Senegal holiday, cruise and tour
| country: | Senegal |
| departures: | Small group departure 25th Feb 2010. This trip can also be tailor made throughout the year excluding June on an 8-day bespoke itinerary |
| price: | From €1650 - €1850 (10 days) excluding flights. Single supplement €300. For the 8 day tailor made option price from €1350, single supplement €300 |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
From modern vibrant Dakar you will be transferred to tranquil historic Saint Louis, an island city situated in the mouth of the River Senegal. Saint Louis is the former capital of French West Africa. Colonial architecture mixes with Muslim and Christian tradition: ocre, orange and maroon coloured buildings more commonly seen in the south of France decorate the lazy streets of Saint Louis, which in turn give way to the vibrancy and bustle of the fishing community on the Langue de Barberie, a long sand dune which shelters Saint Louis from the sea.
From Saint Louis you will join the cruise to take you up river for 6 days. En route you will pass through the world’s third most important breeding grounds for migrating birds, stop off at Maure, Tukolor and Wolof villages that line the river, go past old French forts and strange folies, and be taken on a journey back into France’s colonial past along its main route into the interior of Africa.
Your guide on the cruise is an energetic and enthusiastic English speaking Senegalese. He will lead you through the history of the region, both colonial and tribal. On the group trips in Dakar you will be shown a side of Dakar beyond the tourist map – great markets, hidden restaurants, a vibrant night-life. The group tours are guided by the company.
From Saint Louis you will join the cruise to take you up river for 6 days. En route you will pass through the world’s third most important breeding grounds for migrating birds, stop off at Maure, Tukolor and Wolof villages that line the river, go past old French forts and strange folies, and be taken on a journey back into France’s colonial past along its main route into the interior of Africa.
Your guide on the cruise is an energetic and enthusiastic English speaking Senegalese. He will lead you through the history of the region, both colonial and tribal. On the group trips in Dakar you will be shown a side of Dakar beyond the tourist map – great markets, hidden restaurants, a vibrant night-life. The group tours are guided by the company.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Dakar. All to have arrived in Dakar. We may as well hit the ground running and have an evening in one of their good restaurants with live music - all the Senegalese greats like Youssou N’Dour play at these venues when they are in town. |
| Day 2: | Saint Louis. am: transfer from Dakar to Saint Louis. pm: lunch and relax on the Langue de Barberie – a large spit of sand between the Senegal river and the Atlantic for swimming and birding.Transfer to a hotel in Saint Louis. |
| Day 3: | Podor. am: explore the historic and pleasant town of Saint Louis, the former capital of French West Africa. pm: Transfer to Podor, one of the jewels of the River Senegal to begin the cruise. Dine and sleep on the cruiser. |
| Day 4: | Cruise. Breakfast on board. Visit Podor. This former colonial customs town dealt with much of the Saharan trade coming west. We see the Faidherbe fort and wander the streets, before setting off down river. We stop off to visit a Maure village before getting in smaller craft to ride up a tributary river to a Tukolor village. Dine and sleep on the cruiser |
| Day 5: | Cruise. A beautiful morning’s cruise through the Tukolor kingdom, palm trees lining our route and colourful village life punctuating our peace. At lunchtime we arrive at Dagana, a Wolof town and another former customs town. Visit the daily market. Dine and sleep on the crusier |
| Day 6: | Cruise. On to Richard Toll, or “the garden of Richard” named after the park of the Chateau of Baron Roger. We visit this old colonial town by horse and cart, stopping off at its sugar cane factory and “La folie de Baron Roger”. Dine and sleep on the cruiser |
| Day 7: | Cruise. Passing by Rosso, a border town with people, animals and goods crossing the river in pirogues. Before we stop off at the Parc d’Oiseaux de Djoudj. . We will enter the park in the afternoonand get in motorised pirogues for a few hours twitching! Flamingoes, pelicans, cormorants, herons.. they’re all here. Dine and sleep on the cruiser |
| Day 8: | Cruise. And on past the Diama dam which signals the beginning of Saline water and our approach to Saint louis. PM: Horse and cart tour of Saint louis. Dine and sleep on the cruiser. |
| Day 9: | Dakar. Disembark the crusier in the morning and transfer to Dakar. |
| Day 10: | End of tour. |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. how this holiday makes a difference
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Senegal is a great example of modern vibrant, open and progressing west Africa. Tourism has helped fuel their boom but, as with its neighbour The Gambia, it has often been package based holidays around the stunning coast. This type of tourism gives very little positive cultural interaction.
This trip aims to show you modern Senegal in Dakar and then to give this a historic and cultural background with historic Saint Louis and a cruise through some of it’s very different cultures. The Bou El Mogdad has been making the journey from Saint Louis to Podor for over 50 years. In the last decade it was fully refurbished and is now back in action providing an important and much loved communication link along this stretch of the Senegal river. You are taken into the different communities who live along the river and who all benefit greatly from their links with the cruiser. The cruiser is run by a Senegalese company based in Saint Louis. The company has long established links with the communities visited on the cruise. Hotels used in Dakar and Saint Louis are locally owned and wherever necessary guides and operators and accommodation is taken from the community most local to the operation. Carbon emissions are low as we are using a boat to travel most of the time and any emissions which are incurred are providing an essential service and income to some remote communities. During the cruise we pass through the world’s third most important breeding grounds for migrating birds. Company Ethos: This company aims to dispel a few myths and to show you a modern, vibrant, open, safe and progressing west Africa and to ensure that your trip has a positive impact on the communities which host you. Too often tourism in Africa centers around the amazing wildlife and stunning scenery whilst the most vibrant, colourful and fascinating aspect of Africa - its people - pass by the window of the 4x4. I try to reverse the focus by taking you out into some of the amazing communities which I have befriended over my 20 years of traveling this vast and extraordinary continent. The landscape is merely the background to the colour music, vibrancy and hospitality of the people of west Africa. Throughout the trip food and water is bought en route and as locally as possible. Before your trip you will be sent my Responsible Travel guidelines, and en route you will be advised about changing cultural sensitivities. This trip minimizes waste by advising clients to follow the African example and recycle everything. You will see how a system that provides no waste disposal produces very little waste. I encourage you not to bring anything that we in the west count as disposable such as razors or wet wipes etc because in Africa they are not disposable. My company aims to minimize its environmental impact by:
As an alternative to carbon offsetting I offer you the opportunity to support these projects and thereby support some small communities which will be most affected by climate change. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |