Abidjan eSIM
In Abidjan you connect to Orange or MTN, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 30 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Orange and MTN
- Typical speed in Ivory Coast
- 30 Mbps typical, 7 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- 4G only
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Abidjan
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $19.89 | $19.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $14.63 | $43.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $13.38 | $66.89 |
How Ivory Coast compares across Africa
- Regional typical speed
- 29.5 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Orange, MTN
- 5G
- 4G only
- Next fastest nearby
- Morocco, 31 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Egypt, 29 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 1: Abidjan
Landing at Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport (Port Bouët) (ABJ)
- Airport
- ABJ / DIAP
- Distance
- 16 km from the centre of Abidjan
Getting into Abidjan
- Taxi and hotel shuttle from the passenger terminal (ABJ)
- Bateaux bus across the Ebrie Lagoon, operated by SOTRA, Aqualine, Monbato and STL
- SOTRA city buses (Express, Wibus, Monbus and Monbus Navette)
Worth knowing about Abidjan
- Abidjan has no metro in service: the single north-south line has been under construction since 2017 and is expected to open in 2028.
- The planned metro will terminate at Aérocité station inside Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, but until then the airport is reached only by road.
- The airport sits about 16 km southeast of Abidjan in the Port-Bouët district, on the far side of the Ébrié Lagoon from much of the city.
- Subscriber identification is compulsory and free for every Orange Cote d'Ivoire customer, under decree 2017-193 of 22 March 2017.
- Orange Cote d'Ivoire accepts a biometric passport as identification for non nationals. Ivorians may use a national identity card, a biometric driving licence or a biometric passport.
- Abidjan metro Line 1 will run 37.5 km from Anyama to Port Bouet with 20 stations and a viaduct bridge over the Ebrie Lagoon.
- The transport ministry expects Line 1 to carry 530,000 people a day. Construction was launched on 12 January 2017 by Presidents Ouattara and Macron.
- Lagoon boats are ordinary commuting here. The transport ministry puts lagoon traffic at 200,000 passengers a day against studies showing potential for more than 500,000.
- CITRANS opened a lagoon station at Abatta in Bingerville on 5 April 2019 and runs a fleet of nine Aqualines boats seating between 90 and 240 passengers.
- The government open data portal's Abidjan transport dataset covers SOTRA buses, woro woro taxis, gbaka minibuses and the bateaux bus operators Monbato, Aqualine and STL, with their frequencies and timetables.
- SOTRA carries more than a million passengers a day with a fleet of 2,200 buses, after 200 new vehicles were handed over at the Plateau southern station on 9 July 2025.
- Felix Houphouet Boigny International Airport handled 2,535,451 passengers in 2024, an increase of more than 8.72 percent on the 2,331,917 of 2023.
- Travellers who are not ECOWAS nationals apply and pay for an e-visa online at least 10 working days ahead. Once approved, the visa itself is collected on arrival at Abidjan airport.
- Photography is prohibited near Abidjan airport, as it is near military sites, government buildings, broadcasting stations and the Presidency.
- Abidjan's metered taxis are the red ones. The shared woro woro taxis run fixed routes and pick up several passengers along the way.
- App-based cars such as Yango, Uber and Heetch must be booked through the app and cannot pick up passengers who flag them in the street. Riders pay in cash or by mobile money.
- App drivers work under decree 2021-860 of 15 December 2021 on private passenger transport. Platforms need a licence from the transport ministry, and drivers must hold a professional driving certificate and a clean record.
- British travel advice for Abidjan recommends ride-hailing apps or pre-arranged private taxis over street taxis, and avoiding public transport after dark.
- SOTRA publishes its own SOTRA Mobile app with line information for Abidjan. A September 2025 update activated a virtual bus card on the phone and added payment through Wave.