Read the current travel advice issued by your own government, because many countries publish warnings for specific regions of Burkina Faso, particularly the northern and eastern border areas. Then talk to a local contact or a tour company genuinely operating there to confirm your intended route is still workable, and leave your itinerary with someone at home, updating them as you move rather than only at the end.

Mobile money here is tied to a local phone number, so you need a domestic line to open an account and load it. Most short-stay visitors still run on CFA franc cash and lean on a local contact when a transfer is needed. An eSIM gives you the data connection for maps and messaging but does not give you a local number, so it does not by itself unlock mobile money — worth knowing before you count on paying that way.

Private intercity coaches run between the main cities and are how most people travel; Ouagadougou to Bobo-Dioulasso takes roughly half a day. Book a seat in advance and take a morning departure so you are not on the road after dark. The signal disappears for long stretches en route, so download what you need before boarding and tell the place you are heading to roughly when you expect to arrive.

Day to day it works normally in the main cities, but power cuts affect hotel Wi-Fi, and access to some online services has at times been restricted during periods of unrest — something no provider controls. The practical preparation is to keep tickets, documents, maps and contact numbers saved offline on the device, and to carry a power bank, so a few hours without data or electricity does not strand you mid-journey.

Most plans here start when the phone first connects to a network at the destination, so you can install in advance at home and switch it on after landing. Each plan page states its own rule.

No. The eSIM is a second line, so you keep your home number for SMS OTP. Turn off roaming data on the home line and set the eSIM as the data line.