Every Caviar in the Air itinerary follows the same idea: travel slowly, sleep somewhere beautiful, and balance the heavy days with the joyful ones. Senegal is no different. This Senegal travel itinerary is the week exactly as our group trip runs it, from the first night in Dakar to the last breakfast on the Petite Côte.
What should a week in Senegal include? Give Dakar five nights, with a morning on Gorée Island, the Museum of Black Civilizations, the Medina market and a free day to rest. Add the Bandia Reserve safari and the Pink Lake at Lac Rose, then finish with two nights by the ocean in Saly and a stop at the shell island of Joal-Fadiouth on the way.
Key facts
- Best months: November through May, the dry season.
- Getting there: Delta flies nonstop from New York (JFK) to Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS), 45 minutes to an hour from Dakar.
- Entry: visa-free for U.S. citizens for up to 90 days so far, with a reciprocal e-visa announced in 2025, so check before you book (as of October 2026).
- Where to stay: five nights at the Noom Blu Hôtel in Dakar, then two nights at the Mövenpick Resort Lamantin Saly on the coast.
- Caviar trip:The Senegal Experience, 8 days, April 9 to 16, 2027 and April 7 to 14, 2028.
| Day | Where | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dakar | Welcome dinner with local wine |
| 2 | Gorée Island and Dakar | The ferry to Gorée, then the Medina market |
| 3 | Dakar | The Great Mosque, the Museum of Black Civilizations, the African Renaissance Monument |
| 4 | Bandia and Lac Rose | Safari, lunch with wine, the Pink Lake by 4x4 |
| 5 | Dakar | A free day |
| 6 | Joal-Fadiouth to Saly | Shell Island, then the beach resort |
| 7 | Saly | A free day by the sea, farewell dinner |
| 8 | Saly to DSS | Last breakfast, private transfer |
Day 1: Arrival in Dakar, Teranga Begins
Photo: Simone Santos (@sithevision) for Caviar in the Air
Accommodation: Noom Blu Hôtel, Dakar (nights 1 to 5)
Plan to arrive at Blaise Diagne (DSS) before 3 PM. A driver meets you with your name on a sign, and the drive into Dakar takes 45 minutes to an hour, with baobabs and market stalls in the window and then, finally, the Atlantic.
Check in, drop your bags and give yourself a couple of hours. At seven the group goes out for the welcome dinner at a Dakar restaurant. You choose your own appetizer, entrée and dessert, and bottled water and two glasses of local wine come with it. Casual attire. This is the night the strangers stop being strangers.
Meals included: welcome dinner
Day 2: Gorée Island and the Medina
Photo: Simone Santos (@sithevision) for Caviar in the Air
Morning: Buffet breakfast at the hotel, then the ferry out to Gorée Island, with the crossing both ways included. Gorée is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a departure point of the transatlantic slave trade. It isn't a light morning, and it isn't meant to be. Take the time you need at the House of Slaves.
Midday: Back on the mainland for lunch at the Noom Blu.
Afternoon: A private tour of the Medina market, for local artwork, fabric and whatever else finds you.
Evening: Yours. Dinner tonight isn't included, so the concierge can hold a table for you, or you can stay in with the ocean.
Meals included: breakfast, lunch
Day 3: The Mosque, the Museum and the Monument
Photo: Simone Santos (@sithevision) for Caviar in the Air
Morning: The Great Mosque of Massalikoul Djinane, then the Museum of Black Civilizations. It opened in 2018, with 14,000 square meters of artifacts and exhibits tracing African civilizations from ancient times to now. Dress conservatively for the mosque (coverings are available there if you need one).
Midday: Lunch at a family-run restaurant for real Senegalese cooking.
Afternoon: The African Renaissance Monument, more than 160 feet of bronze: a man, a woman and a child with their arms out toward the Atlantic.
Evening: Yours again.
Meals included: breakfast, lunch
Day 4: Bandia Safari and the Pink Lake
Photo: Simone Santos (@sithevision) for Caviar in the Air
Morning: An early breakfast, then about an hour out to the Bandia Reserve for a safari among giraffes, zebras, rhinos, giant elands and whatever else the morning brings.
Midday: A three-course lunch with wine at the restaurant inside the reserve.
Afternoon: Lac Rose, the Pink Lake, explored by 4x4 along the shoreline. Salt and algae turn the water rose, and the color is strongest on bright dry-season days.
