Jan
min : 18°C
max : 26°C
We Love —
- Discover the many faces of Senegal on this incredible journey.
- Visit amazing attractions and beautiful scenery including the Boababs, Pink Lake, Djoudj National Park and camping in the Lompoul Desert.
- On this private tour choose optional excursions along the way, in addition to a beach extension at Le Saly Hotel.
New Voyage Privé —
Carefully selected by our experts especially for you
Book Now, Pay Later —
Booking 35 days in advance and spending over £500 per person? No need to pay in full today! Just select the 30% deposit option on our payment page (terms & conditions apply)
Your Destinations —
On this tour, pass through the Sahelian zones dotted with iconic baobabs, bordered by the endless wild beaches of the Grande Côte or the deltaic mangroves of Saloum. The capital, Dakar, features the ancient Médina district and the esteemed Musée Théodore Monod, displaying African art, while Saint-Louis, formerly the capital of French West Africa, has an incredible old town with colonial architecture.
One of the greatest elements of visiting this country is encountering its people, composed of an incredible ethnic mosaic where Wolofs, Peuls, Serer, Toucouleurs, Diolas, Mandingues, Bediks or Bassaris mix.
Take this tour for an authentic experience of Senegal.
Our Offer —
You may choose from one of the following offers:
Private Tour (departures on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)
10 nights: 7 nights In the land of Baobabs Private Tour & 3 nights Le Saly Hotel
14 nights: 7 nights In the land of Baobabs Private Tour & 7 nights Le Saly Hotel
Your Itinerary —
Day 1: Arrival in Senegal - Pink Lake
Day 2: Pink Lake – Kayar – St-Louis
Day 3: Djoudj National Park - St. Louis
Day 4: Langue de Barbarie National Park - Lompoul
Day 5: Mekhé – Thiès - Nguerigne - Saly
Day 6: Free day for Optional Excursions - Saloum Delta Islands
Day 7: Free day for Optional Excursions - Island of Fadiouth and Safari on the Bandia Reserve
Day 8: Gorée – Dakar/Departure to the seaside extension for 3 or 7 nights
Welcome to Dakar airport. Hit the road towards Lake Retba, its real name being the Pink Lake, a lake saturated with salt and purplish colours. Settle down in the Keur Salim camp (or similar), in the new upper huts spread out within the sand dunes, around a gorgeous swimming pool.
Depending on your arrival time, enjoy a Senegalese speciality for dinner and have the night in this beautiful natural setting.
At the Pink Lake join the salt collectors. You will receive explanations by the local guide, about the origins of the lake and salt extraction, then take the unusual crossing of the salt lake in a canoe to reach the opposite bank.
You will then have the possibility to have a walk (or horseback is optional) in the community reserve of Bonaba, along the lagoon lined with dunes and traditional market gardeners.
You can try an incredible floating experience in the lake or relax on the beach. At lunch, indulge in exotic flavours in a bamboo restaurant built on a shell cluster.
Cross the dunes of the "Dakar" by 4x4 to reach the endless beach of the Grande Côte then travel along to the largest artisanal fishing centre, Kayar. The village guide will explain the job of the fishermen here - unloading the buckets of fish in the sand, loading the carts, salting, smoking and drying different species, selling the best catches in the market.
You will then journey onto Saint-Louis. Have a short stop at the basketry market, a speciality of the region of Thiès. Then cross Tivaouane, the holy city of the brotherhood of Tidjanes, the most represented in Senegal. As you take this journey, marvel at the superb forest of palms and baobabs.
Upon arrival in Saint-Louis, settle down at your hotel and have dinner by the ocean.
Visit the Djoudj National Park, the third biggest bird sanctuary in the world, a sanctuary of more than 3 million birds (pelicans, cormorants, whistling ducks, flamingos and more). Take a canoe exploration of this exceptional natural heritage site, classified by UNESCO. View multitudes of lacustrine landscapes, extensive reedbeds, entanglements of backwaters, coordinated fishing scenes or synchronised air ballets. You may also be able to view several reptiles on the shores (monitor lizards, pythons, crocodiles) and many mammals (jackals, monkeys, hyenas, gazelles, warthogs).
Note: from May to October, bush tour 3 Marigots at the place of the Djoudj National Park which is closed.
