Arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport a minimum of three hours in advance of Royal Air Maroc Flight 219 departing at 9:15 p.m. for Dakar, Senegal, connecting through Casablanca, Morocco.

Arrival in Dakar

Arrive in Dakar, Senegal in the morning. You will be met outside the Baggage Claim area by our Hospitality team, escorted to your waiting, air-conditioned bus, and transferred to your 5* hotel in downtown Dakar. The Radisson Blu Dakar. After checking–in at the hotel, you will have a brief time to relax and refresh after your overnight flight.

3:00 pm: Depart the hotel for a discovery tour of Dakar, the cultural, economic, and administrative capital of Senegal. Passing through Independence Square, you will discover the President’s Palace with its impressive red “spahi guards”, and the Parliament House. You will continue on stopping at the “Cathedral of the African Remembrance”, the Millennium Door, and the picturesque and lively Medina. Pass by Dakar University and the Fann residential area which features a new Senegalese architecture style. Finally, stop at the “Monument of the African Renaissance” and the sand painting workshop to admire this beautiful, unique Senegalese art form. Finally, the day will end with a welcome dinner in a local Dakar restaurant with traditional Senegalese music (kora and xylophone entertainment).

Overnight at the 5★ Radisson Blu Hotel.

Goree and Museum of Black Civilization

Enjoy an early Breakfast at your hotel and at 9:00 am Depart for the Goree Island ferry terminal to take the 10:00 o’clock ferry for Goree. Upon arrival, walk to the House of Slaves with its famous Door of No Return. A lecture will be delivered by the curator on the history of Slave trading in Goree.

Visit Saint Charles Church before stopping at the Auction Block for a moment of meditation and prayer. Have lunch at “Chez Thio” restaurant overlooking the harbor and in the afternoon visit the historical museum and the old Fort with important remains of World War II. After your return to Dakar aboard the 4:30 pm ferry, board your bus for a visit to the “Museum of Black Civilization”. This museum, inaugurated in 2018, already ranks among the three most visited museums in Africa. Your 2-hour visit will take you through the prehistory, the history, and the present history of Africa. Your visit will be conducted by a specialist in the Museum. Return to your hotel at the end of the day.

Dinner on your own and overnight at the Radisson Blu.

Dakar/Saloum Islands via Fatick

After Breakfast, check out or your hotel. 8:00 am: Depart for the region of the Saloum Islands classified by UNESCO among the “Green Lungs” of the Universe for the beauty and the genuineness of its nature and the majesty of the Saloum River. You will visit traditional villages and stop in the Serer village of Fatick. Here you will meet very important traditional chiefs, the Saltigheys. Soothsayers, traditional healers, and notables, the Saltigheys will tell you about the yearly session of divination they hold every year when they predict the major events that will occur in Senegal that year. Enjoy your discussions with the Saltigheys and receive their blessings, after which you will have lunch in Fatick.

In the afternoon proceed to Toubacouta in the Saloum River delta. You will check in for your accommodations at Hotel Boutique Les Paletuviers. Enjoy dinner with local folklore entertainment and overnight at the hotel. (BLD)

Toubacouta/Juffureh/Banjul

Enjoy Breakfast at Les Paletuviers Lodge and depart for the Gambia border. After border formalities, cross the border into The Gambia and proceed to the village of Juffureh, the hometown of Alex Haley’s ancestors, the Kinteh family, celebrated in Haley’s best-seller book and television series “Roots”. Visit the Kinteh descendants and talk to them about the history of their family. From there take a boat ride on the Gambia River to visit James Island, where enslaved Africans were held while waiting for ships to take them through the Middle Passage and into a life of enslavement in the Americas. Visit the remains of the old slave fort there and the museum dedicated to the history of slavery in The Gambia. Afterward, you will enjoy lunch in a local restaurant.

In the afternoon drive to Barra to board the ferry to Banjul, the capital city of The Gambia. Enjoy the picturesque crossing of the Gambia River by ferry among the local people, some carrying their market products and possibly animals.

Check-in at your 5★ Hotel for dinner and overnight.

