Dakar
is city beaches
is urban vibrancy
Welcome to Dakar
Dakar is a city of extremes, where horse-cart drivers chug over swish highways and gleaming SUVs squeeze through tiny sand roads; where elegant ladies dig skinny heels into dusty walkways and suit-clad businessmen kneel down for prayer in the middle of the street. Once a tiny settlement in the south of the Cap Vert peninsula, Dakar now spreads almost across its entire triangle, and keeps growing.
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Dakar activities
Half-Day Somone Lagoon and Bandia Park Safari from Dakar
Your tour guide will meet you at your Dakar hotel at 8am before driving you towards Somone lagoon located in the south of Dakar (approx 75 km from Dakar). Depending on road traffic you will arrive around 9:30 am to embark on a local boat for a 1 hour ride and enjoy the beautiful scenery of mangroves dotted with birds.Around 10am, you will proceed to Bandia park, which is very close to Somone lagoon (approx 20 min drive). You will then change vehicle and get in a pick up jeep for a 1.5 hour game drive in this reserve that covers 1000 hectares, where you will spot African wildlife in their natural habitat - such as giraffes ,buffaloes, rhinos, a variety of antelopes, zebras, monkeys, crocodiles, tortoises and more. Lunch will be served around 12:30 am at the Bandia park restaurant (included) Around 2pm, you will drive back to Dakar and arrive at around 3:30 pm at your hotel in Dakar.
SOUTH EXPLORE 5 DAYS FROM MARRAKESH
Day 1: Marrakech – Ouarzazate – Dades GorgesYour driver will pick you up at 9.00 am at your accommodation in Marrakech. You will travel through the High Atlas Mountains via the Tichka Pass (2260 m) – the highest road pass in Morocco offering spectacular panoramic views of the mountains and valleys with a winding road. Enjoy the beautiful landscapes with different colours and the Berber villages along the way. We head to Ouarzazate , named “Hollywood of Africa” followed by a visit of Kasbah Taourirt before we continue to Skoura palm grove and the town of roses, Kelaa Mgouna. We will drive past colorful Berber villages before we reach the Dades gorges. Overnight incl. half board at Hotel Kasbah , Boumalne Dades.Day 2: Dades Gorges – Saghro Mountains – Draa Valley – Zagora – MhamidAfter breakfast, we start our day by heading towards the Sarhro volcanic mountains. You cross via the road of Tizni n Tazazart, a spectacular winding piste through dramatic rock formations and gorges with superb views. Then continue your trip via the Draa valley lined by palm grove and many Berber Sub-Saharan villages. On our way we will stop in Tamgroute to visit the famous Coran Library, a subterranean Kasbah and a local pottery. Then, continue towards M’hamid the “doorway to the Sahara Desert”. Overnight including half board at camp/bivouac, Mhamid.Day 3: Mhamid – Erg ChegagaThis morning you will enjoy a guided one hour camel ride and then hop back into the 4×4 car which will take you through the rocky, desert scenery towards the sand dunes of Erg Chegaga. Enjoy a glas of the traditional “Thé à la mente” and admire the sun setting over the dunes. Overnight incl. half board at our Standard Camp/bivouac, Erg Chegaga.Day 4: Erg Chegaga – Foun Zguid – Taznakht – Ait Benhaddou – TisseldayEarly morning enjoy the sunrise up the sand dunes followed by a hearty breakfast at the camp. We will leave our camp in a 4×4 vehicle via the old Paris-Dakar road, cross the Iriqui lake and finally reach Foum Zguid. Lunch will be served in the berber village of Taznakht. Afterwards we will continue to Ait Benhaddou where we will visit the 16th century UNESCO site. Ait Benhaddou is one of the best preserved and most spectacular Kasbahs in Morocco. A famous site for Hollywood films, Ait Benhaddou was used for the blockbuster film of Gladiator. Overnight including half board at TisseldayDay 5: Tisselday – High Atlas Mountains – MarrakechAfter a nice breakfast on the sunny terrace of our Guesthouse, we will make our way back towards Marrakech by crossing the sceneries of the high Atlas Mountains at the pass of 2.260 m hight. We will be back in “The Red City” by early afternoon.