Depart for the 3 Marigots a fossil valley composed of large basins in the middle of dunes where great marshes lay in the depressions. This incredible location offers a variety of different landscapes: marshes, market gardens, flooded pastures, wooded savannahs with magnificent views of the bush and several Fulani villages. It is also an area of great ornithological richness. Return past the rice fields, irrigated by a network of canals fed by the Senegal River, which in the last ten years has let to the self-sufficiency of production.
Return to St. Louis for lunch in a typical restaurant in the colonial city.
Take a tour of the island in a carriage with a Saint-Louisien guide. Travel through the oldest city built by the French in West Africa and the Aeropostale stage of Mermoz. Pass the prestigious and historical sites of the city including the Governance, Place Faidherbe, the Cathedral (1st church of West Africa), the hospital, the Northern Mosque and many houses from the colonial era. Visit the district of Guet Ndar on the Langue de Barbarie and then return to your hotel.
You can then wander in the streets for some souvenir shopping in the local shops or discover the Sor market in a colourful and warm African atmosphere.
Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
Head in the direction of the National Park of the Langue de Barbarie. Board a canoe to descend the river bypassing the island of birds where nest many species: terns, gulls, pelicans. Land between the river and ocean to view the nesting territory of sea turtles. Navigate towards the historic mouth of the Senegal River where it may be possible to observe flamingos.
Lunch in a lodge by the river and in the early afternoon, relax and take a dip in the swimming pool, in the river or the ocean.
Afterwards, travel to the desert of Lompoul. Take a 4x4 to face the dunes and live an unforgettable Saharan experience. Upon return from the desert, stay in a charming tented oasis in the middle of the dunes.
You may also take a fantastic camel ride for a panoramic view of the desert and the coast. Take advantage of the welcome drinks, vegetable couscous and Moroccan wine. Enjoy an evening of entertainment from the djembes drums and local dances, followed by the traditional Senegalese tea.
Sleep in the middle of dunes under traditional khaïmas (Tents) equipped with complete bedding and a private bathroom (toilet, sink and bush shower).
Travel towards the Small Coast via Mékhé and visit craft workshops. You will then cross to Thies, a sleepy city with shady streets including those of the central market. Find many colonial buildings here that bear witness to the ancient importance of this "rail town". Tour of the market that offers all kinds of products: vegetables, spices, snake skins, ancestral remedies, aphrodisiac powders and many other weird and wonderful products which will be a colourful experience for your senses.
You then continue viewing exceptional panoramas of the Baobab forest of Sindia along the way.
When you reach the park of Nguerigne, have lunch in the heart of an aviary where an enormous diversity of exotic birds live in lush botanical gardens. See the parrots from Africa and the Amazon who deploy their flamboyant wing, Cockatoos who greet you by unrolling their majestic crest and crowned cranes and flamingos that flock to the pools surrounding the restaurant.
After visiting the park, take the road towards Saly where you will check into your hotel. Have the afternoon free for relaxation at the beach or by the swimming pool.
In the evening enjoy your dinner and entertainment at the hotel.
Have this day free to enjoy the pool or the ocean, or take in the hotel's free activities or some optional excursions.
Dinner and entertainment at your hotel.
Have this day on half board to enjoy a variety of optional excursions, including a visit to the Sea Shell Island of Fadiouth and Safari on the Bandia Reserve
Dinner at the hotel with entertainment on your last African night.
Depart your hotel for Dakar where you will board a boat for the island of Goree. Enjoy a panoramic approach to the superb volcanic island boasting craggy cliffs and colonial houses. Enjoy lunch in a restaurant on the island.
On the island, take a guided visit of a slave house, and view the well-documented exhibition of the tragic story of slavery here in Senegal. Walk in the flowery streets of the historic city and discover the church, then take a longboat to return to Dakar.
Take a guided city tour which includes Independence Square, The Old Administrative Buildings, City Hall and the Train Station, Cathedral, Presidential Palace and Kermel Market). We continue along the cliffside road which offers beautiful views of the Magdalen Islands. Finish off this tour with a visit to the Mosque of Ouakam and then onto the monument of the African Renaissance in which you will have to ascend 200 steps to reach the base of the bronze statue of 52 metres.
