One of the things I was most excited about when I moved to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) for a year was exploring as much of the country as possible. It took me a little while to get the hang of Abidjan, so check out my full Abidjan Guide if you’re new to the city. Once I got settled, though, I had to start exploring. Cote d’Ivoire is a big country, and there’s lots to explore. Luckily, a few spots make perfect weekend getaways from Abidjan: enter Assinie.
The Assinie beaches are arguably the most popular weekend getaway for residents of Abidjan, and for good reason. Assinie has luxurious hotels and vast beaches less than 2 hours away from Abidjan. In my mind, no trip to Abidjan is complete without a beach trip to Assinie.
How to get to Assinie from Abidjan
Assinie is located about 50 miles east of Abidjan, right on the coast. Without traffic, the drive can be as quick as an hour and a half, depending on where in the city you’re departing from. However, traffic can quickly ensnarl the route, more than doubling the time during rush hour if you’re unlucky.
There are no trains or flights to Assinie, so one way or another you’ll have to arrive on wheels. You have three solid options for arriving in Assinie from Abidjan:
Getting to Assinie by car:
The easiest way to get to Assinie is by car. This will give you full autonomy over your arrival and departure itinerary. In addition, it will make it easier to explore the Assinie area once you’re there if desired.
Getting to Assinie by Yango/private taxi:
If you don’t have a car but are still looking for an easy, comfortable transportation option, try Yango or a private driver. You can easily order a Yango to Assinie on the app, but it will cost you. Outside of rush hour, a one-way Yango to Assinie can easily be 25,000 cfa ($41) or more. If you take a Yango to Assinie be aware that Yango does not operate within Assinie itself. As such, so you will not be able to get a return Yango to Abidjan. Luckily, most hotels will have the number of a private driver or taxi service. If you ask, many hotels will help you call a car to get you back to Abidjan.
You can also go the private driver route in both directions. It’s not hard to find private drivers in Abidjan, so once you find one you like, they can be your Assinie chauffeur. With a private driver, you don’t have to worry about the Yango-less return trip. You can simply tell them the date, time, and location you want to be picked up for the return trip. Be prepared to pay between 20,000-30,000 cfa ($33-$50) each way for a private driver.
Getting from Abidjan to Assinie by gbaka:
If you’re looking for a cheap, local way to get to Assinie, look no further than the humble gbaka. Gbakas are mid-sized transit vans that fit ~15 passengers when fully loaded and operate on fixed routes. Once you have boarded a gbaka that is going in the direction you want, simply alert the driver when you want to get out.
Gbakas to Assinie can be found aplenty at the Gare de Bassam in Treichville. As the name suggests, this is the primary place to get a gbaka to Bassam, another beach town on the way to Assinie. However, you can also find gbakas which will take you all the way to Assinie. Just make sure you’re on an Assinie gbaka or you’ll have to re-board in Bassam!
Gbakas are public transportation, and are slower than private cars. You’ll need to account for the time it takes to arrive at the station, and then for various stops along the way. In addition, you need to be prepared to be packed in like sardines with no air conditioning for the duration of the ride. However, for a public transportation option, they’re remarkably efficient and you can’t beat the cost. You won’t pay over 2,000 cfa ($3.50) per person for the one-way trip.
With the gbaka, you may need to be a bit flexible in your final destination. While some gbakas go all the way to Assinie, many stop at Assouindé, a town about 20 minutes before Assinie. If you’re only able to get a gbaka to Assouindé, don’t stress. It won’t be hard to find a local taxi that will bring you the rest of the way for another 1,000-2,000 cfa ($1.50-$3.50).
Where to stay in Assinie
Assinie has two main parts: a strip of hotels right off the main road and right along the water, and a small, local village. You can also stay in Assouindé, a village just before Assinie.
When people talk about Assinie, they often reference the “lagoon side” and the “beach side”. Assinie has a lagoon that separates the main road from the beach and ocean. Thus, to get to the beach, you need to cross the lagoon. Many hotels offer free boat shuttles across the lagoon to the beach side. In addition, along the lagoon within the village, you can find boaters who will happily ferry you across in pirogues (long wooden boats) for a few hundred cfa.
Staying on the Assinie hotel strip
The vast majority of visitors to Assinie stay in one of the hotels along the “hotel strip”. Many of these hotels are gorgeous and luxurious, with prices starting around 100,000 cfa ($166) per night for a room on the weekends. If you have the freedom to visit Assinie during the week, many hotels offer cheaper weekday rates. This can be a great way to get luxury vibes on a budget. Unfortunately, many Assinie hotels are not on major booking sites and do not offer online reservations, so you’ll have to call to enquire about availability and prices.
One incredible hotel that I spent the day at during my last trip to Assinie is Coucoué Lodge. Coucoué Lodge has luscious grounds with a tropical feel and a big swimming pool. It also has a restaurant that is rumored to be among the best in Assinie. Many people staying at other hotels will come to Coucoué for meals.
