Senegal & The Gambia with Intrepid — what it's actually like

Just got back from this. Ninth time Intrepid has run it, last departure of the season. Not a destination that'll top anyone's bucket list but the itinerary is put together well and you come away with a genuine sense of both countries. Here's what I'd want to know before going. The trip starts at La Madrague Hotel on the beach in Ngor, about an hour from the airport. Easy to book extra nights there directly if you want to arrive early. Worth it. Catch the ferry from the beach over to Ngor Island for lunch on your first day, much nicer than anything on the mainland. Day 2 city tour covers Dakar adequately. The real thing worth your full attention is Gorée Island. The history of the slave trade there is heavy and it should be. Don't rush it. Day 3 is the most varied: boat on the Pink Lake to meet the salt harvesters, some 4WD through dunes, then a long drive north to Saint-Louis near the Mauritanian border. Day 4 passes through Touba and the great mosque before an overnight in Kaolack. If you have any interest in Sufi Islam this is genuinely fascinating, not just a tourist stop. The Gambia days cover a slavery museum and Kunta Kinteh Island, which is worth the boat ride, then a car ferry across the Gambia River to Banjul. Two days there is enough. The trip then heads south to Cap Skirring near the Guinea-Bissau border and on to Ziguinchor before the final night in Saly. A few honest things. Several travel days are long with rough roads and heavy traffic. You walk a lot in sand, often without footpaths. There was no farewell dinner on our trip which felt like an oversight. The hotels were mostly fine, three star, but a couple felt tired. Vegetarians had a hard time throughout. The food leans heavily on seafood and meat and alternatives weren't always available. Coeliacs would genuinely struggle. For everyone else the food was cheap and decent. The people in both countries are welcoming and relaxed, rarely pushy. The cultural mix of Islam, colonial history and traditional religion still visible in the south gives the trip more depth than you might expect going in. Worth doing if you want something genuinely off the usual circuit.