Homepage The house Tariffs Itinerary Information Links Contact
Some useful information for travellers Travelling to Senegal By plane: Europeans have the choice among several airlines with regular flights to Dakar such as Air France, Bruxelles Airlines, Iberia, Air Portugal, Royal Air Maroc, Air Senegal International. There are charter flights as well. In order to compare prices, which vary quite a lot from company to company, we advise you to contact different travel agencies. By car: The road along the West African coast from Marocco, through Mauritania to Senegal became the past years a real hit for people who like adventure and have time to spare. The reasons are that border formalities became easier and that you can drive on paved roads for most of the journey, only some 50 kilometres remain sandy in Western Sahara. For this rather difficult stretch it is recommended to hire a local guide, especially if you take the road for the first time. The whole trip will take about 8 days. Places to camp and small hotels/guest houses can be found all way long. Needed car documents: -an official, international document certifying the matriculation of your car in your home country, mostly valuable for 1 year or alternatively -a “passe avant”, which you can get at the borders. This option is certainly cheaper, but for sure more time consuming. We like to inform you, that since 2003, cars older than 5 years are no longer allowed to be sold in Senegal. For the time being you can still enter the country with it, but you will be ordered to leave Senegal with the car within ……. Months time. If you wish to continue your trip towards other African destinations: By plane: Air Senegal International offers flights to most West African capitals once or several times a week. Air Ivoire, Air Mali, Ethiopian Airways and others are flying within the African continent, starting from Dakar. By car towards inland destinations or neighbouring countries: Among the public transportation, the “taxi brousse” are the cheapest. Their starting point is the “gare routière” (car station) and they travel to every imaginable destination within the country. If you like to travel by these means, it is necessary to be at the “gare routière” very early, as the departure is decided only once the cars full. The Senegalese mostly travel in the mornings therefore waiting time will be less if you are there with the people. In the same time you will maybe have the chance to grasp one of the more comfortable seats, the ones beside the driver. Travelling by “taxi brousse” is quite tiring and time consuming because these cars stop very frequently to let passengers get down or to take new ones, but in the same time you will be able to observe Senegalese daily living. More comfortable and quicker, but also more expensive, are the “taxis 7 places (seats)”. Once full, they drive straight to their destination, without intermediate stops. In order to have more space you can buy an additional seat for you. In general, 2 seats for 3 persons are ok. Both the “taxi brousse” and the “taxi 7 places” charge extra for luggage. If you are not eager to experience Senegalese public transportation, different offers exist to rent a car, from the international car rental services, to local agencies or even private cars. It can be done with or without a driver. The road condition varies a lot, between the highways and the very heavy dirt or sandy roads. As an example: the road Dakar-St.Louis is in a very good condition, where as the one from Kaolack to Tambacounda and onward to Mali is really bad, especially between Kidira and Kayes. A 4 wheel drive is necessary for such a trip. Many of the secondary roads are not practicable during the rainy season. By train: The train Dakar-Bamako is travelling once a week. Reservations should be done for the sleeping car or first class seats (during the main season, even weeks in advance). The journey is quite long and therefore tiresome, but interesting. Carry enough water and food with you. By boat: The new ferry, the “Aline Sitoé Diatta” is doing the trip Dakar-Ziguinchor (and vice versa) twice a week, starting from Dakar on Tuesday and Friday, Thursday and Sunday from Ziguinchor. Reservations for the cabins are recommended. For those who whish to tour by bicycle: There are no special cycling ways in Senegal, like in certain European countries; therefore you will share the road with cars and any other vehicle. An alternative are maybe the sandy sideways, mostly used by the horse carriages, but be careful of thorns. As well, road maps are not very detailed, therefore if you are in doubt which direction to take, ask the local people for your way. You will find village guesthouses, especially along the coast where you can pass the night. These are simple, rather