7-Day Travel Itinerary for Gambia

You will pay a 20 dollar (or 10,000 dalasi) security fee in cash at the airport on both arrival and departure, no exceptions, no cards. Have it ready before you land, the queue for people fumbling for cash at the kiosk is longer than it needs to be.

Day 1: Arrival & Settling In

Land at Banjul International Airport, still commonly called Yundum by locals from its old name, and take one of the yellow-and-green striped taxis into the coastal resort strip. Fares are fixed rather than metered: expect 200 to 300 dalasi to Kotu, Kololi, or Bakau, and closer to 400 to 500 dalasi if you are heading into Banjul itself. Settle into your accommodation around Kotu Beach, Brufut, or Kololi, get a local SIM (Africell and Qcell both sell tourist packs at the airport), and change money at a licensed bureau de change rather than the informal street changers who work the beach roads, the rate difference rarely justifies the risk of shortchanging.

Day 2: Kotu and the Crocodile Pool

Kachikally Crocodile Pool in Bakau is a genuine sacred site, not a staged tourist trap, local women have historically visited it for fertility rituals, and the resident crocodiles are used to visitors at close range, still, listen to the handlers and do not approach on your own. Afterward, Kotu Beach itself is calmer than Kololi’s main strip and better for jet skiing or paddleboarding without the hustle of vendors working the busier beaches. The Bakau craft market and the smaller stalls around Kotu bridge are fine for a first pass at souvenir shopping, but prices here run higher than Serekunda, save any serious buying for day 5 if the itinerary allows it.

Day 3: Craft Villages and the Coast

Spend the morning at a tourist-oriented craft village near Kololi or Brufut where woodcarvers, batik makers, and jewelers work in open workshops, you can watch pieces being made and buy directly from the artisan rather than a middleman markup. In the afternoon, head down to the quieter beaches south around Sanyang or Gunjur if you want sand without a resort crowd, both are a short taxi ride further than the main strip and noticeably less developed. Local fixers will approach you here with unsolicited “guide” offers; a polite but firm no is enough, they are mostly harmless but persistent.

Day 4: Kiang West National Park

Kiang West is the wilder, far less visited counterpart to the coastal parks, a few hours’ drive up-country along the south bank of the river, and it is genuinely lonelier and cheaper than the more curated wildlife spots near the coast. Park entry runs only a dollar or two per person with a similarly modest guide fee, arrange a driver and guide through your accommodation or a reputable local operator rather than showing up unannounced. Expect baboons, warthogs, hippos in the river channels, and strong birdlife, this is one of the better spots in West Africa for serious birders, though sightings depend heavily on season and time of day. Wear closed shoes, bring repellent, and start early, the heat by midday flattens most wildlife activity.

Day 5: Serekunda Market and Abuko Nature Reserve

Serekunda is the country’s largest market and the place for serious haggling, fabrics, spices, and household goods at prices well below the coastal resort stalls. From there, Abuko Nature Reserve is a short taxi ride and one of the most accessible patches of genuine forest in the country, home to vervet and red colobus monkeys, crocodiles in the central pool, and a boardwalk trail that makes the whole visit manageable in under two hours. Photography of people, especially at the market, should always be asked for first, a firm local norm that catches first-time visitors off guard.

Day 6: Juffureh, Albreda, and Kunta Kinteh Island

This day centers on the Gambia River’s most historically loaded stretch. Ferries to Kunta Kinteh Island run from Banjul, typically from Paradise Beach or Jenyerbeh, a crossing of around forty-five minutes each way and roughly ten dollars round trip. The island itself, known as James Island until it was renamed in 2011 to honor the ancestral figure at the center of Alex Haley’s novel Roots, is now a low, eroding ruin of the old fort walls rather than any single named building, most of the original structure has been lost to the tidal river over the centuries, and that erosion is part of why UNESCO lists it as an at-risk World Heritage Site. Entry runs a couple of dollars. Pair the island with a stop in nearby Juffureh village and the small museum there covering the transatlantic slave trade and the Haley connection, and Albreda, the old French trading post just along the riverbank. This is heavier history than a beach holiday usually delivers, budget real time for it rather than treating it as a quick photo stop.

Day 7: Departure

Use the morning for any last souvenir runs, a final beach walk, or a stop at a spot you skipped earlier in the week, then head to Banjul International Airport with your cash ready for the departure security fee. Traffic on the road from the coastal resorts to the airport can back up around Serrekunda at peak times, leave more buffer than you think you need.

Visa Requirements

Citizens of ECOWAS member states, the UK, full EU member countries, and a list of Commonwealth and other reciprocal-agreement nations including Australia and Canada can enter visa-free for stays up to 90 days. Everyone else should check current requirements before booking, policy has shifted in recent years and generic old blog posts are not a reliable source. A passport valid at least six months beyond your departure date with two blank pages, plus a yellow fever vaccination card, is required of all visitors regardless of visa status.

Transportation

Taxis and shared local buses called gelly-gellies cover most routes cheaply, though gelly-gellies run on informal, packed schedules rather than fixed timetables. Renting a car or motorbike is possible but road conditions outside the coastal strip are rough, and driving norms are aggressive by Western standards, most visitors are better off hiring a driver for up-country trips like Kiang West.