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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Gambia Feb. 2014 (1 Viewer)

Some good birds there, certainly better than the December trip I had many years ago. Couple of questions if you don't mind, what's the road to Tendaba (and beyond) like? When I went the potholes were big enough to bury a car in and there were millions of them which made it very slow and uncomfortable! Also, if it's not impolite, a rough breakdown of costs would be helpful as I would like a return trip someday and it would help with planning/itinerary.

Thanks

Nick
 
The road to Tendaba and apparently as far as Basse, on both sides of the river is very good now. As good as any British road and no potholes.
The price I paid for Musa Manneh and his varied services was £750, and he had to pay for a car, driver, accommodation, boat trips and lunches. I gave him a generous tip because quite frankly, he deserved it.
The exchange rate was 63 Dalasi to the pound, so food and drink were cheap by our standards. Flights and 11 nights paid for at the Bakotu hotel came to £800 and that's with the single supplement.
Go for it!!!
 
Just out of interest and in your opinion do you think a novice birder could have an enjoyable trip by just booking a weeks package deal at that hotel and birding the sites within walking distance of the kotu area? I would love a trip to Gambia and have never birded in Africa. Unfortunately I can't really afford the £1500-2500 guided bird tour arrangement at the moment but reports I've read would suggest that perhaps there are enough good spots around the tourist areas to keep you happy if your expectations are not to high. Is this the case?
 
I think if you are prepared to choose one of the many guides who will come to you; barter, and go for Abuko Forest and Brufut Woods to your itinerary, which are close by, but not walk-able, then you can have an excellent weeks birding. I can't say for certain, but if you are hard faced about it you can get a days birding for £40, and it would be worth it.
 
Thanks for posting, brings back good memories of a trip in 2009 guided by Mus, when he was the 'house' guide for Halcyon Gambia - he really is an excellent birder and such good company.

Couldn't agree more about the mangrove trip from Tendaba, it was certainly one of the highlights of our trip, as was the raptor filled journey to get to Tendaba - although the road wasn't finished then and we got covered in red dust every time a vehicle went past in the opposite direction, if we didn't close the windows in time!

Roberta
 
paul-ed said:
The road to Tendaba and apparently as far as Basse, on both sides of the river is very good now. As good as any British road and no potholes.
The price I paid for Musa Manneh and his varied services was £750, and he had to pay for a car, driver, accommodation, boat trips and lunches. I gave him a generous tip because quite frankly, he deserved it.
The exchange rate was 63 Dalasi to the pound, so food and drink were cheap by our standards. Flights and 11 nights paid for at the Bakotu hotel came to £800 and that's with the single supplement.
Go for it!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info :t:, much appreciated.

Nick
 
paul-ed said:
I think if you are prepared to choose one of the many guides who will come to you; barter, and go for Abuko Forest and Brufut Woods to your itinerary, which are close by, but not walk-able, then you can have an excellent weeks birding. I can't say for certain, but if you are hard faced about it you can get a days birding for £40, and it would be worth it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. Just can't decide on whether to save up and do a tour or go solo. I love the buzz of finding my own birds but appreciate that the further out you go the more beneficial it would be to be guided.
 
For me it's not necessarily the guide that finds the birds, or even identifies them. There main requirement is the local knowledge of where the birds can be found in the area you are in. There are only so any species within a given environment, and if you do not know where the varied environments specifically are, you are definitely on the back foot.
 
Digbert Doobrey said:
Just out of interest and in your opinion do you think a novice birder could have an enjoyable trip by just booking a weeks package deal at that hotel and birding the sites within walking distance of the kotu area? I would love a trip to Gambia and have never birded in Africa. Unfortunately I can't really afford the £1500-2500 guided bird tour arrangement at the moment but reports I've read would suggest that perhaps there are enough good spots around the tourist areas to keep you happy if your expectations are not to high. Is this the case?
Click to expand...

Hi Digbert, I had a trip to Gambia in February 2013 with my wife and enjoyed it immensely.
We were lucky and had our hotel upgraded to the Seregambia. I would recommend paying a bit extra if your budget allows it and stay at the Seregambia. The grounds are a bit like being out in the field. I spent the first few days familiarising myself with the local birds and counted 40 species in the hotel. After my eye was in I began to hire guides and went to Brufut and other places. If you team up with others, as I did twice, you can share the guide price and have an excellent half day for about £15.
But I can't emphasise enough taking the trouble to identify at least 40 species before you allow guides to show you stuff, oherwise it could all become a blur.
be aware that as soon as you walk out of the hotel, you become a target for hucksters who claim they are bird guides, people who probably couldnt name more than 10 species.
You can't go wrong in the Gambia. It is a real birding paradise, no matter your level of expertise.
hope that helps. Enjoy it.

