Banjul, The Gambia — 30 September – 2 October 2026
A short 30-minute flight from Dakar.
English is the official language — British colony, not French. At the airport you pay a 20 USD security fee on arrival. Cash or card. Same again on the way out. It is not a visa. It is just an airport charge, both ways. Bought a SIM at the airport, easy, about 3–6 USD. Worth doing.
Taxi to Kololi, where the hotel was (Bamboo Village Resort): about 1,700 Gambian dalasi.
Leave the resort and you get approached by almost everyone. On the way to a restaurant, then at the nearby Tropic shopping mall. Best move is not to stop, unless you want a long pitch. The mall was the most polished thing I saw. A café run by a Westerner was selling cakes for 5 USD — a lot of money here.
Dinner at the hotel that evening. Something in the food was off. Stomach issues for two days.
Next day: Banjul old town, starting at Arch 22. I was the only foreigner there. The scene is poor and full of hustle. People sitting on the street, cooking on coal, business happening on the pavement. Stopped at a Lebanese shawarma place and spoke Arabic with the owner.
After the old town, Kachikally Crocodile Pool and museum in Bakau. You can touch a crocodile. No fence.
Leaving Banjul, another 20 USD at the airport. Same fee as arrival. Feels like money collection on the way in and the way out.
Short stop. Kololi is the tourist strip. Banjul proper is a small, poor capital where you stand out immediately. Friendly enough if you keep walking.
