Gambia Local Tourist Guide

The Gambian tourist industry is dominated by the big boys. Even the ex pats running the fishing trips are beholden to the big tour operators for their bookings, and they get paid a fraction of the fee you might pay having booked it in the hotel. It is only recently that you could find a flight with an airline that was not booked through Gambia Experience or Thompsons. Those tourists wishing to go it alone, or local guides who wanted to provde a more local tour find it more problematic.

There is room for all levels of organisation in the holiday industry and thank god that the internet has enabled us all to chose the type of holiday we want. With that in mind let me direct you to Abdul Ramon Conteh who runs Abduls Safari tours Mr Conteh has been able to get his ground operator license through working in partnership with a Dutch company to form the Arch Tours, specialising in the sorts of trips you would want to go on if you really wanted to see Gambia. The best thing about it is that you will not feel like you are part of a herd; these are small trips in jeeps or a mini bus at its biggest, led by local drivers and guides, and with the flexibility to change the time of the toilet stop, and not waste time getting 40 people their chosen drink in the cafe. You wont be sitting on the bus waiting for evryone taking their time on the toilet break. I know we are all tourists, but just as with everything else in life, we like to do things in different ways.

The tours themselves are very well thought out and just the sort of trips you would take guests on if they were visiting you; the ferry trip to Barra and then Senegal for another stamp in your passport, the slavery tour and the river trips. If you dont do anything else with your trip to the Gambia, please do the "4 tours in 1 day" Its all possible because you are not part if a big group, trouping on and off coaches and waiting for other people. You will see so much of the Gambia as well as taking in all the local sites of interest, ending with a couple of hours on the beautiful, no-one for miles, Paradise Beach. Really, you need never leave the hotel again once you've done this trip. Although once you've got the tatse for it?

GAMBIA TRIPS OUT Bakau Fish Market

This is the view from the end of the beach looking back at the market. There are big rocks to sit on while you wait for the boats to come in, then go pick your fish and watch the experts fillet

For those of you who know, this is a beautiful view of Bakau Fish Market and Bakau Lodge isn't it? Bakau Fish Market is not necessarily the first trip out I would recommend. When you first leave the air conditioning and waiter service you want something like the monkey park, or a taxi to Sanyang beach, where someone else can wait on you and you dont need aircon. But at some stage you must go there.

Please dont go to the Gambia and stay in, even if your tour operator says you should. They only want to keep you spending in their shops and at their bar. I prefer to spread my holiday a bit further than Thompsons bank account, especially when in Africa.Someone said that money is like manure; spread it around and it does a wonderful job, but leave it all in a pile and it will stink. Well a small amount goes a long way in Africa and if you cant spread a few quid every day while youre there you may as well go to Blackpool. But you have chosen the Gambia so go and have a look at it. You could be on that beach anywhere, why go all that way and stay in the hotel?

Bakau is one of my favourite places. I do self catering just so that I can go to the fish market and chose tea for the family. Be it barracuda, mackeral or butterfish or a massive bag of prawns, its like being Nigella or Jamie in my Cape Point kitchen, with all the different types of fresh fish and vegetables. One day it may be Bouillebaise, another thai prawns, and have you ever tried barracuda curry. You could never justify buying such produce in the UK. Someone would say "How Much? imagine what that could buy in Africa"

We like fishing too. My family fishes from a small local boat, with life jackets, and I wait on the beach or having a coffee in the Bakau Ldge balcony overlooking the market.The big freezers you can see at the start of the pier have every sort of fish you may want to try but butterfish is our favourite. ..You may feel a little hassled at the market if you go there on your first trip out. The fishermen and the filletters are all eager to help. Just be certain of what you want. If they are offering a tour of the market, definitely go because you will learn so much; which bits of the fish are sent to Japan, which type to Ghana, even a couple of recipes. They will need a tip, just like anywhere else in the world. Be fair. What was that hours private tour worth to you, and how much would you pay in Sainsbury's? Be careful with your video cameras. This is a working place and people dont necessarily want to be filmed at length. Once you have been there once, you will be known and feel well looked after.......

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