Beaches in Senegal
2 beaches · 2 beach worlds
Seven hundred kilometres of Atlantic coast where the cold Canary Current meets tropical water, so the sea is cooler than the latitude implies and the fishing is among the richest in the Atlantic — the pirogues drawn up on these beaches are an economy rather than a photograph, and the fish market on the sand at Soumbédioune or Kayar is what a working beach looks like. The coast divides in three. The north around Saint-Louis is dune and desert edge, with the Senegal river mouth and a colonial town on an island in it. The Cap-Vert peninsula holds Dakar, the westernmost point of mainland Africa, and the surf breaks that come with an exposed headland. The Casamance in the south, separated from the rest of the country by the Gambia, is green, riverine and culturally distinct, with a separatist conflict there ended by an agreement in 2022. Île de Gorée off Dakar, a World Heritage site and a memorial of the Atlantic slave trade, is a twenty-minute ferry and is not a beach visit. Practically: the dry season runs November to May and is cooler than the rest; French is the working language; the Atlantic here has strong currents and little lifeguard cover; and the Djoudj bird sanctuary in the north is among the most important wetlands in West Africa.
The two are different kinds of shore. The sand is golden sand throughout. Together they account for 6.3 km of shore. · computed from the 2 records below
