Bo

The road journey from Freetown takes 4 hours by an excellent paved road. The road from Kenema is also in good condition and takes about 1 hour.

Though Bo is the second city of Sierra Leone, there is not a lot to see here. Most people will use it as a stopping point on the way to other places. Small scale diamond mining is present in the area and could be worth a visit.

Being a long way from the sea, the menu is rather limited in most places. Beef, chicken or river fish can be found.

There are numerous bars throughout the town, usually serving Star beer at reasonable prices.

Hotels in Bo are very basic compared with those in Freetown. Electricity is often only available during the night, if at all. Town center hotels can be noisy.

• Madame Woki Hotel in the center of town. Very basic, but some rooms have simple air-conditioners which work when the electricity or generator are working. This is usually not all night.
• Hotel Sir Milton in the center of town. Very similar to Madame Woki.
• Countryside Hotel on the Bo-Kenema road on the south of the town. Has electricity during the night and airconditioned rooms, swimming pool and tennis court. It has deteriorated somewhat since it opened. There is also a risk of loud music late into the night. Rooms start at Le120,000.
• Imperial hotel on the Bo-Kenema road on the south of the town.

• Sahara Hotel

  phone: +232 33-908929
  In a quiet part of the city. This is a new and at present the best hotel in town. It can be busy.

The unrelenting heat and humidity can make life very unpleasant. For anyone not used to this, an air-conditioned room to sleep in will be almost essential. BBC World Service can be heard on 94.5MHz (FM) and Western style commercial station Capital Radio on 102.3MHz.