Travel Trade

Osmosis Akan Plus is an inbound tour operator based in Abidjan. We build and operate cultural, nature and pilgrimage tours across Côte d’Ivoire, and cross-border circuits into the sub-region. We also handle MICE: business delegations, incentive trips, meetings and events. Net rates to the trade, quotations within 48 hours, and no third party between your client and us.

We are a ground handler, not a broker. The vehicles, the guides, the village protocol and the relationships with the mask families are ours. When you sell one of our tours, there is nobody standing between your client and us.

• Licensed since 2001. Category A travel agency licence from the Ivorian Ministry of Tourism, held since 2001 (current decree no. 003/MINTOUR/CAB/DGU/SF/sb of 8 February 2024).
• Receptive operator. Official Ivorian host of the TOUGHA familiarization tour, October 2026.
• Field experience. Our founding guide has nearly 30 years in West Africa.
• Working languages. We guide in English, French, Spanish and German. Professional interpreters, Russian and Chinese among them, are arranged on request and quoted separately.
• Turnaround. Costed programme and net rate, normally within 48 hours.

Request net rates · WhatsApp us

What we handle

Everything below is operated by us, on the ground, from Abidjan. You keep the client relationship; we keep the country running underneath it.

Ground handling

Arrival to departure. Transport, hotels, guides, entrance permits, supplier payments and airport fast track, coordinated from one desk.

FIT and private travel

Tailor-made itineraries from two travellers upward, built around what your client actually asked for.

Groups and series

Coaches, multiple guides and split rooming lists. Repeat departures on fixed dates, quoted once for the season.

Business delegations and MICE

Company visits, venue and event logistics, protocol with local institutions. Professional interpreting in the language the meeting requires, Russian and Chinese among them, arranged on request and quoted separately. Incentive programmes too.

Cruise excursions

Shore programmes for calls at Abidjan, sized to the turnaround window and run to the ship’s clock.

Cultural tourism

Mask ceremonies arranged with the families and societies that own them. This is our core product.

Pilgrimage travel

Five Marian sanctuaries, including the largest church in the world at Yamoussoukro. Built for parish groups.

Site inspections and FAM trips

Hotel inspections, supplier introductions and route reconnaissance for operators evaluating the destination.

Transport and drivers

Coaches, minibuses, 4×4 and sedans with experienced route drivers. Cold box and mineral water in every vehicle.

Guides and interpreters

Our own guides work in English, French and Spanish, with a German-speaking guide on request, and local guides join where a region calls for it.

Interpreting is a separate service and is not included in tour prices. For business missions, institutional meetings and events we arrange professional interpreters on request, Russian and Chinese among them, and quote them separately.

Hotel contracting

Negotiated rates in Abidjan, Yamoussoukro, Grand-Bassam, Korhogo and Man, held for your allocation.

Letters of invitation

Issued for your clients’ visa applications, in the format the Ivorian authorities expect.

Photography and film trips

Portrait and ceremony shoots negotiated village by village, with shooting rights agreed before the crew arrives.

School and youth travel

Summer camps and study trips for schools and youth organisations, with the supervision ratio the group requires.

Solidarity programmes

Orphanage and foundation visits, tree planting and community projects, built into an itinerary rather than bolted on.

The masks that are still danced

This is what we have that a general ground handler does not. Each dance below is arranged directly with the family or the society that owns it. We handle the approach to the chief and the elders, the kola nut and the customary gift, and our guide tells your clients precisely when photography is permitted and when it is out of the question.

Dance	People and region	What it is
ZAOULI	Gouro · Bouaflé, centre-west	Inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The dancer’s feet move faster than the eye can follow, under a carved mask never shown outside the dance. Our single most requested item.
GOLI	Baoulé · centre	A family of four masks that come out in order, from the buffalo-horned Kplé Kplé to the Goli Glin. Danced for rejoicing and for funerals.
KOMIAN	Agni · Aniassué, east	The priestesses of the Agni kingdoms, in trance. The closest thing to the Akan spiritual world your Ghanaian clients already half know.
BOLOYE	Senoufo · Waraniéné, north	The panther dance of the Senoufo initiates, closing a day among the craft villages.
NASOLOGO DJINAWARI	Senoufo · Korhogo, north	Danced after dark, which is when it belongs. The most striking way to arrive in Senoufo country.
DAN AND WÈ MASKS	Dan and Wè · Man and the west	Stilt dancers, jugglers who throw young girls in the air, and the Siamiki and Komossi of Wè country.
DOZO	Hunters’ societies · Odienné, Boundiali	The brotherhood of traditional hunters, one of the oldest institutions in West Africa.

