Safety Tips in Niger

We booked a flight ticket from Niamey to Lome by Air Burkina, through Satguru Travels in Niamey. We were told that this is a direct flight to Lome with a stop in Ougadougu. To our surprise as we reached Ouga, we were asked to disembark and go back to the airport and pass through the immigration again and catch the Air Burkina flight to Lome. We hardly managed to finish the process in time and run for the aircraft. We managed to catch the flight.

It is important that you carry all documents while travelling from Benin to Niger by road. We had a bitter experience as we were told by the counslate in Benin that there is an entry visa available at the Niger border. When we arrived there we realised that the entry visa was no more available and we were asked to return ( 800 Km back). We had to stay in Malanville for about 24 hrs before someone could come to our help. During the second visit although we had a visa, they did'nt permit us in as Indian's and Pakistani's were forbidden from entering the country, again we had to spent 24 hrs at the border.

It is better to have a 7 country ECOWAS visa as we realised it is easy to get this visa , than getting a Niger Visa.

If staying in Niamey be careful in area around the expensive hotels. There are muggers and a number of people have been robbed, some stabbings. Generally the city is safe in areas where there are people around. The people generally are very friendly and helpful.