Route
We only spent eight days in Niger as the main thing we had wanted to do was visit the Air Mountains and Tenere desert and this was not possible at the time due to the Tuareg rebellion. It was still possible to visit Agadez but once there you could not leave the city other than on transit so we didn't bother.

And so we crossed from Kano in Nigeria to Zinder, where we spent a few days before taking the main highway (N1/N7) west to Birnin-Konni and Dogondouthchi. From Dogondoutchi we detoured off the main road and went via Loga and Beleyara to Niamey. Leaving the country we drove down to Dosso and then crossed into Benin using the main Malanville border.

Visas
We got 30-day tourist visas in the embassy in Kano, Nigeria for 4,100 Naira (£18) each. The embassy is impressive and efficient, we got our visas in 24 hours although we have heard of people getting them on the spot. To find the embassy in Kano, head some way out of town on the road towards Niger and it's on the Airport Roundabout, a well-known local landmark. N12.01.670; E08.30.920. As we left we saw that the Benin embassy is just round the corner (maybe worth a try for the Visa Touristique Entente? See below).

We wanted to get a Visa Touristique Entente which covers Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo and Ivory Coast for 25,000CFA (£28) and is valid for one entry into each country and for 60 days from first use. We tried at various embassies of these countries but with no luck; strangely it seems easier to get once you are already in one of these five countries. We got ours in Niamey after deciding that it was still worth it because we were on a space-saving mission for our passports. If you want to get one in Niamey you need to go to the DST (Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire) on Rue President Heinrich Lubké. N13.30.487; E02.06.68. They are quite rude but at least we got our passports back same day.

Border formalities and checkpoints
We didn't take the main border crossing between Kano and Zinder but instead took a quieter one at Kongolan (for no reason other than we felt like it!). The Nigerian and Niger border posts were about 5km apart and there was no customs office on the Niger side so we had to stop in Matameye where the douane office is on the main road and easily spotted. Both Nigerian and Niger sides were quiet and friendly, we even had a great lunch in the Nigerian customs canteen! Note that there is a toll immediately after crossing into Niger so you'll need some CFA handy.

Exiting at Malanville was a little more officious and the Niger staff were quite rude although no real problem. If you are coming from Niamey drive straight through all the mess in Gaya which surrounds the Nigerian border post and the Benin border post is a few km further on - it's spans a bridge over the river so is not difficult to identify. The Benin side had a truck traffic-jam when we came through and is a little more hectic.

We were mostly waved through the checkpoints except when we detoured off the main road when we were stopped by police around Loga. They seemed confused as to why tourists were driving that way and took us to the station to photocopy our passports. A little time-consuming but all very friendly.

General driving conditions
There is very little traffic on the roads apart from aid vehicles driving far too fast. Even Niamey is quiet and easy to navigate. The main roads are OK but not brand new. When we were there they were in the process of rebuilding the main highway (N1/N7) at the Zinder end. Towards Dogondoutchi there are loads of kids filling in pot-holes and requesting payment; some set up a rope barrier but soon drop it if you don't slow down!

Tolls are payable on all the main roads. They have a system whereby you can pay for your whole journey, even if you are splitting it over a few days, and then just show your ticket at the other booths. It works well and saves you having to find change every time. As an example we paid 2,500CFA (£3) for our three day drive from Zinder to Niamey

Specific driving conditions
All times are 'time moving' from our GPS and so are driving time only.

• Kano to Zinder (via Kongolam borderpost). 5 hours. The Kongolam-Matameye section is a good tar road, if a little narrow. Matemeye-Takieta is good tar and then after that we were on the main highway and dusty diversions around the roadworks. All this route felt very rural after Nigeria - no shops!
• Zinder to Dogondoutchi. 10 hours over two days with a stop in Birnin-Konni. Roadworks with diversions from Zinder to Takieta. Takieta-Maradi was very good, narrow tar with the odd deep pothole to look out for. Maradi-Dogondoutchi was very pot-holed and had loads of kids 'repairing' it.
• Dogondoutchi to Niamey via Loga and Baleyara. 6 hours. Dogondoutchi-Loga is good graded piste. Loga-Baleyara was pot-holed dirt whilst Baleyara-Niamey was very pot-holed tar.
• Niamey to Malanville (for Benin). 5 hours. Niamey-Dosso was perfect tar then it was very potted Dosso-Gaya (this section alone took three hours). We drove all the way from Niamey to Kandi in Benin in one long day.

Accommodation
Niger is not really set up for camping so most of the places we stayed were a little strange in some way and also quite expensive. Bushcamping would be possible but we were not that keen given the recent troubles and the fact that our route was mostly in border areas.

• Zinder. We camped in the car-park of Hotel Malan Kalka Damon for 5400CFA (2 people + parking!). We wouldn't recommend it - they put us in the car-park where a (nice) family live and getting to the toilets and showers involved going back out onto the street, in the front entrance and up some stairs. Rooms were not much more expensive but weren't great either. Best bet for accomodation in Zinder is to ask at the Franco-Nigerien cultural centre for current recommendations.
• Birnin-Konni. The Camping Relais Touristique on the western side of town is spacious and the facilities are OK, although it doesn't feel too secure and you should expect some hawkers to visit. 6000CFA (2 people + car). N13.48.045; E05.14.640.
• Dogondoutchi. Hotel Magama is the only hotel in town. We stopped to ask about camping but saw that the strange little concrete bungalows with a shower but no toilet were only 5000CFA so took one of those instead. However the highlight of this hotel was their bar over the road. We were there on a Sunday and so was most of the town. We ate (not good) and then got treated to two sets of local musicians coming to serenade us. Great fun.
• Niamey. Camping Touristique was a friendly place and they gave us a key to our own toilet and shower as the builders were using the others. Be warned that the whole place becomes one of the most popular outdoor bars in town every night with secret assignations happening under the shelters around you! N13.32.076; E02.04.760.

Food, water and beer
There not masses of fruit and veg on the streets but there is some in the towns. Birnin-Konni in particular is a good place to stockup. It was onion season when we were there and there were literally thousands around Niamey. El Haddad supermarket in the centre of Niamey was ridiculously expensive but had imported stuff you couldn't find elsewhere.

We had a very good lunch at El Alis in Zinder (ask around as it's difficult to find) and the brochettes in Camping Touristique in Niamey are fantastic. Street-food (omlette breakfasts, riz-sauce etc) is everywhere, good and cheap.

Biere Niger is OK and costs from 500CFA for a large bottle, depending where you buy it. Water is obviously scarce in places so pick it up when you can.

Money and fuel
There are no ATMs that take foreign cards in Niger. The easiest thing to change is euros but even this can be difficult - we drove into Maradi to change money but none of the banks would take my money because it was a Saturday. Most banks take commission but the Banc de Islamique near the DST in Niamey (see visa section for directions) changed our euros fee-free. There are loads of unofficial money-changers in Birnin-Konni and we had no trouble dealing with them.

Diesel is expensive from the fuel stations at around 665CFA/litre (76p). The best place for smuggled fuel is Birnin-Konni as it is a border town with Nigeria. It's obviously all negotiable but we paid 25,000 CFA for a 48-litre drum which works out at 532CFA/litre, about halfway between the Nigeria pump price and the Niger pump price. The fuel was good - I guess these guys can make a good profit without having to water it down - and the negotiation friendly.