Togo Safety Guide
Health, security, and travel safety information
Emergency Numbers
Save these numbers before your trip.
Healthcare
What to know about medical care in Togo.
Public hospitals exist in every prefecture. Yet equipment shortages are common. Private clinics in Lomé and Kara offer faster lab work and cleaner wards.
SOS Clinique du Bénin (Lomé, Rue des Nattes), Clinique Bé (Sarakawa), and Clinique Providence (Tokoin) are used by expatriates and accept international insurance.
Pharmacies de la Paix and Pharmacie de la Gare stay open until 22:00; common antibiotics, rehydration salts, and anti-malarials are stocked without prescription.
Proof of insurance is requested at private clinics. Cash deposits are required up front at public hospitals.
- ✓ Bring a printed list of generic drug names, brand names differ from Europe or North America.
- ✓ Pack extra prescription medication. Local substitutes may not match your dosage.
Common Risks
Be aware of these potential issues.
Phones and wallets lifted from café tables or beach bags while you watch the sunset.
Motorbikes weave without lights. Potholes appear suddenly after rain.
Tap water is chlorinated but pipelines are old. Street salads washed in river water cause stomach cramps.
Scams to Avoid
Watch out for these common tourist scams.
A vendor ties a colourful string around your wrist, claims it is a gift, then demands payment.
Informal dealers on Rue des Nattes count CFA francs in front of you, then palm a thick wad while you are distracted.
Young men at the Nadoba entrance insist you need a guide to enter the UNESCO site and charge inflated fees.
Safety Tips
Practical advice to stay safe.
- • Leave flashy jewellery at the hotel; a simple fabric necklace attracts less attention at beach bars.
- • Pre-book a trusted moto-taxi driver's phone number so you are not stranded when clubs close at 02:00.
- • Ask before photographing voodoo shrines. Many locals believe the camera captures the soul.
- • At fetish markets, pay the stall holder a small tip, 500 CFA is polite, before lifting your lens.
- • Sit behind the driver in shared taxis. The left door often lacks a working handle, trapping you in traffic-side exits.
- • If a bush taxi tyre looks bald, wait for the next departure, blow-outs are common on the climb to Kpalimé.
Information for Specific Travelers
Safety considerations for different traveler groups.
Solo women move freely in downtown Lomé by day. Evening cat-calling is common but rarely aggressive if ignored.
- → Wear a lightweight scarf to cover shoulders when entering churches or voodoo compounds.
- → Choose women-only seating sections on STIF bus lines to Sokodé and Kara.
Same-sex relations are illegal under Article 392 of the Togolese Penal Code, though prosecutions are rare.
- → Book twin rooms rather than doubles at guesthouses to avoid questions.
- → Avoid nightlife venues that advertise 'groupe spécial' nights, they may be police traps.
Travel Insurance
Protect yourself before you travel.
Medical evacuation to Ghana costs more than a week in a Lomé resort. Insurance covers air-ambulances and replaces stolen electronics.
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