Holiday to Gambia needed please

niceshoes_2

Hi folks,

Have previously posted for holiday advice and was recommended Egypt - have had a look and I am worried that it won't be hot enough for sunbathing. So I've been looking at the Gambia - current temp 33degrees (my idea of bliss) It looks lovely though, and I intend to go there one day.

I'm looking for a 7 night holiday to Gambia flying either on Friday 3rd March late evening or Saturday 4th March from any london airport or midlands airport - live in Northamptonshire so either is OK.

Can anyone assist - best I can come up with is £310 B & B.

Want plenty of sun, as all we like doing on holiday is sunbathing, eating and drinking. Not looking for anywhere 18-30, but somewhere with some nice bars, restaurants, and maybe a "night club", so there is some entertainment, but not too much.

Thanks in advance to all those that will help

sad_gills_fan

Gambia is not yet the San Antonio of Africa so don't expect nightclubs and bars on every street.

Hotels near Kombo beach tend to be favourites as the beach is really nice there. There is, or was, an Italian restaurant nearby which was really nice but the only entertainment when I last went (a few years ago now) was the hotel disco. This was ok but the music was dire !!

Remember as well that the Gambian people are really poor with the average wage being about £70 per month. If they treat you well, tip them, it will be worth your while.
If you want to go out, you should find the official taxis with guides right outside your hotel. I think they are white with green stripes but don't quote me on that. A guide will look after you all day if you wish and really won't cost very much ... alot less than your holiday company anyway!!

I did some charity work in the Gambia for a few years and it is beautiful. Saying that though, it can be daunting when you first arrive so here are my top tips:
1. When you arrive at the airport, a guy will offer to take your bags to the coach, if you're happy, let him but go with him. He'll expect a £1 coin from you which he will save and change up when he has enough.
2. On the way to the hotel from the airport, don't look at the massive spider webs that are strung from each telegraph pole with the spider that's massive in the middle. It's the only place I've ever seen them and I travelled quite alot thru the country.
3. Everyone gets to the hotel, dumps their bags and goes straight onto the beach to see the view. You wil probably be approached by a bumster who may offer you a bracelet orother piece of jewellery. He may tell you that he is in a band and they're playing nearby tonight. It's a ruse for new people so don't fall for it. Be polite but firm with your 'no thank you'. They are not a danger to you.
4. Gambian people are lovely, friendly and very approachable but you must take the same care as you would in any foreign country.
5. If your hotel has a Cat Cafe, go to the local supermarket and buy some food for them. Only put it in the cat cafe, don't feed them anywhere else. My work was with an animal charity which encouraged hotels to provide cat cafes instead of trapping the cats and killing them with strichnine (spelling?). Animal welfare is not the highest thing on their agendas obviously as it is a poor country.
6. I think that's it!!!

Have a fabulous time, it really is a lovely country, rich in history and colourful beyond your imaginations. One more thing, the holiday company tour to the home of the relatives of Kunta Kinta (Alex Haleys book Roots) is a waste of money if you're after the 'real thing'. They line up the 'relatives' and pass round a bucket which you're expected to throw money into. The only good thing is the slavery museum which should shame anyone, it's very interesting.

Blimey, I can rabbit on can't I?!!!

saveapenny

unless you are up to date with your jabs I dont think you will have time to have them and start the malaria pills

sad_gills_fan

Forgot one more thing ... The Gambia is on the Atlantic coast which means the sea can be quite rough. Drowning is one of the most common causes of young deaths for locals as they never get taught to swim. It's not like they have a local swimming baths like we do!
So, be careful if you go in the sea, the undercurrents can be very strong.

sad_gills_fan

saveapenny wrote:

unless you are up to date with your jabs I dont think you will have time to have them and start the malaria pills

Good call, forgot all about that !

I felt sick as a dog on each of the days I took mine .. could only lay on my sun lounger all day .. shame !!

Didn't see any mozzies all the time I was there though funnily enough and that was a long time !

littlereddevil

Gambia was the worst place I have ever been

Jiggly

We visited the Gambia a couple of years ago and would not go back. We like to be independant on our hoidays,go out and about under own steam, on local transport taxis etc, this was not an option in the Gambia we had to be escorted. The people are very poor and we encountered an extreme amount of hassle including individuals attaching themselves to us for the whole day on the beach, eventauly we found that the best way to stop this was to have a lingering kiss (with the OH of course!)
I would not recommend the Gambia, would definately recommend Goa, loved it.

HTH

cundall

littlereddevil wrote:

Gambia was the worst place I have ever been

I have 13 passport stamps for gambia, i used to go 3 times a year from 1989.

