Gambia

Below we have highlighted the best places to visit in the Gambia and provide you with some general travel advice. As transportation facilities are limited and some places can be quite overwhelming we recommend exploring the country with the help of a local tour guide.

1. Relax at Sayang Beach (Paradise beach) - although Gambia has beautiful beaches, the beaches are not packed with tourists yet. On the one hand because the locals want to sell any kind of product and on the other hand the facilities are still a bit poor. Nevertheless there are a couple of great beach bars that have great service where you can relax and enjoy.
2. Bird watching along the Gambia River - although The Gambia doesn’t have big wildlife there are many special animals to find. It is a bird watching paradise and while cruising over the Gambian River you can spot hippos, crocodiles and monkeys.
3. Tanji local fishing village - Tanji is a little fishing village not far from Banjul. Every day around 4 pm many colorful fishing boats arrive with their fresh catch of the day. Women and children are waiting to collect, clean, dry and smoke the fish. There are many ‘rookeries’ that you can already smell from a distance. Nevertheless, it is an interesting process to see.
4. Visit River Gambia National Park - you have the chance to see hippos, crocodiles, baboons and seeing lots of chimps. The park is home to the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Project that was started by Stella Marsden in 1969. The project protects and monitors a total population of seventy-six chimpanzees occupying three islands in the park. They also have a lodge where you can stay. Relax and sit on the deck of the water house as the sun goes down and the wildlife settles down for the night or cruise over the River Gambia.
5. Visit the Wide Open Walls project - in 2011 the interactive street art project Wide Open Walls started. The idea behind the project was to create living art by pimping simple countryside villages by local and international artists. In the next years the walls of many houses, shops and schools were painted and became beautiful art objects. Visit for example the village of Kubuneh to see this beautiful initiative.
6. Explore the Serrekunda Market - this is the most famous market of Gambia located in Serrekunda next to Banjul. Although it is well known you still don’t see many tourists. They sell everything from food, to fabric, clothing to household goods. It is a maze of small alleys and many many people.