Senegal » Dakar

Senegal & Gambia: 8-Day Dakar, Pink Lake & Desert Tour

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.00 (6 reviews)

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/51

Duration8d

GroupUp to 10

LanguagesEN · IT +2

PickupAt your hotel

Eight Days Across Two Countries: Dakar to the Saloum Delta

You get eight days moving through Senegal and Gambia with a guide handling all transport, border crossings, and hotel changes. The itinerary hits Dakar's main sites, Gorée Island's history, the pink lake, a night in the desert with camel ride and sunset, a wildlife reserve, two countries' worth of museums and markets, and ends in the Saloum Delta mangroves. Dinner is included every night; confirm your final airport transfer when booking.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Dakar city and Goree island tour

Pick up at 9:00am
Visit Dakar city highlights
Ferry to Goree island
Visit former slave house
Explore Goree island
Return to Dakar

Day 2 — Pink lake visit and travel to Saint Louis

Check out and depart at 9:00am
Drive 1 hour to Pink Lake
Boat ride on Pink Lake
Free time and toilet break
Drive 5 hours to Saint Louis
Check into hotel and rest

Day 3 — Saint Louis city and Lompoul desert

Breakfast and check out
Saint Louis city tour by carriage
Lunch in Saint Louis
Drive 1.5 hours to Lompoul desert
Check into lodge and free time
Camel ride and watch sunset
Drumming, dancing, and dinner

Day 4 — Touba mosque and Toubacouta stay

Breakfast at 8:00am
Depart at 9:00am to Touba
Visit Touba mosque for 1 hour
Drive 2.5 hours to Toubacouta
Lunch if necessary
Check into hotel and free time

Day 5 — Fathala reserve and Gambia border crossing

Drive 20 minutes to Fathala reserve
30 minutes lion walk
Drive 10 minutes to border
Cross Senegal-Gambia immigration
Drive 1.5 hours to Jufureh museum
Visit museum for 2 hours
Drive 1 hour to ferry
40 minutes ferry crossing
Check into hotel and free time

Day 6 — Gambia highlights tour

Breakfast
Visit Serekunda, Banjul, Bakau, Senegambia
Visit National Museum of Gambia
Visit Arch Kachikali and crocodile pool
Visit monkey forest park and Tanji fishing port

Day 7 — Return to Senegal Delta du Saloum

Breakfast and check out
Ferry crossing 40 minutes
Drive 5 hours to Delta du Saloum
Check into hotel and free time

Day 8 — Delta du Saloum boat tour and departure

Breakfast and check out
Boat tour in mangroves
Visit Mar Lodj village
Visit large baobab tree
Visit Joal Fadiouth seashell village
End of service and transfer options

The Experience

You land in Dakar and suddenly realize you have a week to move through two countries, cross a border, sleep in a desert lodge, and see a pink lake — all without figuring out the logistics yourself. That's the shape of this trip. Day one starts at 9am with a pickup from your hotel, three hours through Dakar's neighborhoods (Independence Square, the African Renaissance Monument, the cathedral, the kernel markets), then a 20-minute ferry to Gorée Island. The former slave house with the Door of No Return sits there waiting, heavy and still. You walk the rest of the island after, and return to Dakar by evening.

The next morning you drive an hour to Lake Retba — the pink lake — take a 15-minute boat out, and then it's five hours north to Saint Louis, where you sleep at either Hôtel de la Poste or Hôtel la Résistance. Day three is a two-hour carriage tour of Saint Louis city, lunch, then another hour and a half to Lompoul Desert. You check into a lodge (Rêve de Nomade or Eden Lodge), rest until 5pm, then ride a camel for 15 minutes to watch the sunset, listen to drumming and dancing, and eat dinner under the desert sky. It's the kind of moment that feels staged until you're actually there.

After that the trip moves faster. Breakfast at 8am, then two hours to Touba and its great mosque — one hour there — then two and a half hours to Toubacouta (Keur Saloum hotel). Day five is a 20-minute drive to Fathala Reserve for a 30-minute lion walk, then ten minutes to the Senegal-Gambia border. Immigration happens, then an hour and a half to Jufureh and the Kunta Kinteh museum (about two hours), then a 40-minute ferry crossing into Gambia. Day six covers Gambia's highlights: the National Museum, Arch Kachikali crocodile pool, monkey forest park, Tanji fishing port — roughly five hours of stops around Serekunda, Banjul and Bakau. You sleep somewhere in Gambia that night.

The last two days reverse the journey. A 40-minute ferry back to Senegal, five hours driving to Ndangane in the Saloum Delta (Cordon Bleu or Nouvelle Vague hotel), then a final morning boat tour through the mangroves, a visit to Mar Lodj village, the massive baobab tree near Joal-Fadiouth, and the seashell island. Dinner is included throughout. Minimum group size is two people. Airport transfer back to Dakar or Saly is available — just confirm when you book.

What’s included

Your 8 days include hotel accommodation for 7 nights (with two options at each stop), all transport between sites, entry fees to Gorée Island, Lake Retba, Touba Mosque, Fathala Reserve, Kunta Kinteh Museum, and Gambian attractions, a 15-minute camel ride at sunset in Lompoul Desert, a boat tour through the Saloum Delta mangroves, dinner each evening, and a local guide throughout.
Breakfast is at your hotel; lunch is available during the day but not always included in the package price.
Border crossings to Gambia and back are handled as part of the itinerary.
Airport or hotel transfer at the end can be arranged — confirm your preference when booking.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPets welcomeInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Trip tour senegal

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see both Senegal and Gambia in one trip without arranging transport, hotels, border crossings, or daily logistics yourself — the fixed 8-day structure is what makes moving across two countries and sleeping in five different places actually work.