Sénégal Global Tours
Agence de Voyages et de Tourisme
holiday tours
SENEGAL AND GAMBIA TOUR 8 Days/ 7 Nights
*DAY 1 Airport-Dakar
On arrival, meet with our esteemed guide who will help you finish all the formalities and transfer you to the place of accommodation. Check-in to the hotel and have an orientation about the safari with your guide.
Meal Plan: Breakfast and Dinner
*DAY 3:Dakar-Saint Louis
Early morning, leave Dakar for St Louis with a stop after a 1-hour drive to the Pink Lake, an important center for salt collection. On arrival, observe how salt diggers harvest the salt from the Lake and women pile it up. Snap on something before continuing to St Louis and check to hotel. Later on, visit Senegal’s colonial capital also titled Senegal’s cultural center and home to the annual Saint Louis international Jazz Festival. Explore the town on a horse-drawn carriage. The city reminds you of New Orleans with a wooden balcony align at the narrow streets.
Meal Plan : breakfast and Dinner
* DAY 4:Saint Louis-Touba-Toubacouta-The Saloum Island
After breakfast you’ll depart Saint Louis and drive for 3 hours to the holy city of Touba. Visit one of the largest and most Magnificent Mosque in all of West Africa, the Grand Mosque. Your guide will help you understand Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba the founder of Mouridism and the history of Touba. Later drive for 2 hours to Kaolack with stops at Fulani and Wolof villages. Upon arrival at Toubacouta in the afternoon, we take the pirogue for an excursion of the Saloum Island, confluence of the Sine Saloum, where the arms of the sea seep into the point where land and water gather to form many many isles of shells to admire hundreds of birds. You might see monkeys, gazelles, crocodiles, herons, storks..This area is unique in its natural and wild beauty and was recently included by UNESCO in its World Natural Heritage List of protected biosphere reserves.
Meal Plan: beakfast and Dinner
*DAY 6:Banjul city tour-Kachikally Museum and crocodile Pool-Serekunda
Start from the National Museum, showing the history of The Gambia including the tracing the mix of
African Culture and European colonialism. We then take a short drive through Banjul to “see the sights,” stopping to visit Albert market with much hustle and bustle, where anything from live chicken and vegetables to herbs and false hair can be bought. Or in the afternoon, visit of the Kachikally Museum and The Crocodile Pool It is known by local Gambians for its healing powers and as a place where people come to pray for blessings. It is sometimes seen as a place of last resort for infertile women who wish to conceive The exact number of crocodiles is not known but it is estimated that there are about 100. Return to our hotel.
Meal Plan: breakfast and Dinner
*DAY 7:Banjul-Saly
Early after breakfast departure Banjul port terminal to take the ferry boat. After crossing, the Senegal and Gambian border for the Police and Customs formalities we continue to Saly via the Foundiougne bridge. Visit en route. Check in at the hotel.
Meal Plan: breakfast and Dinner
*DAY 2:Dakar city tour and Goree Island
After breakfast, your trip begins with a city tour of Dakar. The first place of the visit will be the independence place passing through the presidential palace and the main cathedral. Follow by a drive to the seafront toward soumbedioune market and the “mosque of Divinity”. The tour to Dakar will show you the contrasts between upscale residential areas and other popular neighborhoods. You will not leave Dakar without a visit to the popular hotspots like Kermel, Tilene Market, Renaissance Monument, not forgetting Africa’s most modern Museum, the Museum of African Civilization a massive four-story complex which fulfilled the dreams of Senegal’s first president Leopold Sedar Senghor. At midday board a ferry to Goree Island. Spend your time exploring the quiet streets lined with colonial-era buildings. Your guide will showyou one of the most famous buildings which mark the history of Goree. See the “Door of No Return,” where millions passed on their way to slavery
Meal Plan : Breakfast and Dinner
*DAY 5:Toubacouta-Fathala Animal Reserve Juffureh-Banjul
After breakfast, departure to Fathala Animal Reserve to enjoy a Lion Adventure – a once in a lifetime experience. Take the opportunity to interact with lions and accompany them on foot. An unparalleled experience that offers insight into the behaviour of this species, with lots of photo opportunities After this adventure, we drive to Gambia border by the center at the East of Banjul,
after settled police and customs formalities, we will reach Jufureh, the land of Alex Haley’s “Roots
movie”. From Albreda on the main land which gained fame in the period of slavery as a result of its Flag Pole, which many believed would guarantee freedom to anyone who touched it after escaping from nearby James Island reached after 20 min by boat Observe the ruins of Kunta Kinteh Island a place of lust between French, English, Portuguese and Dutch in the middle of Gambia River Sail back to the village of Jufureh to where the ancestry of “Kunta Kinteh” of Roots fame was traced. The restored original home of the Kinteh clan still occupied by the Kinteh family can be visited. After lunch and visit drive toward Bara the border at the West and sailing by a ferry to reach our hotel in Banjul.
Meal Plan: breakfast and Dinner
*DAY 8:Saly-Joal & Fadiouth the shell island-Dakar Airport
After breakfast, depending on the hour of your departing flight we’ll visit the twin villages of Joal and Fadjouth. In the Saloum Delta, Fadiouth is the largest shell-made island with 5,000 inhabitants. For decades, the shells were immersed in the roots of reeds, mangroves, and baobab trees, preventing them from being moved for centuries. Shells are an integral part of the buildings and heritage of Fadiouth, which are lined by them on the streets. Fadiouth is connected to a small shell island through a 200-meter (219-yard) bridge. The beautiful, hilly cemetery has both Christians and Muslims buried together.
