Conakry-Gbessia International Airport is the main entry point, ten kilometres east of the city centre. Direct flights connect Conakry with Paris (Air France, daily), Brussels (Brussels Airlines), Istanbul (Turkish Airlines), Casablanca (Royal Air Maroc), Addis Ababa (Ethiopian), and a handful of other African capitals. There are no direct flights to or from North America; transit through Paris, Casablanca or Addis is standard.
Visas are required by most nationalities and must be arranged in advance — Guinea is one of the few West African countries that still does not offer visa on arrival. Apply at a Guinean embassy or use the online e-visa system (which is real but unreliable). Yellow fever vaccination certificate is checked at the airport on arrival.
Overland entry is possible from Senegal, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, but the roads are rough and security at some borders is uncertain. The crossing from Sierra Leone at Pamelap is the most travelled by independent visitors. Expect a long, slow journey on shared bush taxis.
Once you arrive at the airport, the recommended way into the city is a pre-arranged hotel pickup; taxi touts at arrivals are aggressive and rates are unregulated. Allow at least an hour for the ten-kilometre drive into Kaloum at any time other than very early morning.