Masks are not shows. A death, a funeral, an initiation period or a decision of the chieftaincy always takes precedence over visitors, and can make a ceremony impossible on the day, without notice. When that happens we replace it with a dance of comparable standing at no extra cost. It is written into our terms, and you should write it into yours.

Thirteen tours already built, costed and operated

These are not concepts. Each one has hotels, timings and village arrangements behind it. Send us your dates and your group size and we return a net rate.

Days	Tour	Route	Who it is for
3	Abidjan, Grand-Bassam and the Zaouli	Abidjan – Grand-Bassam – Yamoussoukro – Bouaflé – Abidjan	A first weekend. UNESCO town, UNESCO dance
3	The Marian circuit, five sanctuaries	Abidjan – Toumodi – Yamoussoukro – Bouaflé – Raviart – Bouaké – Abidjan	Church groups, up to 30 pilgrims
5	Masks and Kingdoms	Abidjan – Aniassué – Abengourou – Kondeyaokro – Yamoussoukro – Bouaflé – Grand-Bassam	Three mask traditions, the Akan east
6	The Mask Route, all by road	Abidjan – Yamoussoukro – Bouaflé – Daloa – Wè country – Man – Touba – Blolé – Abidjan	The west. For clients who want depth
6	Ebony Trails, masks and the river	Abidjan – Katiola – Korhogo – Fakaha – Waraniéné – Yamoussoukro – Nzianouan – Abidjan	Four dances and the hippopotamus of the Nzi
6	Wildlife and Masks	Abidjan – Yamoussoukro – Nzi River Lodge – Bouaflé – Grand-Bassam	A night in the bush, plus the Zaouli
7	Benin, the vodún photography trip	Ouidah – Oussa – Gakpé – Savié – Agonkanmin – Comè – Lake Ahémé – Cotonou	Photographers and film crews. Shooting rights agreed in advance
8	Discover Côte d’Ivoire, the northern loop	Abidjan – Bouaké – Korhogo – Niofoin – Odienné – Man – Bouaflé – Abidjan	Senoufo country, the Boloye and the mask festival at Man
9	Discover Côte d’Ivoire, kings and the coast	Abidjan – Bingerville – Bongouanou – Aniassué – Abengourou – Grand-Bassam – Abidjan	A gentler pace. Akan kings, the Komian, colonial Grand-Bassam
10	Summer camp, Côte d’Ivoire	Abidjan – Abengourou – Yamoussoukro – Kondeyaokro – Grand-Bassam – Bingerville – Abidjan	Schools and youth organisations. Weaving, football, orphanage visits
11	Spirit Trails	Abidjan – Aniassué – Abengourou – Bongouanou – Yamoussoukro – Korhogo – Boundiali – Odienné – Man – Bouaflé – Abidjan	Rituals and initiation dances. Our deepest programme
13	Pasos de Eburnie	Abidjan – Daloa – Man – Danané – Odienné – Boundiali – Korhogo – Kong – Katiola – Kondeyaokro – Bongouanou – Abengourou – Grand-Bassam	The west and the north in one run. Built for the Spanish market
16	Explore the Ivory Coast	Abidjan – Bouaké – Korhogo – Boundiali – Odienné – Man – Daloa – Yamoussoukro – Grand-Bassam – Abidjan	Fifteen nights. The Poro, the Fulani, the Dozo, the Zaouli

Where we operate

We would rather tell you this plainly than let you discover it on the day. Our own operation is Ivorian; beyond it we work with people we have used and checked.

Côte d’Ivoire, operated directly

The whole country, our own vehicles, guides and village relationships. This is where we are the operator and not a middleman.

Southern Ghana, operated by road

Cross-border circuits from Abidjan through Noé and Elubo, or through Takikro and Gonokrom in the north-east. Built and costed, ready to run.

Benin, operated

The vodún country. We run our own programmes out of Ouidah, through the sanctuaries of Oussa, Gakpé, Savié and Agonkanmin to Lake Ahémé, including the Egungun and Zangbeto dances and the python temple.

Togo, on request

Extensions built with established local correspondents, under our coordination and on our contract.