We drive to Fadial, Senegal's biggest Baobab tree, on the Joal-Samba Dia road, which is 12 kilometers away from Joal Fadiouth. Return to Saly or drive to the airport for your return flight
SENEGAL HIGHLIGHTS 8 DAYS / 7 NIGHS
*DAY 1:Airport-Dakar
Meeting at the airport and flight, via intermediate stations, to the capital of Senegal, Dakar. Arrival, transfer and check-in at the hotel. Overnight.
*DAY 2:Dakar-Goree island-Pink Lake
Breakfast at the hotel and city tour of Dakar. We will see the Museum of Black Culture, the Cathedral of African Remembrance, Independence Square, the Presidential Palace, the Soumbédioune craft market, the Mosque of the Divinity, the African Renaissance Monument. After the tour we will head to the island of Gore, which was, for five centuries, a key intermediate slave trading post through which European slave traders forwarded drafts to the Americas. We will visit the curiosities of the island: We will climb to the top of the Castel, at the southern end of the island, admiring the wonderful panoramic view and we will look for the cluster of tiny art workshops filled with works of local artists, the "house of slaves" built in 1776, the church of Saint Charles and the picturesque and colorful streets. Return to Dakar and transfer to the Pink Lake. Dinner and overnight stay.
*DAY 3:Dakar-Pink Lake-Saint Louis
After breakfast, visit of Lac Retba or the "Pink" Lake which takes its name from the pink hues it acquires under special conditions, a phenomenon that is now not always clearly visible. Once we arrive, we will take a tour in special 4X4 trucks to this beautiful lake to see men collecting the salt and women stacking it all along the shore. We continue by road to Saint Louis the ancient capital of Senegal replaced by Dakar in 1856 and also the colonial capital of the French Colony of West Africa. We will explore this UNESCO World Heritage Site with its colonial architecture and charming historic buildings. City tour by horse-drawn carriage to see the Faidherbe Bridge, remarkable houses with their old-fashioned charm, the Town Hall, the Cathedral, the Aviation Museum and the Guet Ndar fishing district with its colorful canoes. Dinner and overnight stay.
*DAY 4:Saint Louis-Langue de Barbarie Park-Museum of Photography
Canoeing in the Lanque de Barbarie National Park in a unique setting of narrow sand dunes is a sanctuary for pelicans, flamingos, turtles and many other animals and birds. Return to Saint-Louis and visit the Museum of Photography. Nicknamed Mupho, this museum conveys to visitors images from the colonial era to the present day, through photographs by famous photographers and exhibitions of past and present artists from Senegal, Africa and elsewhere. This photography museum showcases contemporary African photographic creation and promotes it globally. Dinner and overnight stay
.
*DAY 5:Saint Louis-Touba-Toubacouta-Saloum River Wetland Canoeing
After breakfast, departure for Tubakuta via Touba. A true architectural jewel and symbol of Senegalese culture and religion, the Great Mosque of Touba is an essential place of pilgrimage for followers of Muridism, a Sufi brotherhood founded by Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacké. We will discover the fascinating history of this mosque, its magnificent architecture and the customs surrounding it. After the visit, we continue to Toubakouta. Arrival and check-in at the hotel, then canoe ride to the Saloum River wetland. We will visit the Bird Rest, a bird sanctuary, hike through a mangrove forest and have the chance to see pelicans, gray herons, terns, pink flamingos, curlews, cormorants, kingfishers, green bee-eaters, black and white egrets, etc. .). Return to the hotel at dusk. Dinner and overnight stay.
*DAY 6:Toubacouta-Sipo village-Saly
After our breakfast check out from the hotel and departure for the small island of Sipo with the homonymous village with about 100 inhabitants, which was once ruled by a queen, Fatou Mané. Died in April 2022 aged 100, the Queen of Sipo was a bubbly, funny personality who welcomed visitors from all walks of life with a smile. Legend has it that she was abducted by the Jinn at the age of 5, who imparted mystical powers to her. Today, Insa Touré's eldest son was crowned King of Sipo. He is now the guardian of the sacred wood and responsible for the prayer sites on this island. Their family history is closely linked to the creation of the village in the early 20th century, as it was founded by the late queen's grandfather, who escaped with others from the Islamization of Guinea. The village was joined by refugees from Mali and another ethnic group in northern Senegal. They lived harmoniously gathering oysters, shells, which were then burned to produce lime. Today the village lives from agriculture, fishing and tourism. The inhabitants will welcome us to the village and we will spend some time with them. You can buy rice, tea from the locals. After this beautiful experience departure for Sali the coastal resort town of the country. Arrival and check-in at the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.
*DAY 7:Saly-Villages of Joal Fadiouth and Fadial,Shell Island-Saly
After breakfast we depart to visit the twin villages of Joal and Fadjouth. Joal is located on the mainland and connected by a bridge to Fadiouth is the largest island with shell land in the Saloum Delta and is home to 5,000 inhabitants. Over the years, the shells from the shells became entangled with the roots of reeds, mangroves and baobab trees, fixing them in place for centuries. Shells line the streets and are part of Fadiouth's buildings and heritage. From Fadiouth, a 200m bridge leads to a tiny shell island that houses the cemetery. Christians and Muslims are buried side by side in the beautiful cemetery. Not far from Joal – Fadiouth on the way to Saba Dia and specifically in Fadial, we will see the largest Baobab tree in Senegal. Return to our hotel in Sali. Free time to relax on the beach. Dinner, overnight stay
*DAY 8:Saly-Safari in Badia Park-Dakar-Return Flight
In the morning, departure for safari in Bandia nature reserve located in a protected area of 3500 hectares by 6x6 vehicle. with a professional driver. Here we will see many endemic species of animals of Senegal: buffaloes, antelopes, Impala gazelles, monkeys, turtles, crocodiles... and also antelopes, moose, giraffes, zebras as well as many species of birds. Then departure to Dakar airport from where we will take the return flight to Athens