Camel Safari

A welcome drink is served upon arrival at Camel Safari Camp, introduction to your camel and a photo opportunity close up of the coke drinking camel!

Strolling along the beach for approx 45 minutes, passing the fishing boats and the hustle and bustle of the people preparing the salted and smoked fish. Enjoy the panoramic view from your camel.

You then have time to relax before riding back to the camp to freshen up before your return journey to your hotels.

A fine day out for family, friends or couples!!

Our members are involved in Gambian restaurants, tours, excursions, eco-tourism, car rentals, and shops within the vibrant Gambia Tourism Industry.
Please visit our website www.ttag.gm

Gambia Excursions

For the more adventurous, there is plenty to see and do! We have written about some of the available tours, and if you are travelling independently you can also book direct with the tour operator.

Excursions may differ, as each operator has their own version of these tours. For your safety, book your tour with a fully licensed and insured company. The following companies are members of The TTAG which is your guarantee that they are fully insured and licensed: Gambia Tours, West African Tours, Gambia River Excursions, Jane’s Boats.

Orientation Tour: Is an all inclusive tour giving you a one day tour, touching on the life and culture of the Gambian people. The first stop of the day is at Katchikally Crocodile pool. You will visit the museum and have a chance to get really close up to these unique reptiles. And you can actually stroke these crocodiles if you dare!

Our next port of call is the Dye and Batik Factory in Serrekunda, see how the work is done and buy the materials at a very good price if you so wish! After visiting the Batik factory you will be driven through the busy Serrekunda market and on to a local school where you will meet the children in their classrooms and look at the educational system.

Next stop is the City of Banjul, the capital of The Gambia. Banjul is situated on St Marys Island, as you drive our guide will tell you some of the history of Banjul and the way independence was gained back in the 60's, you will pass by Arch 22, which is a symbol of the second republic of the Gambia.

You will stop for a short visit to the National Museum before proceeding on to the busiest markets in the country, Albert Market. Here you can visit the food, vegetable and fish market and also the material & craft market. This is a truly excellent experience as it gives you a blend of all the different aspects of Gambian life. Arts, crafts and materials can be bought at a very reasonable price if you are willing to bargain for it!

From here you will return to Denton bridge for a leisurely cruise along the oyster creek, on board a traditional style pirogue with a sundeck to Lamin Lodge. Lunch is served on board as you cruise, giving you a chance to relax and soak up some of the Gambian sun. Upon arrival at Lamin Lodge some tribal groups will entertain you with dancing and music and you can take some refreshments.

Our final port of call is Kim Kombo plantation and distillery, which produces liqueurs from the local fruits grown on the plantation. After a short guided tour you will have the chance to sample some of the liqueurs and you will be able to purchase the bottles of your choice, they make a great gift for friends and family back home. New for 2010, is a display of solar cooking and fruit drying.
Do remember to pack Liquids in your luggage and not in your hand bags.

More Excursions to The Gambia
Abuko Nature Reserve-Banjul Highlights
Circle Of Life-Creek Fishing-Four Wheel Drive-Home Cooking Course-Janjangbureh-Lazy Day Cruise-Makasutu By Night-Makasutu Nature Forest-Roots-Senegal Adventure-South Gambia Experience-A Taste of Kombo-Wake Up With The Birds

Our members are involved in Gambian restaurants, tours, excursions, eco-tourism, car rentals, and shops within the vibrant Gambia Tourism Industry.
Please visit our website www.ttag.gm

Gambia Accomodation

The Gambia offers a wide variety of accommodation to suit all pockets. Most hotels in the tourist sector are well suited to short-term holidays, ranging from basic to luxury accommodation.

The fact that it is just 6 flying hours time and the same time zone give The Gambia an advantage over most other winter destinations, being English speaking and with fuarenteed winter sun. The Gambia has become an ever increasing popular winter destination for the past 25 years. The Gambia caters for all sectors.

For those who prefer to travel independently there are more specialised accomodations offering eco lodges, which stretch out along the Gambia's beautiful coastline and river banks. There is no reason to sacrifice your comforts if you prefer to book your own accommodation. There are many small Independant hotels and guest houses, which offer comfortable accommodations too.

The close link Gambia has with Europe has meant many people choose to stay in The Gambia for longer periods of time. Many retired and semi-retired people who choose to be a sunbird avoiding Europe during the cold winter months to stay in The Gambia. Many of the independent establishments offer long-term self-catering accommodation.

Do make sure if you decide to buy or rent property that you use reputable Estate Agents or Property Developers.

Enjoy your Gambia Holidays!

Our members are involved in Gambian restaurants, tours, excursions, eco-tourism, car rentals, and shops within the vibrant Gambia Tourism Industry.
Please visit our website www.ttag.gm

Eco Tourism

If you are into eco-tourism, bird watching, or looking to go on safari, you can find it here in The Gambia.