Burkina Faso, Mali, Liberia and Guinea, on request

Quoted case by case with vetted partners, subject to conditions on the ground at the time of travel. We will say no if we cannot run it properly.

Two cross-border circuits we want to build with you

We handle Côte d’Ivoire, you handle your side, and we agree the split before either of us quotes.

One week, two countries

Cape Coast and Elmina, then across at Elubo for Grand-Bassam and the Zaouli. Your half, our half, one price to the client. Ghana sells the forts and the castles better than anyone; we sell masks that are still danced. Neither product competes with the other.

The Akan route

Kumasi and the Ashanti stools, then Abengourou and Aniassué for the Agni kingdoms and the Komian priestesses. The same people, the same stool traditions, two countries, one story. It needs an operator on each side, which is exactly what it would have.

Trade terms

These are the terms that apply to bookings made by the trade. They are distinct from the conditions that apply to travellers who book with us directly.

Getting a rate

Send the dates, the number of travellers, the standard of hotel and anything the client has already asked for. We return a net rate, in CFA francs or in euros, normally within 48 hours.

Rates are net to you. What you add on top is your business, and we never quote your client directly. A quotation holds for 30 days; beyond that, hotel, supplier and mask-family rates are reconfirmed and the quotation may be revised.

What drives the price

A large part of the cost of any of our tours is fixed and indivisible: the vehicle, the guide, and the payment to the mask family, which is the same whether five people watch or thirty.

The price per person therefore depends directly on group size, and any change in numbers after booking means the per-person price is revised. Build your margins on the confirmed group, not on the hoped-for one.

Booking and payment

• Deposit. 30% of the total price per person, due 3 months before departure. For bookings made less than 3 months before departure, the deposit is due at booking. Nothing is reserved before it is received.
• Final payment. The balance is due 30 days before departure. For bookings made less than 30 days before departure, the full amount is due at booking.
• Bank charges. Borne by the sender. All payments must reach us net of bank and transfer charges.

Cancellation

• More than 30 days before departure: full refund of all amounts received, less any amounts already irrevocably committed to suppliers (see the exception below)
• 30 to 20 days before departure: 30% of the total invoice
• 19 to 5 days before departure: 50% of the total invoice
• 4 days or less before departure, or no-show: 100% of the total invoice

One exception you need to know about, because it is unusual and it is real. Amounts irrevocably committed to mask families, village chieftaincies, hotels and suppliers remain due in full, even when they exceed the scale above. A ceremony is booked and paid in advance, the village prepares, the protocol is engaged, and that money is never returned whatever the cancellation date. We justify these amounts to you on request. Pass this clause on to your own client.

Hotels, roads and timings

• Hotels are always named «or similar». If one is unavailable we substitute a property of at least equivalent standard, at no extra cost.
• Distances and driving times in our programmes are indicative. Road condition, weather, checkpoints and traffic all move them.
• For safety, certain mountain roads and forest tracks are not driven after dark. We change the order of a day’s visits rather than drive them at night.

Insurance

No insurance of any kind is included in any of our prices. Travel, medical and repatriation cover is the client’s responsibility. We strongly recommend you make it a condition of booking, and we will ask you to confirm that you have.

What our clients say

Two quotes, two clients, the same operator on a good day and on a bad one.

Your passion for Ivory Coast and its history and people was contagious. Your passion drove this tour and made it one of the very best travel experiences of my life.

James, February 2025

And you are not buying a brochure, you are buying what we do on a bad day. This is a client of ours writing in January 2024 to the operator who had sold her the tour.

I appreciated his attention to detail and ability to handle all situations with grace and calm. At the end of the tour my husband, Steve passed out due to dehydration. Jacob calmly arranged for us to go to a clinic nearby… and we were able to complete the tour.

Elizabeth, January 2024

Send us a request, however vague

We will come back to you with something you can sell. Tell us your company, your country, the dates, the number of travellers, the standard of hotel and what your client is after, and we will return a costed programme and a net rate, normally within 48 hours.

Request net rates · WhatsApp our travel team · info@osmosisakanplus.com

Osmosis Akan Plus · Inbound tour operator · Yopougon, Niangon Académie, Cité Sodefor, 01 BP 4957 Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire · +225 27 22 57 13 34 · Monday to Friday 08:30 to 17:00, Saturday 08:30 to 12:00, GMT all year.