Skip to content

Steennot Travels is launching soon. We are not taking bookings yet: put yourself on the list and you will be the first to receive a no-obligation proposal.

Steennot Travels
NLEN

Destinations / Africa

Put together personally by Yari SteennotSpeciality

Senegal & The Gambia

My personal favourite: from Gorée and Lac Rose past the baobabs of Bandia and the Saloum mangroves to the palm-fringed beaches of Casamance

16 daysWith private driverStart any dayfrom (indicative) € 2,240 pp (estimate, not an offer)
See the indicative priceDay by day in the brochure (PDF)For information only, not an offer yet

Brochure not opening? Email me and I will send it to you.

My personal favourite: my recommended 16-day route through West Africa, fully arranged and entirely private. Vibrant Dakar, poignant Gorée Island and Lac Rose, giraffes and rhinos among the baobabs of Bandia and the quiet Somone lagoon. Via the shell island of Fadiouth you travel on to the Sine Saloum Delta, explored by pirogue, and in Toubacouta the Bamboung marine reserve, a game drive in Fathala and thousands of roosting birds at sunset await.

Highlights

  • Gorée Island (UNESCO) and the House of Slaves
  • Salt harvesting at Lac Rose and a pirogue to car-free Ngor Island
  • Giraffes, rhinos and zebras among ancient baobabs in the Bandia reserve, and by pirogue or kayak through the mangroves of the Somone lagoon
  • Shell island Fadiouth, pirogue trips through the Sine Saloum Delta mangroves and the Palmarin salt flats
  • Toubacouta: the village-run Bamboung reserve, a game drive in Fathala with the rare giant eland and thousands of roosting birds at sunset
  • The Gambia: Abuko Nature Reserve, the sacred Kachikally crocodile pool, Tanji fish landing and the Makasutu mangroves
  • You finish on the beach at Cap Skirring, fly to Dakar in fifty minutes and enjoy a quiet last day close to the airport, with a driver door to door

Day by day in the brochure (PDF)
For information only, not an offer yet

What I will arrange for you after launch

You travel, I arrange everything. You travel privately: no group and no fixed guide tagging along.

  • Airport pickup and the transfer on your last day; the details are in the brochure.
  • All hotels and guesthouses, booked in advance at the level you choose: Budget, Comfort or Premium.
  • Transport on the ground with a private driver and private transfers; domestic flights or trains where that makes sense.
  • The activities and entrance fees on the route. Prefer a guide? I can add a local guide to any activity.
  • Breakfast, and the meals at remote places with no alternative (such as a safari lodge, desert camp or yurt camp). For the other meals I give you my restaurant recommendations, but you choose completely freely where you eat.
  • A personal intake, at your home or by video.
  • A WhatsApp line with me, before and during your trip, and my personal 24/7 number.
  • A call-back after your trip.
  • Your international flight: after launch I will also book your flight for you. Prices on the site exclude the flight.

Travel whenever you like

Your dates are completely free: there are no fixed departure dates, you leave on the day that suits you. My recommended route takes 16 days. Shorter or longer is possible too; I adapt the route.

The months I recommendPossible too, let us discuss

This is advice, not a rule. If you want to travel in another month, I tell you honestly what to expect (rain, heat, crowds) and adapt the route.

Price by level and transport

You choose the level of your hotels and how you get around. Same route, same care; only the hotels and the transport differ.

BudgetSimple, well-kept guesthouses and campements with good reviews, with air conditioning where possible; breakfast included.
With private driver€ 2,240
ComfortCharacterful mid-range hotels, ecolodges and maisons d'hôtes, often with a pool, by the lagoon, the Saloum and the beach.
With private driver€ 2,710
PremiumThe best there is in each place: a seafront hotel in Dakar, the finest lodge of the Saloum and boutique lodges on the coast.
With private driver€ 3,780

Estimated prices per person, based on 2 travellers, excl. international flight. Travelling solo, count on a supplement of roughly 74%. With four travellers the price per person drops by roughly 15%.

If you are interested, I am happy to send you the hotel guide with all the addresses.

More about self-drive and the private driver on this route

Self-drive (not available on this route)

I deliberately do not offer self-drive in Senegal and The Gambia. Traffic is unpredictable (overloaded trucks, livestock and unlit vehicles), you cross an international border twice, and a rental car may not enter The Gambia or be dropped in Banjul. In Casamance the Belgian Foreign Affairs advice is also not to travel alone. With a dedicated driver who knows the roads, the border posts and the people, you travel more safely and see more.

Private driver

From day 2 to day 9 you have the same French-speaking driver with an air-conditioned car; he knows the route, helps at the border and stops wherever you like. On day 9 he drops you at the ferry in Barra. On the other side, in Banjul, an English-speaking Gambian driver is waiting; he drives you around until day 12 and takes you to the Giboro border. In Casamance (days 12–14) my trusted local driver drives you: I know him personally and he knows the region like no one else. On day 14 he also takes you to Cap Skirring airport. In Dakar a driver is waiting for the short ride to your hotel near the airport, and on the evening of day 15 he takes you back to the airport.

Flight & price

After launch I will also book your flight for you. The prices on this page exclude the international flight.

Return flight Brussels–Dakar not included: allow about € 550–860 p.p. depending on the month (cheapest in November, most expensive in July and December). The domestic flight Cap Skirring–Dakar is included in the price. After launch I will find you the best flight with your proposal.

Indicative price (estimate) per person based on 2 travellers, excl. international flight. This is not an offer: nothing is being sold yet. Indicative price (estimate), not an offer. In high season the price can be higher, in low season lower. All prices are indicative estimates, not an offer. Nothing is being sold yet; after launch you receive a no-obligation proposal with the price of that moment.

Travelling responsibly

I work with small-scale eco-lodges and campements that employ local staff. The Somone lagoon and the Bamboung marine reserve are managed by the villages themselves: part of the entrance fees goes directly to the community. Bandia and Fathala are fenced private reserves where animals have been (re)introduced; Fathala takes part in the conservation of the endangered giant eland. I deliberately do not book Fathala's 'lion walk' with tame lions: walking with lions habituated to people as cubs keeps that model going, and visitors describe lions being driven on with sticks. You only do the game drive. Your drivers, the boatmen and the rangers are paid fairly, and in Casamance you travel with a driver from the region itself, so the money stays local. You cross the Gambia River on the ordinary Barra–Banjul ferry, just like the locals. At the end I do include one short domestic flight from Cap Skirring to Dakar. To be honest: that is an extra flight. But it replaces a long full-day drive back by road, with two more border crossings, and it means you never drive the same road twice. I ask you to minimise plastic (refillable filter bottle). On Gorée I ask you to visit the House of Slaves with respect: it is a place of remembrance.