7-Day Senegal Private Tour: Dakar, Gorée & Saloum Delta

Seven days across Senegal's coast, deserts and river deltas on your own schedule

A 7-day private tour of Senegal starting in Dakar and moving through Gorée Island, the pink Lake Retba, the colonial city of Saint-Louis, the Great Mosque of Touba, and the Saloum Delta wetlands. You travel with a live guide in English, Spanish or French, with hotel pickup included each day and overnight stays in comfortable hotels and a desert tent camp. The itinerary combines Dakar's markets and monuments, a boat ride through mangrove-lined bolongs to spot pelicans and herons, camel and quad-bike options at the Lompoul dunes, and a 4×4 safari through the Bandia wildlife reserve.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Goree Island and Dakar City Tour

• Visit slave house and memorials on Goree Island
• Lunch near the ocean on Goree Island
• Return to Dakar
• See Dakar station colonial architecture
• Visit Place de l'Independence and market
• Explore Kermel Market
• View Presidential Palace
• Visit Cathedral of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires
• Tour Monument of African Renaissance

Day 2: Pink Lake and Lompoul Desert

• Tour Pink Lake and surrounding villages
• Boat ride to observe salt seekers
• Bath in Pink Lake for floating experience
• Drive to Lompoul Desert
• Transfer to desert by dune vehicle
• Observe sunset and camel ride in desert

Day 3: Lompoul to Saint Louis

• Drive to Saint Louis old city
• Horse carriage tour of heritage sites
• Lunch in Saint Louis restaurant
• Free afternoon at beach or pool
• Dinner at hotel or town

Day 4: St Louis, Touba and Saloum Delta

• Visit Great Mosque of Touba
• Drive observing Wolof villages and baobab trees
• Stop at Ndangane river edge
• Boat tour of Saloum Delta mangroves and birds
• Overnight at Marloth Island

Day 5: Marloth Island Exploration

• Discover mangroves and picnic in nature
• Visit Bird Island and Bolongs of Saloum
• Horse carriage tour of savannah and villages

Day 6: Joal Fadiouth, Mbour and Saly

• Visit baobab tree near Joal
• Tour Joal and Fadiouth villages
• Boat ride in Fadiouth
• Lunch in Joal
• Visit shell-shaped church in Nianing
• Drive to Mbour fishing port
• Depart to Saly

Day 7: Saly and Bandia Safari

• Visit Bandia Reserve by 4x4 safari vehicle
• Observe wildlife including rhinos and giraffes
• Return to Saly
• Free afternoon for beach or shopping

The experience

Seven days means you move slowly enough to absorb each region without rushing. Day one takes you through Dakar's colonial heart: the Kermel Market (a UNESCO site rebuilt identically after a 1994 fire), the Presidential Palace, the white Cathedral of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, and the 52-meter African Renaissance Monument with its 198-step climb to views across the peninsula. Then you cross to Gorée Island to visit the slave house memorial and the Castel, returning to Dakar for lunch near the ocean.

Days two and three shift to the desert and the pink Lake Retba, where the water changes color from pink to purple depending on sunlight. You can bathe in the salt-heavy water to float, ride a camel or quad bike across the surrounding dunes, or take a boat to watch salt harvesters at work. After lunch you drive to Lompoul's orange dunes for sunset and overnight in a tent camp. The next morning you head north to Saint-Louis, the former capital, where a horse carriage tour shows you the Faidherbe Bridge (opened in 1897, 511 meters long), the old governor's residence, and the colonial island architecture. Free time in the afternoon lets you use the beach or pool.