Full-day discovery of Banjul and its surroundings

Enjoy Breakfast at your hotel. After breakfast, depart for a morning City Tour of Banjul: Visit the National Museum, a living memory of the heavy colonial past of the country; visit the central market, rich in African handicrafts, fabrics, and spices. Visit the Katchically Sacred Crocodiles pool and various districts of Banjul. In the afternoon, visit the surroundings of Banjul.

Dinner and overnight at your 5★ Hotel.

Banjul/Saly

Breakfast at your hotel and check out. 9:00 a.m.: Leave for Saly, Senegal’s most popular beach resort. On the way pass by Toubacouta and go through Foundiougne before crossing the Nelson Mandela Bridge. Arrive in Joal Fadiouth, a typical traditional Serer village where the first President of Senegal, the late Leopold Senghor, grew up. Visit the shell cemetery and the granaries on piles symbolizing the unity of the villagers. Meet the “Council of Elders” and interact with them. In the afternoon, see and experience the arrival of the fishermen in Joal, returning after a long day of fishing on the sea, and have an opportunity to interact with them.

Arrive in Saly in the late afternoon. Check-in at the charming 5* Hotel Lamantin Beach. Enjoy a welcome drink while checking in.

Dinner and overnight at Lamantin Beach. (BD)

Saly resort

Enjoy a leisurely Breakfast at your hotel. The day is yours to explore, and relax at the pool or the beach.

Dinner and overnight at Lamantin Beach Resort. (BD)

Evening transfer to the airport for your returning flight home.

OR FOR THOSE CHOOSING THE OPTIONAL TOURS

(Not included in Tour Cost Listed)

Saly resort

A full day of leisure and relaxation at Lamantin Beach Resort. See Optional Tours Available. Breakfast and dinner daily. (BD)

SENEGALESE COOKING CLASS

The Senegalese gastronomy is well appreciated by all the guests visiting the country; the genuine and rich flavors of Senegalese dishes please everyone. The national dish called “Thieboudienne”, a fish and rice specialty, ranks since 2021 as an “intangible cultural patrimony of humanity” classified by UNESCO

Schedule

10:00 am: Leave your hotel for la Somone and drive approximately 9.5 miles from Saly

10:30: Arrive at La Somone cooking center. Meet the Chef and together with him, do your market shopping for the preparation of one of the main Senegalese dishes.

11:00 to 1:00 pm: Cooking with the chef

1:15 pm: Lunch: Enjoy your cooking (water, beer or wine, coffee or tea included)

3:00 pm: Receive from the chef the recipe of the dish and a certificate of participation.

4:00 pm: Arrive at your hotel

 

AFRICAN DANCE CLASS AND RHYTHMS

The course of African dances and rhythms will take place at Ecole des Sables, an African dances and rythmics center founded by Germaine Acogny, Senegalese and French dancer and choreographer who is considered as one of Africa’s greatest dancers and became a real emissary of African dance and culture.

Schedule

9:00 am: Leave your hotel for Toubab Dialaw, a distance of 22 miles from Saly.

10:00 am: Arrive at “Ecole des Sables” dance and rhythmic center and start your initiation to African dances and rhythmic music.

1:00 pm: Lunch

2:00 pm: Continuation of your course

4:00 pm: End of your course; depart Toubab Dialaw

3:00 pm: Arrive at your hotel

HALF DAY TOUR TO BANDIA GAME RESERVE

Bandia Park is a created game reserve aiming to repopulate the baobab forest of Sindia with wild animal species that have disappeared from the region.

Schedule

9:00 am: Leave your hotel for Bandia Park, a distance of about 15 miles from Saly.

9:30 am:  Arrival in Bandia Park

• Board the 4×4 vehicles of the Park
• Board your open 4X4 Safari vehicle and begin your Safari guided by the park rangers. You will admire the varieties of monkeys, gazelles, buffalos, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, the river elans of Derby also called horse-antelopes, and the rare white rhinoceros, etc.

1:00 pm: Return to your hotel

Saly and Departure

After breakfast, check out of the hotel and depart for your transfer to Blaise Diagne International Airport. Check-in for your return Flight home.

***End of Itinerary for Tour to Senegal and The Gambia ***