DMC brochure
A working DMC brochure for tour operators, cruise lines, and independent travellers — the circuits we run, the shore excursions we handle, and the three-country route through the Mano River basin.
Welcome to Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone sits on the West African coast between Guinea and Liberia — beaches that once stood in for a Bounty chocolate advert, a rainforest that still holds pygmy hippos and forest elephants, and a capital, Freetown, whose Krio name — Romarong, “the place of the wailers” — comes from the hills that rise straight out of the sea.
Tourism Is Life is a Freetown-based destination management company. We plan the itinerary, brief the guides, and handle the logistics on the ground — for independent travellers, tour operators, and cruise lines calling at Freetown.
Why Tourism Is Life
CEO Alieya Alie Kargbo has described Tourism Is Life Tours, in an interview with Travel And Tour World, as a DMC and a member partner of 1 DCM World. Guide and part-owner Peter Momoh Bassie has been featured in AFAR Magazine for his work leading trips toward Gola Rainforest and Mount Bintumani. The people who plan your itinerary are the same people who can tell you which trail is passable after rain.
Our destination experiences
Sierra Leone is small enough that these four regions can be combined, or run on their own.
Shore excursions
Turnaround support, port-to-hotel logistics, and shore programmes built around how much time a call actually gives passengers — city heritage, rainforest, wildlife, or a peninsula beach.
A guided city programme covering major historical and cultural attractions in Freetown.
A heritage excursion to Bunce Island and Tasso Island on the Sierra Leone River.
A rainforest sanctuary visit with a guided tour and chimpanzee-related activities.
Culture & history
A former slave-trading fort on the Sierra Leone River, built in 1668 and operating until 1807. It was declared a national monument in 1948. Tens of thousands of people were held and shipped from here, a documented number of them to the Carolinas and Georgia — one of the clearer historical threads between Sierra Leone and the United States.
A working village retreat rather than a staged one. Visitors pay respects to the chief, then join in on cooking, basket making, or raffia work, with drumming and dance in the evening. It’s a slower day, by design.
Nature & wildlife
Forty minutes from Freetown, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary has rescued and rehabilitated orphaned and confiscated chimpanzees since 1995, across roughly 100 acres of rainforest and watershed.
A wildlife sanctuary on the Moa River. A forest walk by day, a boat ride up-river toward evening for a chance — never a guarantee — of a pygmy hippo.
Around 630 recorded species across the country's important bird areas, 23 of them of global conservation concern — including the white-necked picathartes, which nests near River Number Two beach.
Beaches & islands
Banana Island pairs beaches with a former plantation settlement and a small Krio community. Further south, the eight low-lying Turtle Islands — Bakie, Bumpetuk, Chepo, Mut, Hoong, Nydgei, Sei, and Yele — are remote enough that getting there is most of the experience.
Turquoise water and pale sand at River Number Two; a reliable surf break at Bureh Beach; sailing out of Tokeh. Different beaches for different moods, all within reach of Freetown.
Mano River Triangle
A cross-border circuit through Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia — the three countries that meet at the Mano River. One route, three national guides, and a single DMC coordinating the handover at each border.
Conakry’s museums and markets, a boat out to the Îles de Los, and the Kilissi waterfall near Kindia.
Bunce Island, Banana Island, Bo, and Kenema — the same heritage and coast sold to independent travellers, worked into the middle of a longer route.
Robertsport’s WWII submarine base and surf, Monrovia’s Waterside Market, and Providence Island, where Liberia’s first settlers landed.
Tailor-made
The same team plans custom work for operators and corporate groups.
Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions: venue search, ground transport, staffing, and cultural programmes in Sierra Leone.
The same Sierra Leone circuits sold to independent travellers, tailored for groups and business visitors.
Invitation letters and practical guidance for Sierra Leone entry — a core DMC service, not a visa guarantee.
The company has publicly described offering travel insurance and medical-evacuation cover. Policies are arranged case by case.
Chauffeured and self-drive vehicles for city, peninsula, and overland programmes. From economy cars to 4x4s and group coaches.
Accommodation booking across partner properties in Sierra Leone and, on request, Guinea and Liberia.
Domestic and international air ticketing plus event tickets when available.
Guest enquiries, operator ground handling, or a cruise call — the same desk handles all three.
