Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport handles the majority of international arrivals. The terminal operates as a single-building facility approximately 4 kilometers from the city center. Air France connects Paris Charles de Gaulle to Cotonou daily. Brussels Airlines operates from Brussels. Ethiopian Airlines routes through Addis Ababa. Royal Air Maroc connects via Casablanca. ASKY Airlines serves multiple West African capitals including Lomé, Accra, and Lagos. The airport has no rail connection. Shared taxis wait outside arrivals and charge negotiated fares to central Cotonou. Private taxis cost more. Hotel transfers require advance arrangement. The airport has one ATM in the arrivals hall that dispenses West African CFA francs.
Benin uses the West African CFA franc (XOF). This currency also circulates in seven other West African nations including Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso. The European Central Bank guarantees the peg at 655.957 XOF to one euro. This rate has remained fixed since 1999 when the euro replaced the French franc. US dollars and British pounds do not circulate. Exchange bureaus exist in Cotonou near the Jonquet market area and along Boulevard de la Marina. Hotels may exchange currency at unfavorable rates. Commercial banks include Banque Atlantique, Ecobank, and Banque Sahélo-Saharienne pour l'Investissement et le Commerce. ATMs in Cotonou accept Visa and Mastercard but frequently run empty or malfunction. Porto-Novo has fewer machines. Parakou has limited ATM availability. Smaller cities may have no functioning cash machines for days. Carrying sufficient cash becomes necessary outside Cotonou.
Credit cards see minimal acceptance. Large hotels in Cotonou may process Visa or Mastercard with a surcharge ranging from 3 to 6 percent. The Novotel Cotonou Orisha and the Azalaï Hotel de la Plage accept cards. Restaurants, markets, transportation, and most retail operate cash-only. Mobile money services include MTN Mobile Money and Moov Money but require a local SIM card and registration with a Beninese phone number. International visitors cannot easily access these systems for quick transactions.
Most nationalities require a visa before arrival. Benin does not offer visa-free entry to US, Canadian, British, or EU passport holders. The Benin e-visa system operates at https://evisa.gouv.bj/en/. Applicants upload a passport scan, recent photograph, and hotel confirmation or invitation letter. The fee is 50 euros for tourist visas valid 30 days. Processing typically takes three to five business days. Approval arrives as a PDF document that must be printed and presented at immigration. Some travelers report the e-visa system experiencing outages or payment processing failures. Benin embassies in home countries still issue traditional visa stickers as an alternative. Single-entry visas permit one entry within 90 days of issuance. Overstay fines reach 25,000 XOF per day and create deportation risk.
The international dialing code is +229. Benin phone numbers contain eight digits with no area codes. MTN, Moov, and Libercom operate mobile networks. MTN maintains the widest coverage including Cotonou, Porto-Novo, Parakou, Abomey, Ouidah, and Natitingou. Rural coverage weakens north of Parakou except along the national highway to the Pendjari region. SIM cards sell at small shops, telecom offices, and some gas stations. Activating a SIM requires presenting a passport and completing a registration form. Prepaid MTN SIM cards cost approximately 500 XOF. A starter credit package with 1GB data and calling credit costs around 2,000 XOF. Data packages range from 1GB for 1,000 XOF to 10GB for 7,000 XOF valid for 30 days. Coverage in Pendjari National Park is absent.
French serves as the official language. Government documents, road signs, court proceedings, and formal education occur in French. Benin was French Dahomey from 1904 until independence in 1960. The constitution designates French as the working language. Fon is the most widely spoken indigenous language, concentrated in southern and central regions including Cotonou, Abomey, and Porto-Novo. Yoruba speakers live near the Nigerian border around Porto-Novo. Bariba dominates in Parakou and the north. Dendi speakers inhabit areas near the Niger River border. More than 50 languages exist across Benin's territory. English has minimal penetration outside international hotels. Market vendors, taxi drivers, and restaurant staff in Cotonou operate in French or local languages. Street signs use French exclusively. Learning basic French phrases improves navigation substantially.