Travel in Senegal

Sitting on the far west coast of Africa , just south of Senegal, Guinea Bissau is a small yet vibrant African nation just beginning to take its place on the tourist map. Years of colonial rule followed by decades of political instability kept this once-Portuguese outpost a secret, known only by dedicated deep-sea fishermen and a handful of NGO workers. But it’s not going to remain a secret for much longer, as Explore begin running trips to Guinea Bissau in November 2016. We sent photographer Diana Jarvis to uncover Guinea Bissau – here are some of her best shots.

A flat tire. A medical situation. A tour that runs overtime. Any of these delays could prevent a shore excursion operator from returning guests on time to a port of call and risk the ship departing without them.

Venice, a city of history and mystery, is once again at the forefront of the global art scene, hosting the 60th International Art Exhibition, titled "Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere." Curated by Adriano Pedrosa, this year’s Biennale extends beyond just an art exhibition; it is a profound narrative on cultural exchange, environmental sustainability, and the interwoven fabric of global identity. From April 20 to November 24, 2024, the Biennale transforms Venice into a canvas of multicultural dialogue, showcasing works that provoke, inspire, and unite. Here are the 10 pavilions and exhibitions that stand out in this year's compelling lineup.

TUI Group’s hotel division, TUI Hotels & Resorts, said on Tuesday it planned to expand its presence in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with significant tourism potential.

It’s a sight that most cruisers dread: Watching their ship sail out of port as they sprint down the pier. But for one reason or another, missing a cruise ship is a situation that travelers could easily find themselves in.

A fellow passenger on the cruise that left eight people stranded on an African island says it's a good example of why you should be on time.

A group of passengers left stranded on a small African island after missing a boarding deadline finally managed to rejoin their cruise ship on Tuesday after chasing it for almost a week.

It's not often that we think of how polluted somewhere is when we plan our travels—but data in the 2023 World Air Quality report by IQAir reveals that the air quality of some common holiday destinations might make us rethink.

In Paris, the splendid 1728 mansion of an American and French war hero is now Lafayette’s restaurant helmed by Michelin star chef Mory Sacko, where he is twisting brasserie staples with his signature Senegalese flair.

Within the past 12 months, the Group signed five new hotels, adding over 1,000 rooms to the region’s portfolio.

Like its iconic gumbo, New Orleans is a fascinating cultural stew. No city in the world can lay claim to all the Big Easy offers: French-Creole cuisine, the spiritual home of jazz, one of the world’s longest (and most well-known) Mardi Gras celebrations, over 130 annual festivals and an abiding laissez les bon temps rouler (“let the good times roll”) local vibe.

Cunard Line has rolled out the new itineraries, including two simultaneous world cruises to depart in January 2026.

Although many give Bruce Brown's 1966 film, The Endless Summer, credit for introducing surfing to fishing communities in Ghana, Senegal, and Nigeria, the sport has been happening along the shores of Western Africa, including Ghana's 300-mile coastline, for centuries. West Africans independently developed surfing before outsiders arrived; since at least the 1640s, sea merchants knew surf patterns well and used wooden surf-canoes to fish and ride 10-foot tall waves. Yet in present-day Ghana, surfing is largely the domain of tourists.

River cruise lines have taken note of travelers wanting more immersive cultural experiences that take them deep into the communities they visit.

Geotourist and the West Africa Tourism Organisation (WATO) are partnering in a revolutionary data initiative to generate visitor data insights that are not currently achievable in the region. The initiative will be rolled out across 19 different countries,including:

A plane carrying a national soccer team had to make an emergency landing Wednesday due to an oxygen shortage on board, The Gambia Football Federation said in a statement.

Michael Bennett, the former N.F.L. player, started designing furniture as a way to reconsider architecture and the spaces that Black people occupy. Inspired by his upbringing in Louisiana and Texas, as well as by trips to Senegal, where his ancestors are from, Bennett began to think about the objects that “bring Black people together in public spaces” as a way to deepen his longtime activism work focused on racial justice. After retiring from football in 2020, he founded the design practice Studio Kër. Bennett’s exploration of the Black home led him to create an 11-piece collection of sculptural furniture that he’s debuting this month in “We Gotta Get Back to the Crib,” his inaugural exhibition for the Los Angeles art gallery Marta, presented at Theaster Gates’s Rebuild Foundation in Chicago. (In the spring, the show will travel to Houston.) The collection reimagines objects of communal gatherings; pieces include the Gumbo lounge chair, a lush take on the stackable monobloc chair, and the Pew couch, a nod to the church bench, made of leather and ekki wood. “For me, the show is about celebrating Black ingenuity and connecting back to that African diasporic design language,” says Bennett.

In the autumn of 1948, Marcel Bich, owner of a company located north of Paris that produced ink cartridges for fountain pens, pushed a wheelbarrow in his garden in the village of Rhuis. He considered the new ‘ball point’ pen launched by the Reynolds company in the United States, and was mystified by the allure of this expensive instrument that produced what he considered as shoddy writing. He turned around, peered at the wheel imprint left by his barrow on dirt, and was flooded with a realization. The ball point pen did the same as the wheel—it left an imprint by rolling, not by scratching. He knew this could lead to more fluid, easier writing.

They say you can never go back, but that’s only true in part, and doesn’t apply to travel at all. Visit a place a second time, and you go with a seasoned pair of eyes, and all the buoyancy and confidence of familiarity. My second time in Saint-Louis, Senegal, I was better at fending off the touts, better at finding the best grub, better at dealing with the heat. I picked a better hotel—the La Résidence, with its antique whiff of cigar smoke, its old-world comforts, and its rooftop views of the city. And this time, I would go further—I’d be spending a week gliding up the Senegal River, 125 miles from Saint-Louis to the trading town of Podor, on a river cruiser, the Bou el Mogdad.

Had everything gone to plan, the singer-songwriter Baaba Maal’s move to Senegal’s capital from the northern hinterlands would have ended up differently — specifically, with a law degree. “When I first came to Dakar, I was supposed to study at the university because that was the wish of my parents,” he said, while a pair of sculptures, as if on cue, eyed him sternly.

Most mornings, around 6:30, Tharshan Selvarajah arrives at the Élysée Palace, seat of the French presidency, and unloads around 30 baguettes into the security scanner.

For ultra-wealthy travel lovers, six-figure getaways continue to trend ever upward. Encouraged by the pandemic’s wake-up call to maximize life’s positive experiences, these vacationers are engaging luxury outfitters to brainstorm off-the-beaten-path itineraries that illuminate exclusive, eye-opening, one-of-a-kind adventures. Among the best of the best tour-planning companies, Abercrombie & Kent — founded in the 1960s by visionary safari pioneer Geoffrey Kent — just announced its latest pinnacle, Around the World With Geoffrey Kent: An Inspiring Expedition by Private Jet. Limited to 46 participants, this epic 26-day transit (October 13 to November 7, 2024) will touch down in Japan, India, Malta, Senegal, Saint Helena, Uruguay, Easter Island and French Polynesia. Kent, who will accompany the group from start to finish, explains to Forbes: “It’s true that the world is well-traveled, but there are still unexplored spots. My goal is to take A&K guests to places of immense beauty and rich culture, but where others rarely venture.” Indeed, many of the destinations are dazzlingly remote with unique behind-the-scenes encounters. To smooth this far-flung journey en route: a chartered Boeing 757, featuring all lie-flat, first-class seats, with a dedicated crew and executive chef. Price: $184,950 per person; see below for further details. (Perhaps you may be inspired by these highlights to tuck one or two intriguing ideas onto your DIY wish list.)