Gambia River Discovery: Banjul, Kunta Kinteh Island & Makasutu Culture Forest – 7 Days

Tour Overview

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Banjul

Arrive at Banjul International Airport (BJL). Your English-speaking guide welcomes you with traditional Gambian hospitality. Transfer to your hotel in the Senegambia area or Kololi beach strip. Afternoon at leisure to relax by the pool or walk along the Atlantic beaches. Evening welcome dinner featuring domoda (peanut stew) and benechin (Jollof rice), Gambia’s national dishes.

Accommodation: Senegambia Beach Hotel or similar (4-star)

Meals: Dinner

Day 2: Banjul City Tour

Full-day exploration of Banjul, The Gambia’s compact capital on St. Mary’s Island at the mouth of the Gambia River. Visit the National Museum with its excellent ethnographic and historical collections, the bustling Albert Market (one of West Africa’s most colorful markets), Arch 22 (climb to the top for panoramic views of the city, river, and mangroves), and the King Fahad Mosque. Afternoon visit to a batik and tie-dye factory to watch traditional textile artisans at work. Stop at the Kachikally Sacred Crocodile Pool in Bakau, where you can touch live Nile crocodiles believed to possess healing powers. Evening explore the craft market at Senegambia.

Accommodation: Senegambia Beach Hotel or similar

Meals: Breakfast

Day 3: Abuko Nature Reserve & Brikama

Early morning visit to Abuko Nature Reserve, The Gambia’s oldest protected area (1968) and one of West Africa’s best small wildlife reserves. Guided walk through gallery forest, savannah, and wetlands. Spot red colobus monkeys, green vervet monkeys, patas monkeys, bushbucks, crocodiles at the pool, and over 270 bird species including the violet turaco and African paradise flycatcher. The animal orphanage rehabilitates rescued hyenas, primates, and antelopes. Lunch break, then continue to Brikama, The Gambia’s second-largest city and center of wood carving. Visit the Brikama Wood Carving Market to watch master craftsmen create masks, drums, and sculptures from mahogany and teak. Optional visit to Brikama’s renowned music school, home of Gambian kora (21-string harp) tradition.

Accommodation: Senegambia Beach Hotel or similar

Meals: Breakfast

Day 4: Roots Journey – Juffureh, Kunta Kinteh Island & Albreda

The emotional heart of the tour. Early morning drive to Barra, then cross the Gambia River by ferry to the North Bank. Arrive at Juffureh village, made famous by Alex Haley’s book and TV series “Roots.” Be welcomed by the Kinteh family compound and meet Grandma Karafa Kinteh, a 7th-generation descendant of Kunta Kinteh who shares the family’s oral history and the story of Kunta Kinteh’s capture in 1767.

Board a pirogue to Kunta Kinteh Island (formerly James Island), a UNESCO World Heritage site. Explore the ruins of Fort James, built by the British in 1651 and used as a holding station for enslaved Africans before shipment across the Atlantic. The island’s crumbling walls, slave dungeons, and cannon emplacements tell a devastating story. Continue to Albreda village to visit the excellent Slave Trade Museum housed in an 18th-century British trading building, and see the Portuguese chapel and the French colonial flagpole (CFAO building). Return to Banjul in the evening. Group discussion and reflection over dinner.

Accommodation: Senegambia Beach Hotel or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 5: Makasutu Culture Forest

Full day at Makasutu Culture Forest, a 1,000-hectare private reserve of palm forest, mangrove creeks, savannah, and sand banks along the Mandina Bolong tributary of the Gambia River. Makasutu means Holy Forest in Mandinka. Morning guided bush walk through diverse ecosystems spotting baboons, monitor lizards, and over 250 bird species. Canoe ride through narrow mangrove channels to spot kingfishers and bee-eaters. Meet the local Mandinka community living harmoniously within the forest, learn about traditional palm wine tapping, and watch a demonstration of oyster harvesting from mangrove roots. Lunch at the forest’s eco-lodge. Afternoon visit to a nearby Mandinka village for a cultural performance of drumming, dancing, and a staged traditional wrestling match (Senegambian wrestling is the national sport). Optional palm wine tasting.

Accommodation: Mandina Lodges at Makasutu or return to Senegambia Beach Hotel

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 6: Gambia River Cruise & Tanji Fishing Village

Morning cruise on the Gambia River aboard a comfortable motorized pirogue. Sail through the wide estuary where the river meets the Atlantic, frequently spotting Atlantic bottlenose dolphins playing in the bow wake. Look for ospreys diving for fish and monitor lizards basking on mangrove roots. Disembark at a riverside village for a traditional attaya (green tea) ceremony.

Afternoon visit to Tanji Fishing Village and the Tanji Bird Reserve. Tanji is The Gambia’s largest artisanal fishing center where scores of colorful pirogues land their catch daily. Watch the noisy, energetic fish-smoking yards where women process bonga shad on traditional smoking racks. Walk along Tanji beach to the lagoon where terns, gulls, and waders gather. Evening farewell dinner with live kora music at a beachfront restaurant. Reflect on the week’s journey.

Accommodation: Senegambia Beach Hotel or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7: Departure

Morning at leisure for beach time, souvenir shopping at Senegambia craft market, or optional visit to the Bijilo Forest Park (Monkey Park) for close encounters with habituated green vervet monkeys and red colobus monkeys. Afternoon transfer to Banjul International Airport for departure.

Meals: Breakfast

What’s Included

• 6 nights hotel accommodation (4-star beachfront)
• Daily breakfast, 3 lunches, 2 dinners
• All transfers by private air-conditioned vehicle
• Ferry crossing to North Bank (Barra)
• Pirogue to Kunta Kinteh Island
• Gambia River dolphin cruise
• Professional English-speaking guide throughout
• Entrance fees to all sites: Kunta Kinteh Island, Albreda Museum, Abuko Nature Reserve, Makasutu Culture Forest, National Museum, Arch 22, Kachikally Crocodile Pool
• Mandinka village cultural visit and performance
• Airport transfers

What’s Not Included

• International flights to/from Banjul
• Travel insurance (required)
• Gambia visa (check requirements for your nationality)
• Personal expenses, tips, and gratuities
• Alcoholic beverages
• Optional Bijilo Forest Park (Monkey Park) entry fee ($5)
• Items of a personal nature