Sierra Leone holidays

Sierra Leone is one of West Africa's most under-discovered destinations — and one of its most genuinely warm. The Freetown peninsula's beaches (River No 2, Tokeh, Bureh, Black Johnson) are among the finest in West Africa, with white sand, rainforest backdrops and virtually no other travellers. Add the offshore Banana Islands for a quietly luxurious Atlantic-island escape, the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in the hills above Freetown, the country's recovering wildlife at Tiwai Island and Outamba-Kilimi reserves, and a deep history that includes the resettlement of formerly enslaved African Americans (the Krio community) and a UNESCO-listed colonial old town quarter.

A typical Sierra Leone trip runs 7-10 days, centred on the Freetown peninsula. Freetown (2 nights — Cotton Tree downtown, the colonial-era Old Fourah Bay College, National Museum, plus the up-and-coming restaurant scene at Aberdeen) → Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary day-trip → River No 2 beach (2-3 nights at the community-run lodge or the boutique Marisa Beach Resort) → Banana Islands by boat (2 nights at Daltons or Banana Islands Lodge) → optional Tiwai Island wildlife sanctuary (2 nights) for chimps, pygmy hippo and 11 monkey species.