Dakar, Senegal Port Reviews

After a sightseeing drive through town, we stopped for a visit at the Cathedral and passed by the Great Mosque. We took photos of the University of Dakar before stopping for a presentation of sand painting - a good place to pick up art work for souvenirs. Another place is the Soumbedioune Handicraft Village. As you drive along the coastal road see a huge contrast between poor residential areas and more upscale ones. Stop at the impressive African Renaissance Monument & climb to the top for a magnificent view of the surrounding area. Take a photo of the nearby lighthouse. There are small vendor at the base of the statue. The Deity Mosque is a worthwhile visit. After a buffet lunch under a tent in the sand and a live show performance, we changed to 4x4s for a 1 1/2 hr. tour of the Pink Lake of Retba. Workers gather the crust of salt at the bottom of the lake & the local women carry it out from the boats in baskets on their heads to sell it to salt companies. The lake is surrounded by foam and the pink color is quite unusual. Our visit to the Fulani Village out in the bush was unbelievable. The chief gave us a tour of the small community and we all felt a desire to leave a donation to help the villagers. Most of us found something to buy, too. They had so little but were happy people.

Visited: Jan 04, 2018

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This is not a very pretty port but I am glad we got to experience it. We did the included excursion.

Visited: Nov 13, 2019

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Unable to stop for pictures at a lot of the places, but tour guide was good and took us to a sand painting craft market.

Visited: Oct 23, 2016

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Again, take a ship tour. Immigration was late 2 hours to clear the ship and traffic was the worst we had seen anywhere in the world. In spite of that, the tour was interesting and we really enjoyed ourself.

The museums in West Africa are of minimal interest. Monument to African Renaissance is worth seeing. Lots of poor people and poor construction. No sense of how neighborhoods work. It all seems a jumble.

Descent port but not much to see.

Can’t walk out from the port. Have to use port shuttle.

Walked to market. Went to Goree island independently - very interesting.