Senegal Travel Advice

General travel information for Senegal

Continent: Africa

Geographical location: Between the Pacific and Atlantic at the widest point of the Central American land bridge

Highest elevation: No name (581 m above sea level)

Longest river: Senegal River (1086 km)

Form of government: Republic System of

Government: Presidential democracy

Languages: French

Neighboring countries: Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania

Capital: Dakar

Area: Approx. 196,722 km²

Residents: Approx. 15,850,000 people (2018)

Population density: 81 residents per km²

Religions: About 94% Muslim, 4% Christian and 1% members of traditional beliefs

Currency: CFA franc (XOF 1 Euro is about 656 XOF The latest exchange rates to our holiday destinations, see. Oanda.com

Travel Climate: tropical climate with dry and Rainy season

Time zone: UTC ± 0

Area code: +221

Country code: SN, SEN, 686

Electricity: In Senegal, sockets of type C, D, E and K are used. The mains voltage is 230 V at 50 Hz change interval.

Check a2zdirectory for old history of Senegal and agooddir for modern history of Senegal.

Travel climate in Senegal

The climate in Senegal is characterized by a pronounced alternation between dry and rainy seasons, which is caused by the dry north-east trade winds and the humid air masses of the West African monsoons. During the summer months, the monsoons penetrate north. In the south there is heavy rain from April to October while in the north there are only isolated showers. Temperatures are between 22-27 degrees in winter and over 40 degrees at the end of the dry season. It is only humid for a short time in March and April when the rainy season sets in.

The approximately 500 km long Atlantic coast of Senegal is characterized by the meeting of the cool Canary Current, the warm equatorial current and cold upwelling water. The Canary Current dominates in the dry season between December and April. The water temperature of the Canary Current, which is below 20 ° C, and the cold upwelling water make the Senegalese coast a cold water coast in the winter months. In the rainy season between June and November, however, the equatorial current dominates with water temperatures of 27–28 ° C.

Culture and sights in Senegal

The culture in Senegal is a mixture of traditional tribal culture and Muslim customs. The national holidays are mainly Muslim holidays. One of the most important of them is the Maouloud, the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed. However, everything is colorful and loud, with lots of music and dance. For all the peoples of Senegal, music, combined with dance and storytelling, is the most important form of artistic expression. Traditionally, music is made by qualified singers, using percussion and string instruments. The most important instruments are the xalam, riti or kora, which actually comes from neighboring Mali. The drum tama, shaped like an hourglass and tucked under the arm, is the most common percussion instrument.

The most important sports in Senegal today include soccer and Senegalese wrestling.

The cultural landscapes of the Bassari, Fula and Bedik are located in three inaccessible mountainous regions in the Kédougou region in southeast Senegal. They were included in the UNESCO World Heritage as Bassari Land because there the land use and settlement patterns, the traditional architecture, the sacred forests and sanctuaries together with the ancestral agricultural and social practices, rituals, beliefs and the traditional formation of the ethnic groups contributed to it have to permanently secure human settlement through the respectful and sustainable handling of scarce resources. The residents have preserved original customs in agricultural, social, ritual and spiritual terms, which are sustainably adapted to the given environmental conditions.

Holidays in Senegal

Holiday	date
New Year	January 1st
Tabaski (Festival of Sacrifice)	In January / February
Tamkarit (Islamic New Year)	In February
Easter	In March / April
National Day / Independence Day	4. April
Birthday of the Prophet Mohammed	April May
Labor Day	1st of May
Ascension of Christ	In May
Pentecost	In May / June
Assumption Day	15th of August
Senegalese Riflemen Day	August 23
All Saints’ Day	1st of November
Korité (end of Ramadan)	November December
Christmas	25 December

Medical information for Senegal

For legal reasons, we as a tour operator are not allowed to communicate any binding medical information for Senegal and therefore refer to the information provided by the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Robert Koch Institute and the German Society for Tropical Medicine and International Health.

Travel advice for Senegal

You can obtain current travel and safety information, information on entering and leaving the country, as well as special criminal information and recommendations for your stay in Senegal from the German Foreign Office.