cheap accommodations, but unfortunately they are not always very clean. Once off the coast, overnight accommodations get rather scarce, except in the bigger towns. As Senegal is the country of “Teranga”, the country of “Welcome”, you always have the possibility at nightfall, to contact the village chief; he most often will invite you to spend the night in his house. But do not forget to give him some decent counterpart, means money, for the service he offered you. On the other hand, camping is not recommended outside the rather few official, mostly private camping places. Travel documents Persons from Germany, USA, Belgium, England, Denmark, France and the Netherlands do not need a visa but a passport valuable for at least 3 months at the time of the entry to Senegal. All other nationalities need a visa obtainable at the Senegalese consulates or embassies. Means of communication Posta Restante: In Dakar the post office at Boulevard Pinet Laprade, near Kermel market, offers this service as well as the post offices in St. Louis and in Ziguinchor. Telephone service: Phone services, both standard and handy, are very well developed in Senegal. From the numerous “Telecentres”, even in remote villages, you will be able to join the entire world. Be careful to watch that the automatic counter is well on 0 before dialling and keep coins ready as you will have to pay cash. It can happen that the connections are difficult especially during the peak hours. SIM cards for your handy can be purchased at the main offices of the two Senegalese operators, ORANGE and TIGO. Internet service: The places where internet is available are called “cyber café” and you can find them in the bigger cities. The price for one hour varies between 300 CFA and 1000 CFA, depending on the geographical location and the number of clients. The computers are mostly not of the last generation, therefore some patience is asked. Wireless connections are offered in some high standard hotels. The currency, the banks Senegal’s currency is called CFA and it is not exchanged in Europe. It is linked to the EURO with a stable exchange rate of 655,957 CFA to a EURO. For this reason we recommend to bring EUROs if you wish to travel in Senegal or Western Africa. For a small charge they can be exchanged in banks, or even in supermarkets or petrol stations. There is no limitation in importing money, but if you leave Senegal only the value of 2 million CFA in hard currency is allowed. Traveller checks can only be exchanged in certain bigger banks located in the major cities such as Dakar, St.Louis, Thies, Kaolack, Tambacounda, Ziguinchor. There will be an exchange fee. The use of credit cards (VISA or American Express) is not yet very common in Senegal. But in the big hotels and in international car rental offices there will be no difficulty to use it. Some banks in the major cities have automatic money tellers, but attention they very often are not functioning. Arriving at Dakar airport you have the possibility to change, as the bank there is opened till midnight and even on Sundays and public holydays. Some recommendations for your health The chance to fall severely ill is not very high if basic rules of general hygiene are respected. The most frequent sickness is diarrhoea caused either by a common bacteria or virus. An infection with typhoid fever, amoebiasis or cholera is of smaller risk. The best prevention remains to be very careful with drinks and food: drink only mineral water (use it even for tooth brushing), drink only soft drinks or juices sold in tightly closed bottles, keep away from ice cubes. By the way, mineral water is available nearly every where in the towns and the villages. But for emergencies or unforeseen situations, provide you with some water purification product (best known is Micropur from Kathadyn available in pill form or powder). If you plan a trip away from popular trails, maybe a water filter could be useful (Kathadyn or Relagsfilter). They are quite expensive therefore this investment would maybe only be worth while if you plan to travel for several months. As far as food is concerned, there is only one rule: cook, peel or forget it!!! Preferably peel the fruits yourself. Fresh milk or milk products such as the very popular sour milk should be avoided. In the supermarkets they sell European standard milk products, but watch the date limit for consumption!!! Meat should be well cooked or deep fried and do not touch cans that are “swollen”. In Senegal, especially in big cities, there are many very good restaurants, but we would not advice to eat in the small local food shops at the street corners even if their dishes are often very tasty. Diarrhoea and/or vomiting Unfortunately with all the precaution taken it can happen that you fall sick