It was good though unless it has changed in the last 6 years (well about) i would stay away. I loved it!! But then all the locals started trying to rob the tourists and my dad was mugged (well they tried! my dads bird is a x-police officer and that saw the end of them) but not just that they are all on the make. Once i stopped going to gambia i have been going to goa and still are, well infact i set off for my train to get my plane at 3pm on wednesday! but i do fly to mumbai (bombay) then onto goa. (if you go to goa go to the south and not the north!!!!!)

Anyway just stay away but if you do go i used to go around the bakatu (dont think any of my spelling is correct) and bungalo beach. I used to walk to the paradise beach bar as it was cheap and good though watch out for people drowning as i have seen many people walkiung away with just shoes of the people who have died!

cundall

Jiggly wrote:

We visited the Gambia a couple of years ago and would not go back. We like to be independant on our hoidays,go out and about under own steam, on local transport taxis etc, this was not an option in the Gambia we had to be escorted. The people are very poor and we encountered an extreme amount of hassle including individuals attaching themselves to us for the whole day on the beach, eventauly we found that the best way to stop this was to have a lingering kiss (with the OH of course!)
I would not recommend the Gambia, would definately recommend Goa, loved it.

HTH

WHAT?

Anyway the local taxi's are called bush taxis and are good fun if you like to see the floor pass below you and door and car pannels being held on via string! Anyway you could travel though now you cannot, travel is cheap though now its a hol where you stay in the hotel and thats it!

coffeebean

ve been often as I am a trustee of a charity, we have built a village clinic a good 3/4 of the way upriver from Banjul on the coast. I love the country, the problems with the "bumsters" are only in the tourist area around the coastal resorts, the worst of these areas is around Kololi beach where most of the touristy spots are, restaurants, night clubs, etc. Unfortunately certain holidaymakers have not helped with the bumster problem because of the reasons that they go to Gambia. Go a little further into the country and you will find the true Gambia, the people are friendly although desperately poor.

You don't have to follow the tourist trail, you can hire your own guide, usually these are found at your hotel and are registered guides. A good guide will cost very little, will keep the bumsters away and get you the best deals re: transport like the bush taxis and tourist taxis, ones green and ones yellow, forgotten which way round it is! & places to visit.

For shopping, the best craft markets are at Bakau, where there is also a sacred crocodile pool, Katchakali, where you can see many crocodiles and even hold "hands" with friendly resident Croc Charlie, who simply ignores everyone.
Get a good guide book, the Lonely Planet one is quite good, and pick the trips that appeal to you. There are many bird-watching and fishing trips, river trips, you can get on a bus and go to Senegal for the day if that's your thing, go upriver and visit villages, perhaps even my clinic! The Makasutu Nature Forest is a good place to visit, you can explore the palm forest and mangrove creeks on foot and in dug out canoes.
The sea is dangerous for swimming, the current is strong and not always obvious.
Don't expect first world standards - this is a poor, third-world country, the hotels have all the facilities, but often there are power-cuts, although most of the hotels have back-up generators. Drink bottled water and make sure the top is sealed, there is tap-water but you cannot be sure if it has come direct from the mains or from a storage tank.
The poverty will upset you, and so will the beggars. Giving them money will not help them to help themselves, better to give your money to the economy in other ways, or sponsor a school-child or donate to one of the many charities working in Gambia.
You will need all your travel jabs, plus yellow fever, and make sure your malaria prevention is appropriate for Gambia. Although it's the dry season now, when I returned to the UK a week ago I had been bitten many times by mosquitos, but then I was upriver. They are around on the coast, but not so many of them!

Have a look at The Gambia Experience website, https://www.gambia.co.uk loads of info. on there and also some good package deals.

Gambia is a lovely country, don't forget it is 95% Muslim, so dress respectfully away from the beaches, while I was there the temperature hit 40 on one day (upriver) which was hot! on the coast it's cooler, higher 30's most days, sometimes the nights can be cool so take a jumper.

Hope this helps a bit, sorry, gone on a bit!

cundall

One other thing, when i was there the first time we were taking photos of people working and got told off as they think their soul is taken away with a photo, i thinks have changed now but just to warn you. To follow up from coffeebean yes it can be a great place though it all depends who meet and where you go.

you may see lots of things like a goat bring killed for an offering for a god, we say a man on stilts covered in leaves carrying a rusty axe and it has something to do with a boy getting circumcised and then go into somewhere (dont know could be jungle or mangroves) and then if he comes back he is a man. Gambia does have a great culture though its now not a place for me.

If you want somewhere hot try Goa.