Padraig.
 
paul-ed said:
For me it's not necessarily the guide that finds the birds, or even identifies them. There main requirement is the local knowledge of where the birds can be found in the area you are in. There are only so any species within a given environment, and if you do not know where the varied environments specifically are, you are definitely on the back foot.
Click to expand...

I agree entirely. No amount of trip reports and field guides can match local knowledge. In addition the benefits of local people being involved in birding and the enviroment and employing them as guides are obvious. I will just have to make sure, if I go on a solo trip, I choose a genuine expert guide and not a charlatan. Still as the previous poster said once you sort out the regular stuff you should soon be able to tell whether a guide knows his weavers from his whydahs.
 
The Gambia is perfectly suited for both a sun and birding holiday and you can easily do it yourself without any need to join one of the expensive bird tours which in my opinion are totally overpriced.
The grounds of the Senegambia hotel are excellent for birding and if you are staying there you have the advantage of being on site at dawn and have the Bijilo woods very close by too, however, my preference is to stay in Kotu which is half an hours walk away along the beach. There's much more open ground and variety of habitat right on the doorstep there. Kotu is nicer than Kololi too although the choice of eateries isn't as good.
The other advantage is the Bird guides all hang out near the bridge in Kotu so you can fix yourself up with a genuine bird guide there and also have a good chance of meeting other birders too as they tend to gather around the bridge to meet.
I know someone else will come and sing the praises of the Sheraton but it's not for me.Might be a slightly better standard of hotel but the birding isn't as good around the hotel.
 
Digbert Doobrey said:
Just out of interest and in your opinion do you think a novice birder could have an enjoyable trip by just booking a weeks package deal at that hotel and birding the sites within walking distance of the kotu area? I would love a trip to Gambia and have never birded in Africa. Unfortunately I can't really afford the £1500-2500 guided bird tour arrangement at the moment but reports I've read would suggest that perhaps there are enough good spots around the tourist areas to keep you happy if your expectations are not to high. Is this the case?
Click to expand...

I went to Gambia a couple of years ago.
Had a wonderful time without using a guide.
If its your first time you will have little trouble getting lifers.
We splashed out on the Sheraton Brufut Heights.
It is more expensive than the bog standard hotels but it has three advantages.
1] It is within walking distance of the Tanji Forest reserve and lagoons as well as the Brufut Woods reserve.
You will have no trouble finding your own birds there.
2] The hotel grounds and surrounding scrubland are teeeming with birds.Over 50 species here alone!
3] We have stayed at many All Inclusives around the world and we still think this one is the best we have ever stayed at.
Once you have paid for your holiday your only extra costs are the minimal reserve entrance fees and taxi costs to place like Abuko,Paradise Beach and any other places you want to visit.

Just come back from our second visit to Cuba,again guideless and had a wonderful bird filled week[ see Vacation Forum on this website]
If you want a copy of my report to give you some idea of what you can see sans guide please let me know.
I will be able to paste it on here.
All the best
 
Digbert Doobrey said:
I would love a trip to Gambia and have never birded in Africa. Unfortunately I can't really afford the £1500-2500 guided bird tour arrangement at the moment but reports I've read would suggest that perhaps there are enough good spots around the tourist areas to keep you happy if your expectations are not to high. Is this the case?
Click to expand...

Just to give a perspective Digbert. I've never had guided trips before in my life but for once I went a bit crazy in the Gambia and splashed out 4 days in a row. In total I may have paid £200 for guides but thought it money well spent and didn't begrudge the guides their money...they earn it.
You could spend less and still have a great time. You've read 3 pieces of wisdon by now: hotel in Kotu area, near the famous Koto bridge; the Seregambia, theone i loved; Practicole always sings the praises of the Sheretan hotel.
My only comment on the Sheretan is that's its outside of town, away from restaurants etc. Its is near Brufut woods etc. I think that is ideal for an experienced world birder..would I be right in describing you as such Pratincole?..ie. someone very used to finding his own birds.
if you are less seasoned that that, a place like the Seregambia gives you a relaxed way of teaching yourself and also finding other birders to team up with for group trips.
Just some thought....

Padraig.
 
