During your 8-day / 7-night tour, you will discover the many beauties of the country. Senegal offers an astonishing natural diversity, from the desert in the north to the tropical forest in the south, passing through the Sahelian zones dotted with emblematic baobabs, bordered by the infinite wild beaches of the Grande Côte and by the mangrove delta of Saloum.

This tour is part of a "slow travel" approach where you will be involved in eco-solidarity actions.

Choose your ideal duration:

Offer 1: Authentic Senegal Tour in 7 nights (Departure in group on Saturdays) with the possibility of a seaside extension of 3, 4, 5, 7 or 8 nights at the Royam 4* hotel by choosing the duration 10, 11, 12, 14 or 15 nights.

Offer 2: Senegal Authentic Tour in 7 nights (Private departures on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays) with the possibility of a beach extension of 3, 4, 5, 7 or 8 nights at the Royam 4* hotel, choosing the duration of 10, 11, 12, 14 or 15 nights.

Your 7 night itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival in Senegal - Rose Lake

Day 2: Rose Lake

Day 3: Bonaba School - Kayar Fishermen - Beach in 4x4 - Lompoul Desert

Day 4: Lompoul Desert - Foundiougne - Sokone

Day 5: Early morning free - 100% Authentic Africa Day

Day 6: Islands and Bolongs of Salum

Day 7: Kaolack - Saly - Gorée

Day 8: Gorée Island - Dakar - Return to Dakar

You will then continue your stay at the Royam Hotel 4* to end your trip in style...

Day 1: Arrival in Senegal - Rose Lake

Welcome at the airport and transfer to Rose Lake.

Settle into your nature camp, the Gite du Lac, in a charming hut (individual bathroom, solar lighting and hot water), on a dune overlooking the Lac Rose (Rose Lake) and a banana plantation. Dinner of a Senegalese speciality and night in this beautiful natural setting.

Day 2: Rose Lake

The Rose Lake, or more exactly the Lake Retba, is known for its exceptional pink or even mauve colour according to the sun and the wind. In addition to its colour, its incredible salinity (300 gr/litre) places it at the level of the Dead Sea.

A picturesque crossing of the lake in a salt canoe to meet the salt collectors who tirelessly extract this natural resource is on the schedule for the today. Our local guide gives us some explanations on the origin of the lake and its economic functioning.

You will have an opportunity to have an incredible floating experience by swimming in the lake. Lunch in a bamboo restaurant on a shell mound, offering the most beautiful view of the lake is on the list of to-do's today.

We propose a free afternoon: Relaxation on the beach or in the garden, swimming in the ocean, African games...

At the end of the afternoon, initiation to African percussion, with a sunset background.

An evening with a griot closes this beautiful day of African immersion; Fulani tales and songs to the rhythm of traditional instruments with participative dancing around a campfire, accompanied by 3 Senegalese teas under the stars. Tasting of a Senegalese speciality based on fonio, a local micro-cereal, for our dinner.

Night on the shores of Rose Lake.

Day 3: Bonaba school - Kayar fishermen - Beach in a 4x4 - Lompoul desert (Beach/track 120 km/2h30)
In the early morning, you will be able to participate in the milking of goats and then creation of cheese at a pilot goat farm. This farm valorises the traditional breeding of goats by preserving the environment while respecting the ancestral Fulani culture. At then end of this experience, you will have the chance to taste your creation!

Departure for a walk to reach the deserted beach of the Grande Côte, a stretch of sand that extends to the north of Mauritania. You will be accompanied by donkeys to carry the necessary equipment for the day. You will walk along a brackish water lagoon frequented by many birds and used by the villagers for market gardening.

A fish barbecue is offered on the beach, in the shade of a straw hut, in a Robinson Crusoe atmosphere. Careful swimming in the ocean and possible relaxation on the beach can be done.

Departure for a real African Adventure in a 4x4 vehicle on the tracks of the mythical "Paris-Dakar", by the beach and dunes.

Arrival at the largest artisanal fishing centre in Senegal, Kayar, and discovery of the activity when the fishermen arrive. Unloading buckets, putting the pirogues out of the water, negotiating piles of fish on the sand, overflowing loads in carts, salting, smoking and drying of the unsaleable species, sale of the best catches under the market hall - these are just some of the things you will see today!

