Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet the Gambia & Senegal (Lonely Planet the Gambia and Senegal, 1st ed) (Lonely Planet Travel Guides)

5 star:		(4)
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The most comprehensive travel guide I've seen. Hundreds of useful practical hints, explanations of cultural background and important things to remember for "whites" in order not to hurt or offend the traditional, mythical or religious beliefs, which are all very strong over there. I have travelled in West Africa myself, before reading this book, and found that it really shows the most important details to consider. Framed boxes in the text make it easy to find the essential tips. It is also valuable, that it shows how to travel cheaply, nothing about the luxurious hotels, more of the budget type of stuff.

Highly recommended! We just returned from our fourth trip to Senegal, and we found the Lonely Planet guidebook to be highly accurate and easily usable. It is well written and includes much helpful cultural information in addition to all the necessary facts. Don't leave for Senegal without it!!!!

I would also have to agree that this book was very well written, with a great deal of relavent information on The Gambia. I highly recomend this book.

I carried this book with me through much of Senegal, especially Dakar. On balance, this book is well worth it. The strong points have to do with the explanations of Senegalese geography, history and demographics. The weakest parts are that like most guides, the typical tourist venues are covered as if they're typically Senegalese.

There's nothing like Dakar. The weather is just great on this tiny piece of land jutting out to the ocean. And everything there seems magical when you're a foreigner visiting. The food is good; the people polite and generous beyond anything I had experience anywhere; and the ambiance is uniquely peaceful. It's a place where I wish I could raise my girls at this stage while they're so young.

This Lonely Planet guide exceled when explaining the Sahel, the trees, the food and demographics. This is the relatively academic side of the book. As for practical knowledge such as where do you go for everything, the explanations were of only very limited value. This is often a problem in travel books.