The Gambia

January 2026

The Gambia is the smallest country in Africa and, apart from its coastline, is completely surrounded by Senegal. It is 480 km long, 10 to 50 km wide, and follows the course of the Gambia River. Anyone wishing to travel along the coast of Senegal from the northern to the southern part must therefore cross the Gambia.

While leaving Senegal went smoothly, on the Gambian side, foreign tourists were led one by one into an office to see a border official, who asked where I was traveling to. I told him about my first stop on my trip to The Gambia and also answered his question about how long I would be staying there. He concluded from this that I only needed a seven-day visa. I, on the other hand, assumed this was just small talk and that, as a Swiss citizen, I would receive a 30-day tourist visa. After all, I also wanted to travel through the interior of the country. But the border official hadn’t asked about that. So I received a 7-day visa, even though I wanted to stay in the country for 8 days. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize this until I was already at my accommodation. In the future, I plan to check the entry stamp right away and proactively state how many days I intend to stay. Afterward, the border official asked for a tip, which I was able to refuse without any issues.

I took a bus for 20 km to the ferry terminal in Barra, where, after a long wait, I boarded a crowded ferry for a 30-minute crossing of the 5-km-wide Gambia River to the capital, Banjul.

Everything went wrong in The Gambia. On the day I arrived, the owner of the apartment I’d booked through Booking.com informed me that the apartment wasn’t available due to plumbing issues. He said he wanted to offer me a good alternative, though. While the apartment I’d booked was just a few meters from the beach, he suggested a small hotel room 1 km away from the beach, which was out of the question for me. He showed me another apartment, also far from the beach. When I didn’t accept that one either, he found me a place in a building not far from the apartment I had booked. It belonged to an acquaintance of his who wasn’t using it at the moment. It was okay, except that it was right next to a massive construction site. Since it was peak season in early January, I had no choice but to accept this apartment. I was disappointed with Booking, because they refused to pay me any compensation. Apparently, the host can cancel at any time without consequences. The customers, on the other hand, have to pay the full price if they cancel at such short notice.

I quickly realized that the best thing about the apartment was its proximity to the 5-star Coco Ocean Resort & Spa Hotel, where I regularly went for the breakfast buffet and dinner.

Coco Ocean Resort & Spa Hotel

It is a very nice hotel for Gambia, and the food was reasonably priced given its high quality.

Banjul

It was about 20 km from my apartment to the capital, which I could reach by changing buses twice.

It is a run-down small town with about 30,000 residents. First, I tried to change my tourist visa and went to the immigration office, which was completely packed with people waiting for hours for their papers. When I explained my situation to an officer at the entrance, she immediately escorted me past all the people to a supervisor in an office, where I argued that the man at the border had made a mistake, since as a Swiss citizen I am entitled to a 30-day stay. The border official didn’t accept my argument and instead suggested an extension that cost USD 20. I didn’t agree to that, because I already had a plan for how to extend my tourist visa for free and legally.

Royal Albert Market

African markets are always interesting.

Senegambia

On the way back, I stopped in Senegambia, the main tourist destination where probably 99% of tourists to The Gambia spend their vacations. There are a few streets around the infamous Gambia Strip that are packed with restaurants, bars, and tour operators. Sex tourism for both women and men is widespread.

On the beach, but also earlier on public transportation, I was repeatedly approached by women and had received a few phone numbers by the end of the day. Young men also came up to me. But I wasn’t interested.

Day Trip to the Fathala Wildlife Reserve in Senegal

I had been planning to visit the wildlife reserve in Senegal, which is located near the border, anyway. This would allow me to re-enter Gambia and extend my tourist visa.

I took the ferry across the river again and then rode a bus to the border, where I had no problems this time thanks to my experience from my previous border crossing.

A motorcyclist gave me a ride for the next 7 km to the wildlife reserve.

Since there were no other visitors, I had to book a jeep and a guide just for myself. The cost was reasonable at around USD 70. In exchange, I was to get a two-hour safari. We soon spotted the first animals.

