Senegal Cultural Tour

Upon arriving at Dakar Airport, you will find our representative waiting to greet you and transfer you to your Hotel. A briefing about today’s activities will be determined based on your arrival time. The morning will be at leisure to relax and acclimate. We will start exploring Dakar in the afternoon. Overnight will be at the Hotel.

After Breakfast, we will take a 20-minute ferry ride to Gorée Island. Our local guide will take us on a site historical tour then visit the ethnographic museum where also a museum curator will give us a lecture on the history of the Goree, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After lunch, we will return to Dakar for a historical and cultural visit to the city. We will take a tour of the colorful markets including Tilen Market, famous for a variety of medicinal herbs and traditional medicine men. Our tour will take us to Grand Mosque, the Presidential Palace, and the Artisans Market. Our cultural tour of Dakar will come to an end at our hotel where our dinner will be served. Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner.

After breakfast, we will take off to Saint Louis to discover the north of Senegal. We will stop to visit Pink Lake, a unique natural phenomenon caused by a unique combination of microorganisms and a high concentration of salts, giving the lake its pink color. We will encounter the women harvesting salt and interact with them. Our second stop will be at a Fulani village where the Chief may welcome you. Continue to Saint Louis, Senegal’s former colonial capital. Early evening we will go on a city tour of Saint Louis. This ancient city is the spiritual heartbeat of Senegal. We will visit its medieval Medina narrow streets and explore the special Moorish architecture of neighborhoods of traditional houses with carved wooden balconies and verandas. We will make a stop at the vibrant fishing village of Guet Ndar. Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner Overnight at a Hotel.

After breakfast, our Senegal adventure tour will proceed to visit the Djoudj National Bird Park (a UNESCO World Heritage site), which is one of the most critical migratory and local bird sanctuaries in the world. This park is a paradise for bird enthusiasts on a major Palearctic migratory route. Some of the world’s most significant concentrations of white pelicans and flamingos can be seen here: up to 10,000 species. Enjoy a pirogue ride to better view the many species of cormorants, pelicans, ducks, flamingos, various songbirds, and more. Crocodiles, boas, boars, and other wildlife species may also be seen. Complete your city tour of Djoudj, then continue en route to Kaolack with a stop in Touba, the holy city of Sufi Mouridism. Arrive in Kaolack in time to visit the colorful local market and Senegal’s central peanut farming, trading, and processing center. Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner Overnight at Relais.

After breakfast, we will travel south to Saloum Islands. This area is one of the best natural settings in West Africa. We are in a beautiful wild nature reserve between the ocean & the Saloum River. Here you can enjoy natural landscapes, canoe cruising, vibrant villages, and colorful markets. Visit the village and interact with people whose traditional hospitality enables you to share their daily life; ride with them on their fishing hand-carved canoes; we will camp in one of these villages around a campfire and enjoy Bar-B-Que dinner grilled over an open fire. Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner Overnight at Keur Saloum

Today, our overland tour to Senegal will proceed to Joal Fadiouth, visiting the exciting market of Mbour. Later we will cruise to Joal, an endowed place that naturally became mostly known as the birthplace of the father of the country and first president, Leopold Sedar Senghor, after Senegal's independence from French occupation. Our small group will visit the fish market and observe the lively daily activities. We will also visit the Senghor Museum. Our tour continues to the traditional Serere village of Fadiouth, where you will observe the cathedral, the marketplace, the sacred Baobab tree, and the famous cemetery where Muslims, Christians, and Animists share the same burial ground. We will travel to Saly beach resort to explore Senegal's typical small villages. Arrive in time to enjoy the beach before nightfall. Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner Overnight at Palm Beach

After breakfast, we will take off to Bandia National Park for a safari. Bandia Game Reserve is located in a 3500-hectare-wide conservation National Park. Here you will see diverse wildlife species native to Senegal. You will spot buffalos, antelopes, impala gazelles, monkeys, tortoises, and the famous African crocodile, in addition to white rhinoceros, kudu, elands, cape moose, giraffes, ostriches, zebras. Stop by the crocodile pool where animals come to drink, and buffalos wallow in the mud. If you are a birding person, you will also enjoy watching numerous bird species, including small hornbills, grey herons, eagles, blackbirds, and kingfishers. The Bandia wildlife reserve has successfully reintroduced much of the amazing native flora and fauna unique to West Africa and has gradually disappeared due to demographic pressure and poaching. Early evening return to Saly Beach Resort. Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner Overnight at Palm Beach

Our Senegal expedition is coming to an end. You can extend your journey and book other activities with our representative or transfer to Dakar Airport to catch your flight home. Meals included: Breakfast