Saint-Louis
A colonial island town in the mouth of the Senegal River, joined to the mainland by an iron bridge of 1897, with its own runway a few kilometres away.
- Arrival
- Blaise Diagne International · DSS
- To the town
- About 165 km from DSS in a straight line
- Private jets
- Saint-Louis airport (XLS), with customs
- Best time
- October to July
The city
An island between two arms of the river.
Founded by the French in the seventeenth century, Saint-Louis governed Senegal until 1957 and, for a time, all of French West Africa. The island keeps its grid of streets, its quays and its houses with balconies and galleries, listed by UNESCO in 2000. At the Hôtel de la Poste, aviators of the Aéropostale once stopped between Toulouse and South America; Mermoz had a corner room.
Across a second channel lies the Langue de Barbarie, a strip of sand between river and ocean, where the fishing quarter of Guet Ndar pulls its boats onto the beach. Rain falls mainly in August and September; the rest of the year is dry and warm, with a cool sea from February to April.
- The Faidherbe Bridge Spans shipped in parts from France and opened in October 1897, still the way onto the island.
- The Langue de Barbarie A sand spit between the river and the Atlantic, with the Guet Ndar fishing quarter and a national park.
- Djoudj A bird sanctuary in the river delta, about 50 km away, home to more than a million and a half birds, among them nesting white pelicans.
Arriving
Long haul to Dakar, the last leg by jet.
International airlines fly to Blaise Diagne, near Dakar, some 165 kilometres south in a straight line. Saint-Louis has its own rebuilt airport, Ousmane Masseck Ndiaye, about five kilometres from the town.
- Dakar 35 min
- Abidjan 2 h 40
- Munich 6 h 00
- New York 8 h 15 long-range jet
- Mumbai 12 h 20 long-range jet
When to go
October to July.
Days are hotter than in Dakar, with highs from 30 to 34 °C, and drier: under 100 mm even in the wettest months of August and September. The sea is cool, around 18 °C, from February to April, and warmest in early autumn.
- 30° J 2 19°
- 32° F 1 18°
- 33° M 0 18°
- 32° A 0 18°
- 31° M 0 20°
- 31° J 7 23°
- 31° J 46 26°
- 32° A 95 27°
- 32° S 95 28°
- 34° O 27 27°
- 33° N 1 25°
- 31° D 1 22°
Elsewhere in Senegal
More reasons to come.
- Dakar The westernmost city of Africa, with markets and a music scene.
- Gorée An island of colonial houses and the House of Slaves, listed by UNESCO.
- Lac Rose A pink lake where salt is gathered by hand.
- Saly The resort beaches of the Petite Côte.
- Sine-Saloum A delta of mangroves, and islands built of shells.
Flying to Saint-Louis?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.