You are in Sierra Leone and like many overlanders, you are contemplating your trip to Liberia. Here’s how l navigated that same path. This short post on how to travel by road from Sierra Leone to Liberia will expound on the transport fare, time and process. This is a must-do if you want to tour West Africa on a budget.

Most rich overlanders use their imported cars and motorbikes from different continents, but l did it with public transport. Here’s a simple guide of how it went by.

Just like many travelers, Freetown, the capital city, is always the first stop in this tiny West African country. That was mine too  There are three places within Freetown where you can board a taxi or bus to Bo city, then Monrovia. I will post all the options below, though l took only one. 

I got most of my information just randomly asking Sierra Leoneans around the street or in buses. By the time you take this trip by road from Sierra Leone to Liberia, a lot might have changed, but I hope this helps you.

Leg one on how to travel by road from Sierra Leone to Liberia

The first one is to go to the Lumley bus station. This was the closest to my Airbnb so it was perfect for me. I went as early as 7am but the bus like several other public transport systems in many African countries doesn’t have a specific departure time. That means, it leaves only when there are many passengers. I hoped for the front seat and l was happy to get it.

Otherwise every other section will have 5 persons. This is extremely uncomfortable in a minibus. The squeezing is for real.

As per May 2024, l paid 130SLE as transport fare.

The second optiom is to go to the central bus station. I heard there are bigger 70 seater buses that depart from there directly to Bo. The price for this is 125SLE. 

Lastly, you can take a private shared taxi from shell. Shell is a famous petrol station, every one knows it. For maximum comfort and to save time, some people hire the taxi. It leaves immediately you pay, and undoubtedly is the fastest way. I regreted why l didn’t take this option. It could have been slightly expensive but I could have saved my time to work. 

I spent 4hours waiting at the bus station. My precious time which l could have done something else productive. The map on Google estimates a 4 hour trip but it might end up being a 7hours one like mine. There’s just one police check point so its a straight trip on a fairly tarred good road.

Equally, I recall seeing a pothole just once or two. Kudos to the Sierra Leonean government for this great infrastructural development. You would probably be tired like me. Some people dare to continue from Bo to Monrovia on the same day, but l recommend taking a break and spending a night or two in Bo.

Where is Bo?

Bo city is Sierra Leone’s third largest city. I suggest spending the night here. Otherwise, the trip to Monrovia will be too lengthy and exhausting. I spent a few nights here at Umoja GuestHouse beside the road at New London famous junction. This position is ideal because its beside the bus station for Freetown and Monrovia.

If you want to try the expensive side of things, then go to Dohas Hotel. Alternatively, you can stay at the Sahara Hotel. Its extremely affordable and within the city. I will give more details on my lodge in another post.

Second leg of the trip

Depenidng on where you choose to stay in Bo, you will have several options from the New London roundabout bus station to travel to Liberia. 

The first option is to choose a  shared taxi or bus to Jendema. This is Sierra Leone’s border final border town. From there after your cross the immigration, you can board several buses to Monrovia. This option is very cheap. Bo to Jendema is $7 and Jendema to Monrovia is $10.

The second option is to board a direct shared taxi from Bo to Monrovia. This means, the driver will wait at all the immigration stops. The cost was $20. I took this one because l didn’t want to be stranded at parks in an unfamiliar area with my 2 luggages. I felt it was safe that my bags were in one place with me until Monrovia. 

On the Sierra Leone side, after almost 3 hours drive, our car stopped under a large canopy. Everyone had to alight and go to the Sierra Leonean offices in the block house behind the tent.

 They checked our yellow fever vaccination cards. I had to walk into 3 other offices where my passport was stamped to say goodbye. 

The police and some ministry officers  wrote my personal information in their ledger books while asking numerous irrelevant questions. I didn’t see them asking many questions to West Africans. They seemed surprised and told me they’ve hardly seen a Cameroonian on that road. We shared short laughs about  Cameroon’s political situation and l was off to the Liberian side. 

After all this waiting time, I suggest you  walk on foot through the bridge to the other side. Its a short walk but it could be the best place to take pictures of nature. It will be rewarding l promise.

Third leg of the roadtrip from Sierra Leone to Liberia

This stage of the trip begins when  you cross the gigantic bridge over a calm lake or river. I didn’t remark what type it was. I was carried away with the beauty of the natural feeling around this place.

You will be expected to stop at the large park area before the bridge to get the welcome stamp from the Liberian immigration. Its a slightly lengthy process where bags are checked and your personal information are handwritten in large ledgers. I was in shock to see all the writing still done manually even in this technology age.

 After this process, you can exchange money from any of the many money changers loitering around this bus area of Bo waterside. 

Before walk across to the Sierra Leone side, you will need to show your yellow fever vaccination card at the Liberian health service office. A lengthy handwritten process where they write dates and detail from the card into a ledgar. 

Before you get to Monrovia, you will pass two police stops in Bo Waterside, the border town of Liberia. That means you will leave Bo to go to Bo. How awesome is that?

Depending on where you are planning to stay in Liberia’s capital city Monrovia, or other parts of Liberia, the car will stop at the Duala market. 

From there, you can  board a bike or kehkeh (tricycle) if you don’t have a lot of luggage like me to almost every other part. Taxis are around the main road and will be the most comfortable option but they are slightly expensive.

I wasn’t familiar with the place to take note of any landmarks but l suggest you ask your driver. Its a popular part of the city.

Things to carry along

I applied for my Liberian visa at the Liberian Embassy in Freetown. It was $100. I was informed that the process will take a week for the visa to be issued. I waited for a call for over a week. Dissatisfied with the delay, I took a bold step to go and request for my passport and visa in person. When I went there, surprisingly, nothing had been done. I had to wait for a few minutes for the visa officer to process my application. Thats by far the weirdest visa application process I have ever had. My passport was handed to me without an apology. Apparently, they had forgotten.

1.Your passport with a visa if you need one. 

2.West African national identity card or the ECOWAS card if you are West African

3. Yellow fever card

If you are a travel fanatic like me and want to dare other countries, you could check out this blog. Thats where I got most of my travel information before this trip.

Now, you know how to travel by road from Sierra Leone to Liberia. Check out other roadtrips from Ghana to Togo and future posts here on what to do in Sierra Leone and Liberia.