Dakar City Tour and Goree Island
Start at 8:am.You will take a guided Dakar city tour as an introduction to the city. During the tour you will view some of Dakar’s colorful markets like kermel fruits markets, Sandaga, Soumbedioune art craft and fishing market. The city features beautiful contemporary buildings, combined with historical colonial houses. With a population estimated around three millions Dakar is a vibrant and bustling city with active open-air markets, cafe terraces, and delicious food. It is a shopper's paradise, where exquisite crafts can be found in markets, on the streets, and in stores throughout the city. Among the highlights you will see: The Presidential Palace, Independence square garden, Monument of African renaissance, Old French cathedral, old tren station, the Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire Museum (IFAN), which is a cultural and scientific institute in the nations of the former French West Africa. Founded in Dakar, Senegal in 1938, it was headquartered in what is now the building of the IFAN Museum of African Arts. Its charge is to study the language, restore African history, and promote local cultures of the peoples ruled by French colonialism in Africa.Transfer to Dakar dock around midday and take a Ferry boat to Goree Island. Goree Island is deeply rooted in the history of the slave trade. From the beginning of the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century, men, women, and children were gathered on this small piece of land and locked up in cells, before being shipped away to the New World, West Indies and South America. The island was seized by the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, and the British all of whom participated in the trade. Forts and cannons attest of the island's violent past. Most of the buildings were used as warehouses or slaves' houses, and today many have been turned into museums. You will visit the most famous museum «La Maison des Esclaves, which used to hold up to two hundred captives. You will visit the slave cells and the apartment of the slave dealers upstairs. From the "Door of no Return" countless African caught a last glimpse of their homeland before boarding the slave ships. Another museum to visit is: The historical museum. After our moving and informative tour you will get onbaord the ferry at 4:pm for Dakar and drop you off at your location.End of the excursion.
Lac Rose and Noflaye Tortoise Park
Start at 9:am.Meet and greet with your local guide.Then transfer in a a/c vehicle from Dakar hotels or port to Noflaye village where the park's guide will provide you with some insightful information on tortoise species.Then proceed to the Pink Lake known as Lac Rose that was the finishing line of the rallye Paris-Dakar.As one of Senegal wonder,this lake gets its pinkish coloration when the sun is straight, and at dusk we can see tints of purple or violet. The pink color of the lake is explained also by the presence of some algae in the water. Besides its strange color, the large salinity (380 g/liter) placed it second after the Dead Sea.You will visit the salt collectors and get on a pick up jeep for a short game drive on the sand dunes following the path of the Rally Paris-Dakar.Stop to visit a Fulani village and drive along the breathtaking beaches of the atlantic ocean back to Lac rose Restaurant for lunch.In the afternoon transfer by car or van to your location.
Private 6-Day Tour of Morocco
ItineraryThis is a typical itinerary for this productStop At: Desert Trips MarrakechDay 1: MarrakechPick up at the airport and transfer to the riad, depending on the time of your arrival flight, Day 2: Marrakech-Ouarzazate- Ait Ben Haddou - Valley of rosesDeparture from Marrakech in an easterly direction, crossing the High Atlas mountains through the Tichka pass, of 2,260 m altitude. Along the way, we will visit Ouarzazate which is the capital of cinema, and then we will drive through the Valley of Las Rosas to reach Dades. Dinner, night and breakfast in the charming hotel.Day 3 Dades - Todra Gorges - ERFOUD - Rissani - MerzougaAfter breakfast, we drive to the gorges of Todra, a well-known destination for climbers in the area, and, once this tour is over, we will head to Merzouga. We will pass by places and landscapes, such as the Tafilalet oasis and cities such as Risani, Erfoud, and so on until we reach our hotel, at the foot of the dunes.Day 4 Merzouga - a tour around the dunes of Erg ChebbiWe left the hotel to visit the oasis, and the village of Khamlia, where the descendants of African slaves live, and where they will delight us with their traditional music, Gnawa music. These people are originally from Sudan and surrounding countries.Then we will continue our journey through the dunes with our 4x4 as if we were making a track of the Dakar. And about 4 in the afternoon, we will return to the hotel, where we will climb the camels that will take us to the interior of the desert, and where we will see that spectacular sunset. The night here is a unique experience to be lived With drums and stars.Day 5 Merzouga - Rissani-Draa Valley - OuarzazateIn the morning we will head to Ouarzazate, the cinema capital of Morocco. Before we will go through incredible places such as Rissani, visiting its traditional market, the most important in the region with its exclusive donkey parking lot. Another place of interest in this day will be the stop in the impressive palm grove of the Draa Valley, In the afternoon, we will arrive at our accommodation, where we will have dinner and rest.Day 6 Ouarzazate - The Great Atlas - MarrakechAfter breakfast, this first part of the day will be dedicated to the visit of Ouarzazate: the Kasbah of Taourirt and Tifoultout and film studio. Then we go to the Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou (protected by UNESCO), visit the Kasbah and old village and in the afternoon departure to Marrakech through the Tizi - N - Tichka. Arrived in Marrakech in the afternoon and End of our services.Duration: 6 days
Classic Senegal & The Gambia
Merging cultural experiences with important histories and stunning landscapes, this 10-day tour through Senegal and The Gambia brings you to a part of Africa that's seldom explored. Learn about daily life in a local Wolof village, immerse yourself in Gambia's important slave history, and get time to relax on sandy beaches in between. Experience what West Africa has to offer before the rest of the world gets to these unique destinations.