Kev_turbo

Hi,

I have just booked to go to Gambia (Koli beach) at the end of feb and was wondering if anyone else has been and if they have any useful advice.

Boring post I know but could provide me with some useful info.

Cheer

Kev

druddle

We went in early Feb this year to Gambia. We stayed at a hotel on the beach between Serrakunda and Banjul.

Advice i can give you is:

* Dont wander around with watches, jewellery on. Leave it in a hotel safe as you are asking to have them taken off you.
* There will always be "boys" wandering about wanting to be your friends and sell you stuff/take you places. Just make sure you are sensible, dont get your wallet out, and tell them you are in the Army or Police force, they will give you more respect.
* Dont go walking on the beach on your own, make sure theres a group of you.
* Dunno which tour operator you are using but they all do a safari-type trip for a day that goes well off the beaten track on an old army carrier. Well worthwile.
* Be careful which taxis you use. I think the green are the deerer ones, and the yellow/green ones are cheaper. If you use a yellow/green to bring you back to your hotel he will not drop you at the door as the green drivers dont like them nicking their fares and i heard of one driver get a right kicking because of it.
* You can get suits and clothes made a there are alot of good tailors but dont whatever you do hand over money until its done. You will have to pay for the material, but only hand over the rest once you collect the clothes. I paid 1200 dalasi for 2 suits.
* Make sure you go to the crocodile pool, its quite interesting to see loads of smelly crocs but dont expect the trip to last more than 1/2 hour.
* Go to the island with all the ganja growing, thats a good laugh.
* The people are generally lovely, and will go out of their way to help you and be nice to you.
* Food is ok, theres a couple of curry houses, an italian and some others. They are ok, but dont expect Egon Ronay !!

DONT BUY **** AT THE AIRPORT, GET THEM IN GAMBIA. YOU WILL PAY AROUND 2-3 QUID FOR 200. We managed to get 600 Silk Cut/B&H for about 450 dalasi.

Above all enjoy yourself, take high factor sun cream with you (I used 25 for a week), drink plenty of bottled water and remember it will be hot as it is Africa !!!

Oh and dont forget all your injections (yellow fever, hepetitis, etc)

Also remembered that when i went there was one set of traffic lights and 3 cashpoints in the whole of the Gambia !! Theres also a few Internet Cafes too. Dont expect Mocha Latte there tho

Have fun

Dave

[Edited by druddle - 12/28/2002 1:30:07 PM]

Kev_turbo

Thanks for the reply, I am going with my missus for 2 weeks, I wanted a skiing holiday but she seems to believe it is not a holiday if the temp is less than 25 degrees.

Thanks again.

Kev

David Lock

Hi Kev, no not much skiing in Gambia that's for sure....

I used to travel there on business many years ago and found that since I walked around in smart casuals and carried a briefcase I simply wasn't hassled by all the locals who wanted to take care of you as they simply assumed that you were a local expat business guy who knew the score. Might be worth trying if you really get pi$$ed off with hangers on - and that can be a real hassle. Oh and easy on the shellfish unless you want to lose weight rapidly. DL

ozzy

Is it safe to travel to The Gambia right now? I had planned to go to Kilimanjaro and was advised not too. I put that down to the attacks in Mombasa, but even with it on the other side of the continent, I'd check with the British counsel first.

Stefan

Kev_turbo

Seems fine enough and they are still selling the holidays.

I was supposed to be going to Kenya (Mombasa) the last 2 weeks in November but a change of job forced me to cancel. Bloody good job, I hope nothing happens to Gambia whilst I am there.

Kev

ozzy

That's not stopped anyone in the past. I could still get a holiday in Bali if I wanted too

I would check there aren't any specific threats in the area first. I perosnally wouldn't trust any travel agent for advice.

Here's the contact details for the British Consulate for The Gambia:-

The Gambia High Commission Bldg,
57, Kensington Court,
London,
W8 5DG
United Kingdom
Tel : 0207 376 0093
Fax : 0207 938 3644

You can get up-to-date travel advice from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office

You'll be glad to hear, there seems to be no problems. Have a good trip.

Stefan

rallyb0y02

Don't Go!!

Kev_turbo

Thanks for all the useful (and other!!) advice and links.

I will bring you all a stick of rock!!!

Kev

rallyb0y02

thought it was gambia, not brighton beach... rock ?? !!!

