If you look at a map of where we run our trips, you will notice that there are waterways everywhere. The Sine Saloum delta and the Casamance are particularly blue when looking at the region from above. There are plenty of bridges and causeways over the smaller rivers and mangroves, but in some cases, we actually hop on a boat, bikes and all.

A few of the boats are large ferries, capable of transporting vehicles and cargo. But many of them are smaller pirogues and pinasses, local wooden boats that fishermen have been building for centuries.

Below are a few of the water crossings on our trips.

After cruising through the salt flats south of Fatick, we arrive at the Foundiougne crossing.

You’d think that it would be a hassle to cross a river with a heap of scooters, but the boatman is always unfazed. In a few minutes, all the bikes are loaded on and we are ready to go.

The following day, we typically cross into the Gambia. This involves taking a considerably larger boat. This ferry takes us across the Gambia river from Bara to the capital Banjul, where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean.

After a couple of days in the Gambia, we have our most adventurous water crossing, a canoe ride across the Halahine River, which takes us into the Casamance, Senegal’s southern territory.

While the bikes are loaded up and transported across, we can sit and enjoy a cold beer or a fresh squeezed orange juice from Aisha’s bar, a beach shack on the side of the river.

The actual crossing takes just a few minutes as the river is not very wide.

There is no shortage of water once we get into the Casamance. Just have a look at the map on the maps.me application:

Depending on the tides, there are different trips we do into the mangroves and on the Casamance River, where we have a great chance of seeing dolphins, flamingoes and sometimes crocodiles! We also do a beach ride at one point or another, which is always a highlight of the trip.

Getting deeper into the mangroves before emerging near the island of Carabane in the Casamance River.

On the beaches of Casamance. Photo taken by client Matt Schinske.

Finally, at the end of our trip we take the overnight ferry from Ziguinchor back to Dakar. On this ferry, we have our own private cabins with individual beds and a bathroom. On the upper deck, we get to enjoy riverside scenes with a cold beverage in hand. We are almost guaranteed to see dolphins surfing in the wake of the boat and plenty of birdlife as the ferry heads out to sea.

Photo taken by client Matt Schinske 

All of this is included in our 8 day trip. Of course, there are even more water adventures that await when we head further south on the 10-day or 2-week trip to Guinea-Bissau, or the epic Coast to Coast trip!