Hey guys!!, how are you doing. They finally paid salary o, *insert King Sunny Ade’s leg work*. Anyways, I got loads of request to write about Senegal and like I promised, I had a chat few days ago with one of the most beautiful creatures God created and she shared her Senegal experience with me. If you are open to sharing your travel experience with me as well, kindly email me here. Kelly is beautiful shaa, God created her on the 6th day and went to rest on the 7th day. I digress, lol.
The gorgeous Kelly celebrated her birthday in Senegal few months ago and she is here with all the scoops. I’m adding Senegal to my bucket list. This my bucket no dey ever full? 😩😩
Flight
Her flight to Senegal was on AirPeace and it cost N296k from Lagos. It was a 5hr flight with an hour layover at Banjul. She complained about lack of leg space on AirPeace because they used the same flight used for in-country travel for this Senegal trip. Due to Kelly’s AirPeace complaint, I decided to do a bit of research to provide an alternative airline for you, especially for our tall travellers.
I saw a cheaper flight to Senegal on Air Cote D Ivoire for N294k, 5hr flight with an hour fifteen-minute layover at Abidjan. Check it out on Wakanow. Wakanow needs to start dashing me free ticket for all these free advert o.
Visa and Arrival in Dakar
Senegal is visa free for Nigerian Passport holders. The name of the airport is Blaise Dianne International Airport and the immigration officials speak only French. Wahala for who never watch Emily in Paris o. “Bon June”, “coma sava “. Lol. The immigration officials asked for hotel reservation, so she advised to have your hotel reservation handy.
Payment:
All payments were charged and made in the Senegalese local currency – CFA. 1 USD = 600 CFA. The hotel in Senegal also accepts Euros and you can use your Nigerian domiciliary card to make withdrawals from the ATMs in Senegal. 1 Naira = 1.56 CFA. It is advisable not to change money at the airport because the rates are better in the city.
Leaving the airport and getting around:
Kelly hired a cab from the Airport to Dakar for 20kCFA and from Dakar to Saly for 30kCFA. She used the same cab for both trips. From Saly to Dakar is about an hour forty minute and from Saly to the airport in Dakar is about an hour. There is no Uber or Bolt in Senegal, you have to use the local taxis which isn’t exactly cheap. Please send me a message if you need the number of the cab guy that Kelly used. The hotel in Saly also offers paid cab services to the airport.
Hotel:
Kelly stayed at Maison de Clara, a hotel owned by a French couple and cost about 126USD per night, it was cozy and had beautiful views and scenery. The hotel is five minutes walk to the Jomo beach and most of the restaurants. There are other beautiful hotels in Dakar and Saly going for N50k or less on booking.com.
Kelly enjoying a swim at the pool
The pool at Maison De Clara
Food:
There is an argument that Senegal has the best Jollof rice in West Africa *Dodges pure water*, shebi I said it’s an argument na, I did not say they have the best Jollof rice, it is still being argued as I write this. There are loads of affordable and beautiful restaurant at Jomo beach with very delicious intercontinental cuisine.
Casino Restaurant
Kelly with her birthday Cake at the restaurant
The Senegalese Jollof Rice
Activities:
There are different activities you can do in Saly, Senegal – There is the boat ride across the pink lake in Lac Rose in Saly, it cost about 15kCFA for 30minutes. The boat takes more than three people. The water is really concentrated so you should not swim in it for long. You can also visit the Jomo beach, which is just five minutes walk from the Maison De Clara Hotel.
Jomo Beach
Another view of the Maison De Clara hotel
There is also the Bandia Reserve, which is Senegal’s version of a Safari. The reserve is about 40 minutes from Saly. Taxi to the Bandia Reserve from the hotel cost about 4kCFA. There is a truck inside the reserve to drive you around. The truck cost about 12CFA for one person depending on the size of truck you hire.
Truck at Bandia Reserve
Who else has been blushing at these pictures, we can all agree that Senegal is worth visiting. The budget estimate for a Senegal trip should be around N700k or even lesser if you are travelling as a group.
Before I go, I have some news, if you are looking for a country to visit during the Independence day holiday this weekend, I gatchu, there is a trip to Benin Republic for less than N190k. check it out below. Please reach out to @socialprefect on Instagram, let her know you are from me and who knows you might get a discount.
That is not all o, if you read about my Kigali experience and you want to travel there too. Please check out the flier below and also reach out to @socialprefect on Instagram. The Kigali trip is less than 700k.
Today’s newsletter is unusually long. I apologise, I didnt want to cut anything out. If you have any questions or need clarification about anything, please email hellomunachi@gmail.com and I will be happy to assist.
Until next week
Love
Muna
Thank you so much for capturing my experience so beautifully. It was truly an amazing trip and I look forward to going back to Senegal
Thank you for documenting this. Please I have r
Two questions:
1. I’ll really love to go to Senegal and if possible do a few days in Côte d’Ivoire. Do I have to book a separate flight from Côte d’Ivoire to Senegal?
2. If I do Senegal and Gambia, which comes first travelling from Nigeria? Or what do you advise?