Prices in The Gambia (1 Viewer)

[Nils K]

Hello all,
I'll be in the Gambia for two weeks of birding :t:
I read all the threads I could find and learned a lot, guides are booked, plans are made, can't wait to leave!!

Going through the last preparations I was wondering how much cash to take. I read on the web that ATMs are few and often don't work. Also my cards probably won't be accepted as they are maestro.

Can anybody give an estimate on daily costs over there? Hotel is incl. breakfast and diner so lunch, drinks, tips and money for guides would be the main portion.

Thanks so much

Nils K

 

[Steve G]

Allow 12-15 euros per day for soft drinks/lunch (though most days it will be less).

Guide rates vary but I lifted this of my "wee brother's" website which will give an idea of rates:

As a rough guide my rates are £25 per person per half day trip reducing to £20 each for 3 people & £15 each for 4. Full day rates are £40 per person for 2 people, £30 each for 3 & £25 each for 4 or more.

Please note that prices may change slightly from those listed above & exact costs depend upon a number of factors including the sites visited as well as the number of birders in the party. Trips which include detours to sites requested by the client may attract extra fuel expenses whilst the poor state of repair of inland roads can take a heavy toll on my vehicle.

Here is the link to Modou's website: http://www.gambianbirds.com/index.htm

Many guides will accept payment in euros or pounds sterling.

Have a good time!

 

[Nils K]

Hi Steve,
thanks for the quick reply. I'll take your wee brothers adress along as not all the days are planned.

We'll have fun for sure!

Thanks again!

 

[Steve G]

Hi Nils,

Which hotel are you planning to stay at?
Are there any birds you are particularly desperate to see?

 

[Nils K]

Hi Steve,
we're staying at the Senegambia for two weeks.
My mate and I have never been in the Gambia before so all is new. We plan to spend most of our first week on the coast and in the area around, maybe go to the south for a day. Second week maybe a trip upriver to the reserve there. Unsure if we can make a multiple day trip, but will look into the possibilities when we are there.

We've no 'must-see' species as all is new, though i would find it great to see the different Kingfishers. Anyway, we're not out to see the rare species per se, but it would be nice for sure.

Can you advise if it is neccesary to take all the cash we need? I read the ATMs are not reliable and i'm afraid my cards are the wrong kind. Are the hotels willing to exchange?

Thanks
Nils

 

[Steve G]

Hi Nils,

Take all your money as euros -there is a Bureau de Change in the small square beyond the Kairaba Hotel gate (the adjacent hotel). Money can also be changed at the Senegambia reception. You can also change money at the airport BUT this can occasionally be a lengthy procedure delaying your transfer to the hotel.

Hassle starts as soon as you arrive in the Gambia as you will be adopted by a baggage porter whether you need one or not & will be expected to pay him 2 euros for minimal portering services! -Have some one euro coins handy!!!

Most of the rooms in the Senegambia have a safe (costs extra) which is worth hiring to keep your money & passport in.

The Bijilo Forest Park is a 15 minute walk from the Senegambia hotel (walk onto the beach & turn left) -it is well worth a visit (African Harrier Hawk, Oriole Warber, Grey Hornbill, Little & White-throated Bee-eaters, Blue-bellied Roller,etc).

The problem is that as soon as you leave the Senegambia Hotel grounds you will be pestered by young men who will want to be your friend/guide, sell you Ganja, get ladies for you, change money, etc, etc. Once you have dealt with one another will step up to take his place! The best way to deal with this is to hire a cheap guide (a few hang around outside the hotel entrance -check they have a "Bird Guides" ID tag) to accompany you.

You should visit Kotu -including the Golf course, Sewage ponds & "Cycle Track". Kotu is worth at least two visits.

Abuko should be visited at least twice -the first time use a guide to show you around but then re-visit by yourselves using a local taxi.

Let me know if you want any more info.

 

[Nils K]

Hi Steve,
thanks again for all advise!
We looked into the rent-a-taxi for a day option, good to know it's possible

We're planning a trip to Marakissa, do you know if this can be done in one day? I mailed the Marakissa River Camp but heard nothing 'till now.
If it's to far for a day trip we can possibly spend one night, if there is a room available.

One more thing: do you know of a place or site where birders can meet to go on trips together? Would be nice to team up for a day or two, share a guide and meet new people.

Thanks,
Nils

 

[Steve G]

Marakissa is about 1 hour drive from Kololi (where the Senegambia is). You will need to find a local guide who has transport to take you there. The lodge at Marakissa is VERY basic but should be open for lunch/cold drinks.

There is now no online forum for the Gambia.



Make sure you do a combined day trip to Pirang & Faraba. Pirang is good for waterbirds whilst Faraba is especially good for raptors. Do Pirang first thing (make sure you walk to the back of the shrimp ponds to see the best birds) & then Faraba in the heat of the day when raptors are on the wing (I've seen Bateleur; African Hawk Eagle; Martial Eagle; Wahlberg's Eagle; Long-crested Eagle; Beaudouin's, Brown & Western Banded Snake Eagle & Tawny Eagle here as well as 3 species of vulture).

Here is a link to images from Kotu: http://www.pbase.com/rainbirder/kotu

Images from Pirang: http://www.pbase.com/rainbirder/pirang

 

[Nils K]

Impressive series on the pbase site!

