Our Sierra Leone holidays & tours
A small West African country packed with beaches, tiny communities and a plethora of wildlife, Sierra Leone’s horrific civil war, which ended in 2002, prevented mass tourism from arriving in the country. Tourism development has been slow, but, as our Sierra Leone holidays show, there are opportunities to shape a tourism here that benefits both nature and communities. Take Tiwai Island, home to pygmy hippopotami, and a large number of primate and bird species, which is also home to inspiring community-based tourism projects. Our amazing trips comprise small beach lodges, solitary snorkelling, island hopping and river canoeing. And wherever you go, our holidays use local guides – there’s no better source of insight into the country’s history and into its everyday customs.
Our top Sierra Leone holidays
Sierra Leone small group tour
From
£2899
11 days
ex flights
11 days of culture, rainforest, and beaches
Small group2026: 3 Jan, 7 Feb, 7 Mar, 4 Apr, 7 Nov, 5 Dec, 19 Dec
Sierra Leone discovery tour
From
£2395 to £2595
9 days
ex flights
Vibrant culture & stunning nature of Sierra Leone
Small group2026: 28 Mar, 12 Sep, 17 Oct, 14 Nov, 28 Dec, 2027: 20 Mar, 11 Sep, 16 Oct, 13 Nov, 28 Dec
Sierra Leone holiday, Forts, Chimps and Beaches
From
£2085
8 days
ex flights
A journey of discovery through this emerging nation.
Small group2026: 22 Jan, 19 Mar, 5 Nov, 2027: 21 Jan, 18 Mar, 4 Nov
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone tour
From
£5199 to £5949
16 days
ex flights
Breathtaking mountains, idyllic islands and wild chimpanzees
Small group2025: 27 Dec, 2026: 24 Jan, 21 Feb, 21 Mar, 26 Dec, 2027: 23 Jan, 20 Feb, 20 Mar, 23 Dec
West Africa tour, Bissau to Cotonou
From
£9899 to £10599
4 weeks
ex flights
Voodoo heartlands, traditional storytellers and lush islands
Small group2026: 5 Mar, 6 Dec, 2027: 4 Mar, 5 Dec
West Africa 8 week expedition, Morocco to Benin
From
£17259 to £18155
8 weeks
ex flights
An Epic 56 day Sahara to Atlantic Journey Across West Africa
Small group2026: 5 Mar, 9 Nov, 2027: 4 Mar, 8 Nov
Liberia and Sierra Leone tour
From
US $5895
13 days
ex flights
Culture and history of Liberia & Sierra Leone
Small group2026: 5 Feb, 19 Feb, 5 Mar, 19 Mar, 2 Apr, 16 Apr, 30 Apr, 14 May, 28 May, 11 Jun, 25 Jun, 9 Jul, 23 Jul, 6 Aug, 20 Aug, 3 Sep, 17 Sep, 1 Oct, 15 Oct, 29 Oct, 12 Nov, 26 Nov
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone expedition
From
£5695
16 days
ex flights
An epic journey through West Africa’s wild heartlands
Small group2026: 24 Jan, 21 Feb, 21 Mar, 2027: 23 Jan, 20 Feb, 20 Mar, 23 Dec
Complete Africa overland expedition, 47 weeks
From
£10995
300 days
ex flights
The ultimate Trans African overland camping adventure
Small group2026: 26 Oct, 2027: 25 Oct
See all our Sierra Leone holidaysContact Us
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Sierra Leone map & highlights
Sierra Leone’s diverse habitat ranges from savannah to rainforest but the highlight is its beaches: sweeps of white sand stretching along the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean, with a smattering of islands anchored offshore. Much of the rest of country is green and lush: to the east, rainforests and hills skirt the border with Liberia, while up north the Loma Mountains form a ridge near the Guinean border and are home to the country’s highest peak, Mount Bintumani (1,945m). Other than a few main highways, roads outside urban centres tend to be poor and can be impassable in the rainy season. Guided, small group tours keep things simple as you’ll be driven in a private vehicle and visit communities without disrupting local life.
1.
Banana Islands
2. Bunce Island
3. Freetown
4. Tacugama Chimp Sanctuary
5. Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary
2. Bunce Island
3. Freetown
4. Tacugama Chimp Sanctuary
5. Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary
Banana Islands
1. Banana Islands
At southern tip of the Freetown peninsula, Banana Islands are three islands connected by a stone causeway. It’s a perfect tropical hideaway and a jumping off point for numerous water based activities, including snorkelling, diving, spear fishing and kayaking. Walks around the island reveal a smattering of ruins from its time as a slaving post and European settlement.
Bunce Island
2. Bunce Island
An hour’s boat ride from Freetown, Bunce Island is a monument to the darkest time in the country’s history. It was set up as a major slave trading fortress and castle in 1670, and over 30,000 men, women and children were held here before boarding slave ships bound for the southern United States. Today, the castle and its cells lie in ruins, swallowed up by vines, weeds and grasses.
Freetown
3. Freetown
Squeezed into a small space between mountains and ocean, Freetown is a hectic metropolis. Red dust, charcoal smoke and music billow around narrow city streets, and tumbledown clapboard houses are a reminder of the city’s founders: freed enslaved people returning from Nova Scotia in 1787, where they had fled after the American War of Independence. They gave birth to local language Krio, an English based creole.
Tacugama Chimp Sanctuary
4. Tacugama Chimp Sanctuary
Set in thick forest a 30-minute drive from Freetown, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary was set up in 1995 to rescue and rehabilitate endangered primates. Dedicated staff offer tours of the sanctuary, which is part of a 100-acre reserve. They’ll tell you all about their work and you’ll get to see chimpanzees during the different stages of rehabilitation – the last of which is a vast, semi-wild setting.
Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary
5. Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary
One of West Africa’s few remaining areas of pristine rainforest, 12km² Tiwai Island is set in the Moa River in eastern Sierra Leone. The country’s first ecotourism enterprise, it has a high concentration of primates, including chimpanzees, black and white Diana monkeys and red colobus monkeys. It's also home to almost 100 rare and elusive pygmy hippos.
Our Sierra Leone holidays reviews
4
3Sierra Leone holidays reviews
Steven Main15 Nov 2024
Really enjoyed the chimpanzee sanctuary, Banana Island, and wildlife viewing at Tiwai Island... Excellent trip.read more
Kevin Godwin19 Dec 2024
Culturally brilliant which is what we were looking forread more
Rick Parisi17 Jan 2024
West Africa is very different from the other parts of Africa that I have visited.
It was very interesting to see this completely different culture.read more
