Each route runs several times a season with a maximum of eight travellers. Dates below are departures from Oslo. Everything can be rebuilt if you're a private group.
Route
Length
From, per person
SF—01
Kololi & Kotu
The coast as your base. Fish market at sunrise, day trips inland, evenings by the fire.
7 nights
12 900 krExcl. flights
SF—02
Janjanbureh
River boat up the Gambia, the chimpanzees at Baboon Islands, nights with no light pollution.
5 nights
9 400 krExcl. flights
SF—03
Dakar & Gorée
Markets, music and history in the capital, ferry to Gorée, last evening on a rooftop.
4 nights
11 200 krExcl. flights
SF—04
Sine-Saloum
The mangrove delta by pirogue, the salt flats, birds in their thousands and a lodge with no neighbours.
6 nights
14 500 krExcl. flights
Schematic — not to scale14°N
Day by day · 4–7 nights
What the week actually looks like
Pick a route and see the whole arc. No trip runs identically — weather, tides and the day's catch move things around. This is the frame.
Day 1–2
Arrival, Kololi
Pick-up at Banjul airport, a slow first day, orientation and dinner with the group.
Day 3
Tanji fish market
Out at six as the boats come in. The smokehouses, the auction, breakfast on the beach after.
Day 4–5
Inland
Makasutu forest, lunch with a host family, an evening with a kora player in the village.
Day 6–7
Own time, flight home
The last day is yours — beach, market or a birding trip — before the transfer to your flight.
Day 1
Banjul, upriver
We meet you at the airport and drive straight to the jetty. First night in Tendaba, the river outside the door.
Day 2
Baboon Islands
Out in a small boat at dawn. The chimpanzees on the islands are wild — we watch from the water, never from shore.
Day 3–4
Janjanbureh
The old colonial town on the island, the stone circles at Wassu, and two nights without a single street light.
Day 5
Downriver, flight home
An unhurried run back down the river with village stops, then the transfer to the evening flight.
Day 1
Dakar, Medina
Straight into the city. Markets, tailors and tea in Medina while you wait for the evening to cool.
Day 2
Gorée
Ferry across mid-morning. The House of Slaves, the museums, and the rest of the day in the car-free lanes.
Day 3
The music
An afternoon with a sabar drummer, an evening at a club where the band starts around midnight.
Day 4
Lac Rose, flight home
Out to the salt lake and the salt diggers before we turn for the airport.
Day 1–2
Into the delta
North from the airport, the last stretch by pirogue. The lodge has no road in and no neighbours.
Day 3
The mangroves
A full day among the roots with a local fisherman. Oysters straight off the branches, grilled on a sandbank.
Day 4
The birds
Out before sunrise to the breeding islands. Pelicans and terns in their thousands, and silence in between.
Day 5–6
The salt flats, flight home
The old salt pans and the shell islands at Fadiouth, then an easy run back to the airport.
Since 2019
148trips run
8travellers, never more
11local partners
94 %return or recommend
Guides · Five languages
Three names, not a call centre
You get all three phone numbers before departure. They are the same people who meet you at the airport.
M
Musa Jallow
Guide · the Gambia
Grew up in Bakau, nine years as a nature guide. Knows every coastal bird by its call alone.
English · Mandinka · Wolof
A
Aïcha Sow
Guide · Senegal
Dakar-based, background in cultural history. Takes you to the concerts tourists never find.
Français · English · Wolof
T
Tora Halvorsen
Contact · Oslo
Based in Oslo. Handles flights, answers insurance questions and everything else pre-departure.
Norsk · English
From a traveller
I thought I was going to lie on a beach for a week. Then I was sitting on the floor at Musa's sister's place learning to gut fish, and that's the hour I tell people about.
Ingrid B., Trondheim SF—01, February 2026
Stays and inclusions · Guesthouse to lodge
Places we've slept in ourselves
Three standards, same route. The price difference is almost entirely about where you sleep.