Bijilo Forest Park
Is one of the several forest parks in the Gambia, but is primarily a nature reserve. It covers 51 hectares and is easily accessible with its location in Kololi along the coast near the Senegambia tourist area. This park is popular for its birds and monkeys. It is well worth a visit if you are looking for a morning walk.

Lamin Lodge
Situated on the edge of the creeks, this huge tree house style lodge offers a wonderful view over the mangrove swamps and is an ideal spot for bird watching. Small boats can also be hired from here.

Makasutu Culture Forest (“Holy Forest”)
Makasutu Cultural Forest, the name Makasutu is a Mandinka word, which translates into English, as “Holy Forest”. There is a history to this dwelling. Legend has it that tribal wars took place in this forest centuries ago. A particular King was also killed here, and his head, crown and throne were all buried in the forest.

The local community avoided the area, for another reason: the legend also states that the devil lived in this forest! Nevertheless, the owners of this beautiful resort forged ahead and began a venture that would, after almost fifteen years, earn them a reputation as having The Best New Eco Lodge in The World, according to Sunday Times in 2002.

Another award was bestowed on the serene lodge two years later with the capping of the prestigious "Guild of British Travel Writers Award." This comes as no surprise. Surrounded by six villages, Makasutu Cultural Forest is an all-in-one excursion and is all that the international media, and the world travel body have described it. A safari drive, a guided forest walk, a boat ride, bird watching, and cultural entertainment galore are all at ‘Makasutu’.

There is a craft area where local artists show their talent and skill in wood carving, design ware and other traditional African artifacts.Winner of the Eco Tourism Award 2005

Abuko Nature Reserve
An all time favourite for wildlife and birdwatching. Gambia's oldest protected area. It covers 105 hectares in western Gambia near the Atlantic Coast. The reserve protects a large tract of gallery forest, and it is paricularly noted for its birds and monkey populations. See some of the most colourful birds in the world - over 360 species live in The Gambia.

Baobolong Wetland Reserve
Located on the northern bank of the Gambia River in central Gambia, opposite Kiang West. This wetland covers 22,000 hectares and was designated as Gambia's first Ramsar site (the convention on wetlands of international importance).

Kiang West National Park
Located on the southern bank of the Gambia River in central Gambia. Its 11,000 hectares are dominated by dry woodland vegetation, with areas of mangrove and mud flats.

River Gambia National Park
More commonly known as Baboon Islands. It is a 580 hectare park covering five mid-river islands near Georgetown in eastern Gambia. It was established mainly as a rehabilitation sanctuary for chimpanzees. Visitors are not permitted on the island.

Niumi National Park
In the northwest of Gambia, contiguous with the Parc National du Delta du Saloum in neighbouring Senegal, and incorporates the coastal island of Ginak. It covers 5,000 hectares and features dry woodland, sand dunes, mangroves, salt marches and lagoons.

Tanji River Bird Reserve
Is located on the coast, in western Gambia. Its 612 hectares include dunes, lagoons, mangroves, dry woodland and is popular for the variety of birds which can be seen in the reserve.

Tumani Tenda Eco-Tourism Camp
Tumani Tenda is a Jolla Village with approximately 300 inhabitants living in seven extended families. It is situated 25 km East of Brikama and 3 km from Kafatu, an tributary/Bolong of the Gambia River.

This small hamlet derives its name from a peanut picker, called Tumani, who lived in the area; Tenda means riverbank. The founder of the village, the late Alhaji Osman, a Koran scholar, established the community 30 years ago after immigrating from Casamance.

A community evolved which is described as a religious community embracing certain values, notably a sustainable attitude to the natural environment, a socially responsible style of living, respect for the elderly, independence, self-sustainability and a sense of community.

Tumani Tenda owns 140 hectares of land, of which 89 are sustainably cultivated, with a species rich forest that is continually upgraded with seedlings and serves as a pharmacy and natural water reservoir. Plants and crops grow in abundance and include maize, millet, groundnuts, vegetables, herbs and spices, bananas, grapefruits, oranges, mangoes, lemons and many others.

Enjoy your Gambia Holidays!

Our members are involved in Gambian restaurants, tours, excursions, eco-tourism, car rentals, and shops within the vibrant Gambia Tourism Industry.
Please visit our website www.ttag.gm

Gambia History

The first British traders in the Gambia came in 1587. They began to explore the river in 1618. and eventually got control of St. Andrew's Island 1661. It was renamed James Island after the Duke of York, later King James II, a name it has retained to this day. Trading companies were set up and they tried to control the trade of the river. By the mid-seventeenth century, the slave trade had over-shadowed all other trade.

The British and French competed for the control of the trade of the area. In 1765, the forts and settlements were vested in the British crown and for eighteen years what is now The Gambia, formed part of the British Colony of Senegambia, with headquarters in St. Louis at the mouth of the river Senegal.

