A seat in a bush taxi from Serrekunda to Soma, roughly 130 kilometres, costs about $2.20. The same distance by private taxi would run $35 to $45. A shared minibus from Banjul to Brikama, about 30 kilometres, costs around $0.55.
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Gambia: Prices and Practicalities
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The Gambia is a small country wrapped around a river, and that shape decides most of what a trip here costs and how it works. It is narrow, roughly 50 kilometres wide at its widest and about 480 kilometres long, entirely surrounded by Senegal except for the 80-kilometre Atlantic coastline. Almost everything visitors do sits within a few hours’ drive of the coast, which keeps transport cheap and distances short. What follows is what things actually cost and how the practical side of the country functions.
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Getting In and Around
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A return flight from Europe to Banjul runs roughly $320 to $520 depending on season, with the cheapest fares in the green season from July to October and the highest from December to February. The airport at Banjul sits about 25 kilometres from the main tourist strip around Kololi, and a taxi into that area costs around $11 to $16. Agree the price before you get in, because meters are not used.
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The country has no domestic passenger rail and no scheduled internal flights. Long-distance travel is by bush taxi or by the minibuses that run between the major towns. A seat in a bush taxi from Serrekunda to Soma, roughly 130 kilometres, costs about $2.20. The same distance by private taxi would run $35 to $45. A shared minibus from Banjul to Brikama, about 30 kilometres, costs around $0.55. Fares are fixed by route and there is no bargaining on shared transport — you pay what everyone else pays.
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If you rent a car, expect $45 to $70 per day for a small saloon with basic insurance, and fuel at about $1.15 per litre. Roads along the south bank are tarred as far as Soma. Beyond that, and on most of the north bank, you are on laterite or dirt, which is passable in the dry season and slow in the wet.
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What You Pay for a Bed
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Accommodation splits sharply between the coast and everywhere else. In the Kololi and Senegambia strip, a bed in a hostel dorm costs $9 to $14 per night in the green season and $18 to $26 in high season. A basic double room with a fan and cold shower runs $20 to $30. A mid-range hotel with air conditioning and a pool runs $55 to $90. A beachfront hotel in the peak weeks around Christmas and New Year can reach $185 for a room that costs $70 in September.
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Inland, prices drop. A guesthouse room in Georgetown, now officially called Janjanbureh, on the river island of the same name, costs $8 to $15. In Basse Santa Su in the far east, similar rooms run $7 to $12. These come with a fan, a shared bathroom and intermittent electricity. A few places along the river charge $25 to $40 for a room with a private bathroom and a generator.
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Camping is possible at a handful of riverside spots for $4 to $7 per person per night, usually with access to a shared bathroom. You need your own tent.
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Food and Drink
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Street food is where the budget holds together. A bowl of rice with fish and sauce from a roadside stall costs $0.70 to $1.10. A plate of domoda, peanut stew with rice, runs about $1.50 in a local restaurant. Benachin, the one-pot rice dish, is similar. A grilled fish with rice at a beach bar on the coast costs $4 to $7.
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In tourist restaurants along the strip, a main course runs $8 to $14, and a pizza or a burger costs $9 to $12. A large bottle of water is $0.40 to $0.60 from a shop and $1.10 in a restaurant. A bottle of local beer, Julbrew, costs $0.90 in a shop and $1.60 to $2.20 in a bar. Soft drinks are $0.55 in shops. A coffee in a tourist café is $1.60 to $2.50.
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Cooking for yourself is cheap. A kilo of rice is $0.70. A kilo of fresh fish from the market at Serrekunda or Bakau is $2.20 to $3.50 depending on the species. A kilo of tomatoes is $0.90. A bunch of bananas is $0.55. A whole chicken is $4.50. Local markets are cheapest in the morning and prices are negotiable, though not by much on staples.
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A realistic daily food budget is $6 to $9 if you eat local food and cook some meals, $12 to $18 if you eat in tourist restaurants once a day, and $30 or more if you eat every meal on the strip.
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The Sights and What They Cost
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The main draw south of the river is the Abuko Nature Reserve, about 20 kilometres from the coast. Entry is $2.20 for foreigners and a guide is $5.50 for a group of up to four. The reserve is 105 hectares and takes two to three hours to walk.
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The Kachikally crocodile pool in Bakau charges $3.30 entry. The pool is about 80 metres long and holds around 130 Nile crocodiles.
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River trips are the other big expense. A half-day boat trip from Banjul or Denton Bridge to see dolphins and birds costs $22 to $35 per person, with a minimum of four people. A full-day trip upriver to the bird-rich area near Albreda runs $45 to $65 per person. Overnight river trips with a stop at a village cost $90 to $140 per person including meals.
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The chimpanzee project at Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Trust on the River Gambia charges $55 per person for a guided visit, which includes the boat crossing and a two-hour walk. The site holds around 100 chimpanzees across three islands.
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Birdwatching guides at Kotu Creek charge $11 to $16 for a half day. A full-day guided birding trip with transport runs $35 to $55.
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A day trip to James Island, now called Kunta Kinteh Island, including boat and guide, costs $45 to $60 per person. The island is a UNESCO site and the trip takes most of a day from the coast.
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The Practical Bits
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The dalasi is the local currency, but most tourist businesses quote in dollars or euros and accept both. The exchange rate has hovered around 65 dalasi to the dollar. Changing money at the airport gives a worse rate than at banks in Serrekunda or at the exchange bureaus along the strip.
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A tourist visa for most European and North American passport holders costs $55 for a single entry and is valid for 90 days. It is issued on arrival at Banjul airport. An extension at the immigration office in Banjul costs $18.
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A local SIM card with 5GB of data costs about $5.50 and coverage is good along the coast and in the major towns. It gets patchy east of Soma.
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Tap water should not be drunk. A 1.5-litre bottle of water costs $0.50 to $0.70. A course of antimalarials bought before you travel runs $30 to $80 depending on the drug.
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A budget traveller spending most nights in dorms, eating local food and using shared transport can get by on $28 to $40 per day. Add one river trip and one guided reserve visit and the average climbs to $50 to $65. Staying in mid-range hotels, eating in restaurants and taking private taxis pushes the daily figure to $110 to $160.
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The wet season runs from July to October, when many riverside camps close and some dirt roads become impassable. The dry season from November to May is when everything is open, prices are highest in December and January, and the heat is manageable.
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Adjacent reading
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Where the numbers come from
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