with diarrhoea and/or vomiting; this happens mostly during the first week of your journey because of diet and climate changes. Most of the time these troubles will pass within 2-3 days and the best medicine is to drink a lot (mineral water), to eat non spicy food and to relax. Drugs against diarrhoea are mostly not necessary and keep in mind that with stool the causes of the sickness are eliminated as well and you will feel better again. If the diarrhoea persists for more than 3 to 4 days and/or is very frequent and you feel very weak, or if the stool contains traces of blood or if it is greenish together with fever, a medical visit is recommended. Insect bites In tropical countries many diseases are transmitted by insect bites. With an adequate preventive attitude most can be avoided. Drug prophylaxis against malaria is a must like sleeping under a mosquito net especially if the sleeping room is without air condition. Be careful while using the mosquito net, if it touches your body the mosquitos will still bite. At night fall, in order to protect your body, start to wear clothes with long sleeves and long legged trousers, preferably of light colour and/or use mosquito repellent. Sprays and anti mosquito incense can be used only outdoors because they can cause skin reactions or breathing difficulties. The transmitting mosquito is called anopheles. In Senegal are two forms of malaria, the more frequent one, malaria tropica, being the more dangerous form. Signs of malaria are: high fever of sudden onset, sometimes with chills, general loss of energy, head ache, back/joint pain, sometimes also stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhoea. All these symptoms are not always present, but any way if there is a doubt, it is highly recommended to see a doctor for adequate medical treatment. Malaria can be fatal! Please contact 3-4 weeks before your departure your medical doctor or an Institution for tropical medicine, they are certainly pleased to inform you on the malaria prophylaxis to take. This is very important, as the mosquito are resistant to several drugs depending on the area, region you wish to travel in. Sexually transmitted diseases They are quite frequent in Africa, mainly because of certain socially admitted behaviours but as well because of some taboos and lack of health services especially in the country side. In western Africa AIDS among prostitutes is well known. Syphilis, gonorrhoea, hepatitis B and C are sexually transmitted as well. Use preservatives for protection. Sun burns and heat stroke Africa’s sun is often too strong for Europeans, therefore abstain from excessive sun bathing. Cover your head whenever you go outside, wear light clothes that protect your arms and legs. A good sun cream helps as well. If somebody shows signs of extreme general fatigue, together with strong head ache, maybe with some behaviour disorders, it might be he has a heat stroke. The best thing is to cover the person with humid and cool sheets and have him drink a lot of liquids (not ice cold, but rather room temperature). Anyway one is sweating a lot and it is recommended to drink 2-3 litres of water a day. Avoid soft drinks and alcohol during the peak hours of high temperature. Vaccination In order to prepare the medical side of your journey to Africa, contact your medical doctor or an Institute for tropical medicine (see addresses below). There you will get the information about the necessary update of the current vaccinations, about adequate protection against malaria and other diseases. They can give you information about emergency and other drugs to carry along. In general the following vaccinations are recommended for everybody: - tetanus, poliomyelitis, and diphtheria - yellow fever - hepatitis A and B For adventurers and persons planning a trip of several months, additional vaccination might be necessary against: - typhoid fever - rabies - meningitis Anyway there exist good health services in Senegal, especially in big towns where also nearly every drug can be bought in the many pharmacies, even without medical prescription. If you go inland take an emergency medical kit along. Addresses of some Institutes of tropical medicine: Germany: Institut für Tropenmedizin Spandauer Damm 130, Haus 10, 14050 Berlin Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin Bernhard-Nocht Strasse 74, 20359 Hamburg Institut für Infektions- und Tropenmedizin der Universität München Leopoldstrasse 5, 80802 München Austria: Institut für Tropenmedizin der Universität Wien Kinderspitalgasse 15, A-1090 Wien Switzerland: Schweizer Tropeninstitut Socinstrasse 57, CH-4002 Basel England:
Auberge Keur Diame-Parcelles assainies unité 15-Villa n° 15-Dakar (Sénégal)-Hotel-Chambres d’hotes-Pension Tel : +221 33 855 89 08 (+221 33 855 27 77)