Coucoué runs free shuttle boats across the lagoon to its private stretch of beach, complete with beach chairs, a volleyball net, a small food menu, and plenty of fresh coconuts. Luckily, Coucoué is easy to book online. Prices start at 90,000 cfa ($150) for a 2-person room on the weekend, or 80,000 cfa ($130) on a weekday.
Staying in Assinie village
On my last Assinie trip, my group was staying for a few nights, so we decided to rent an Airbnb in the center of the village of Assinie. With the airbnb, we had access to a kitchen and living room which we wouldn’t have gotten with a hotel. However, we also missed out on the fancy pool amenities and beach access that most hotels offer.
Despite its proximity to expensive hotels, the village of Assinie feels surprisingly un-touristy. A stroll through the town presents a welcome slower pace of life and a reprieve from the traffic of Abidjan. There is a healthy stock of maquis (local casual restaurants serving a limited local menu) for dinner and a beer, and plenty of small convenience shops for drinking water and any basics you need. During one of our afternoons in Assinie village, we took a pirogue across the lagoon to check out the public beach. It was almost completely empty, but like many public beaches in the area, unfortunately had more than its fair share of trash.
Staying in Assouindé
If you’re looking for beachfront accommodations with no boat taxi required, it’s worth considering staying in Assouindé. Assouindé has several hotels right on the beach without the lagoon in the way, including Kame Surf Camp, Aura Assinie, and Le Bahia. Once again, many of these hotels lack a solid online presence and may not offer online pricing/booking. In general, Assouindé hotels tend to be a bit cheaper than Assinie hotels. However, if you’re looking for ultimate luxury resort vibes, you’re probably better off heading to the Assinie strip.
Transportation in Assinie
From Assinie town, you can easily flag down local taxis. These can take you out to the beach strip hotels or around town for anywhere from 500-2000 cfa, depending on the distance. However, during my time in Assinie, I had a few taxi misadventures.
The “taxi mafia”
On one of our days in Assinie village, we decided to head to Assouindé. We assumed it would be easy to get a local taxi for the 20-minute ride. As a large, group, we split up into two groups of 3. The first half of our group headed off to Assouindé without a hitch.
However, the other half of our group encountered the “taxi mafia”. In Assinie, the taxi mafia were groups of armed locals who have taken it upon themselves to regulate the roads. We were turned around several times based on increasingly arbitrary rules given by the taxi mafia. Finally, after being told by the taxi mafia that a taxi could only take a maximum of 2 passengers at a time, our taxi driver helped our adventurous 3rd passenger hitch a ride on a passing dump truck until we were out of view of the taxi mafia.
She took it in stride and loved the experience and the story she got out of it. However, it could definitely end up being an unnerving experience for those looking for a simple transportation experience.
Taxi availability at night
Another Assinie transportation adventure occurred when a friend and I were trying to get back to Assinie town from the Assinie hotel strip at around 10 pm at night. When we were ready to leave, we checked in with the security at the entrance to the hotel. We naively assumed they’d be able to help us get a taxi, regardless of the hour.
However, the guard informed us that it was too late for a taxi, and with our limited French, we couldn’t quite figure out what he was proposing instead. He ended up coming out to the road with us and helping us flag a gbaka with two empty spaces. We hopped into the gbaka, and before we knew it we were in the center of Assinie village. In the end, the gbaka was a much cheaper and more efficient ride than our eventful taxi ride earlier in the trip!
What to do in Assinie
Enjoy a classic beach day
The core attraction of the Assinie area is its beaches. While they are not completely trash-free, they’re much cleaner and more swimmable than the beaches of nearby Bassam. For the ultimate Assinie beach day, most people like to find a beachside hotel to spend the day at. At a hotel, you can take advantage of a sunbed, sun umbrella, and pool while enjoying easy access to food and drinks.
If you’re not staying at a hotel with good beach access, not to worry. Many Assinie hotels offer day use. Some will charge a cover fee, which is usually under 10,000 cfa ($16). Others don’t charge a cover fee, but rather expect that you’ll buy food and/or drinks onsight in exchange for use of the facilities.
No matter where you are on the beach, keep an eye out for fresh coconut sellers. Coconut sellers will stroll the beach with fresh coconuts and a machete, and for 500 cfa, they’ll hack one open for you. Once you’ve drunk the coconut water, be sure to flag them down again and have them open up the coconut so that you can eat the coconut meat.
Give surfing a try
If you want something more active than a laid-back beach day, try surfing in Assinie! Kame Surf Camp in Assouindé offers board rentals and lessons so that you can get out in the waves. In addition, it has a great day-use area and pool with no cover charge. This makes it a perfect spot if there are some non-surfers in your group. You can also check out Surf Cote d’Ivoire, which works to make surfing more accessible to the local community.
Assinie is a fantastic weekend getaway from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. With palm tree-filled beaches and surfable waves, it’s an ocean-lover’s paradise. Whether you go by car, taxi, or gbaka, and whether you stay in Assouindé, the hotel strip, or the village, Assinie is sure to recharge a city-weary soul.
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