Can a Brit Drive in Ivory Coast? — IDP Advised & the Side Switch

Ivory Coast is one of West Africa’s more navigable self-drive countries, but for a British visitor two things reshape the trip: the side of the road, and the language on every document and sign.

Can a British licence holder drive in Ivory Coast?

Yes. Your UK licence is accepted for tourist driving, and an International Driving Permit is strongly advised — more so here than in many places. Ivory Coast is Francophone, and a roadside officer reading a French-language IDP alongside your British licence is a smoother encounter than one puzzling over an English-only card. Arrange the IDP in the UK before departure and carry it with your licence and passport.

The side switch — your main hazard

The UK drives on the left; Ivory Coast drives on the right. This is the single thing most likely to trip you up, and the risk concentrates in your first day: rejoining a road from a fuel station, taking a roundabout that now turns the other way, or an instinctive glance in the wrong direction at a junction. Start on quiet roads, not in Abidjan, and stay deliberate at every turn until the new pattern sticks.

Alcohol, speeds and the road

The blood-alcohol limit is 0.08 BAC — the same figure British drivers know from England and Wales — but matching it would be unwise here. Outside the main routes you will meet pedestrians, slow trucks and unlit vehicles after dark, so a much lower personal limit is the realistic call. Posted speeds are 50 km/h in towns, 80 rural, 100 on the better highways, though surface quality drops sharply off the main corridors — drive to the road, not the sign. Fuel is around $1.28/litre, and the emergency number is 112.

Confirm what you need on the Driving Permit Checker, read the country detail on our Ivory Coast driving guide, and for penalty exposure across borders see our guide to driving fines abroad.