Senegal

Discovering Senegal: Gorée, Saint-Louis, Lompoul and the Petite Côte

Five nights touring and two relaxing in Saly, ideal for a first visit

Senegal

Discovering Senegal: Gorée, Saint-Louis, Lompoul and the Petite Côte

A first taste of Senegal by horse cart, pirogue and 4x4: Gorée Island, Lac Rose crossed in a salt pirogue, Saint-Louis and, from November to April, Djoudj bird park, the Langue de Barbarie, a night in a desert camp in the Lompoul dunes, the market in Thiès, the baobab forest and the Somone lagoon. The trip ends with two free days in a 3* hotel in Saly, by the ocean, with optional excursions (the Saloum and Fadiouth, Bandia reserve).

When

Nov to May

Price

From 1 193€ excl. flights

(based on 2 people sharing)

How long

7 nights

Ideal length

Dakar, Gorée and Lac Rose

Days 1-3

Two nights beside Lac Rose, with Gorée Island and Dakar in between.

Day 1

Dakar – Lac Rose

Fly to Dakar, welcome and transfer to Lake Retba, Lac Rose's real name. Check into a superior hut in a camp and dinner of a Senegalese speciality.

Day 2

Gorée Island and Dakar

Cross to Gorée Island and visit the House of Slaves. Lunch on the island, then a tour of Dakar: colonial buildings, the cathedral, the presidential palace, Kermel market, the corniche facing the Madeleine Islands and Ouakam mosque.

Day 3

Lac Rose by salt pirogue – Saint-Louis

Cross Lac Rose in a salt pirogue: its salinity is higher than the Dead Sea's, and you float effortlessly if you swim. Drive north to Saint-Louis, the former capital, a UNESCO site.

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Saint-Louis and Lompoul

Days 4-5

The north of the country: Saint-Louis, the birds of Djoudj and the Langue de Barbarie, then a night in the dunes.

Day 4

Saint-Louis and Djoudj park

In high season, from November to April, a pirogue trip through Djoudj National Bird Park, the third-largest bird reserve in the world and a sanctuary for more than three million birds: pelicans, cormorants, flamingos. Monitor lizards, crocodiles and warthogs also frequent the banks. The rest of the year, the day is devoted to Saint-Louis.

Day 5

The Langue de Barbarie – Lompoul

A pirogue trip down the river in the Langue de Barbarie National Park, around the bird island where terns, gulls and pelicans nest, to the strip of sand between river and ocean where sea turtles lay their eggs. Lunch in a riverside lodge, then drive to the Lompoul dunes and a night in a desert camp.

1 / 4

Thiès, the Somone and Saly

Days 6-9

Thiès market, the Sindia baobab forest and the Somone lagoon, then two days of rest in Saly.

Day 6

Thiès and the Somone lagoon – Saly

Drive via Mékhé, Senegal's shoe-making capital, and Thiès, with a walk round the central market: vegetables, spices, fabrics, remedies and gris-gris charms. A view over the Sindia baobab forest, then the Somone lagoon, a listed nature reserve. Check in at Saly.

Day 7

Saly, free day

A free day at the hotel, between the pool and the ocean. Optional, payable locally (€75 per person): the Saloum and Fadiouth, the shell island, with a visit to a Serer village.

Day 8

Saly – flight home

A free day. Optional (€55 per person): a 4x4 safari in Bandia reserve, with white rhinos, giraffes, zebras and buffalo. Transfer to Dakar airport according to your flight time.