Find places in The Gambia

Must-Haves

• Arch 22 (Independence Drive)
  Climb the landmark arch for sweeping views over the capital, river and mangroves.

Off the Beaten Path

• Half Die old quarter (Old town)
  Wander streets of wooden Krio houses with balconies in the city's oldest neighbourhood.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Banjul to Barra ferry (Banjul ferry terminal)
  Cross the wide river mouth with traders, cars and goats for a real slice of daily life.

Fun for Everyone

• July 22 Square (City centre)
  Banjul's main open square, lively during national celebrations and parades.
• Denton Bridge boat trips (Oyster Creek)
  The jetty where river cruises and fishing trips into the mangroves and to Kunta Kinteh Island begin.

Must-Haves

• National Museum of The Gambia (Independence Drive)
  The best introduction to Gambian history, music, crafts and the road to independence.
• King Fahad Mosque (Box Bar Road)
  One of the country's largest mosques, an elegant landmark on the edge of the city.

Fun for Everyone

• St Mary's Anglican Cathedral (Independence Drive)
  A modest colonial era cathedral that shows the city's British roots.

Off the Beaten Path

• Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption (Hagan Street)
  A quiet, airy church at the heart of Banjul's Catholic community.

Must-Haves

• Albert Market (Russell Street)
  The capital's loud, colourful main market for fabric, spices, baskets and crafts.

Off the Beaten Path

• Tanbi Wetland Complex (Banjul mangroves)
  Protected mangrove creeks around the capital, rich in herons, kingfishers and waders.

Great for Date Night

• Lamin Lodge (Lamin creek)
  A rustic wooden restaurant on stilts in the mangroves, lovely for breakfast and birds.

Must-Haves

• Independence Day celebrations (July 22 Square)
  Every 18 February the capital marks independence with parades, music and flags.

Must-Haves

• Laico Atlantic Hotel (Marina Parade)
  A long established beachfront hotel in the capital with a garden facing the sea.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Albert Market food stalls (Albert Market)
  Plates of benachin, domoda and fresh tapalapa sandwiches where market traders eat.

Must-Haves

• Kachikally Crocodile Pool (Bakau Old Town)
  A sacred pool where dozens of Nile crocodiles laze in the sun beside a small museum.

Off the Beaten Path

• Bakau Botanic Gardens (Cape Point Road)
  A peaceful colonial era garden with shady trees, birds and very few visitors.

Great for Date Night

• Cape Point beach (Cape Point)
  A sheltered beach at the tip of the coast with some of the best sunsets around.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Bakau fish market (Bakau beach)
  Watch boats land and women sort fish and seafood on the busy beach in the morning.

Fun for Everyone

• Bakau Craft Market (Atlantic Road)
  A compact craft market for carvings, batik, drums and beads near the cliffs.

Must-Haves

• Ngala Lodge (Atlantic Road, Fajara)
  A boutique clifftop lodge known for its gardens, ocean views and fine dining.

Fun for Everyone

• Ocean Bay Hotel (Cape Point)
  A large beachfront hotel with pools and gardens on the calm Cape Point beach.

Low Cost and Authentic

• African Village Hotel (Atlantic Road)
  A simple, friendly hotel on the cliffs with an ocean view terrace.

Great for Date Night

• Calypso Bar and Restaurant (Cape Point)
  A beachside restaurant with seafood, cocktails and a laid back sunset view.
• Solomon's Beach Bar (Cape Point beach)
  A long running beach shack for grilled fish and drinks with your feet in the sand.
• Leybato (Fajara beach)
  A relaxed guesthouse bar and restaurant at the foot of the Fajara cliffs.

Fun for Everyone

• Clay Oven (Fajara)
  A popular Indian restaurant serving tandoori dishes in a leafy garden.

Must-Haves

• Timbooktoo (Kairaba Avenue, Fajara)
  The country's best known bookshop, with a café for coffee and Gambian reading.

Off the Beaten Path

• Fajara War Cemetery (Fajara)
  A quiet Commonwealth war cemetery honouring soldiers from the Second World War.

