Everyone over 18 years old with a minimal physical preparation can participate in The Tour of Gambia, since the route is practically flat, due to Gambia is a country consisting of an immense plain, lacking practically of orography and mountainous terrain.

Non riders companions are able to take part in this adventure travelling along the whole route by means of the organization vehicles.

The gambian people welcome the visitor with exceptional kindness and that is why Gambia is known as the ” smile of Africa”, and as they themselves do not tire of repeating ……. Gambia, No problem !!

Gambia is a very safe country with low crime rate and where basically you have to be vigilant in the capital, to small thefts because of carelessness. In Gambia, there are no known terrorist activities or organized criminal groups of tourists robberies.

Also keep in mind that in all times during our route, we will have the company and escort of officers of the Gambia Police Force ………. No problem !!

We are now sending out travel documents via email and these can be expected around two weeks prior to your travel date. Your flight timings will be those shown in your travel documents email, please check them carefully as soon as you receive them as the airline may have changed these since the time of booking.

Although vaccination are not compulsory for entry, we strongly suggest you consult your doctor before booking who will recommend certain medication, including anti-malarial tablets as a precaution. Children and pregnant women may require special vaccination procedures.

Some GP’s may suggest that you will need to show a yellow fever vaccination certificate at immigration and will be refused entry if you don’t show it. If you are travelling to Gambia from the EU you are not required to show a certificate as proof.  You will not be refused entry to The Gambia if you haven’t had the inoculation on this basis alone. However, as stated we do strongly suggest you consult your doctor, obtaining professional advice before booking. Under International Health Regulations, a certificate of yellow fever vaccination is required from travellers over 9 months of age travelling from The Gambia into Senegal or vice versa, travelling from Senegal into The Gambia.

For British passport holders, visas are not required for entry into The Gambia. You must be travelling on a full 10 year British passport, valid at least until the date of arrival back in the UK. 

To travel on a one way flight you must be a Gambian national, have proof of return or onward travel or have a visa / residency permit. Please check with the Gambia High Commission for more details.

Other passport holders should contact the Gambia High Commission for visa requirements.
The telephone number for the Gambia High Commission in London is 020 7229 8066.

In The Gambia we have a large resort team year-round who visit the hotels every day except Sunday to help guests make the most of their holiday. Our reps do not currently visit any of our Unique Collection properties, Leo’s Beach Hotel or White Horse Residence, as these all offer their own personal service. If numbers are low in a particular property we may arrange visits by appointment, your representative’s phone number will be provided and they will make contact with you at the start of your stay.

In Senegal, the hotels look after our guests and telephone numbers will be provided in case we can assist in any way.

If you test positive in your destination before you’re due to return home to the UK, you’ll need to inform your representative,  your insurance company and your hotel as soon as possible. You’ll then need to follow the specific guidance given to you by your insurance company, which may include the need to self-isolate in a medical facility or your hotel room and our resort team will be on hand to assist you.

As a developing country, hotels, service levels and gradings in The Gambia cannot be compared to those in European destinations, although there is some excellent quality accommodation on offer. We continue to use our own grading system, which is represented with a hibiscus flower and based on the views of our customers and our own 30 years of experience. Properties within our Unique Collection do not have a grading attributed to them. We consider these to have unique features and so are hard to classify despite offering quality accommodation.

Whilst we closely monitor quality in all our featured properties, we also operate our own awards scheme to recognise those hotels offering consistently high levels of quality and service to our customers.

The Gambia is renowned for its uncrowded, sandy beaches and there are beautiful, wide stretches of sand in most resorts. The coastline around the resort area of Kololi suffers from ongoing erosion from the strong Atlantic currents; although a replenishment project is planned and it remains a popular resort with holiday-makers. There are wide sandy beaches at Kotu, Bijilo, Banjul and Cape Point.

The Gambia has no migrating wildebeest, giraffes or any of the large animals commonly associated with Africa. However without leaving your hotel you can see a breathtaking variety of bird life, in addition to monkeys and lizards. Baboons and crocodiles can be seen nearby and then far up the river, hippos. We also offer holidays to the Fathala Wildlife Reserve, which is located just across the border in neighbouring Senegal. Here you can stay in luxurious air-conditioned safari tents and go on game drives to see lions, zebra, giraffes, rhinos, antelopes and many more.

We offer an extensive program of excursions and tours from private 4WD tours to relaxing boat trips on the river through our agent Discovery Tours, which can be booked in The Gambia. Payment can be in dalasi or  sterling. We also accept Visa with a surcharge of 5% – this can be subject to change without notice. Unfortunately we are currently unable to accept MasterCard credit or debit cards for excursions.

The easiest way to find out more and to book is by attending the welcome meeting with your representative, although a couple of excursions such as Ida’s Home Cooking Experience and Malick Suso’s Birdwatching can also be pre-booked in the UK to avoid disappointment.

Some of the smaller, more remote, unique properties, which do not have a representatives visit, offer their own excursion programme on request.

Please ask first as not everyone likes to be photographed and you may be asked for payment in return. Uniformed personnel such as the police, military and government organisations generally will not accept photos being taken.

Visa are not required for British passport holders for entry into Senegal. Passports must be valid for 3 months from date of entry.

Other passport holders should contact the Embassy of Senegal for entry and visa requirements.

The telephone number for Senegal Embassy in London is 020 7938 4048.