Can a British Driver Drive in Burkina Faso? — IDP Recommended & a Side Switch to the Right

Burkina Faso is not a routine tourist drive, and the honest first step for any British visitor is to check current FCDO travel advice — much of the country has carried serious warnings. With that caveat up front, here is the licence verdict and what is genuinely known.

A British licence holder should drive on their UK licence with an International Driving Permit alongside it. The IDP is the recognised translation a checkpoint or vehicle provider will expect to see, so arrange it at a UK Post Office before you travel and carry it with your licence and passport.

The clear adjustment is the side of the road. The UK drives on the left and Burkina Faso drives on the right. With relatively little traffic outside the capital, the risk is less crowded roundabouts and more instinct on empty roads — drifting back to the left after a turn, or judging oncoming vehicles from the unfamiliar side. Stay deliberate until it feels natural.

Beyond that, it is better to be honest than precise. Sealed roads are concentrated around Ouagadougou and the main intercity corridors; off them, expect unpaved surfaces, dust, little signage and almost no roadside assistance. Posted limits are recorded around 50 km/h in towns, 80 on open roads and 100 on the few dual carriageways, but treat those as a ceiling and drive to the surface in front of you. The drink-drive limit on record is 0.08, yet the conditions make no alcohol the only sensible rule. The emergency number commonly given is 112.

Confirm exactly what you should carry with the Driving Permit Checker, and if your wider trip crosses borders, our guide to who pays driving fines abroad explains how penalties follow a hire car.