Padraig said:
Just to give a perspective Digbert. I've never had guided trips before in my life but for once I went a bit crazy in the Gambia and splashed out 4 days in a row. In total I may have paid £200 for guides but thought it money well spent and didn't begrudge the guides their money...they earn it.
You could spend less and still have a great time. You've read 3 pieces of wisdon by now: hotel in Kotu area, near the famous Koto bridge; the Seregambia, theone i loved; Practicole always sings the praises of the Sheretan hotel.
My only comment on the Sheretan is that's its outside of town, away from restaurants etc. Its is near Brufut woods etc. I think that is ideal for an experienced world birder..would I be right in describing you as such Pratincole?..ie. someone very used to finding his own birds.
if you are less seasoned that that, a place like the Seregambia gives you a relaxed way of teaching yourself and also finding other birders to team up with for group trips.
Just some thought....

Padraig.
Click to expand...

I agree that the Sheraton is well outside of the tourist strip but as it is within walking distance of Brufut Woods and Tanji Forest and lagoons then that in itself is an advantage.

Also as it is All Inclusive then not being near the restaurants and bars is not a problem.

They did provide a free taxi ride to the Senegambia you just have to pay for your fare back[around £3]

I am used to going to different countries and finding my own birds.After a couple of days,armed with my trusty Helm Guide and a bit of prior research I found Gambia fairly straightforward.

I agree however with a good guide you will see more birds than I will ever see,but I enjoy the freedom and challenge of finding my own birds.
However you do it, with or without a guide Gambia is a great place to see some wonderful birds
All the best!
 
The one word of warning I would give is to check out your hotel before you book. Places like the Badala Park and Palm Beach in Kotu are just a couple of many that are to be avoided and they are not alone in offering poorly maintained, ill equipped accommodation.
You can find a good package deal on either the Monarch or Thomas Cook web sites, but it's also worth looking at independent deals. It's very easy to arrange.
Flights are around £350 including 20kg of luggage with Thomas Cook and you can find lots of places that you can book independently through direct contact or using web sites like Travel Republic.It's a small country, a taxi from the airport won't cost too much to anywhere on the coast and the advantage of DIY over a package is that you have freedom to move , either on an up river trip or a two centre one if you so wish. You will then not be loosing accommodation that you have paid for in a package but not used. The other potential false economy is half board and all inclusive packages if there are alternative places available. The freedom of choice to eat where you want is always a big plus provided you are in a touristy area, likewise a place to go and watch the sun go down on the beach is often preferable to the hotel, just for a change of scene. Eating and drinking is extremely reasonable in TG, in fact it's cheap.
To be honest, if you haven't been to TG before there are enough places that you can visit on the coast that you can get to without spending very much at all but it is worth taking a few guided trips which don't cost a lot if the cost is shared.
One other tip though, most bird guides don't have their own transport so one who does might work out cheaper. On the other hand, I would also ask to see the transport before booking too, particularly if long distance travel is being considered.
It's a fabulous place to visit, go for it !
 
Can't agree that All inclusive is a false economy or an economy at all.
If we had gone room only or b and b in the tourist strip we would have had a cheaper holiday.
We knowingly paid more for the luxury of not having to take wads of cash with us and find a decent place to eat and drink every day.
Its all on a plate for you at the Sheraton so after a hot and sweaty day birdwatching it was straight to the bar for a beer or just plonk ourselves down at the buffet.
Having stayed at AI in various countries we still rate the Gambia Sheraton the best we have stayed at for beach location,beautiful hotel grounds,excellent room[all sea facing],service and food and drink.
Without doubt it has been the best for birdwatching around the hotel and within walking distance from the hotel.
I have got to be honest having taken one look around the tourist strip, we thanked our lucky stars we paid extra to stay at the Sheraton.
Like I say if you so wish they provide a free taxi to the tourist strip anyway.
 
Everyone has a different view of how they want to spend their holiday time, some prefer to stay in their hotels for the full duration of their holiday, others like to venture out and try different eating places .
My point being that all inclusive can be false economy if you prefer not to be stuck with the same place every night and you have options to eat elsewhere.

The Sheraton Gambia charge around a £1000 for two weeks upgraded from B&B to AI. That's £70 a night. Now if you eat and drink every night in the Sheraton it might be a good deal compared to paying for what you actually consume, especially as you are a good distance away from the nearest restaurants.

We usually spend no more than around £30 for a substantial meal and a few beers for two people as it's very inexpensive to eat out.

There are lots of locations you can stay through out TG. Some near to a choice of eating places, others not. You nearly always find that the locations that have multi choices also tend to be more touristy. Depends on what you want and trying to find a balance if necessary as rarely does one cap fit all.
 
Each to his own ,but to be confined to an AI hotel would mean missing out on seeing the country and its people. Also means you aren't spreading your spending money around the locals either.
We stay b&b and eat outside our hotel most nights - all part of the holiday to us.We have stayed AI sometimes ( you have to in some places ) but not in a poor country like the Gambia.
 
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