Depending on the tides, your mini-raid will take you along:
- the wild beach of the Grande Côte, passing several fishing villages. Colonies of birds fly away as we pass, battalions of crabs fight over the wet sand
- cart tracks in the heart of the Niayes, the main market gardening area in Senegal, watered from wells drilled in the dunes. Meetings with many farmers

You reach the Lompoul desert to live an unforgettable Saharan experience, in an oasis in the middle of the great ochre sand dunes.

At sunset, a short camel ride in the heart of the desert. Each in turn, you can experience the camel's gait, to reach the great ochre sand dunes offering a grandiose panorama of the desert and the coastline. This magical site allows all the "big kids" to rediscover the joys of rolling in the sand!

Settle into the charming khaimas, Mauritanian tents comfortably equipped with 2 single beds (3rd bed possible), a small living room and a bush bathroom (sink, toilet and shower with cold running water). The evening starts with a cocktail and continues with a Méchouia soup, a Senegalese couscous and a dessert. Tasting of the 3 Senegalese teas around a campfire to the rhythm of the djembes.

Day 4: Lompoul Desert - Foundiougne - Sokone

After breakfast, departure to the village in a 4x4 truck. You take the cart tracks, bypassing the dunes in a typical Sahelian landscape dotted with acacia trees. The guide explains the agricultural techniques that allow the production of vegetables in the hollows of the dunes and the functioning of the traditional breeding of goats and sheep.

We drive towards the Saloum via Mékhé, the "Senegalese shoe capital", and visit artisanal workshops. We take a beautiful route in the heart of the Baol kingdom to reach Baba Garage. The track takes us to Fatick and its salt marshes then to Foundiougne, a former colonial prefecture, where we take a ferry to cross the Saloum river.

We have lunch in the shade of a straw hut along the river.

Day 5: Early morning free - 100% authentic Africa day (45 min by cart)

We propose a free morning, relaxation-pool, or many optional activities:

- Enjoy the quietness and beauty of the place, the swimming pool overlooking the mangrove, sunbathe on the beach along the bolong, fish directly from the pontoon;

- Go for a 2-hour walk or a carriage ride in the surrounding nature with a local guide in the early morning;

- Walk in a small bolong at low tide to look for mongoose or hyena tracks and surprise small monkeys.

Some excursions with supplement: Safari Fathala Reserve, Walk with the lions, Kayak trip

At the end of the morning, we propose a 100% Authentic Africa day with a visit with a village family of Bambougar.

After the customary Salam Alikoum, our host suggests that we accompany him to the local market; there we will buy the necessary ingredients to prepare the traditional meal, Thieb bou Yap, a Senegalese dish that we will help him cook and enjoy for a late lunch.

We reach the village of Sokone where one of the most important traditional weekly markets (Luma) in the region is located. This is a great time to soak up the colourful, fragrant and warm African atmosphere.

Every Wednesday in Sokone, merchants, farmers, market gardeners and fishermen from the region meet in the village to sell their products and their harvest. We find all sorts of products, in a chaotic atmosphere that strikes our eye: fabrics, food products, magic powders and other gri-gri...

We return to Bambougar in a local cart where we can either follow the women to prepare the traditional meal, or the men who explain to us how the traditional breeding of zebus and goats works.

We share our Senegalese meal with the villagers, on a mat on the ground, served in common trays. We prolong this memorable moment with the ceremony of the 3 teas in the shade of a tree, with discussions with the villagers about their daily life, their habits and customs...

We end this Authentic Africa day by contributing to the development of the village market gardening perimeter, an eco-solidarity programme carried out with the women's group of the village with the technical assistance of the Nebeday Association. Each traveller will be able to help with the agricultural work of the moment: planting, watering, organic treatments, harvesting... A donation of 5 EUR/traveller for the benefit of the Women's Association is planned (included in the trip).

Back to the Barracudas for a late afternoon of relaxation and swimming.
After our dinner, an animation of the villagers closes this day.

Day 6: Islands and Bolongs of Saloum (2h by pirogue)
Board a pirogue for a day of nature and discovery in the Saloum National Park, classified as a World Biosphere Reserve. We enter a labyrinth of bolongs lined with mangroves, with a strange impression of "Amazonian adventure". We sometimes meet oyster gatherers or fishermen's canoes at the bend of a meander. We observe many birds living in the mangrove.

