Senegal 9-Day Natural Wonders & Historic Cities from North to South

Points of Interest : Dakar

You arrive at Blaise Diagne International Airport, where you are welcomed and assisted before your private transfer to your hotel in Dakar’s Almadies district, a pleasant coastal area popular with travelers. Settle into your room and enjoy free time to rest from the journey or take a first stroll in the surroundings at your own pace.

• Meals included : Breakfast only (dinner not included on arrival day)
• Accommodation : Lodge des Almadies Hotel or similar

Points of Interest : Gorée Island, Dakar

In the morning, you explore Dakar and its surroundings on a panoramic tour. You drive through residential neighborhoods, passing the National Assembly, the large and small corniches that skirt the ocean, the impressive Dakar Grand Mosque, the flower market and the cathedral.

You then board the ferry-boat for a short 20‑minute crossing to Gorée Island. On arrival, you wander the narrow lanes lined with flowering houses and colonial architecture. The visit includes the House of Slaves, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as the island’s church and the historical museum of Senegal. The atmosphere is both peaceful and deeply moving, shaped by centuries of history.

Dinner and overnight on Gorée Island.

• Meals included : Breakfast, dinner
• Accommodation : La Porte du Retour guesthouse (Gorée Island)

Points of Interest : Saint-Louis, Lake Retba (Pink Lake)

You leave Dakar and head towards Lake Retba, better known as the Pink Lake, a fascinating natural phenomenon whose salt content can reach 360 grams per liter. Depending on the position of the sun, the water shimmers in shades of fuchsia or purple. You meet the salt harvesters at work and the women carrying basins of salt on their heads, sometimes weighing up to 30 kg.

A 4×4 excursion takes you across the dunes that separate the lake from the Atlantic Ocean, along the legendary final stretch of the former Paris–Dakar rally route.

You then continue north to Saint-Louis, the former capital of Senegal. Along the way, the scenery alternates between baobab and palm tree groves, cassava and peanut fields, hibiscus (bissap) plantations and acacia shrubs, painting a vivid picture of rural West Africa.

• Meals included : Breakfast, dinner
• Accommodation : Mermoz Hotel, Saint-Louis

Points of Interest : Saint-Louis, Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary

Depending on the season, you set off for a nature excursion by motorized pirogue. In winter, you visit Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, one of the world’s top ornithological sites and a haven for around two million birds, including pelicans, flamingos and countless migratory species. In summer, you explore the Langue de Barbarie by boat, a narrow 40 km strip of sand wedged between the Senegal River and the Atlantic Ocean, where migratory birds gather in their natural habitat.

In the afternoon, you return to Saint-Louis for a walking tour of the historic town. Built on an island at the mouth of the Senegal River, the city reveals its colonial-era buildings, balconies and narrow streets that once made it the capital of French West Africa.

• Meals included : Breakfast, dinner
• Accommodation : Mermoz Hotel, Saint-Louis

Points of Interest : Saint-Louis

In the morning, you climb aboard a traditional horse-drawn carriage to discover Saint-Louis. The tour reveals its colonial charm and its past as the capital of French West Africa, which once grouped together the French colonies of Guinea, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso. You then head to the fishing district of Guet Ndar to watch the colorful pirogues returning from the ocean and the lively bustle on the beach as the catch is unloaded.

You continue towards the land-based section of Langue de Barbarie National Park, where the river, sandbanks and ocean meet, creating a distinctive coastal landscape.

Dinner and overnight in a lodge on the banks of the Senegal River.

• Meals included : Breakfast, dinner
• Accommodation : Océan et Savane Lodge, on the Senegal River

Points of Interest : Touba, Kaolack

Today you leave the Sahel region and travel south, watching the scenery shift from acacia savannahs to landscapes dotted with majestic baobabs. En route, you stop in Wolof and Serer villages to observe daily life and traditional activities, such as farming and small-scale trade.

In the holy city of Touba, the spiritual center of the Mouride brotherhood, you visit the Grand Mosque, one of the largest in West Africa, recognizable by its minarets and marble courtyards.

You then continue to Kaolack, a key crossroads town in the Saloum Delta. Depending on the day of the week, you may be able to visit a large weekly market, where villagers from the surrounding area come to sell millet, rice, smoked or dried fish, fruits, vegetables and other local products. You also explore the city center and its main market, considered one of the largest in Senegal.

• Meals included : Breakfast, dinner
• Accommodation : Relais de Kaolack Hotel

Points of Interest : Toubakouta

You head into the heart of the Saloum Delta to discover the world of mangroves and the remarkable scenery along the Saloum River. In the morning, a motorized pirogue takes you through the bolongs, the narrow channels lined with mangrove trees whose roots shelter thousands of fish and crabs. This protected ecosystem is a prime breeding ground for fish and birds, and millions of oysters grow naturally on the mangrove roots.

Thanks to its isolated location, the area has remained almost uninhabited and is naturally protected from pollution and intensive human activity. You stop in a few small island villages to experience local life before returning to your lodge. At the end of the afternoon, you set off again by pirogue towards a bird roosting site to watch the sunset as flocks of birds arrive on the islet where they spend the night, safely away from predators.

Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

• Meals included : Breakfast, dinner
• Accommodation : Keur Saloum Lodge, Toubakouta

Points of Interest : Toubakouta, Joal-Fadiouth, Petite Côte

After breakfast, you leave the Saloum region and travel to Joal, an important artisanal fishing port and the birthplace of Senegal’s first president, Léopold Sédar Senghor, a member of the French Academy and a globally known poet of Négritude. From Joal, you board a pirogue to reach Fadiouth, a unique shell island linked by footbridges.

You visit its famous shell cemetery and the granaries on stilts, and learn about the ingenious methods used by the inhabitants of Fadiouth to reclaim land from the arm of the sea. The mix of Christian and Muslim heritage on the island adds to the originality of the site. You then continue along the Petite Côte, Senegal’s small coast, and settle into your seaside hotel.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

• Meals included : Breakfast, dinner
• Accommodation : Africa Queen Hotel, Somone (Petite Côte)

Points of Interest : Bandia Forest Reserve

To round off your stay, you visit the Bandia Reserve, a private wildlife sanctuary where many African species roam freely in a semi-savannah landscape. Created in 1990, the reserve is home to gazelles, crocodiles, warthogs, buffaloes, monkeys, tortoises, antelopes and numerous birds. You may also encounter animals introduced from other protected areas, such as Niokolo-Koba National Park and South African reserves: zebras, rhinoceroses, giraffes and ostriches.

After the safari-style tour, you return to the Petite Côte before your transfer to the airport to catch your international flight home.

• Meals included : Breakfast
• Last day : Transfer from the Petite Côte to the airport for your return flight