Giant elands, with their long, twisted horns

There is also a rhinoceros living in the park, which was eating the hay that had been scattered on the ground. I asked my guide why this male didn’t have a female by his side and was surprised to hear that the bull had had a mate, but that he had killed her.

The safari was already over after an hour. I pointed out to my guide that I had been promised two hours. The guide replied that there simply wasn’t anything else to see.

Bijilo Beach

Back in The Gambia, I enjoyed the evening atmosphere on the beach in front of the Coco Ocean Resort.

Road Trip into the Interior

I also wanted to explore the interior of the country, so I rented a car online a few days in advance, planning to pick it up at the airport. Like so many things in West Africa, this car was expensive, about twice as much as comparable rental cars in South Africa.

I got up early so I’d be at the airport on time. But when I arrived, there was no one at the rental car counter. I found a phone number on the door and called it. A man came and told me that they didn’t have any cars available at the moment, but one would be returned later that morning. Great! I had actually planned to leave early in the morning since I wanted to drive for 6 hours that same day.

Two hours later, a Toyota Hilux, a large pickup truck, was returned, and another half-hour later, at 11:30 a.m., I was able to set off.

My destination was the village of Janjanbureh, 285 km away, where there was a place to stay.

Countless times I passed through roadblocks where I had to tell the police officers where I was heading. They often asked me if I could give a ride to friends or relatives to the next village. The first time, I agreed. The passengers sat in the back of the pickup. When they didn’t get out at the next village but wanted to keep going, I dropped them off. Because if there had been an accident, I would certainly have had problems with the insurance. I declined all further requests, citing the lack of insurance coverage, which, fortunately, was understood.

A small lake along the route

Local settlements

A baobab tree at my accommodation in Janjanbureh

Bansang

I drove another 18 km to Bansang, to the Riverside Lodge, where this dog was taking a nap by the Gambia River.

The next morning, I took a ferry to cross the river. The ferry was small, so every inch of space had to be used. Surprisingly, my white car in the picture below wasn’t damaged.

View of the Gambia River from the ferry

River Gambia National Park

Another 22 km later, I arrived in Kuntaur, where boat tours to the Gambia River National Park departed. I was able to join a group of four who had arrived at the same time as me.

The park’s main attraction are the chimpanzees, which we saw high up in the trees along the banks of the Gambia River.

The chimpanzees could only be seen clearly through binoculars or a telephoto lens. In Uganda, however, I saw the chimpanzees up close.

A crocodile is basking in the sun on a fallen tree trunk.

The Stone Circles of Wassu

Just a 10-minute drive from Kuntaur lie the mysterious stone circles of Wassu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Wassu is just one of about 2,000 known sites with approximately 29,000 stones in northern Gambia and central Senegal, located in an area 350 km long and 100 km wide. Some stone circles date back to the 3rd century BC, but the Wassu stone circles were erected between 927 and 1305.

It took me 10 minutes to see the stones, and then I drove the 240 km back to the airport in about 5 hours.

After returning the car, I spent the night in a small village near the bus station, from where buses depart for the border with Senegal. I ran into problems during my last night there as well, because although breakfast was supposed to be included, the owner didn’t show up the next morning. I was in my own bungalow, but other guests couldn’t leave the locked main house. I looked for a restaurant, but there wasn’t one in this village that served breakfast. So I left the accommodation without eating. Normally, the owner drives people to the main road in his car, but this time I had to take care of it myself. The path was sandy and therefore unsuitable for my suitcase wheels. I saw a donkey cart standing around at the neighbor’s place. I asked him if he could take my suitcases to the main road, which he was happy to do.

The donkey cart with my suitcases

On the main road, I found a shared taxi that took me to Birkama, 7 km away, where buses departed for the Senegalese border.

The bus station in Birkama

As I mentioned, almost everything that could go wrong in Gambia did. On top of that, the country has almost no tourist attractions. I wouldn’t visit The Gambia again.