Senegal itinerary, day by day

From Gorée island to the mangroves of the Sine-Saloum, by way of Saint-Louis and the Pink Lake: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: November to May

Dakar · Photo Léonide Mahajanjy / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Senegal in 3 days

2 stops · 11 things to do · ≈ 35 km

1Dakar and Gorée

Days 1-2

A capital on the Cap-Vert peninsula, the westernmost point of mainland Africa. Offshore, the island of Gorée, UNESCO-listed since 1978, keeps the memory of the Atlantic slave trade.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gorée island: ferry and guided visitHalf day · from €20
Twenty minutes by ferry from Dakar, then the House of Slaves and the quiet lanes of an island with no cars.
Book on GetYourGuide →
City tour and Sandaga market2h · from €15
Two hours through the Plateau, the colonial centre, and the crowded trading streets around Sandaga.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The African Renaissance Monument · Pointe des Almadies · Yoff beach and its pirogues · The Mosque of the Divinity

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Casa Mara Dakar (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Hôtel Le Djoloff (€95 a night) · Luxury: Pullman Dakar Teranga (€230 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Chez Mami ↗ ★ 4.9 · 163 reviews
YOUYOU ↗ ★ 4.8 · 234 reviews
Seven Seven Dakar ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1225 reviews · €€€€
Casa Teranga ↗ ★ 4.7 · 274 reviews
TAÏYO a Japanese Experience ↗ ★ 4.7 · 178 reviews

Photo Amaury Michaux / Pexels

🚗 Car · 50 min · 35 km

2Lake Retba (the Pink Lake)

Day 3

A shallow salt lake behind the coastal dunes, tinted pink by a salt-loving micro-alga. The colour is strongest in the dry season and under a high sun.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lake tour and salt harvest, guided2h · from €15
The salt collectors at work, chest-deep in the water, breaking salt from the lakebed and piling it on the shore.
Book on GetYourGuide →
4x4 over the dunes to the beachHalf day · from €40
A ride across the dunes that separate the lake from the ocean, ending on the Atlantic beach.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The pink of the lake · The dunes between lake and ocean · The village of Niaga

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Le Calao du Lac Rose (€45 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Azalaï Hôtel Dakar ↗ ★ 4.7 · 2642 reviews
Camping Le Nomade ↗ ★ 4.4 · 145 reviews
Le Calao du Lac Rose ↗ ★ 4.3 · 221 reviews
Bonaba Cafe ↗ ★ 4.3 · 220 reviews
Hôtel le Trarza ↗ ★ 3.8 · 430 reviews

Photo Fernando Huelgas / Pexels

Senegal in 7 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · ≈ 700 km

1Dakar and Gorée

Days 1-2

A capital on the Cap-Vert peninsula, the westernmost point of mainland Africa. Offshore, the island of Gorée, UNESCO-listed since 1978, keeps the memory of the Atlantic slave trade.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gorée island: ferry and guided visitHalf day · from €20
Twenty minutes by ferry from Dakar, then the House of Slaves and the quiet lanes of an island with no cars.
Book on GetYourGuide →
City tour and Sandaga market2h · from €15
Two hours through the Plateau, the colonial centre, and the crowded trading streets around Sandaga.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The African Renaissance Monument · Pointe des Almadies · Yoff beach and its pirogues · The Mosque of the Divinity

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Casa Mara Dakar (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Hôtel Le Djoloff (€95 a night) · Luxury: Pullman Dakar Teranga (€230 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Amaury Michaux / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h · 270 km

2Saint-Louis

Days 3-4

The capital of colonial Senegal until 1957, built on an island in the mouth of the Senegal River. Its old town, with wooden balconies and horse-drawn carts, has been UNESCO-listed since 2000.

🎟️ Worth booking

Horse-drawn carriage tour of the old town1h30 · from €15
An hour and a half around the island city at a horse's pace, past the balconied merchant houses.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Langue de Barbarie National ParkHalf day · from €30
A boat trip along the thin spit of sand between the river and the Atlantic, where terns and gulls come to nest.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Faidherbe bridge · Guet Ndar, the fishermen's quarter · The Creole architecture of the old town · Sunset over the river

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Chez Sofia (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Ndar Ndar House (€79 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Cap Saint Louis (€82 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Chez Dasso ↗ ★ 4.7 · 259 reviews
La Kora ↗ ★ 4.4 · 376 reviews · €€
La Linguere ↗ ★ 4.3 · 326 reviews · €
Sunset Grill Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.2 · 158 reviews · €€

Photo Amaury Michaux / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h · 250 km

3Lake Retba (the Pink Lake)

Day 5

A shallow salt lake behind the coastal dunes, tinted pink by a salt-loving micro-alga. The colour is strongest in the dry season and under a high sun.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lake tour and salt harvest, guided2h · from €15
The salt collectors at work, chest-deep in the water, breaking salt from the lakebed and piling it on the shore.
Book on GetYourGuide →
4x4 over the dunes to the beachHalf day · from €40
A ride across the dunes that separate the lake from the ocean, ending on the Atlantic beach.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The pink of the lake · The dunes between lake and ocean · The village of Niaga

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Le Calao du Lac Rose (€45 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Fernando Huelgas / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h · 180 km

4The Sine-Saloum delta

Days 6-7

A maze of mangrove channels, the bolongs, and low islands. A biosphere reserve since 1980 and on the World Heritage list since 2011, it is explored by pirogue.

