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Travel and Tourism in Senegal
Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Senegal.
Practical Information
Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.
- Travel Alert Status
- Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions
- Time Difference
- UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Climate
- Senegal has two well-defined seasons: northeasterly winds produce the cool, dry winter season (November to June) and southwesterly winds produce the hot, humid summer (July to October). During winter, Dakar days are invariably sunny with temperatures between 63 and 80° F. During summer, the average temperature is 86° F to 96° F with high humidity. Beginning in January, the harmattan brings dust and sand from the Sahara Desert for 2 or 3 months. Between July and October, Dakar receives 16 - 20 inches of rainfall. Precipitation increases farther south, exceeding 60 inches in parts of the Casamance Region in the southern part of the country. Typically, Senegal is considered a dry, almost desert country with a pleasant climate along the coast and much higher temperatures inland.
- Ethnic Groups
- Wolof 43.3%, Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4%
- National Holiday
- Independence Day, 4 April (1960)
- Geographic Coordinates
- 14 00 N, 14 00 W
- Location
- Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania
- Airports
- 20
Destinations
Regions and cities, top sights, national parks, UNESCO sites, and festivals for visitors.
Regions and Cities
Things to See and Do
The range of experiences available to visitors in Senegal is remarkable and continues to expand as the country's tourism infrastructure develops. From the sobering historical sites that bear witness to the horrors of the slave trade, to the wild landscapes of national parks teeming with wildlife, to the vibrant arts scene of Dakar and the sacred spaces of Sufi Islam, Senegal offers an almost inexhaustible variety of things to see and do.
Gorée Island, accessible by a short ferry ride from Dakar's port, is the single most visited tourist site in Senegal and one of the most emotionally affecting sites anywhere in Africa. The island, which measures barely 900 by 300 meters, served as a significant point in the transatlantic slave trade, and the Maison des Esclaves, or House of Slaves, is its most famous building.
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Health and Safety
Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.
Several hospitals and clinics in the capital, Dakar, can treat major and minor injuries and illnesses; however, medical facilities outside Dakar are extremely limited. These facilities are not prepared to handle major injuries. There is inadequate inpatient psychiatric care and limited office-based psychiatric treatment in Dakar. French medications are far more readily available than U.S. pharmaceuticals, and drugs in stock are often listed under the French trade name.
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