Benin: The Bradt Travel Guide [Paperback]

Stuart Butler (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bradt Travel Guide | Publication Date: April 1, 2006

This new guide to Benin expands the Bradt range of West African guides further, exploring this small but varied country which is gaining popularity with adventure and exotic travel enthusiasts. National parks, game viewing, markets, pristine tropical beaches, and surfing are just some of the highlights of Benin that are readily available with aid of this guide, which caters to cultural and historical visitors, those tracing their roots in Benin's slave trade, overland adventurers, and wildlife enthusiasts.

Features include:
>Where to find the best music, dance, and food in Benin
>Wildlife in depth--with an exploration of the Parc National du W and Parc National de la Pendjari
>Detailed focus on the slave kingdom of Dahomey
>Wide-ranging historical background information including the history and culture of voodoo

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This latest guide in the brilliant Bradt series gives a lively and offbeat insight into this country in western Africa... Packed with information on accommodation, transport, where to eat and local etiquette, the book is also a useful "field guide" to the arcane traditions of magic and voodoo in Benin, with tips on how to avoid sorcerers and other supernatural entities which go bump in the night." The Glasgow Herald "Another unique title (and of how many publishers can one say that?) comes in March: Benin." The Bookseller

From the Back Cover

Congratulations! In your hands is the key to a world of magic and mystery more potent than anything Harry Potter could throw at you. Enter the world of Benin: a place hidden away in the green folds of west Africa; a place that few have heard of, but a place that will leave you enchanted by its spell.

 

In this extraordinary guide, Stuart Butler explains how to win an audience with metamorphosing royalty, why it's best to avoid an Egungun, and where to find an eight-foot dancing chicken. Fortunately, though, normality is also on hand: enter Benin's sun-scorched landscape, stilt villages, and flamboyant markets, just waiting to be explored.

 

*Voodoo, fetishes, and traditional medicine

*Tropical beaches, stilt villages

*Benin in the past, including its slave trade

*All the practicalities: accommodation, eating out, local transport, and more

*The bustling city of Cotonou

*National parks and wildlife safaris

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides; 1st edition (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184162148X
• ISBN-13: 978-1841621487
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,300,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > Travel > Africa > Coastal West Africa

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can Rely on Stuart Butler, August 21, 2006

By 

S. Chiaventone (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Benin: The Bradt Travel Guide (Paperback)

Thank you Stuart Butler for your candor, insights, and helpful information for traveling in Benin. It is a beautiful country with warm, wonderful people. Your book helped prepare me for what to expect, what to avoid, and how to enjoy Benin to its fullest. I also appreciate the folk lore stories and actual historic events you described. I would highly recommend this travel guide as it contains dependable and realistic information. I will definitely look forward to you sharing more of your travel adventures in future travel guides.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, readable book, July 27, 2008

By 

Domberlic - See all my reviews

This review is from: Benin: The Bradt Travel Guide (Paperback)

Travelled for work to Benin and this book was great for my hobnobbing over the weekends. It is also very well written, my parents, who were not travelling with me, read it too, just because it was so much fun to read. There are also details as to who you can contact in a certain town for good guids, which I'm sure is useful. I did not make use of this and regret it. Only negative, though you cannot really expect this from a travel book, is that the historical chapter is somewhat incorrect and over-simplifying, but for that you would better get a history book. All in all, a great purchase for anyone going to Benin.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great information on Benin!, November 23, 2008

By 

Denise Miller (M/V Africa Mercy, Monrovia , Liberia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Benin: The Bradt Travel Guide (Paperback)

We will be going to Benin in February and staying there until December with our ship. This guide gives much more detailed information than the guides that only include about 40 pages of a West Africa Guide. So it is so helpful to us.