Have your last feast of African tapas at the restaurant Ngor and dip your feet in the water at sunset on the Pointe des Almadies, the easternmost point of the African continent.
Then take a transfer to the airport for your flight home, or extend your holiday and move onto to the beach.
Optional Excursions —
Saloum Islands National Park
Head out onto the bush tracks to join the fishing village of NDangane. Enter the Saloum Delta National Park and cross the river in a traditional pirogue (a long, narrow canoe made from a single tree trunk) to reach the island of Mar Lodj. Here you will have lunch in a charming cottage on banks of the river. Discover the three islands of Mar by local cart and then return to your hotel along the mangroves abundant with oyster pickers, wood pickers, birds and green monkeys.
Shell Island of Fadiouth (min 4 people)
The island of Fadiouth is made up of layers of centuries-old shells and faces the town of Joal, which is the birthplace of President Léopold Sédar Senghor. Board a small outrigger canoe along the oyster beds and mangroves to reach the granaries and the cemetery. Then take a wooden bridge to visit the streets of Fadiouth in addition to its beautiful church where you can attend Sunday Mass with a choir accompanied by traditional instruments. Return to Joal and walk on the 800m long wooden bridge that connects the town to the mainland. Visit the Leopold Sedhar Senghor house-museum, giving you an insight into the history of the president-poet and the country of Senegal. You will return to your hotel late morning.
Bandia Game Reserve 1/2 day
Take a safari with your guide to the 500 hectares of baobabs and acacias in the classified Bandia Forest. Stop at the crocodile pond where the animals come to drink, and the buffaloes immerse themselves in the mud. Then view a large variety of birds including small hornbills, grey herons, eagles, metal blackbirds and martin fishermen, to name a few.
Your Hotels —
5 days full board and 3 days half board
(
lunches on day 6 and 7 are not included, dinners on day 1 and day 8 are included).- Lac Rose: Camp Keur Salim in charm (or similar)
- Saint Louis: Hotel Cape Saint-Louis 3 * or Mermoz 3 * and L'Hotel de La Poste 4* (or similar)
- Lompoul: Traditional Khaimas (tent)
- Saly: Royal Hotel 4* (or similar)
Sleeps up to
3 Adults
or
2 Adults
+ 1 Child
Please note: the bed for the 3rd/4th guest sharing is likely to be a sofa bed or camp style bed.
Your Beach Extension —
You will stay at Le Saly Hotel 4* for the duration of your beach extension, on an All Inclusive board basis in a Standard Double Room. You may choose from a 3 or 7-night stay.
Located in Saly Portudal 4.3 miles from the centre of Mbour and 1.2 miles from Saly Golf Course, Le Saly Hotel is just a 1-minute walk from the beach and offers a tranquil outdoor swimming pool with terrace, sunbeds and parasols.
Find tranquillity and Zen at the Spa which offers wellness treatments to relax and revitalise you after a busy trip which includes massages, pedicure, manicure, facials, free access to the Hammam, body scrubs and much more.
Enjoy a breakfast buffet served every morning at the restaurant "Le Saloum" and a delicious lunch serving international and local cuisine. The bar "Le Niokolo" offers a variety of beverages throughout the day.
For an additional supplement paid locally, you may also have use of The Club Lookéa Les Filaos' restaurants, partnered with Le Saly Hotel. These include the main restaurant "Le Palmier" which has a covered terrace facing the ocean, "Le Balafon" bar and themed nights at the "Out Of Africa" lounge.
Your all-inclusive offer includes:
Breakfast buffet
Lunch and dinner international
Snacks (pancake, waffle, cakes, fruits, mini-pizzas, mini-sandwiches)
Local drinks served at 10 am to 11 pm
Entertainment and activity programmes for adults and children at Club Lookéa Les Filaos
Please note: The entertainment provided at Le Saly Hotel is provided in the Filaos Hotel and will not be operating from the 01/09 to the 28/09. Therefore, there will not be any entertainment for any bookings made in September and the nightclub will be closed.
Your Journey —
Flights: The flights included are with either a scheduled or no-frills airline and are subject to live availability and prices can change. You can choose your preferred departure times during the booking process. Please select your flight options carefully as departure and arrival airports may differ.
Transfers: Private/shared transfers are included.
