An editorial note before you read (updated 2026): this is an interview I ran back in 2017 with my friend Giampaolo, a fellow member of my sailing club, who lived and worked in Dakar for years. His account is a valuable first-hand portrait of the country, but it is of its time, so a few updates for anyone planning a trip now. Senegal held a peaceful, much-praised democratic transition in 2024, when Bassirou Diomaye Faye was elected president, and it remains one of West Africa’s more stable democracies. That said, politics has stayed lively: there has been renewed tension in 2026 between the president and his prime minister, and protests in Dakar can still turn violent, so avoid demonstrations. Petty crime (pickpocketing, bag-snatching, scams) is common in the capital, and the Casamance region in the south, though calm in its main tourist areas, still has separatist and landmine issues away from the main roads. Dakar is now served by the Blaise Diagne International Airport (AIBD), opened in 2017, about 45 km south-east of the city. As always, check your own government’s current travel advice before you book. Now, over to Giampaolo.
My friend Giampaolo is, above all, a sailor, we belong to the same sailing club, Vento in Poppa, and he is a great traveller too. He spent years going back and forth to Senegal, and since the country is on my own list, I sat him down to ask for the information and tips I would want for my own trip. If Senegal is on your radar, or even if it never has been, I think his account will help.
Tell me about yourself. What do you do?
I have worked in renewable energy for about ten years, consulting for large manufacturers and investors on photovoltaic projects around the world. For several years I have worked and lived for long stretches in Senegal, where I have an ongoing series of projects.
How long have you spent there?
Since April 2013. I first went as a project leader for an Italian NGO, finishing a three-year computer-training programme and building a laboratory for a technical high school in Guediawaye, a suburb of Dakar. The following year we added a photovoltaic system to make the school energy-independent and give the students hands-on experience of renewables, a skill they can carry into work. After that I continued as a consultant on large solar projects, which is what I still do. I no longer live in Dakar full-time, but I am there for two or three weeks every couple of months.
What was your first impression of Senegal?
That it is a warm, welcoming country whose great asset is its people, and their gift for sociability and for sharing everyday life. Dakar is a bustling, lively, rather polluted city, and generally safe, with a big foreign community (we call ourselves expats; the Senegalese call us toubab, a mildly teasing word for white people).
How is your relationship with the country and its people?
Warm, overall. The Senegalese are sociable and open, used to living side by side, tolerant, peaceable, with a real talent for taking pleasure in life and not fretting about tomorrow. I will be honest that, working here, I have sometimes found the flip side of that relaxed pace frustrating in a professional context, deadlines and administration do not always run the way I am used to. As a visitor rather than someone trying to run projects to a schedule, though, you are far more likely to experience the easygoing warmth than the frustration.
What do you like best?
The joie de vivre of the people, their warmth and generosity. Dakar has everything, fun, opportunity, a lively art and music scene. There are only a few clean beaches, but you can swim almost year-round, which is why I chose a house fifty metres from the sea. And within a few hours of the city you reach beautiful places that feel a thousand miles from it: classic African landscapes, waterways, the slow rhythm of village life.
And least?
The disorganisation, the bureaucracy and the inefficiency in public affairs, and above all the pollution and the chaotic waste management. And, sometimes, being seen first as a wallet, a white man who ought to hand out money, though that is a small part of the picture and easy to understand given the inequalities involved.
How should someone approach a first trip to Senegal?
The way you should approach any trip: with a blank slate. No fixed ideas, no expectations, no ready-made images. Let the place imprint itself on you as directly as possible, not naively, but with open, curious eyes, and take your time afterwards to reflect on what you have seen.
What would you recommend for a first two-week trip?
Dakar deserves three or four days: the Plateau, the lively centre, with the Kermel and Sandaga markets; the IFAN Museum; the island of Gorée, with its wrenching history of the slave trade; the island of Ngor; the vast African Renaissance Monument (not to my taste, but it has become a symbol of the city); the Grande Mosquée; the Mamelles lighthouse for the view; Pointe des Almadies, the westernmost point of mainland Africa; the beaches of Yoff and Mamelles; and the Soumbédioune fish market.