Days four and five take you inland to Touba's Great Mosque: one of Senegal's architectural wonders with seven minarets, precious blue marble and alabaster, and the mausoleum of the Mouride brotherhood's founder. Then a motorized boat carries you through the Saloum Delta, where the Sine and Saloum rivers meet the Atlantic. Mangroves, marshes and palm trees line the water. You'll see pelicans, herons, cormorants and egrets. You overnight on Marloth Island and spend the next day exploring the mangroves by boat, visiting Bird Island, and taking a horse carriage through the surrounding savannah and villages. Day six moves south to the twin villages of Joal and Fadiouth, linked by a long wooden bridge and built partly on shells accumulated over centuries. You see one of West Africa's largest baobab trees on the way, visit the shell-shaped church at Nianing, and continue to Mbour, the second-largest fishing port in Senegal. The final night is in Saly, a beach resort town with palm-lined shores and water sports. On day seven you take a 4×4 safari through the Bandia reserve (3,500 hectares) to spot reintroduced wildlife (rhinoceros, giraffes, antelopes, dama gazelles, Derby elks, buffalos, patas monkeys and warthogs) before returning to Saly for a free afternoon.

What’s included

• Seven nights of accommodation in comfortable hotels and a desert tent camp.
• daily hotel pickup.
• a live guide in English, Spanish or French.
• visits to Gorée Island, the pink Lake Retba, Lompoul dunes, Saint-Louis, the Great Mosque of Touba, the Saloum Delta, and the Bandia wildlife reserve.
• a motorized boat tour through the delta mangroves.
• a horse carriage tour in Saint-Louis.
• a 4×4 safari vehicle in the Bandia reserve.
• and meals as described in each day's itinerary.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 07:30, 08:00 and 09:00

Book up to4h before

AgesAdult (26 to 65 years) · Senior (66 and older) · Youth (16 to 25 years) · Child (6 to 15 years) · Infant (under 6): free

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish and French

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.Operator's directions: “In front of the chrambre de commerce Where your guide hold a sight whrite on agsil senegal or the name of participant”

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyNot for pregnant travelersInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Agsil Senegal Travel Tour

Is this one for you?This is a private tour, so you move at your own pace and the guide adjusts to your interests, whether that means extra time in a market, skipping the 198 steps up the monument, or lingering on a boat to watch birds. If you want the flexibility to choose activities like camel rides or quad bikes without committing to a group schedule, this format gives you that control.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English, Spanish and French.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (16 to 25 years); Child (6 to 15 years); Infant (under 6): free.

What exactly is Gorée Island and why does the tour spend time there?

Gorée Island is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a place of pilgrimage dedicated to the history of the slave trade. The tour includes a visit to the slave house memorial, the Castel, and the western tip cannon, letting you walk through the island's picturesque ocher-colored colonial architecture and understand its significance to human history.

Can I swim in the pink lake, or is it just for looking at?

Lake Retba is swimmable. The high salt content makes you float naturally, which visitors describe as a remarkable experience. You can also ride a camel or quad bike around the lake and surrounding Fulani villages, or take a boat to watch salt harvesters working in the water.

What animals will I see on the Bandia safari?

The Bandia reserve is home to rhinoceros, giraffes, large antelopes, dama gazelles, Derby elks, buffalos, patas monkeys, vervets, warthogs and jackals. Many were reintroduced to Senegal after disappearing from the region. You travel by 4×4 vehicle designed for safari viewing.

How does the guide communicate, and is pickup from my hotel included?

Your guide speaks English, Spanish or French, and hotel pickup is included each day. The guide leads you through each site and handles the logistics of moving between regions.

What is the Faidherbe Bridge, and why is it important to Saint-Louis?

The Faidherbe Bridge, opened in 1897, is 511 meters long and connects the island of Saint-Louis to the mainland. It is the pride of the city and a UNESCO Heritage Site, carrying 19,000 vehicles and over 21,000 pedestrians daily and keeping the economic pulse of the old colonial town alive.

Do I need to be fit for this tour, or can I skip activities I don't want to do?

The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels. Activities like camel rides, quad bikes, boat tours and horse carriage rides are options you can choose or decline. The 198 steps to the top of the African Renaissance Monument can be skipped if you prefer to stay at ground level.