Updated
February 7, 2001

Gambia Tourist Support

Gambia an Exploration

We learnt more about the culture of Gambia during this two weeks than any other place we have visited. This is because Foday explained so much to us and took us to places off the beaten track.

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"We are really glad that we used GTS and are so pleased that we saw the country and got out of the Atlantic hotel area."

Where they went:

Manjai Kunda
Lamin Lodge
Bird Safari Camp
Basse
Tendaba
Gunjur
Tanji

I had a long chat with BSC about Cathy & Nigel's candid comments about their Bird Safari Camp visit and felt that in 'sales' terms is was too honest. Infact they did have a good time. The boat trip and hippos were a high point and the rooms were excellent so it was a shame that the pool and food were less impressive by comparison.

But don't be put off, a new generator has cleared the pool, and BSC have never had complaints about the food before.

I have included a page of very positive comments from previous BSC visitors

BSC Feedback

We are so sure about BSC that after detailed discussions with BSC, we are introducing a special 4 days and 3 nights trip exclusive to GTS members at a stunningly good price.


BSC pool


Fantastic boat trip


Hippos

Contact GTS or BSC for FULL details.

 

Cathy and Nigel contacted us weeks before their visit and between us we agreed an itinery for their 2 week stay - here's what they had to say
- photos are promised in the near future.

Before we left England to go to Gambia, we tried to plan as much of our holiday itinerary as possible. The support we got from GTS in this respect was invaluable - we must have exchanged over 20 emails!
We always travel independently when we visit countries on holiday but try to plan our accommodation and what we are going to do most days in advance.

Gambia was a major culture shock to both of us. We thought that as it was quite a well known tourist resort, the country itself would be far more developed and less "African". By that, I mean, that we were not expecting 95% of the population to still be living in mud huts in absolute poverty. It certainly appears that any investment that tourism has brought to the country has stayed with the big European or Arabic hotel owners and most certainly has not benefited local people. To be honest, we felt "guilty" for taking the way we live for granted when you compare it to the way most Gambians live - hand to mouth.

We learnt more about the culture of Gambia during this two weeks than any other place we have visited. This is because Foday explained so much to us and took us to places off the beaten track. Some of the local people we met up river had obviously not seen white people before - it was a bit strange being starred at!

Our holiday was more of an exploration than a holiday, and the two weeks went as follows:

Manjai Kunda We spent the first four nights at the GTS compound.
Manjai is very centrally located for the beach resorts and Serekunda, and hiring bicycles is definitely an ideal way of getting around. Foday stayed with us at the compound, which we were not expecting, and at first we were a little concerned about the loss of privacy. Anyway, it worked out fine, Foday came and went as he pleased, and we really enjoyed our stay.

Fo cooked us a lovely breakfast one day ( a spaghetti dish) and made sure we had plenty of bread and other bits and pieces. It also meant that he was on hand when we needed to discuss trips out.

We really enjoyed the two days we spent going round on the bikes, most of the places we wanted to visit were in easy reach and cycling along certainly stopped us from being hassled by bumsters. 5 Top

The commercial tour "Birds and Breakfast" at Lamin Lodge was a disappointment. The place itself and the location on the river edge was absolutely beautiful - it was the "packaging" of the tour which was not too good. We were packed into four boats with loads of other tourists and just one bird guide between all the boats - who we couldn't hear as most people on the boats were more interested in shouting to one another than enjoying the experience.
It was pretty dreadful as we are bird watchers and therefore it was a bit of a waste of time. We thought that we would get our small boat and bird watching guide - not be herded round.
Anyway we enjoyed the rest of the day with GTS at Abuko Nature Reserve and Banjul. 5 Top

Bird Safari Camp Foday saw us on the bus to Georgetown and made sure that fellow passengers looked after us. The journey was fine - the bus flew over all the pot holes in the road.
All the Gambians on the bus were very friendly.
It took about eight hours for us to eventually arrive at the Camp.
The manager David was very helpful and pleasant, however we felt that the owner Stephen was a little off-hand as he did not think that we had a reservation. This was not what we wanted to hear after travelling so far. Anyway, they found our reservation so everything seemed okay.
The boat trip from Bird Safari Camp of the first evening was great. Lots of hippos and birds.
The food that was served in the evening was very expensive for what it was - a small help yourself buffet.
On the second night we decided to eat in Georgetown instead!
The Bird Safari Camp was the most expensive place we stayed in. The room was really nice and the surroundings peaceful. However, the main reason we selected this place instead of one of the other camps was the fact that it had a swimming pool.
The swimming pool was far too dirty to use - a big disappointment considering the number of people that were working at the camp.5 Top

Basse We took the GTS jeep with Foday to Basse. On the way we stopped at Fo's sister's house for lunch. That was great - we met all her family and ate coucous with peanut sauce with them. Very hospitable.
All along the road up-river were small villages and compounds - mostly mud huts.

Basse was a busy market town, very interesting and very very hot! The Jem Hotel was nothing special but okay for a couple of nights.

On our second day in Basse we went to see Fodays mother. This was a real highlight of the holiday. We travelled about 1 hour by jeep, then took a ferry to the other side of the river followed by a horse and cart trip to the village.
The whole village came to see us. Everyone wanted their photo taken and we will send a full set of photos to Fo once they have been developed. We rested in Fo's mums mud hut and it seemed that everyone in the village came inside the hut to meet us.
We must have shaken 100 hands!
We had lunch in the hut and were treated like VIPs.
Fo's mum was lovely.
We took her some new bed sheets as a gift and she tried to give us a goat and then a chicken in return. In the end we took some cooked and uncooked roots/nuts from her instead!
It was a very special and very weird day. 5 Top

Tendaba Camp was great. Good accommodation, food, location and swimming pool. We definitely recommend this place and would say that the boat trip they organise is worth going on but that the jeep trip certainly isn't.

Gunjur Beach Motel We stopped off at Brikkama on the way and visited the craft market. Fo was brilliant here - he really helped us get a decent price for some wonderful carvings we bartered for. The setting of the Motel was excellent. Right on the beach. The rooms were nice and big so we had a pleasant stay. The food and service were also good. Louis the manager was really good company and very interesting. The place probably lacked a little atmosphere in the evening though as there were so few guests staying there.

Paradise Inn Tanji This was the best place we stayed in by far. Great setting alongside a creek, big clean bungalows, good food etc. etc. We hired a couple of bikes from the Inn and explored the town and nearby villages (we went looking for the GTS compound you are building!). They also have a canoe that you can take out - which was a really good way of exploring the creek and seeing the birdlife.

We are really glad that we used GTS and are so pleased that we saw the country and got out of the Atlantic hotel area.

5 Top