Some Useful Advice:

Your Travel Money

One of the most common questions we get is what is the best way to bring spending money on holiday to Gambia. Firstly Gambia is Africa not Europe and ATMs are very few and far between, certainly never outside the main resort areas. When they are working, which is about 75% of the time, they will give a maximum of £100 per day, and rarely accept anything apart from Visa cards. You will also find that the conversion rate charged by you card company is very poor.

Very few businesses accept cards, and those that do including the big hotels tend to charge a 5% suppliment. Restaurants, bars, and shops do not accept cards.

The Gambian currency is the Dalasi, and the rate at present is set against the dollar. You will find it very hard to get in the UK and when you do the exchange rate can be up to 30% less than you will get in Gambia. Travellers cheques are not really well received, and should not be considered an option.

Without doubt the best solution is to bring cash in Dollars, Euros, or English Pounds and bring a Visa card as backup. Once in Gambia you can get good rates of exchange from a variety of money shops, which are all highly competitive.

If you base your calculations on 40 Dalasi to the pound it should be about right. Although recent years have seen highs of 54 and lows of 34.

Typical Prices are:

Bottle Beer   30D
Pint Beer 50D
Chicken/Fish Chips/ Pizza/ Local Dinner  150D  Although you can eat local for a lot less in some areas.
Bottle of Wine in a Restaurant 350D
Taxi for 1 mile 100D

If you are on a typical B&B package expect to spend £15 per person maximum per day on Dinner/snacks/drinks.

Medical

The World Health Organisation ( WHO ) offers all the advice regarding vaccinations etc required for Gambia. Most Europeans already have all the basic protection, and the ones you probably require are Yellow Fever and Malaria. Both are carried by mosquitos, and without doubt the most common is Malaria. It is essential that you obtain good Malaria prevention and commence the course as required. Many people leave out the Yellow Fever because it can be expensive, and unless you are travelling up country or visiting during the rains ( June-Oct) it is not essential.

As most visitors restrict themselves to the coastal areas, and are outside the rainy season many regular visitors rely on a good repellant alone. We suggest Adventure 100 available from Tiso and other outdoor specialists. The choice is for an individual to make, but we strongly advise you use a belt and braces approach.

Good travel insurance is essential as Gambia has limited modern medical facilities. There are hospital and modern clinics in the main population centres, but up country facilities are fairly basic. Some serious emergencies have to be taken to Senegal often by Air Ambulance, which is very expensive without insurance. At Wild Gambia we do not accept customers without insurance for any of our Safaris.

Bumsters

These are the street boys who hang around the tourist areas. They are persistant, annoying, but fairly harmless. They will hassle you to let them act as guide, and it can be very tiring having to fend them off all day. You have to be blunt verging upon rude to get rid of them, but any sign of friendliness will be taken as an opportunity or weakness.

Outside of the tourist locations there is never any problem with these people, and if you are in the company of one of our guides you will have no issues with unwanted attention. Unlike the UK there is no danger of violence or mugging, most people are just poor and see a European face as a meal ticket. Gambia is an extremely friendly and honest country and the majority  are family focused and hard working.

Essential Clothing

Most people make the mistake of bringing too many clothes. From November to May it is extremely hot and dry, rain if ever is a quick shower which dries in minutes. So forget the rainwear, shorts, shits, sandles, and hats are the order of the day and make sure they are cotton or linen.

It is a good idea to pack a long sleeve and trousers for the evenings and when the sun is really strong. A fleece or cardigan is useful for the evenings which can be chilly on the beach. When we say chilly we mean sea breeze, but still very pleasant.

There is no need to dress for dinner, mostly it is too hot for anything more formal, even the casino has a faily relaxed dress code. All the hotels and lodges will have a maid willing to wash and press your clothes every evening for the odd pound so a couple of changes are more than adequate.