Bijagós Islands
Archipelago in Guinea-Bissau
About 88 islands and islets in the Atlantic off the coast of Guinea-Bissau, often misspelled Bijagos in English and once known in English as the Bissagots.
Photo: Mailsonribeiro, Public domain
GW · Curated travel guide
Guinea-Bissau: 10 places worth the journey
Bijagós Islands, Río Grande de Buba, Bissau Cathedral and 7 more — what each one is, and why it is worth the detour.
- Places
- 10
- Language
- Portuguese
- Currency
- XOF
What to see in Guinea-Bissau
Chosen from everything Wikidata knows about Guinea-Bissau and ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions describe them, which is about as close to "famous" as open data gets.
Río Grande de Buba
Also called the Rio Buba, Rio Grande or Grande River, a West African estuary lying wholly in Guinea-Bissau, where it flows into the Atlantic. It is about 54 kilometres (34 mi) long and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) wide at its mouth.
Photo: RemusShepherd, CC BY 2.0
Bissau Cathedral
Church in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
Also called Sé Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Candelária, the Catholic cathedral of Bissau, heart of the Church in Guinea-Bissau.
Photo: JNM, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cacheu River Mangroves Natural Park
National park in Guinea-Bissau
A national park along the Cacheu River in Guinea-Bissau, created on 1 December 2000.
Photo: Joehawkins, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Presidential Palace, Bissau
Seat of the president of Guinea-Bissau
The residence of Guinea-Bissau's President, in the capital, Bissau. At its peak it was among the city's most substantial buildings, but it was bombed and ruined in the 1998–99 Guinea-Bissau Civil War.
Photo: Joehawkins, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Our Lady of Grace Cathedral, Bafatá
Church in Bafatá, Guinea-Bissau
Also called the Cathedral of Batafá, a Catholic church in the town of Bafatá, in Batafá region, Guinea-Bissau. It is one of the country's two cathedrals; the other, in the capital, Bissau, is dedicated to Our Lady of the Candles.
Photo: Jcornelius, CC BY-SA 4.0
Fortaleza de São José da Amura
Known locally as Amura Fort, a fortification in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, in West Africa.
Photo: Joehawkins, CC BY-SA 4.0
Caravela
Island in Guinea-Bissau
The most northerly of Guinea-Bissau's Bissagos Islands, in the Sector of Caravela, which also takes in Formosa, Ponta, Maio and Carache. The island has 907 people and the sector 4,263.
Photo: Dietmar Pabe ( DidiPabel at de.wikipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0
Bolama Island
Island of the Bissagos Islands, Guinea-Bissau
The Bissagos island nearest to Guinea-Bissau's mainland, with 6,024 inhabitants.
Photo: Army Map Service, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, Public domain
About Guinea-Bissau
Officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, a West African country of 36,125 square kilometres (13,948 sq mi) and an estimated 2,080,000 people, with Senegal to its north and Guinea to its southeast.
Officially The Republic of Guinea-Bissau.
Based on the Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0: the facts are Wikipedia's, the wording is this site's.
Questions travellers ask
What is worth seeing in Guinea-Bissau?
This guide lists 10: Bijagós Islands, Río Grande de Buba, Bissau Cathedral and Cacheu River Mangroves Natural Park and others.
How were these places chosen?
By machine, from open data, with no human ranking them and nobody able to pay for a place on the list. Everything Wikidata records in Guinea-Bissau that is a building, a landform, a protected area or a tourist attraction, has coordinates, a photograph and an English Wikipedia article, is ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions wrote about it. Provinces, cities, airports, stations and stretches of sea shared with the neighbours are filtered out.
What language is spoken in Guinea-Bissau, and what currency?
Portuguese. The currency is XOF.
How do I get mobile data in Guinea-Bissau?
A travel eSIM is usually the cheapest way, and avoids a roaming bill. The plans suggested at the foot of this guide start at $6.93 for 1GB per day. The eSIM is data-only and sits alongside your normal SIM, so calls, texts and WhatsApp keep working on your own number.
Which networks would my phone use in Guinea-Bissau?
Orange. Your phone picks whichever has the best signal where you are, the same way a local phone does.
One practical note: staying online
Maps, tickets and translation all want data, and roaming is the expensive way to get it. A Computatus eSIM eSIM connects to Orange once you land, and installs by QR code before you leave.
See 9 Computatus eSIM plans for Guinea-Bissau from $6.93
| Plan | Data | Valid | Price | Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1GB per day Cheapest | 1 GB | 1 day | $6.93 | Get it → |
| 1GB for 7 days | 1 GB | 7 days | $7.70 | Get it → |
| 2GB per day | 2 GB | 1 day | $15.39 | Get it → |
| 3GB for 15 days | 3 GB | 15 days | $20.53 | Get it → |
| 3GB for 30 days | 3 GB | 30 days | $21.82 | Get it → |
| 5GB for 30 days | 5 GB | 30 days | $34.22 | Get it → |
No app needed. Install by QR code before you fly, keep your own number for calls, and it connects the moment you land.
Orange 4G
A commission on plans bought through these links is what pays for this guide. Nothing above depends on it: the places are chosen before any price is looked up.