You can reach Sierra Leone by road from Guinea or Liberia. Conakry is about two to three hours from the border towns of Pamelap and Kambia (via Gbalamuya). To travel through Guinea you will need a document called ‘laissez passer’ and your vehicle will need to be insured for Guinea. You can take out an ECOWAS insurance for travel within the ECOWAS region.

The main border crossing between Sierra Leone and Liberia is Bo-Waterside. The road on the Sierra Leonean side of the border is in deplorable condition, but on the Liberian side the road is tarred from Bo-Waterside to Monrovia. 

Visas are needed to transit in both Guinea and Liberia. It is best to get all your travel documents before travelling to avoid harrassment at the border. Also, please see your home country’s travel advice for this region before embarking on your journey.

The information below is provided courtesy of Bradt Travel Guide for Sierra Leone:

“A watertight set of papers for a vehicle, if it is your own includes owenership documents, a record of the vehicle, chassis and engine numbers, up-to-date insurance, and a carnet de passage issued by the RAC (www.rac.co.uk) in the UK. This is essentially a vehicle passport to convince custom officials that you are bringing in the vehicle into the country temporarily and will not sell it in the country without paying the necessary import duties.”

Note that the visa provided through our facilitation service also covers entering Sierra Leone by land.