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within walking distance from the Kotu hotels you find the Kotu Bridge and a bit further down the Kotu ponds. To beautiful pieces of nature which are home to many colourful birds. The Kotu bridge gives you a great view over the Kotu stream with its mangroves and palm trees and on the other side the Atlantic Ocean. The Kotu ponds is a nice strech of nature to wonder through and the pond itself is covered in hundreds of flowers.
The first area in the Gambia to be given protection.Famous worldwide for its birdlife even non birdwatchers will enjoy see the birds here.Gambian birds are amazingly coloured .Get a guide they will mimic bird calls to help you see more birds,as of Nov 09 150 Dalasis an hour two or three hours is plenty for non birders.there is an animal orphanage in the park expect the usual request for money to help with upkeep .the Hyenas here are huge must take some feeding .early mornings are best ,open at 7 am.
for a day just lying on a beach its hard to beat this.Sand Palm trees and good food and much less hassel here than on other beaches.Also if you get bored lying on a sunbed ther are Lakes behind the beach to go birdwatching
this is the biggest fishing village in the Gambia,with hundreds of boats going out sometimes for up to three days,the fish is brought ashore by hand in baskets and sold on the beach.They dry,salt or smoke the fish here too.The whole place is a hive of activity the boats the people are all so colourfull well worth an hour or two here in the afternoon.i think the boats comes back ashore at 4 or 5 pm
Its almost impossible to walk on the beach's without being hassled for something, but do try a fruit drink made fresh in front of you with fresh fruit. Don't be in a hurry it can take 30 minutes.Baobab Milkshake or Wanju juice try something you've never tasted before.Our favourate guy is outside the Bijilo Beach Hotel he is called Mr Buddy Max also Mr Cha CHa Cha and Mr stricktly come dancing take you choise
Our guide took us to Lamin Lodge a well known tourist spot for birdwatching and boat trips.He didn't want us to use the actual Lodge as its not owend by a Gambian, and as much as possilble he tried to steer us into the local economy .Downside of this you get a tour of the oyster collection and use (which costs ),interesting still making lime for concrete by burning oyster shells.then a request for the local school (more money). Then you actually get to the boats .Not sure if this was a scam or just locals trying to get money into their own pockets instead of German,expat or Lebanese who seem to own most of the restaurants .The trip was great try to go early or late to see the best birdlife.The guys in the boat do 3 years unpaid as guides in these boats to raise money for there village.before getting another job.this seemed genuine.
We asked our guide to take us to a real market not a tourist trinket type.He delivered, this market is huge chaotic and colourful.there is fish fruit clothes batik fabirc.meat and jewellery.Be prepared to haggle hard for a bargain,the stall holders are nowhere near as aggressive as some places iv'e been (silk market Biejing) .But the shear size and randomness is confusing,its very easy to get lost.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Gambia_National_Parkhere it is stated that the park is not opened for the public. Boat tours are sometimes very expensive. A good trip with an overnight stay in a camp might be Georgetown. There are several camps available, and the stone circle of Wassu are very interesting. But you might be on the road for almost the whole day.If you want it more relaxed take a day trip to Brikama and visit the craft market there. On your way back you can stop at Lamin Lodge, have a boat trip there and afterwards a good meal in the restaurant with a nice view over the river and the mangroves. Private guides are cheaper and closer to the "real" Gambia than the guides the hotels offer. I rely on Benz whom I know since years. His no. is 00220 99 58 523. If you tell him Max' wife gave you the number he will take vey good care of you. He is a very experienced guide. In...
Hi Hilary Thanks for all this Would you know any good and reasonable taxi driver who can be our "guide" and a taxi driver as me and my wife would prefer all day taxi so the same person could accompany us everywhere including touring I would rather pay a driver per day like 10.00 till midnight , that way someone is with you all time and saves having to haggle with taxi drivers.This is our 1st time in gambia, although very well travelled and street wise but still a little nervoius about tghese "bumsters"We dont mind them talking to us but dont feel too comfortable being followedhaving said that we are of indian origin and can always say we cant speak english. Also heard some bad reports about our hotelJust see how it goes
While eating in our favourite restaurant in Banjul (Michel's Seafood Restaurant), I mentioned to the owner that I would like to go fishing. Well, I was immediatly invited to go with the owner two days later, the day I was due to leave for the UK. "No problem" was the answer, and the fishing trip already arranged was brought forward a day just to accomodate me. "If you have any spare hooks or line, give it to the boys who run the boat because they find it hard to buy fishing gear in Banjul" said the restaurant owner (A fine Scotsman) so after an excellent trip I give all my hooks ect to the boys. When it came to paying for my trip "No problem, hooks are good" came the reply. So for less than £10 worth of gear I had one of the best days fishing of my life. We fished out from Denton Bridge among the mangroves and out into the main river. Brilliant!!!
Kombo Beach Hotel Banjul
1 Review and 333 Opinions The Kombo Beach is the only hotel we have been to in The Gambia, we stayed here the first time and...
Kairaba Beach Hotel Kololi
2 Reviews and 283 Opinions well such an extraordinarily well run venue in Gambia. German influence, very efficient. What...
Sheraton Gambia Hotel Resort & Spa Serekunda
371 Opinions
Reviews and photos of The Gambia attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for The Gambia sightseeing.
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