Senegal - Facts
- Senegal is a country in West Africa and is bordered by Mauritania in the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast, and Guinea Bassau to the southwest. Senegal also borders The Gambia.
- The total population of Senegal is about 16.5 million. It is very ethnically diverse with many languages spoken by its residents. Only a minority speak the official language, which is French. The predominant religion is Islam, practised by 94% of the population.
- The currency is the West African Franc (CFA). For details see General Info.
- Senegal operates on UTC throughout the year.
- The climate in Senegal is tropical. For specifics see Weather.
- Several rivers, some of which are navigable for some distance inland, flow into the sea. These rivers and the off-lying islands are Senegal’s main cruising attraction. Cruisers report a pleasant experience.
- The most interesting area is the Casamance, a labyrinth of creeks and islets south of the river Gambia, which is populated by millions of migratory birds during the dry season. Unfortunately however, latest reports (2018) are that the authorities are not at all welcoming and make cruising this part of the country complicated and expensive.
- The best known and most visited country by cruising sailors in West Africa, Senegal was once the centre of French West Africa and Dakar was one of the most sophisticated African cities. The French influence is still pronounced and the mixture of the two cultures has produced some interesting results in music, painting and cuisine.
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CASAMANCE EXPERIENCE:
We arrived in Zinguichor directly from The Gambia without going to Dakar first. I can not recommend anyone else to do this. Overall the experience with the authorities here has been horrible. Mandatory military checkpoints are along the river and tributaries, we were not told by the customs or military they were required but we got in trouble each time we passed one (they are difficult to see).
Once we were forced to stop sailing and anchor, another time we were forced to go back 2NM to a dangerous jetty where the current pinned us for 6 hours. The military all carry large machine guns in an aggressive manner and are by no means friendly or provide an explanation for these requirements.
The Port authority in Zinguichor demanded 160€ at check in showing us a paper saying the money is for a river cruising permit. After returning many times, and explaining we cannot afford such a large fee and undergoing a very stressful and unpleasant day, the port captain in the end chose to waive the fee when we said that we would leave Senegal directly.
After going to 3 offices for customs, we went to the airport, where a plain clothed police man demanded we pay again for a visa for the country. We showed him online there are no visas needed for our passports, he flashed his gun at us and told us to pay him what we thought it was worth. We declined again and asked for any document saying that the fees are required, he said it doesn’t exist.
In the end we didn’t pay but felt extremely uncomfortable, and he put an exit stamp in our passport for only 1 week as punishment forcing us to leave by this date because we refused to pay his bribe. The local people here are friendly and the river is beautiful but our experience is severely marred by the military and authorities. It is hard to feel welcome when treated like this.
On the other hand The Gambia was very pleasant, we had to pay 40€ each to enter. We wish we had skipped Senegal and stayed longer in The Gambia.
Visa regulations have again changed, as of May 1 2015 the biometric visas are no longer required for most nationalities and you can just get an entry stamp upon arrival.
Visa regulations have been changed:
Valid from 1 July 2013, Senegal requires visa for ALL visitors except West Africans (CEDEAO countries + Morocco and Mauretania). The visa type is biometrical so honorary consulates will not be able to issue them.