However in 1783, the greater part of the Senegambia region was handed to France. The Gambia section ceased to be a British colony and was again placed under the charge of the African Company.

With the British abolition of the Slave Trade in their settlements in 1807, they tried to look for a suitable location in The Gambia from where they would be able to monitor the river and stop ships from entering and leaving with slaves. Alexander Grant, sent out from Goree for this purpose, found the fort at James Island to be too far inland and in ruins.

He therefore entered into a treaty with the Chief of Kombo in April, 1816 for the cessation of the detached sand bank known as St. Mary's Island. Originally called Banjulo by the Portuguese, Grant named the new settlement, Bathurst after the Colonial Secretary of the time Lord Bathurst. Britain declared the Gambia River a British Protectorate in 1820. In 1886, Gambia became a crown colony, and the following year France and Britain drew the boundaries between Senegal (by then a French colony) and Gambia.

With the slave trade at an end, the British were forced to come up with a new source of wealth to support the fledgling protectorate, which led to the planting of groundnuts. The groundnuts or peanuts are originally South American, where they were grown by Indian communities. (It was introduced to West-Africa (first the Senegambia area) by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

The harvested nuts are crushed to make oil, which is exported to Europe for use in food manufacture. In the 1950s, Gambia's groundnut production was beefed up as a way to increase export earnings and make the country that much more self supportive, today groundnuts remain the chief crop of both Gambia and neighbouring Senegal.

On the 18th of February 1965, The Gambia gained political independence from Britain and although Britain's Queen Elizabeth II remained as titular head of state. It was strongly felt that The Gambia would not be able to stand on her own and there were talks of forming a federation with Senegal, but this did not materialise at the time.

Around the same time, two events occurred that enabled the tiny nation to survive and even prosper. For a decade after independence, the world price for groundnuts increased significantly, raising the country's GNP almost threefold. The second event had an even more resounding effect - Gambia became a significant tourist destination. On April 24, 1970, The Gambia became a Republic following a majority approved referendum led by President Dawda Kairaba Jawara, who was re-elected five times.

The relative stability of the Jawara era was broken first in a violent coup attempt in 1981 which was led by Kukoi Samba Sanyang, who, on two occasions, had unsuccessfully sought election to parliament. After a week of violence, which left several hundred dead, Jawara, who was in London when the attack began, appealed to Senegal for help. Senegalese troops defeated the rebel force. In the aftermath of the attempted coup, Senegal and The Gambia signed the 1982 Treaty of Confederation. The result, the Senegambia Confederation, aimed eventually to combine the armed forces of the two nations and unify economies and currencies. The Gambia withdrew from the confederation in 1989.

A protest by soldiers over late salaries in July 1994 turned into a coup d'état, led by a young lieutenant, Yahya Jammeh, a new military government was formed and in 1996 Elections were held and Lieutenant Jammeh was elected by popular vote by the people and a new constitution was introduced, ushering in the Second Republic.


President Jammeh has since won two consecutive elections in 2001 and 2006 and remains in power to this day. He has brought stability to the country and tourism is back in a big way. Also the Gambian infrastructure has vastly improved, as is evidenced by the modern Banjul International Airport, new Hospitals, roads and street lighting that are all being put in place.

Our members are involved in Gambian restaurants, tours, excursions, eco-tourism, car rentals, and shops within the vibrant Gambia Tourism Industry.

Please visit our website www.ttag.gm

The Gambia Magic

· Just six hours from Europe with no jet lag
· Guaranteed Sunshine all year round
· Beautiful golden sandy Beaches which stretch for miles.
· One of the most safe destinations in the world
· Freedom to travel around
· Excellent and varied Restaurants
· Beautiful Eco Tourism
· One of the Best destinations for Bird Watching
· Excellent Sea and Creek Fishing

The Gambia has a magic that brings people back year after year and it is still one of the safest destinations in the world!
It is the nearest English speaking destination to Europe with guaranteed sunshine all year round. Average flight time is just 6 hours.

The Gambia’s relaxed laid back pace of life is ideal for those who prefer a quieter holiday, yet Gambia offers a wealth of History and culture which can be explored by boat or by road. The local people are friendly and are always willing to share their knowledge over some Atire ( green tea or even invite you to join them for Lunch) For the more adventurous there is lots to see and do !

The climate is very comfortable offering guaranteed warm sunny days and cool evenings between, November and May.The summer months brings rains which fall mostly in warm short showers, the land turns a lush green and the birds and the flowers produce an amazing array of colour. Gambia has over 500 different species of bird which can be seen in and around the Kombo areas.

Our members are involved in Gambian restaurants, tours, excursions, eco-tourism, car rentals, and shops within the vibrant Gambia Tourism Industry.
Please visit our website www.ttag.gm