Bandia Park And Pink Lake
Description
Bandia Park reserve is one of the major attractions in Senegal for tourists staying in Dakar or nearby area. It is a conservation park that helps protect some African wildlife like giraffes, rhinos, a variety of antelopes, buffaloes, monkeys, crocodiles, tortoises and more. This tour will give you a chance to watch closely the wildlife in an eco-friendly nature. Also Pink Lake: Retba lake is amazing marvel of nature, know througout the world as Pink lake.It"s a famous for its remarquable pinkish-coloured water (due to unique bacteria and its strong salt content) that can turn to purple depending on the intensity of sunlight
Tour Options
Itinerary
Depending on road traffic you will arrive around 9:30 am to change vehicle and get in a pick up jeep for a 2 hours game drive in this reserve that covers 1000 hectares, where you will spot African wildlife in their natural habitat - such as giraffes ,buffaloes, rhinos, a variety of antelopes, zebras, monkeys, crocodiles, tortoises and more. In addition to the fauna and flora, visitors can also see replicas of the Serere Pyramids with burial chambers, griot (traditional story tellers and entertainers) tombs in the hollow of a thousand year old baobab containing authentic human bones, a charcoal maker's grindstone, Peulh huts and more. Our competent guides, some of whom are multi-lingual, will give you detailed explanations of all the sights and sounds of the park, illustrated by delightful anecdotes.
Around 12:am Transfer to The Pink Lake. Lunch (included) will be served around 01:00 pm at the restaurant Around 3pm, we'll make a ride with a 4x4 jeep over the sand dunes and along sandy beaches to a wonderful gift of the nature: the famous pink lake in Senegal.Tucked in between ocean and sand dunes, this salt lake will amaze you with its shifting colours of mauve and purple. Drive around the lake, visit of Peulh villages and salt extraction area. After this amazing tour, we'll drive back to Dakar and arrive at around 6:30 pm at your hotel in Dakar
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Hotels in Saly or Dakar and surrounding
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(9)
Tour company didn't show. Ended up canceling the tour after I had made it to the meeting spot. They left in in the pouring rain without a way to get back to my hotel. Finally I had to pay extra for a taxi to take me from the remote meeting place to my hotel. Never got an explanation of what happened. Extremely disappointed. Paid for an extra day in Dakar just to take the tour. I would had changed my holiday if I knew the tour wouldn't happen.
Bandia is worth visiting but do not waste any money going to the "so called" pink lake. It is only pink on a very few occasions. Also there is absolutely no infrastructure there at all. Just a few very old little boats, a couple of very pushy locals trying to sell rubbish souvenirs and nowhere to get a drink. It is a long drive off the main road and it is just a bit waste of time. The so called toilet is a broken down wooden shed with a hole.
The guides were very friendly. The excursion was excellent. Feeding the lions was incredible. We took photos of all the animals
Our driver was punctual. We appreciated his safe and cautious driving. Our tour guide asked if we needed to stop for coffee and pastries before we started our day. We were warned prior to our tour that the lake likely wouldn't be pink, but we chose to do the tour anyways. We enjoyed learning the history behind the lake and seeing some locals mine the salt. The ATV ride was a lot of fun as well. It was nice to see the animals up close at the Reserve. I'm so thankful to have found Abdoulaye. He really made our experience in Senegal amazing!
A wonderful experience. This is a reserve of herbivorous animals, despite having crocodiles in a lake and hyenas that are closed. The animals seem to be perfectly comfortable with the passing of the cars. I was sincerely surprised by the positive due to the large number of animals.
This was a highly unprofessional, disgusting tour. 1. First and most importantly, the driver, Jah, was inappropriate and sexually harassing. He inappropriately put his arms around one of my friends without permission and continued to ask her for her phone number despite her brushing him off. My friend also said she noticed him taking pictures of us all day. He made us all uncomfortable and we didn’t feel like we could say anything since he was driving. 2. The whole tour was mismanaged. Even though the website says the tour starts at 8 and that we would show up at Bandia around 9:30, the guide and driver didn’t show up until a little after 9. We didn’t get to Bandia to start our safari until around 11:30. They were not communicative about times or highly underestimated the travel times. On top of that, the driver wanted to stop to eat on the way to the park, when he should’ve taken care of his needs on his own time or when we were eating lunch. 3. The whole ride was highly uncomfortable and sickening. The car was beat up, smelled like it was burning oil, and had no air conditioning. As a result, we were in the car with the windows down the whole day, smelling the awful fumes from the cars on the highway and damaging our ear drums from doing 135 km per hour on the road. I have had nausea and a headache from the fumes all day, as well as my three friends. 4. Finally, the guide, Mustapha, was not particularly good. It was his first day; he had never been to Bandia or to Lac Rose, so he was really only there for translating for the driver. He didn’t talk about the Reserve or the Lake at all. Bandia Park itself was great. Lac Rose was not worth the money since it’s not the season for the pink color. Seeing the salt miners was cool though. But, this is NOT a $250 per person kind of tour. In fact, if someone offered me $250 to spend my day doing all of this over again, I would decline, because no amount of money is worth the sexual harassment and getting sick from the fumes.
I was in the pink lake but it was not pink but lot of mountains of salt.. the safari in banda was wonderful..
Thanks you very much
I enjoyed the Pink Lake and Bandia. I even got to row the boat on the lake! It was amazing seeing giraffes up close.
Thanks you very much
A fantastic way to kick off a trip to Senegal. My tour guide was a very joyful, cheering, and not to mention the knowledgeable person. Learned history and folklores about places, tried local foods (ya about that, you pay good, you experience good.), he might offer you tea or cigarettes if you prefer. I appreciated this kind of hospitality. It was really a fun tour. Give it a try, RECOMMENDED.
Thanks you very much
