If you have read my stories before you may know that I prefer slow traveling rather than rushing my trips, so I decided to not stress too much when I spent 2 weeks backpacking in Senegal and rather than trying to go to many places, I decided to soak up as much as I could of it’s culture, history and people from the three places I visited.
Senegal is not a huge country, and you could certainly cover more territory than I did in that time, specially if you decide to take a flight to Ziguinchor and explore the south of the country which also looks stunning. Keep reading and I’ll explain later on why I didn’t go there. As well as other touristy places that I decided to skip.
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My itinerary for the two weeks backpacking in Senegal was the following:
2 Nights in Dakar – Yoff
1 Night in Goree Island
4 Nights in Toubab Dialaw
3 Nights in Saint Louis
4 Nights in Dakar – Ngor Island
I’ll expand more on what I did in each place below with many suggestions of things to do in Senegal.
But first, some important info to know before and when traveling in Senegal.
Do you need insurance to travel in Senegal?
That’s always completely up to you. I have written an article about travel insurance when backpacking and I don’t have a yes or no answer. It really depends on you and where you’re going. I rarely take backpacking insurance on my trips but I did take a policy as this was my first time in Western Africa and found a really good quote with True Traveller which I have taken before with them. Thankfully I didn’t need it at all so whilst the quote was really good compared to World Nomads I’m not really recommending one over the other as so far all my trips around the world have been accident-free.
Do you need a visa when backpacking in Senegal?
There are quite a few countries that have visa-free access to Senegal. I personally didn’t have to get a visa and got entry up to 90 days. This page is pretty good for checking entry requirements to Senegal.
If you do need a visa, they have a visa on arrival service at Dakar Airport. But make sure to check in advance as this blog is definitely not for legal advise.
What language do they speak in Senegal?
The most spoken language in Senegal is Wolof and although French is the official language, not so many people actually speaks it. I was able to communicate with English and French but in many places it was impossible, so be prepared to make the most use of your smile and sign language to get around.
Here are some useful Wolof phrases
Is Senegal safe for solo traveling?
I only spent two weeks and didn’t travel all over the country but I didn’t have any single negative experience and never felt unsafe even walking late in Dakar. I met other travelers and they said pretty much the same. As usual, just use your common sense, if you think an area may not be safe just keep your valuables, phone, camera, etc out of sight.
I was using public transport (one train and mostly public buses and sept-places) and didn’t have any problems with locals trying to trip me off with prices. On my first bus ride in Dakar, a local was super kind and paid my bus fare for me as I didn’t have coins and the bus didn’t have change for my notes.
It’s always a good idea to download offline maps before arriving to a new country. There are plenty of apps out there that offer this function, including Google Maps. I always use the maps.me app as I find it very useful that it includes trails that normally don’t appear on Google.
How to get to Dakar from the Airport?
The Blaise Diagne International Airport is located some 60Kms from Dakar. You can find plenty of ATMs inside the airport terminal, inside the luggage collection area but also outside. I found the exchange rate I got pretty decent, it’s good to check the daily rates on places you go as airports tend to have terrible exchange rates, but some countries are actually ok on this.
I decided to take a local bus instead of a taxi to Dakar. The bus stop is just a few meters away from the airport terminal exit. As usual, lots of taxi drivers will try to scam you, I was even told there was no bus to Dakar, even that I was just a few meters away from it and could see it with my own eyes!
The bus ticket costs 6000CFA, it’s an old bus but it has AC and comfy seats, it’s also frequent as it runs every 30-45min. It stops near the Leopold Sedar-Senghor stadium in Dakar and from there you can take a taxi to your accommodation.
Doing this will save you quite a bit of money compared to just taking a direct taxi from the airport. I paid 1000CFA to go from that stop to Yoff, my first stop in Dakar.
When to go to Senegal?
The best time of the year to visit Senegal is said to be between December and April. I went to Senegal in November and the weather was great, specially if you’re looking to go out of the European winter. At noon it was pretty hot but still enjoyable for me and the evenings were cool. Sleeping with a fan was enough for me in all the places I stayed at.
How much it costs to go backpacking in Senegal?
As with every country, this widely depends on your style of traveling. Senegal doesn’t have yet a massive hostel culture so accommodation could be a bit more expensive than other backpacking destinations, food is pretty cheap though and transport is also cheap. I didn’t fly inside the country though which can be a bit more expensive.