Three standards, same route
Standard
Supplement per person
Suits
SimpleGuesthouses and village stays. Shared bathroom, fan, cold water.
In the base price
For anyone who'd rather be outside than in the room.
ComfortBoutique hotels and lodges. Private bathroom, air conditioning, pool.
+ 3 400 kr
What most people pick. A short walk to the beach.
LodgeThe best places on each leg. Often only six to ten rooms.
+ 7 900 kr
When the trip should also be somewhere to come home to.
Eco lodge, Sine-Saloum
Ten bungalows in the mangroves, solar power, dinner from whatever the boats brought in that day.
Boutique hotel, Kololi
Twelve rooms, a shaded pool, a quarter of an hour to the beach and far from the big resorts.
Village stay, inland
Two nights with a host family. Simple standard, shared bathroom — and the part people remember most.
In the price
+All accommodation in a shared double room
+Norwegian-speaking contact before and during the trip
+Local guide and driver throughout
+Breakfast daily, dinner five of seven days
+All transfers, airport included
−Flights Oslo–Banjul (we find them, you book)
−Travel insurance — you must have your own
−Vaccinations and any visa fee
Season · average temperature
JAN30°
FEB31°
MAR32°
APR32°
MAY33°
JUN32°
JUL31°
AUG30°
SEP31°
OCT32°
NOV32°
DEC30°
We run routesPossible on requestRainy season, we don't travel
Practical · Six things
The things nobody says until you ask
Things we had to work out ourselves the first time. Short, concrete, and updated every season.
Flights
Charters and direct routes to Banjul in winter, otherwise via Brussels, Casablanca or Lisbon. We put together options; you book yourself or through us.
Money
Dalasi in the Gambia, CFA francs in Senegal. Cards work at hotels, otherwise it's cash. Bring euros and change them there — not at home.
Health
Yellow fever is required from some countries, malaria prophylaxis is advised everywhere. Drink bottled water. Book your jabs six weeks ahead.
Packing
One soft bag is plenty. Long sleeves for the evenings, sandals you can wade in, a head torch for village nights and a scarf against the dust.
Network and power
4G along the coast, thin as you go upriver. A local SIM costs next to nothing. Power cuts happen — the lodges run generators or solar.
Etiquette
Ask before photographing people. Cover shoulders and knees away from the beach. During Ramadan we don't eat or drink openly in the middle of the day.
Questions · Visas, vaccines, cancelling
What people ask before booking
If the answer isn't here, send the question directly — you'll hear from Tora, not from a form.
Q1Do I need a visa?+
Norwegian citizens normally don't need a visa for short tourist stays in the Gambia, while Senegal has its own rules. Requirements change, so we check with the embassy for your exact dates before you pay anything. Your passport must be valid for at least six months after your return.
Q2Which vaccinations do I need?+
Yellow fever is required when arriving from certain countries, and malaria prophylaxis is recommended across the region. We're not medical staff — book a travel clinic at least six weeks before departure and bring your itinerary.
Q3Is travel insurance included?+
No. We carry liability insurance for our own part of the operation, but you must hold your own travel insurance with medical cover and repatriation. We ask for insurer and policy number before departure.
Q4How do I get there?+
In winter there are charters and direct routes to Banjul from Scandinavia; otherwise it's quick via Brussels, Casablanca or Lisbon. We put together options with price and travel time, and you book yourself or through us.
Q5Can we travel as a private group?+
Yes. From four people we set your own dates and adapt the pace. The per-person price usually drops a little from six people upwards.
Q6What if I have to cancel?+
A 20 % deposit on booking, the rest six weeks before departure. Cancelling more than six weeks ahead: deposit back minus actual costs. Closer to departure, the terms in the quote you sign apply.
Enquiry · No commitment
Tell us what you're picturing
You get a written proposal back. Nothing is stored on this page.
REF · SF-000000-00
An answer within a day
You get a written proposal with route, accommodation and total price. Asking costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Sunset, Sanyang · 18:47