Then leave the city: a detour to the Lac Rose (the pink lake), and south to the Sine-Saloum, a lovely maze of saltwater channels, islands and mangroves, reaching the village of Ndangane and taking a pirogue to Mar Lodj. On the way, the Bandia reserve is worth a stop for wildlife you will not otherwise see.
The most rewarding region is Casamance, in the far south beyond the Gambia, near the Guinea-Bissau border: Cap Skirring, the channels of the Casamance delta, the island of Carabane, and the regional capital Ziguinchor. (A present-day note from me, Silvia: do check current advice for Casamance, as some areas away from the main roads still have security issues.) With more time you can reach Tambacounda and the Niokolo-Koba national park. To the north lies Saint-Louis, a faded colonial town with its famous bridge and the Langue de Barbarie sand spit, and, on the road, the desert dunes of Lompoul, with their music festival. For a glimpse of the Mouride brotherhood, the holy city of Touba is extraordinary during the Grand Magal pilgrimage.
Anything else?
The food. The national dish is thieboudienne (rice and fish), a rich plate of rice, smoked fish (usually grouper), vegetables and a palm-oil or peanut sauce, with variants of meat or chicken. Try also yassa poulet (chicken in onion sauce), the African couscous, mafé (a peanut stew), and soupou kandia (a strong seafood and okra soup). Fish and rice are the base of nearly every meal.
Which of your past trips did you love most?
Yemen, a place out of time, the mud cities of Shibam and Seiyun, the Hadhramaut desert, the Sana’a market. Peru, the Andes, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca. And Jerusalem, which you simply have to feel for yourself.
And your next trip?
If time and budget were no object, northern India, Tibet and Bhutan; and the far south of Argentina, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. More likely, though, Cape Verde, since a friend and I have just bought a sailing boat and I still have to get aboard and sail her.
Practical information
- Entry: most nationalities (including the UK, EU, US) need only a passport valid for at least six months, with no visa, for short stays, but confirm current rules for your country before travel.
- Getting there: several European airlines fly to Dakar’s Blaise Diagne airport; routes and carriers change, so compare current options.
- Health: a travel-health clinic is the right place to plan this, not a blog. Yellow fever vaccination is commonly advised (and sometimes required depending on your route), along with hepatitis A and B, typhoid and other standard jabs, and malaria prophylaxis; the choice of antimalarial and its side effects vary from person to person, so get personalised medical advice well before you go.
- Official advice: always check your government’s travel advisory, for example the UK FCDO’s Senegal page, for the current security picture.
Bon voyage.
Frequently asked questions
Senegal is one of West Africa’s more stable democracies and held a peaceful transfer of power in 2024, and it is generally considered safe for tourists, who are rarely targets of violent crime. However, petty crime is common in Dakar, protests can turn violent (avoid them), and the Casamance region has some security issues away from main roads. Check your government’s current travel advice before booking.
Most nationalities, including the UK, EU and US, do not need a visa for short tourist stays and only require a passport valid for at least six months. Rules can change, so confirm the current requirements for your nationality before you travel.
Highlights include Dakar (Gorée Island and its slave-trade history, the IFAN Museum, the markets, Pointe des Almadies), the pink Lac Rose, the mangroves of the Sine-Saloum delta, the colonial town of Saint-Louis, and, for those with time and up-to-date safety advice, the lush Casamance region in the south around Cap Skirring and Ziguinchor.
Senegalese cuisine is excellent and centred on fish and rice. The national dish is thieboudienne (fish, rice and vegetables in a rich sauce); other favourites include yassa poulet (chicken in onion and lemon sauce), mafé (peanut stew) and soupou kandia (a seafood and okra soup). Meals are typically shared, in keeping with the country’s culture of hospitality.
The cooler, dry season from around November to May is the most comfortable time to visit, avoiding the humid rainy season (roughly June to October). November is also when several festivals and pilgrimages take place. Coastal Dakar is mild much of the year thanks to the Atlantic.
Further reading
- Official security and entry information: the UK FCDO’s Senegal travel advice
- More traveller interviews: a hiking trip to Nepal and Izabal, the hidden paradise of Guatemala