Some examples of prices in Senegal in November 2023:
Accomodation: 20,000-30,000CFA
Fresh grilled monkfish by the beach (huge chunks of monkfish!): 4,000-6,000CFA
Pint of beer: 1,000-2,000CFA
Thieboudienne (National dish): 2,500-4,000CFA
Baobab juice: 1,000CFA
Bus from airport to Dakar: 6,000CFA
Boat to Goree Island: 5,200CFA
Sept place from Yoff to Dakar train station: 1,000CFA
Kebab at Brioche (fast food chain): 1,500CFA
Sept place from Diamniadio to Toubab Dialaw: 500CFA
Local bus from Diamniadio to Saint Louis 5000CFA
My 2 weeks backpacking in Senegal itinerary:
Dakar – Yoff area: 2 nights
I stayed in Yoff as I read before traveling that this was a traditional neighborhood, not touristy at all and I really enjoy that. This is a muslim area and you will see a few mosques around. The beach is full of colorful fishermen boats and wandering around the neighborhood is easy to find local markets.
I also went walking along the coast from Yoff towards there Ngor Island area, this is a more touristy zone, although most of the tourists I saw where Senegalese.
From Yoff I also took a bus towards the Monument de la Renaissance Africaine. The bus ticket was only about 100CFA and as I didn’t have yet any coins and the bus didn’t have change for my notes, a local passenger kindly volunteered to pay for me. There’s good people everywhere!
Dakar – Goree Island: 1 night
Goree Island is a short 10min ferry ride from the port of Dakar.
The island is a Unesco World Heritage Site, sadly because of its horrific history as it’s closely linked to the slave trade of the 1700’s. Although it’s one of those places that deplete my energies because of its negative past, I consider this an important stop on your trip to Dakar to learn more about the history not just of this country but also of the atrocities of the past.
The island is pretty small so a one day visit, or even staying overnight is more than enough. You will find there an historical museum and architecture form the colonial times. There are a few places to spend the night. I stayed at Chez Eric and it was a great place as it’s at one of the traditional houses which are really pretty.
There are quite a few restaurants on the island and thankfully the prices were very decent. There are also a couple of very small beaches around the island.
Toubab Dialaw: 4 nights
I didn’t really know what to expect of Toubab Dialaw, but I got it recommended when I was at Goree and went to see how it was. It ended up being one of my favorite places to go in Senegal.
I had to take the ferry back to Dakar, then a train to Diamnidiao and then a sep-place to Toubab Dialaw. Although this sounds like a lot, it took me less than 2 hours to find everything and get there. The train is very new and comfortable. And the time to wait for the sep-place always vary as it only departs once there are 7 passengers.
I didn’t have a place to stay in Toubab Dialaw so I started walking and saw on maps.me that there were a couple of hotels around. The first one I saw was the Hotel Sobo Bade and as soon as I saw it I felt in love with it! I refer to it to the Senegalese Gaudi Hotel as it’s construction style remind me of many of the buildings in Barcelona by Gaudi.
This is one of the coolest places I have ever stayed, in addition to it’s unusual architecture, it has plenty of areas to chill, do yoga, lots of hammocks everywhere and it’s walking distance to a great beach as well. I went for “a day” and ended up staying 4 nights!
The Hotel Sobo Bade was also surprisingly cheap as I was paying 10,000CFA for a private room with ensuite. Very humble and definitely not luxurious but for me it was great. There were other bigger rooms more expensive, with AC but I didn’t find it was necessary as the fan was more than enough for me.
The beach in Toubab Dialaw was really nice, I’d normally go for an early swim the it was super quiet and then in the afternoon/evening the place will get pretty full (not crowded) with locals exercising, or playing football. There are a few restaurants and bars by the beach as well with a couple of them having a great atmosphere in the evenings.
After spending a few days in Toubab Dialaw I decided to make my way to the old capital of Senegal, Saint Louis.
To get there, I took first a local bus to Diamniadio where I hoped to grab a sept-place. Instead I got into another “local” bus which was quite an experience on its own. I have taken local buses in lots of countries but this one was different as every now and then there would be a stop in the traffic and at least 10 people (sometimes many more!) would get on to sell water, fruits, sweets, anything, so you’d have a chaotic couple of minutes where the bus would transform itself over and over into a local market.