Fun for Everyone

• Fajara Golf Club (Fajara)
  A long established club with a sand green course, unusual and fun to try.

Must-Haves

• Senegambia Strip (Kololi)
  The coast's liveliest street of restaurants, bars, music and craft stalls.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kotu sewage ponds birding (Kotu)
  Unglamorous but famous among birders for waders, herons and plovers close up.

Fun for Everyone

• Bijilo Forest Park (Bijilo)
  Shady trails where vervet and red colobus monkeys come close, so leave the peanuts at home.
• Kotu beach (Kotu)
  A wide, family friendly beach with beach bars and easy access from the hotels.

Must-Haves

• Kololi beach (Kololi)
  A long sandy beach with sunbeds and bars in front of the main hotels.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kotu Creek bird walk (Kotu bridge)
  Dawn walks with licensed bird guides around the creek and ponds for kingfishers and waders.

Must-Haves

• Ali Baba (Senegambia Strip)
  A Lebanese restaurant and garden bar at the centre of the strip, with live music some nights.

Fun for Everyone

• Luigi's (Palma Rima Road, Kotu)
  A long running Italian restaurant for pizza and pasta near the beach.

Off the Beaten Path

• Gaya Art Café (Kololi)
  A creative café and gallery with healthy food, local art and a calm garden.

Fun for Everyone

• Senegambia Strip juice stalls (Senegambia Strip)
  Fresh baobab, wonjo and ginger juices made the Gambian way.

Fun for Everyone

• Senegambia Craft Market (Senegambia Strip)
  Stalls of masks, drums, jewellery and fabric right by the hotels.

Must-Haves

• Senegambia Beach Hotel (Kololi)
  A big beachfront hotel with lush gardens where vultures and monkeys visit.

Fun for Everyone

• Kairaba Beach Hotel (Kololi)
  A long established resort hotel with gardens running down to the beach.
• Kombo Beach Hotel (Kotu)
  A large, easygoing beach hotel popular with families.

Great for Date Night

• Coco Ocean Resort and Spa (Bijilo)
  A Moroccan styled resort with pools and spa beside Bijilo beach.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Bakotu Hotel (Kotu)
  A modest garden hotel by Kotu Creek, much loved by birdwatchers.

Fun for Everyone

• Kololi Beach Club (Kololi)
  A beachfront spot for drinks, sunsets and an easy evening by the sea.

Great for Date Night

• Senegambia Strip live music bars (Senegambia Strip)
  Bars along the strip play reggae, mbalax and Afrobeats into the night.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kotu beach bars (Kotu beach)
  Simple shacks for a cold drink and grilled fish at sundown.

Fun for Everyone

• Koriteh in the Kombos (Across the coast)
  The end of Ramadan brings new clothes, family feasts and joyful visiting on every street.

Must-Haves

• Tobaski (Across the coast)
  The Gambia's biggest festival, when families share ram feasts and dress in their finest.

Must-Haves

• Serrekunda Market (Serrekunda town)
  The country's biggest and busiest market, a maze of fabric, food and everyday goods.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kairaba Avenue shops (Kairaba Avenue)
  The main commercial road for supermarkets, fabric shops, banks and cafés.

Fun for Everyone

• Brikama Craft Market (Brikama)
  The woodcarvers' market where you can watch carvings being made by hand.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Serrekunda batik factories (Serrekunda)
  Small workshops where you can watch batik being dyed and buy fabric at the source.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kora music in Brikama (Brikama)
  Brikama is famous for its griot families and kora players, keepers of Mandinka music.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Afra grills at Westfield (Westfield junction)
  Smoky roadside grills serving afra, spiced grilled meat with onions, late into the night.
• Chop shops of Serrekunda (Serrekunda)
  Small local eateries serving domoda, superkanja and benachin at lunchtime.

Fun for Everyone

• Tapalapa breakfast stalls (Across Serrekunda)
  Crusty tapalapa bread filled with beans or egg, the classic Gambian breakfast.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Westfield junction (Westfield)
  The roaring hub of urban Gambia, full of minibuses, traders and street food.

