Fourteen Days Guinea Bissau and Senegal Holiday
Upon your arrival at the airport in Dakar, the guide from Afrikan Wildlife Safaris will welcome you and then transfer you to the hotel. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Djoloff or similar.
Day Two: Dakar to Goree Island
After breakfast, you will go to explore Dakar and experiencing urban West Africa, then take a ferry to visit nearby Goree Island, once a centre of the slave trade. Explore the historic sights of Goree with its colonial architecture and colorful markets. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Municipal or similar.
Day Three: Goree Island to Lac Rose and Lampoul Desert
This morning, you will depart the island and continue to Lac Rose. A shallow salt lake surrounded by dunes, the high concentration of minerals gives it a pink hue. Explore the surrounding area then continue into the desert later in the afternoon, where we spend the night at a tented camp.
Day Four: Saint Louis
Today after breakfast, proceed to St Louis, once the capital of French West Africa. Spend the day exploring its streets by traditional caleche (horse and carriage). Dinner and overnight at Hotel La Poste or similar.
Day Five: Djoudj National Park to Fulani Villages
For this day, you will drive to Djoudj National Park with its incredible bird life. We discover vast flocks of pelicans, flamingos and more. Then head into the Ferlo desert, home to the semi-nomadic Fulani people. We have the opportunity to meet them and learn about their unique culture, centred around livestock and grazing. Dinner and overnight in simple huts.
Day Six: Touba
You will drive to Touba, a stronghold of the Mourid Islamic brotherhood and considered to be a sacred town in Senegal. Spend the rest of the day exploring the town and learning about the spiritual traditions of Islam in Senegal. Dinner and overnight at Relais de Kaolack or similar.
Day Seven: Sine Ngayene to Banjul
On this day, you will drive to Sine Ngayene, an astonishing megalithic site of over a thousand carved stones arranged into fifty two circles, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then cross the border into the Gambia and take a ferry across the river, to transfer you to the hotel on the outskirts of Banjul. Dinner and overnight at Atlantic Hotel or similar.
Day Eight: Banjul to Casamance
You will spend the morning in the company of an ornithological guide, looking for birds in the large park by the hotel which is home to over 70% of the species that live in the country. We then visit the National Museum with its exhibits on local archaeology and history, before crossing back into Senegal and the lush Casamance region. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Kadiandoumange or similar.
Day Nine: Ziguinchor
You will spend this day exploring the culture of the Dioula people, meeting the king of the oldest Dioula kingdom. With his permission we learn about the animistic customs that hold sway here and venture into a sacred forest where we may be lucky enough to see traditional rituals taking place. Then return to Ziguinchor for the night. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Kadiandoumange or similar.
Day Ten: Bissau
This morning, you will cross into Guinea-Bissau. We visit the villages of the local Manjaco people, and see their sacred wooden sculptures, then continue to Bissau for the night. Dinner and overnight Hotel Azalai or similar.
Days Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen: Bijagos Islands
Take a boat to the Bijagos Islands, a magical and unique world of authentic tribal traditions and unusual wildlife. First visit the island of Bolama, once a colonial capital but now largely abandoned, its Portuguese buildings slowly being taken over by vegetation and goats. Then continue to Rubane, our base for three nights. We spend our time exploring this area and learning about the customs of the local people, some of the most traditional in this part of West Africa. Dinner overnight at Ponta Anchaca Lodge.
Day Fourteen: Bissau
After breakfast, you will return to the capital Bissau, where we have time for a quick look around the lively old quarter, with its traditional Portuguese architecture, then transfer to the airport for your onward flight.