Saint Louis: 3 nights
Arriving in the evening hours to Saint Louis after a bit of a journey by bus from Toubab Dialaw was not particularly exciting as the city in Northern Senegal was eerily quiet.
I was curious to visit Saint Louis just for its colonial architecture which makes it a Unesco World Heritage Site, and as I continued to be surprised by Senegal I stayed in yet another out-of-the-ordinary accommodation.
As Senegal doesn’t have much of a hostel scene I was normally checking on booking.com and airbnb for accommodation and I found this peculiar place called Le Chateau which used to be the former palace of the Mauritanian government back in the day.
Nowadays, it’s a cultural centre where they also rent a couple of rooms. On my days there I met quite a few local artists that dedicate their lives to theatre, fashion design, painting, etc.
It was really special to meet them and learn more about the cultural scene and realities of the country and this experience made my trip backpacking in Senegal even more special.
On my days in Saint Louis I was just wandering around town. I had some really good food in different restaurants and all in all it was a slow pace relaxing time.
Having said that, what made my stay in Saint Louis special was the people that I met at Le Chateau. If you’re short of time and unsure about going to Saint Louis I’d say that is not an unmissable sight so it’d be ok to skip it if you have to.
Back to Dakar – Ngor Island: 4 Nights
To go back to Dakar from Saint Louis I took a sept-place which was organized for me by the people at Le Chateau. The journey was much easier than when I went to Saint Louis by local bus.
This time I stayed in Ngor Island as I was looking to do some surf and relax with proper island vibes. I stayed at an airbnb hosted by François, a French guy that has been over there for many years. He has the closest I had to a hostel in Senegal and was really friendly, I was able to rent a surfboard from him and also borrow his kayak which was very kind of him.
I found Ngor island pretty touristy but I really liked it as it was not super crowded when I was there, it’s out of the busyness of Dakar, it’s beautiful and there are a few restaurants with decent prices (others are quite expensive compared to what I experienced in Senegal)
Ngor is really well-known for its surfing scene. I had a couple of years without surfing when I went and didn’t make the most out of it as it was almost a bit daunting, not only from the size of the waves but also because there can be not a huge gap in between the surface of the water and the bottom of the sea, where urchins abound. So if you’re planning to go surfing when you’re backpacking in Senegal just beware that it can be challenging.
Places I didn’t go when I was backpacking in Senegal:
There are three places I heard a few times about before going backpacking in Senegal: Saly, Joal Fadiout, Ziguinchor.
I didn’t make it to Saly and Joal Fadiout just from some of the comments I received as I hear of Saly just being very touristy and Toubab Dialaw being a better alternative for the sort of traveling I prefer and Joal Fadiout having “issues” with scamming tourists.
I really wanted to make it to Ziguinchor by ferry from Dakar, but when I went there were no ferries. I was told when I went to the port in Dakar that the government stopped the ferries as a boycott to the regional government in Ziguinchor, so perhaps by the time you read this the ferry is running again, and if so please drop a comment at the bottom of this post to inform other travelers 🙂
My impressions about backpacking 2 weeks in Senegal:
My travels so far have taken me to quite a few countries but somehow I have not done much backpacking in Africa so Senegal was still a relatively new experience for me and I really enjoyed it. I found a few similarities with my home country of Venezuela which included bustling environments with more relaxed ones. I really liked the Senegalese people as they were open and friendly, but above all very polite, in a way that there was not the regular pushiness to try to sale you things as you normally find in Morocco or Egypt and I really liked that.
The transport infrastructure is not yet super developed if you’re used to backpack in other countries but you can still move around. For a backpacker the only downside is that there is not a hostel scene but at least an airbnb costs the same as a hostel in Europe so whilst going backpacking in Senegal is a fantastic experience, be ready to plan a little bit your trip.
If you’re considering backpacking in Senegal I can only encourage you to do so as there are not so many countries out there so open, friendly and unexploited by mass tourism.
If you make it all the way down here please drop a comment! I’d love to hear if you’re planning to go backpacking in Senegal or if you have been already and have additional tips or comments to share with the rest of the backpacking community. And here is some more inspiration to go backpacking in Africa.
