too homey, though, because you don't want to get on their bad side.