Why People in the UK Should Visit Sierra Leone This Winter

As we are now in December, most of the United Kingdom has already started experiencing the chilling winter weather especially those in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

It is moments like these and the start of the festive season that some Britons and Sierra Leoneans living in the UK travel for holidays. For Sierra Leoneans in the diaspora, they are referred to as JC –an abbreviation of ‘Just Cam’ in Krio, lingua franca of the West African nation.

Sierra Leone can prove to be an ideal tourist destination for British and people living in the UK this winter as the country just launched its national carrier, Air Sierra Leone which will soon start direct flights from London Gatwick to Freetown.

Sarah Marshall shared her experience on British newspaper, the Independent, urging British tourists to choose Sierra Leone as their ideal winter destination. The article titled, “The stunning African winter beach holiday with new direct flights from London” depicts the serenity of Freetown’s pristine white sandy beaches like Tokeh, River No. 2 and Lumley Beach located on the Atlantic coastline. But there’s more to the beaches in visiting Sierra Leone. While in Freetown, you might also want to check out the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary located at Regent Village, less two miles outside Freetown or you might want to experience the annual climbing of the Bintumani Mountains (the highest peak west of Mount Cameroon) in Kabala, Koinadugu District in Northern Sierra Leone.

Marshall also recommended British tourists visiting Turtle and Banana Islands –islands located close to the Freetown peninsular. At Banana Island, visitors will experience tasty seafoods and snorkelling from the Dalton Banana Guest House which also offers cosy huts for those tempted to pass the night. Turtle Island will be graced by hundreds of turtles who nest on the banks of the island between mid-November to early May.

Travel research platform, Tripadvisor also suggests that tourists will get the best experience in Sierra Leone if they visit between December and April when the rain season would have ended.

With direct flights from the UK to Sierra Leone back, tourists should take advantage of this to get a sunny winter experience like never before.