Must-Haves

• Abuko Nature Reserve (Abuko)
  A small forest reserve with trails, hides, monkeys and hundreds of bird species.

Fun for Everyone

• Makasutu Culture Forest (Near Brikama)
  A forest and mangrove reserve with pirogue rides, walks and cultural performances.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Ataya at street corners (Across Serrekunda)
  Join locals for strong, sweet green tea brewed slowly in three rounds.

Off the Beaten Path

• Lemonfish Art Hotel (Kerr Serign)
  A small art hotel with a gallery feel, gardens and a quiet location near the coast.

Must-Haves

• Tanji fish landing (Tanji beach)
  Painted pirogues ride the surf to land their catch in one of West Africa's great sights.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Tanji fish smokehouses (Tanji beach)
  See bonga fish smoked in traditional ovens behind the beach.

Off the Beaten Path

• Ghana Town (Near Brufut)
  A fishing village founded by Ghanaian fishermen, with boats and smokehouses on the beach.
• Kartong Allahein River (Kartong)
  Quiet walks along the border river and wetlands at the end of the coast road.

Must-Haves

• Tanji River Bird Reserve (Tanji)
  Dunes, lagoons and woodland protecting hundreds of bird species and the Bijol Islands.
• Sanyang beach (Sanyang)
  A wide, palm fringed beach with grilled fish shacks and plenty of space.

Off the Beaten Path

• Bijol Islands (Off Tanji)
  Protected islets where terns and gulls breed, seen on guided boat trips in season.
• Brufut Woods (Brufut)
  A community woodland famous with birders for owls and nightjars.

Fun for Everyone

• Gunjur beach (Gunjur)
  A long, quiet beach with its own busy fish landing.

Fun for Everyone

• Tanje Village Museum (Tanji)
  A small open air museum of traditional compounds, crafts and medicinal plants.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Sanyang beach fish grills (Sanyang beach)
  Grilled fish and chips served under the palms at simple beach bars.

Off the Beaten Path

• Footsteps Eco Lodge (Gunjur)
  A solar powered eco lodge with round houses, a pool and gardens.

Great for Date Night

• Sandele Eco Retreat (Kartong)
  A beautifully built eco retreat by the beach near the Senegal border.

Must-Haves

• River Gambia National Park (Near Janjanbureh)
  Boat trips past the Baboon Islands to see chimpanzees, hippos and river birds.
• Kiang West National Park (Near Tendaba)
  Woodland, mangroves and creeks with warthogs, monkeys and excellent birds.

Off the Beaten Path

• Bao Bolong Wetland Reserve (North bank)
  A huge protected wetland of mangroves and creeks explored by boat from Tendaba.
• Basse Santa Su riverside (Basse)
  The busy trading town at the far east of the country, a true end of the road.

Fun for Everyone

• Hippo spotting on the river (Around Janjanbureh)
  Boatmen know where hippo families gather in the river channels.

Must-Haves

• Wassu Stone Circles (Wassu)
  Ancient burial stones that are part of the UNESCO Stone Circles of Senegambia.

Off the Beaten Path

• Farafenni lumo (Farafenni)
  A weekly market where traders from across the region gather.

Off the Beaten Path

• Janjanbureh slave house (Janjanbureh)
  A small building linked to the history of the slave trade on MacCarthy Island.
• Freedom Tree (Janjanbureh)
  A riverside tree associated by local tradition with freedom for enslaved people.
• Kuntaur river trips (Kuntaur)
  The village closest to the chimp islands, where many boat trips begin.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Pirogue crossings (Janjanbureh riverside)
  Small boats link the island to the banks, a simple and memorable ride.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Janjanbureh market (Janjanbureh)
  A small market for fruit, fabric and everyday life upriver.

Fun for Everyone

• Janjanbureh Camp (Janjanbureh)
  A riverside camp with simple huts, a classic base upriver.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Tendaba Camp (Tendaba)
  A long running riverside camp and base for creek trips and Kiang West.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kankurang masquerade (Upriver villages)
  The Mandinka Kankurang figure appears during initiation seasons, a UNESCO recognised tradition.