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'''Benin''' is a country in [[Western Africa]] and borders [[Togo]] to the west, [[Nigeria]] to the east and [[Burkina Faso]] and [[Niger]] to the north.
Hitching in Benin is very easy, just stick out your thumb or wave down a
car any way you want. Many vehicles are taxis so make sure the ride is
free before you get in, speaking basic French is important. White plates
are private cars and orange plates are company plates. All cars with
orange plates are taxis and so are pick-up trucks with a canvas frame over
the back, all other trucks should be hitchable. Green, Blue, Black and Red
plates are all government plates and are good for rides in the middle of
nowhere but will pass you on main roads. There are very few vehicles
outside of the South and the main highways. Sometimes if you get yourself
really stuck in the backwoods someone will offer you a free ride on a
motorcycle. Police shouldn't be a problem, if they ask for a bribe they
won't insist. Getting invited to people's houses to sleep isn't very
common in Benin. North Benin has spicier food and kinder and quieter
people, the South has the Vodun religion and most of the little tourism
the country gets. Hitching within cities is more difficult than many parts
of West Africa, probably because people expect you to take motorcycle taxi
within a city. The motorcycle taxis are called Zims, Zimidjans or Zeds and
the drivers are really obnoxious and annoying to deal with. The highway
from Cotonou to Malanville often has large convoys of cars driven by
Nigerian drivers, you can spot them by lack of licence plates and insane
driving, they speak broken English and might be a little rude at first
finding out you want a "lift", but they usually take you any way.
==Cities==
[[Porto-Novo]], [[Abomey]], [[Cotonou]], [[Grand Popo]]