Robinson Crusoe barbecue on a deserted beach. Relax in the shade listening to the birds, swim in the bolong or walk in search of fiddler crabs.

Return to the Barracudas in the middle of the afternoon; we may be lucky enough to encounter a pod of humpback dolphins, a species typical of brackish environments. At the end of the day, take a walk or a horse-drawn carriage ride through the surrounding nature with a local guide, or relax by the pool.

For your last African evening, Lamine has concocted a refined meal for you. The evening will be prolonged around 3 Senegalese teas, to exchange impressions on this extraordinary trip.

During your stay in Senegal, you will be accommodated in Double Rooms at 3 exclusive ecological hotels:

In Rose Lake: Le Gite du Lac (or similar)

In Sokone: Le Barracuda (or similar)

In Lompoul: Le Camp du Désert (or similar)

Seashell tracks, dunes and Dakar beach with automatic quads (3 possible routes).

We wake up very early to experience an African safari. We drive to the Fathala Forest on the Gambian border and board a 4x4 open safari vehicle with a 360° view.

We propose to you a unique experience, only done in 5 sites in the world! For 40 minutes, accompanied by two specialized guides, you will walk with lions in the bush, in total freedom.

We leave with our eco-guide for an unforgettable trip to discover in depth the mangrove ecosystem, a refuge for many marine, terrestrial and aerial animals. After a first approach through the main channel, we enter a tortuous bolong where only our double canoes (or triples with a child) can make their way through the narrow passages.

Drive to the Rose Lake and visit the turtle village, a protection centre for the endangered Sulcata turtle. You will be impressed by some specimens that weigh almost 100 kg and captivated by the babies born in recent months.

Guests staying on Christmas Eve (24th December) will have an additional fee added to the cost of their booking, payable for mandatory gala dinners on these dates.

Located in a lush, tropical garden on the coast of Saly, Senegal stands the Royam Hotel 4*. Enjoy a truly relaxing stay by a coconut palm-lined beach and stay in a thatch-roofed bungalow scattered throughout tropical gardens. Lounge by the swimming pool while enjoying a cocktail from the bar and soaking up the Senegalese sun followed by a relaxing spa treatment. 

The Superior Room boasts a simple design in a natural colour palette in a thatch roof bungalow. Enjoy your room's modern amenities and location in the tropical gardens. 

This offer is based on a Half Board stay (breakfast and evening meal served in the main restaurant - excludes drinks). 
 

Please note: some dining outlets/menu items/drinks may not be included and may be available at selected times only.

Guests staying on Christmas Eve (24th December) will have an additional fee added to the cost of their booking, payable for mandatory gala dinners on these dates.

Guests staying on New Year's Eve (31st December) will have an additional fee added to the cost of their booking, payable for mandatory gala dinners on these dates.

There is plenty to do at Royam Hotel 4* to suit every desire and whim. Have a dip in the swimming pool or lounge around on one of the deckchairs, cocktail in hand.

Fully relax with a massage or beauty treatment at the Wellness Centre after a day spent on the beach.

The capital city of Senegal is a bustling metropolis boasting many incredible landmarks and is World Heritage City. The busy streets weave between high rise buildings, lively markets and beachfront restaurants. A coalesces of a serene beachfront and an exciting, chaotic city, Dakar is a unique experience. 

Be sure to visit the Medina Quarter which is home to the popular Soumbédioune street market, and explore The Twin Hills for sweeping views of the city. Dakar is flanked by two small islands, Île de N'Gor and Île de Gorée, which offer a welcome reprieve from the hectic city. From the city's nightlife to its rich and layered history, Dakar is a destination like no other. 

The country known for its "terranga", the famous Senegalese hospitality, offers you a welcoming and colourful stay. For a unique change of scenery, explore its wonderful landscapes such as the Saloum Delta, the Kingdom of the Mangroves or Casamance, a region considered by many to be the most beautiful in West Africa.

Unwind on Saly’s pristine white-sandy beaches and recharge your batteries as you feel the ocean’s warm breeze. Head to Port M’Bour to watch the arrival of fishermen or visit the radiant Pink Lake for an exciting day-trip adventure. Adventure-lovers will get their fix with quad bikes, motorcycle rides and the multiple water sports available. 

Are you ready for your next sunshine-filled holiday in a paradisiac setting?