Thanks for all your time and advise, you're an expert it seems. If you ever come this way I'll gladly point you to some good spots!

Pirang and Faraba are also on our list, hope to find the vultures.

Will let you know how it was, hopefully with some nice pics for the gallery!!

Thanks again,

Nils

 

[osprey66]

Hi nils
Im going to the gambia on the 7th of dec for 4 weeks if your going to be there then maybe we could share a guide if your interested .
You are going to a good hotel and the area i think is the best with lots of restaurants.
hope you enjoy the gambian experience.
geoff

 

[msb123]

Having just returned from the Gambia I wouldn't bother with Pirang - there is no access(and someone appeared very quickly to remind us of this). I would add Tujering to your list as that was excellent. Marakissa was also good.

It should be pretty simple to organise an overnight at Tendaba and a boat trip - we did two and the morning one was much more productive than the afternoon. If you don't want an overnight Lamin Lodge do a birds and breakfast trip which we didn't do but another group from the hotel did and which also sounded good.

Don't change money at the airport - even the hotel offers a better rate.

Have fun; it was a great trip.

 

[Steve G]

Having just returned from the Gambia I wouldn't bother with Pirang - there is no access(and someone appeared very quickly to remind us of this). I would add Tujering to your list as that was excellent. Marakissa was also good.

It should be pretty simple to organise an overnight at Tendaba and a boat trip - we did two and the morning one was much more productive than the afternoon. If you don't want an overnight Lamin Lodge do a birds and breakfast trip which we didn't do but another group from the hotel did and which also sounded good.

Don't change money at the airport - even the hotel offers a better rate.

Have fun; it was a great trip.

Pirang is (& always has been) under foreign ownership (I think it is currently a rather dour Swede that owns the place).

Last year the gate & fence were in a fragile state & were easily cleared (even by a big fat man like me!). It may be that that the gate is now more robust & the site not accessible (my info is a year old). I had planned to visit there next week but will check with Modou Colley to see if it is accessible.

It will be a real shame if Pirang is out of bounds as the birding on the far side is really quite superb (see the images linked to above).

 

[Nils K]

Hi all,
thanks for the additional info msb123!
We're now in The Gambia till friday and have done a couple of trips. Upriver is not in the books unfortunately but we did get into Pirang. We have a guide that has access through a backdoor, beutiful place. We saw Crested Eagle, flamingo, pelican and much more. Ill pm the details of the guide if anyone is interested.

Also i'd recommend a trip to the hide in Abuko (reserve it), we're going back there tomorrow. In the park are also excellent opportunities for little bee eaters.

Thanks,

have a nice trip Steve!

Nils

 

[Steve G]

Hi all,
thanks for the additional info msb123!
We're now in The Gambia till friday and have done a couple of trips. Upriver is not in the books unfortunately but we did get into Pirang. We have a guide that has access through a backdoor, beutiful place. We saw Crested Eagle, flamingo, pelican and much more. Ill pm the details of the guide if anyone is interested.

Also i'd recommend a trip to the hide in Abuko (reserve it), we're going back there tomorrow. In the park are also excellent opportunities for little bee eaters.

Thanks,

have a nice trip Steve!

Nils

Thanks Nils.

Received a text from Modou that confirms that access to Pirang is very unreliable at present!

 

[msb123]

Well done to your guide. Our guide (Dembo Sonko - who was excellent) told us that the police had been called in the past over access to the site. That said we were a big group (organised trip) so it may have been harder to get in under the radar. There wasn't much of a gate but a white guy with a northern european accent appeared very quickly to tell us there was no access, and there were plenty of signs stating this as well. It's a shame as there didn't appear to be a lot of fish/shrimp farming going on.

Mike

 

[RobertaG]

Hi Nils

Lucky you to still be there, I was one of the Englishwomen in the hide at Abuko.

I'm especially jealous about getting into Pirang - we only got to view it from a raised view-point that a couple of local birding Pirang villagers are trying to maintain since access was restricted. They had built a small hide with views of the pools but it was brought down by the rainy seasons storms. They hope to rebuild it and because of their efforts I thought it worth the detour from our journey to Tendaba, even with limited access it's still a great place and we managed a good number of birds.

It's a shame that you are not going to Tendaba - our early morning boat trip through the north bank mangroves was amazing - with goliath and white backed night herons to mention a couple of highlights - it made the hassle of travelling the trans Gambian highway just before the Tomaski holiday well worth it. The same holiday meant that we couldn't take the ferry across to get to the Kaur wetlands (couln't fit a potential 6 or 7 hour each way wait into our short week!) but the trip inland did still get us great views of Egyptian Plover - even if it was all on it's own - as well as a small group of Northern carmine bee eaters. Going inland also greatly increased the raptor count - our week netted us 27 different species, including fabulous close views of bateleur.

To anyone else who is planning a trip and has yet to sort out a guide I can strongly recommend our guide for the week. Mustapha Manneh has been the 'guide in residence' for Halycon Gambia but as Halcyon have now stopped taking bookings Mus is freelancing. He's an excellent guide and seems to be well respected by the other 'real' bird guides. I think he will be found at the guides' hut at Kotu bridge but can also be contacted via e-mail at [email protected] - I also have a mobile number for him - pm me if you want it.

Roberta