Know a good hotel in the Gambia?

[Dawn Balmer]

I'm planning to visit the Gambia in November. Can anyone recommend a good hotel in the Kotu/Kokoli area? Is it worth going Half Board or is B&B sufficient? Are there enough eating establishments in the area?

Cheers
Dawn

[James]

I have visited the Gambia but can't remember the name of the hotel i stayed in!!! However I visited other hotels in the area and can recommend The Atlantic Hotel which has its own bird hide and also the Senegambia. Neither are particularly cheap though but the cheap ones looked incredibly rough to me at the time. Not much help but you may get a better deal booking direct than through the usual travel agents.

James

[Darrell Clegg]

Dawn - I'll pm you with Ted Griffiths' phone no. He's done the Gambia a couple of times on his own - and you KNOW he loves a bargain!

Darrell

[Dawn Balmer]

Darrell

I've got Ted's trip list but he doesn't say where he stayed. I'll drop him an email.

Cheers
Dawn

[Nick-on]

Friends of mine stayed at the Senegambia (while I stayed in very basic accommodation - gone out flight only) and I ate there a few times. It seemed very good and they were quite happy with everything. The birds in the hotel grounds were amazingly good as well as a couple of very large Monitor 'type' lizards and a colony of fruit bats. Wish I'd stayed there... and if I ever go back I will!

[Malvolio]

Kotu is better than Kololi for birding within walking distance(Kombo Beach, Badala Park and Palma Rima all decent hotels there). Kololi has better range of restaurants but is easy to reach by taxi.

Kololi has more bumsters/ hangers on.

Senegambia has best garden for birding but everything should be seen elsewhere anyway.

B&B would be best.

Some smaller hotels are Gambian owned, e.g Tafbel in Kololi. Any hotel in a brochure will be at least adequate.

Do you plan to travel upriver?

MV

[Dawn Balmer]

MV

We can only go for a week due to my husbands work commitments. I think we will stay 'local' rather than go up river and try to cram in everything. Obviously the lure of Egyptian Plover is quite strong but it will take a few days out of the trip. Having never been to Africa before I'm sure we will be content with what we see around Abuko, Pirang, Kotu etc.

Would you go up river in a week long trip? My husband is an artist and I like photography so I'm sure there is more than enough to keep us occupied. Egyptian Plover may have to wait for another time.

Thanks for the advice.

[Malvolio]

Hi Dawn,

No I wouldn't go right up-river in a week long trip but you might want to consider the option of a two day (1 night) jaunt to Tendaba. There is a site not too far away from here (at Soma) where you could get Egyptian Plover and several good sites en route to and from Tendaba too.

If you stayed within 30-40 km of your hotel on the coast you'd still have a great time though and other areas could be saved for another trip. BTW this website might be handy:

http://www.gambiabirding.org/index.html

MV

[Nick-on]

Just because you are only there for one week doesn't mean you can't get Egyptian Plover. Like Malvolio says there is a sight not far from Tendaba which, although it does involve a bit of travelling, is well worth a visit. as well as the Egyptian Plover there were 100's of Collared Pratincole and other waders as well as Kittlitz's (almost definitely spelt wrong) Plover. Tendaba camp is also excellent for birds and a boat trip up the shallow creeks was very rewarding (Pel's Fishing Owl being the best). I was only there for a week and managed a two day trip (Crowned Cranes en-route) so it can be done. It also gets you away from the annoying hustlers on the coast, who can get very tiresome. Take plenty of insect repellant though, the mozzies are big, common, vicious and dangerous!

[jay1964]

Went to Gambia a few years back. You will have no problem eating out - the locals will give you plenty of advice as soon as you step out of your hotel. I found that it did not matter where you stayed as other hotels were happy to let you visit thier gardens. Just find a quite spot, sit down with a beer and the birds will come to you.
Do not arrange any bird trips before you get there. I found that you can pick up a local guide from outside your hotel. we found a someone who was very good and arranged trips with him. Tested his knowledge with an afternoon walk and was impressed. We gave him about £5 for this (don't know if this is the going rate or not but we were both happy with the deal). Later in the week he arranged a taxi for the day and we set off visiting all the reserves in the area - all of which we had to ourselves. This cost £25 all in (although we did buy him lunch). The trips that are pre-arranged are much more expensive where they put you on a minibus and have a set itinerary. In the week we were there, in the begining of December, we saw about 180 diffrent birds.

[Andy Thatcher]

Very useful thread ! Thankyou.

I am flying out next month.