Go, but pay attention.
Sierra Leone’s risk score rose to 70 today, and travelers must account for a global measles notice alongside US and Canadian level 2 advisories.
Governments, one trip
What they're telling their own citizens about Sierra Leone
The real score
The breakdown
See it from your perspective
Go, but pay attention.
The general Sketch Score, unweighted for any specific traveler.
Don't do this
Laws that jail tourists
Drug possession
The use of drugs, specifically marijuana, is prohibited. Police actively enforce these laws.
Staying healthy
What to watch out for, health-wise
Active notices
- • Global Measles
Vaccines
Recommended:
From people who've been there
Local know-how
Staying safe
- •Despite the horrific violence of the 1990s—or ironically, because of it—Sierra Leone is a very safe country to visit.
- •Corruption is less of a problem than it once was.
- •The usual dangers found in undeveloped sub-Saharan Africa, though, are present: traffic and disease.
- •The dangers associated with tropical disease are basically neither more or less than anywhere else in West Africa, but there are no hospitals anywhere close to Western standards.
- •The use of drugs, particularly marijuana is not permitted and the police do enforce the laws against drug use.
Staying healthy
- •Water-borne diseases, malaria and other tropical diseases are prevalent.
- •Medical facilities are very poor, especially outside of Freetown.
Adapted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA — edited by travelers, not us.
Real talk
What travelers actually say
Travelers report that arriving at the airport in Sierra Leone is an unpleasant experience for tourists. Those of Sierra Leonean descent who appear American face specific challenges regarding how much they are hassled by locals upon arrival. There is a clear lack of accessible information regarding best practices for navigating from the airport into Freetown, tipping etiquette, and managing basic resources like medicine, internet, and cell service. The primary safety concerns revolve around the initial arrival process and the potential for being targeted due to one's appearance, making the transition from the airport to the city the most significant hurdle for first-time visitors.
“A lot of reviews I've found detail an unpleasant experience arriving at the airport as a tourist, yet I've been unable to find clear best practices / tips.
— r/travel
“I am most interested in tipping etiquette, the safest way to travel from the airport to Freetown, and how much I will get hassled as a tourist (I'm of Sierra Leonean descent, but look very American).
— r/travel
“Is there anything else I need to keep in mind as a first-time traveler to avoid getting into an unsafe situation?
— r/travel
Pack this, know this
The little things that trip people up
Plug & voltage
D / G · 230V
Driving side
right
Emergency
police: 019 / ambulance: 999 / fire: 999
Show the receipts (11 sources)
- us-state — observed 2026-07-12
- uk-fcdo — observed 2026-07-12
- ca-gac — observed 2026-07-12
- worldbank-political — observed 2026-07-12
- worldbank-policeTrust — observed 2026-07-12
- cdc-health — observed 2026-07-12
- wikivoyage — observed 2026-07-12
- reddit — observed 2026-07-12
- unodc — observed 2026-07-12
- acled-hdx — observed 2026-07-12
- lgbtq-legal-wikipedia — observed 2026-07-12