Saly
The resort town of the Petite Côte, some 25 kilometres from the international airport, with pirogues landing their catch a few kilometres down the beach at Mbour.
- Arrival
- Blaise Diagne International · DSS
- To the resort
- About 25 km from DSS in a straight line
- Private jets
- At Blaise Diagne, customs on site
- Best time
- October to July
The city
Beach hotels on the Petite Côte.
Saly Portudal lies some eight kilometres north of Mbour, where the coast south of Dakar turns into a long run of sand. Hotels face the ocean, with a casino and a craft village behind them, and the days fill with sport fishing, windsurfing, riding on the beach or a canoe through the mangroves.
Rain is confined largely to August and September; from November to May it barely falls at all. The ocean is coolest late in winter and warms through the summer, so October and November pair little rain with water at 26 to 28 °C.
- Mbour One of the busiest fishing ports on the Senegalese coast, where the pirogues come in to a crowded, colourful fish market.
- Joal-Fadiouth Senghor's birthplace, and across a long wooden footbridge an island built on shells, with granaries on stilts.
- The Somone lagoon A nature reserve just up the coast, where pelicans, herons and flamingos feed all year.
Arriving
Close to the new airport.
Blaise Diagne International, the airport for Dakar, stands inland and much nearer to Saly than to the capital: about 25 kilometres as the crow flies.
- Abidjan 2 h 35
- Accra 3 h 05
- Ibiza 4 h 35
- Paris 5 h 45
- Dubai 10 h 05 long-range jet
When to go
October to July.
The figures are for Dakar, the nearest station on the same coast. It stays warm through the year and dry from October to July, with most rain in August and September; the sea dips to around 19 to 20 °C from February to April.
- 26° J 2 20°
- 27° F 1 19°
- 27° M 0 19°
- 27° A 0 20°
- 28° M 0 21°
- 30° J 15 25°
- 30° J 72 27°
- 30° A 179 28°
- 31° S 149 28°
- 31° O 39 28°
- 30° N 1 26°
- 28° D 1 23°
Where to stay
Two resorts on the sand.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
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.
- Sine-Saloum A delta of mangroves, and islands built of shells.
- Saint-Louis Balconied colonial houses on an island in the Senegal river, listed by UNESCO.
Flying to Saly?
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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.