🎟️ Worth booking

Pirogue trip through the bolongsHalf day · from €35
Half a day gliding between the mangroves, with herons, kingfishers and oysters growing on the roots.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Birdwatching and the shell islandsHalf day · from €30
The birdlife of the delta, then islands built up over centuries from discarded shells, some topped with baobabs and old burial grounds.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The mangroves · The village of Ndangane · Fishing from the pirogues · Empty beaches and islets

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Les Palétuviers (€85 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Chez Atty ↗ ★ 4.7 · 198 reviews
La cabane sauvage ↗ ★ 4.7 · 141 reviews
Chez Boum ↗ ★ 4.5 · 137 reviews · €
Exotik Beach ↗ ★ 4.4 · 808 reviews
Restaurant Berge du Sine ↗ ★ 3.7 · 148 reviews · €€

Photo Tom Fisk / Pexels

Senegal in 14 days

5 stops · 29 things to do · ≈ 860 km

1Dakar and Gorée

Days 1-3

A capital on the Cap-Vert peninsula, the westernmost point of mainland Africa. Offshore, the island of Gorée, UNESCO-listed since 1978, keeps the memory of the Atlantic slave trade.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gorée island: ferry and guided visitHalf day · from €20
Twenty minutes by ferry from Dakar, then the House of Slaves and the quiet lanes of an island with no cars.
Book on GetYourGuide →
City tour and Sandaga market2h · from €15
Two hours through the Plateau, the colonial centre, and the crowded trading streets around Sandaga.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The African Renaissance Monument · Pointe des Almadies · Yoff beach and its pirogues · The Mosque of the Divinity

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Casa Mara Dakar (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Hôtel Le Djoloff (€95 a night) · Luxury: Pullman Dakar Teranga (€230 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Amaury Michaux / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h · 270 km

2Saint-Louis

Days 4-6

The capital of colonial Senegal until 1957, built on an island in the mouth of the Senegal River. Its old town, with wooden balconies and horse-drawn carts, has been UNESCO-listed since 2000.

🎟️ Worth booking

Horse-drawn carriage tour of the old town1h30 · from €15
An hour and a half around the island city at a horse's pace, past the balconied merchant houses.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Langue de Barbarie National ParkHalf day · from €30
A boat trip along the thin spit of sand between the river and the Atlantic, where terns and gulls come to nest.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Faidherbe bridge · Guet Ndar, the fishermen's quarter · The Creole architecture of the old town · Sunset over the river

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Chez Sofia (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Ndar Ndar House (€79 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Cap Saint Louis (€82 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Chez Dasso ↗ ★ 4.7 · 259 reviews
La Kora ↗ ★ 4.4 · 376 reviews · €€
La Linguere ↗ ★ 4.3 · 326 reviews · €
Sunset Grill Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.2 · 158 reviews · €€

Photo Amaury Michaux / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h · 250 km

3Lake Retba (the Pink Lake)

Days 7-8

A shallow salt lake behind the coastal dunes, tinted pink by a salt-loving micro-alga. The colour is strongest in the dry season and under a high sun.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lake tour and salt harvest, guided2h · from €15
The salt collectors at work, chest-deep in the water, breaking salt from the lakebed and piling it on the shore.
Book on GetYourGuide →
4x4 over the dunes to the beachHalf day · from €40
A ride across the dunes that separate the lake from the ocean, ending on the Atlantic beach.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The pink of the lake · The dunes between lake and ocean · The village of Niaga

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Le Calao du Lac Rose (€45 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Fernando Huelgas / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h · 180 km

4The Sine-Saloum delta

Days 9-12

A maze of mangrove channels, the bolongs, and low islands. A biosphere reserve since 1980 and on the World Heritage list since 2011, it is explored by pirogue.

🎟️ Worth booking

Pirogue trip through the bolongsHalf day · from €35
Half a day gliding between the mangroves, with herons, kingfishers and oysters growing on the roots.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Birdwatching and the shell islandsHalf day · from €30
The birdlife of the delta, then islands built up over centuries from discarded shells, some topped with baobabs and old burial grounds.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The mangroves · The village of Ndangane · Fishing from the pirogues · Empty beaches and islets

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Les Palétuviers (€85 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Tom Fisk / Pexels

🚗 Car · 2h30 · 160 km (return)

5Dakar and Gorée

Days 13-14

A capital on the Cap-Vert peninsula, the westernmost point of mainland Africa. Offshore, the island of Gorée, UNESCO-listed since 1978, keeps the memory of the Atlantic slave trade.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gorée island: ferry and guided visitHalf day · from €20
Twenty minutes by ferry from Dakar, then the House of Slaves and the quiet lanes of an island with no cars.
Book on GetYourGuide →
City tour and Sandaga market2h · from €15
Two hours through the Plateau, the colonial centre, and the crowded trading streets around Sandaga.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The African Renaissance Monument · Pointe des Almadies · Yoff beach and its pirogues · The Mosque of the Divinity

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Casa Mara Dakar (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Hôtel Le Djoloff (€95 a night) · Luxury: Pullman Dakar Teranga (€230 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Amaury Michaux / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Thieboudienne: rice cooked in a tomato and fish stock, served with the fish and vegetables. The national dish.
Yassa: chicken or fish marinated in onions and lemon, then slowly cooked down.
Mafé: a stew in a thick peanut sauce, with meat and root vegetables.
Pastels: small fried pastries stuffed with spiced fish, sold as a snack.
Bissap and bouye: cold drinks of hibiscus and of baobab fruit.

⚠️ What to avoid

Paying before agreeing the price: settle it first, and bargain with good humour.
Drinking tap water, or skipping malaria advice before you go.
Photographing people without asking first.
Following self-appointed guides and insistent sellers: a polite, firm no is enough.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Senegal guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Senegal, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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