Beaches and the Îles de Loos: Kassa and Roume guide

An archipelago off the capital

The Îles de Loos — also called the Îles des Idoles — form an archipelago a few kilometres off Conakry’s coast. The main islands are Kassa, Roume and Tamara, surrounded by several islets. From the Kaloum corniche you can make them out on the horizon, green and low on the water; once ashore, you find fishing villages, paths shaded by mango trees and coves where you can swim almost alone on weekdays.

The archipelago also carries a heavy history. These islands served as trading posts during the slave trade and were occupied in turn by the Portuguese, the British and the French. In the late 18th century, a Liverpool company repaired ships there. It is worth keeping that memory in mind as you walk the paths: today’s peaceful landscape was built on a painful past.

A small curiosity: Roume island is named after a former governor-general of French West Africa, but until independence the islanders, especially those of Sierra Leonean origin, wrote it “Room”. Both spellings are still in use.

How to get there

There are three main ways to cross. Conditions sometimes change — temporary closures, new timetables — so ask the day before.

• Motorised pirogues from the Boulbinet fishing port in Kaloum: the most popular and most authentic option. Allow around half an hour to Kassa, longer to Roume depending on the boat and the sea.
• Boats from the state-run Sandervalia ferry terminal, with larger vessels and speedboats that leave during the day once enough passengers are aboard.
• Hiring a private boat, notably from the Petit Bateau hotel marina: faster and more comfortable, but much more expensive.

Kassa, the most accessible island

Food on the island usually comes down to essentials, and that is just fine: grilled fish of the day, and the local speciality, “commandos” — large grilled prawns — served with alloco, fried plantain.

A typical day? Leave Boulbinet around 8 am, swim at Soro in the morning, enjoy a grilled-fish lunch with your feet in the sand, walk around the island as the heat eases, then head back around 3 pm while the sea is still calm. Families with young children often find this rhythm ideal: the crossing is short, the beaches are gentle, and everyone is back in town before dinner, tired and happy.

To leave early for the Boulbinet jetty, it helps to sleep nearby: Diatigui offers furnished apartments in Conakry, notably in Kaloum, a few minutes from the port.

Roume, the wilder one

Swimming without leaving Conakry

No time to cross? The city has a few escapes of its own. On the north corniche, Rogbané beach in Taouyah is lined with terraces for a sunset drink. For a relaxed swim, though, hotel pools remain the most comfortable option.

The best season

The dry season, from November to April–May, is ideal: near-guaranteed sunshine and calmer seas, with peak comfort from December to March. From June to September, the monsoon brings very heavy rain — more than a metre in July and again in August in Conakry — and rougher crossings.

• Bring cash: there are no ATMs on the islands.
• Sunscreen, a hat and plenty of water: shade is scarce on some beaches.
• Proper shoes for the paths on Roume.
• Respect village life: ask before photographing residents.

In a single morning by pirogue, you go from the buzz of Kaloum to the calm of a palm-fringed beach. It is probably the finest way to understand that Conakry is, above all, a city of the sea.