NOS nova

don't pee in a pond or river!

there is a fly lava that lives in the water, it swims up your pee into your ***** and attatches itself to the inside of the urethra.

it then burrows its way through your body to your foot and digs its way out there.

not a very nice experience in my book!!!

tweenierob

I have two memories that stick in my mind from my trip to Gambia..
Firstly, get used to tag-ons.. i had a guy called 'bobby' stuck to me for the whole feckin holiday!! i sat on my sun lounger/he sat on my sun lounger!!! They pretend that they cant understand you, but obviously they can!! best advice here is get used to it
2nd memory...
We went on a trip to an island, there was a school etc to have a look at.. it gave us the history of the island etc etc..
They then give you a chance to buy sweets etc from the shop to give to the kids in the school...
I went to the shop just before leaving and saw one of the Guides taking all the sweets back to the shop
Then....
We bought a video of the island/history... when we got home we invited some friends over to watch the video...
IT WAS BLANK!!!!!!!!!!
How funny was that

So....
Get used to the tag ons...
Dont get offended by the natives going to the loo in the street...
Dont buy the tour video...

Remember that it is a third world country after all...

AND ENJOY!!!!!!

Rob

David_Dickson

Dont taunt the lions

unclebuck

prey??

druddle

Oh yeah and if you want to take stuff for the kids in the schools take pens and paper, and also take white sports socks, you can barter for anything with them !!

Dave

Scotch Steve

Kev,
We're off to Gambia in March, Kololi beach too, we had planned to go to the Cannaries, got heaps of useful info on here from a lot of people, but when we went to the travel agents decided to go to Gambia and can't wait.

Anyway I've done a fair bit of research and found a specialsit tour operator "The Gambia Experience", we're not going with them but they have a fairly good site, (though not that well laid out) covering things to do, places to eat etc. This includes a map of Kololi, showing bars, resturants etc this is the address for the map page (don't know how to make it a link)

http://www.gambia.co.uk/choosing_your_holiday/Hotels/mapkol.htm

The home page is www.gambia.co.uk for all the other stuff.

We just booked yesterday and are at the Kairaba which seems to be the flashest hotel but we fancied a treat.

Anyway it'd be interesting to know how you get on and any info would be appreicated when you get back re. what to avoid and what not to miss etc.

Cheers

Steve

Kev_turbo

Just got back (Saturday morning) and had a fairly good time. Some points to note for future travellers.

1. There is a seriously corrupt govenment in at the moment, fuel prices have doubled since xmas 2002 making the taxis a bit pricy.
2. We never used one of the local approved guides, our taxi driver acted as a free guide as long as we used his cab (an old 1970's merc deisel that stopped recording milage in 1990 according to the driver at 374,502KM!!!!!!!)
3. The croc pool is good, not where you would expect it.
4. The monkeys are worth a visit but watch for the timeshare people
5. The locals will take anything. You can barter with socks, t-shirts, trainers, caps, deodorant, shampoo, empty water bottles, pens........
6. You get given loads of addresses and asked for your own. Do not give out your own, it has been known for Gambians to turn up at your door unannounced.
7. Visit treasure island and see how they grow the acres of 'English flower'
8. Take loads of reading material, there isn't a lot to do unless the hotel puts something on. When we ate out if you were still in the place after 10.00 all the staff were making it pretty obvious they were ready for home.
9. It is bloody hot, drink loads of water. The local water is heavy in chlorine but safe to drink (will whiten your teeth). You can just fill a bottle and leave the cap loose for a couple of hours and the chlorine will evaporate.
10. Banjul market is an experience, don't go after just eating and don't expect to want to eat when you leave there.
11. The biggest choice in resteraunts is in Senagambia.
12. Enjoy the one and only set of traffic lights in the gambia as well as both cash machines (VISA ONLY) though be aware they do sometimes crash and can be down for more than a day before becoming live again.

Enjoy yourself.

Kev

Kev_turbo

Forgot to say, exchange rate with the locals is 39dalasis to the pound. loads better than the hotels/banks etc. Look for the people with calculators but watch when they count to money to you and check it. There was a bloke who exchanged £100 and was given his money in 25D notes. The bloke counted it to him while a kid was tuggin on his t-shirt to distract him.

Also the biggest note is the D100 (£2.50) and the slightly older money stinks as the locals keep it in there shoes/socks.

Kev

P.s just looked at the map. You are in the best place for entertainment/food/beer. Try the african queen, meal for 2 including 2 rounds of beer - D310 (£7)

Luke

Good luck...

Leslie

Have a great time Kev.

One tip-if you order bottled water in a restaurant, make sure the bottle is sealed when you get it-they have been known to refill bottles with tap water and the result does not bear thinking about!

Les