Photo: Simone Santos (@sithevision) for Caviar in the Air
Wear all white if you want the photos everyone comes home with.
Meals included: breakfast, lunch
Day 5: A Free Day in Dakar
Nothing is scheduled. Sleep in, swim, book the spa, or go back to the part of Dakar you didn't finish. The concierge can reserve a table or a treatment for you on the Q&A chat. You've earned a day that asks nothing of you.
Meals included: breakfast
Day 6: Shell Island and on to Saly
Accommodation: Mövenpick Resort Lamantin Saly (nights 6 and 7)
Check out after breakfast and drive south. On the way you stop at Joal-Fadiouth, the shell island, where the ground itself is built from centuries of shells and Christian and Muslim families share the same small streets. Lunch is at a seaside restaurant in Saly, with fresh seafood and a view.
Then check in at the Lamantin, where the pool, the sand and the rest of the week are waiting. Dinner tonight is at the hotel.
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 7: A Slow Day by the Sea
Breakfast on the beach, and then the day is yours: the infinity pool over the Atlantic, the spa, the private beach, kayaks and paddleboards, tennis or the bar. Book spa treatments ahead.
At seven the group comes back together for the farewell dinner by the sea. It's the one everybody remembers, so save room and raise a glass of bubbles to the week.
Meals included: breakfast, farewell dinner
Day 8: Departure, Until We Return
A last breakfast at the Lamantin, then time on the Petite Côte for a swim or the last of the souvenir shopping. Your private transfer takes you to DSS, with departures any time after 8 AM.
You leave Senegal understanding West Africa a little better, with a phone full of photos and one Wolof word on your lips: Jërëjëf (thank you).
Meals included: breakfast
What's Included
- Airport meet and greet on arrival in Dakar
- 5 nights at the Noom Blu Hôtel, Dakar
- 2 nights at the Mövenpick Resort Lamantin Saly
- Daily breakfast at both hotels
- Welcome dinner in Dakar: three courses with bottled water and two glasses of local wine
- Gorée Island, with the ferry crossing both ways
- Lunch at the hotel on Gorée Island day
- Private tour of the Medina market
- The Great Mosque of Massalikoul Djinane and the Museum of Black Civilizations
- Lunch at a family-run Senegalese restaurant in Dakar
- The African Renaissance Monument
- Bandia Reserve safari with a three-course lunch and wine
- Lac Rose, the Pink Lake, explored by 4x4
- A free day in Dakar and a free day on the coast
- Shell Island tour at Joal-Fadiouth with lunch
- Dinner and the farewell dinner at the beach resort in Saly
- All ground transportation, transfers and the private departure transfer
What's Not Included
- International airfare
- Travel medical insurance (required)
- Dinners on days 2, 3, 4 and 5 (those evenings are your own)
- Lunch on the two free days and on departure day
- Tips for guides and drivers
- Visa fees
- Personal expenses
Optional Add-Ons
- Spa treatments at either hotel, arranged by the concierge
- Dinner reservations on your free evenings in Dakar
- A guided lion walk at a private reserve, a full day out and back
Add-on pricing is shared once you have booked the trip, and the concierge confirms the cost before anything is reserved.
Dates and Booking (as of October 2026)
- April 9 to 16, 2027
- April 7 to 14, 2028
- Deposit: $299 holds your spot
Dates and pricing live on our booking page. For hotels, food and visas, my Senegal travel guide covers the practical side, what to wear in Senegal covers the packing, and what nobody tells you about Dakar covers the emotional side.
Want Saint-Louis Too? Ideas for a Private Extension
The group trip stays around Dakar and the Petite Côte. If you'd like more of the country, these are lovely to add on a private trip before or after the group dates:
- Saint-Louis, the UNESCO-listed former capital of French West Africa, about four hours north. Wrought-iron balconies, the Faidherbe Bridge, the painted pirogues of Guet Ndar, and a jazz festival most years around May.
- A home-hosted Teranga dinner with a Senegalese family, with shared bowls and stories traded across languages.
- A fully catered stay, if you'd rather every lunch and dinner be arranged for you.
Booking
View the Senegal trip → · Book a consultation →
Our Senegal experience is available as both a group trip and a private bespoke trip.
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Dakar, Gorée Island & Saly, Senegal
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Itinerary
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Itinerary