Remember I was only there 10 days; but here are some thoughts.
1. Take plenty of USD in. There are no banks and no cards work at all. Western Union and Moneygram are everywhere and work fine. I suggest having at least 400 on you at all times (its buys a couple of nights in a hotel). You also need Liberian dollars. Transactions include both. LIB 64 = USD 1. In practice people use LIB 30 as 50 cents, so you will get change with a combination of notes. For example, a $3.50 purchase with a $5 note gives you a USD 1 dollar note plus 30 Liberian dollars as change. br />
2. Take a laptop. Hotels have wireless internet but internet cafes are so poor as to be unusable.
3. The following 4 hotels are recommended as a base: Mamba Point, Cape Hotel, Kristals, and the Royal. They all charge 150/night but it is essential to have a drink with expats the first day or 2, get the local advice, have a smallnew network and support group, and get your bearings. There are also a couple of Chinese hotels in Sinkor, hard to miss, at 120/night.
4. It is a safe city in daylight. Avoid the Redlight district altogether. There is little power or street lighting after dark. Aim to be back at your accomodation before dark, just relax and stay there.
5. Hotels have cars and drivers for a flat $10 per hour for short trips. Avis near the port has Landcruisers and drivers for 150 per day plus fuel. Dont be tempted to drive around yourself. There are no traffic lights, UN convoys and police drive at high speed, and after dark the chances of you hitting a pedestrian on an unlit street are high. Western drivers in an accident are unpopular and a crowd may gather. I found our Avis driver Morris to be excellent. Avis number is +231 6 810 177
6. The centre of town is the corner of Broad and Randall streets. Its all fine before dark. The city street lights that work are powered by diesel generators in the odd disused building. There is no grid.
7. Cell phone coverage is excellent, dropping out between major towns. Get a Lonestar sim. Charge cards can be bought everywhere, default values are USD 5 & 10.
8. Unusually for Africa, a walking westerner attracts little attention or nuisance sellers. They assume you might be attached to UNMIL.
9. There are a few big western supermarkets with everything. The best one is on Mechtel St between Broad St and UN drive. It doesnt look like one from the outside; it is a big green complex with Western Union and Heineken signage.
10. The bag water is suspicious, buy bottled. Some people here buy water purifier processors and start their own small business making local bag water, run to dubious standards.
11. Be polite and kind to everyone. They are really poor and you have a much more enviable lifestyle, recession or no recession.
12. Electricity is 110V;make sure your phone, laptop and camera chargers accept an input of 100-250V. Most power sockets are either 2 round pins, or 2 flat pins with parallel axes.
13. The JFK hospital near the Government House is modern and well run. Go there for attention.
14. Any area in the triangle between Mamba Point, City Centre and Sinkor, is reasonably safe. Travelling alone beyond Sinkor is not recommended.
15. There are no maps ofthe city or the area.
16. If you venture out of Monrovia for a day trip, take your passport. There are immigration and UN checkpoints.
17. When you arrive a the airport, regardless of your visa, the immigration desk will stamp you for a 7 day stay. You need to go to the immigration office in Broad Street to extend it, for around USD 25.
18. When you arrive at the airport, aim for a day arrival so there is no night time travel to the hotel.The airport is 60km out of town and is a good 1.5-2 hour drive. Take this into account when flying out. Best case is to have your hotel or a friend pick you up and travel in with someone. If you do take a taxi, the correct rate is 30 for an old taxi, 50-60 for a new hotel type car.
19. There are desktop printers in town you can take a file on a USB key to. If you need to change your e-ticket this will come in handy. There is little in the way of airline offices in either town or the airport. They are there but it is better to arrange flight changes from home, either online yourself or an agent at home, and print the new emailed ticket. The local offices may not have computers and just overbook.
20. All taxis are share taxis (except for trips to and from the airport.) Up to 10 passengers may cram into a taxi, typically a small Nissan or Datsun. Ask yourself if you really want to drive at high speed with someone sitting on your lap. The rates are by zone: 15 LIB for a short run, 20 or 30 for a trip across town, per passenger.
21. Don’t bring up the war
22. I wouldnt take pictures in the city except from a moving car. Doing so is holding up a sign saying, “I’m not UN, I’m a tourist.” Also, NEVER photograph anything remotely military, UN, police, government, convoys, UN vehicles in traffic, the US embassy…you get the idea. Unfortunately that covers 50% of the city. The various armed sentries are VERY serious about this; there is adequate signage warning you.
23. Having said all that, don’t be deterred from coming here, just come and be sensible and you’ll have a real experience.