🧭 Gambia: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Gambia feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 31 written places.
The Smiling Coast nickname is earned; greetings run long and hospitality is genuinely meant.
Cost level: Budget One of the friendlier destinations for a travel budget - daily costs sit well below western Europe. Estimate a daily budget →
✓ Considered polite
- Greet with Salaam aleikum and take time over hellos - business comes after
- Use your right hand for eating, greeting and passing anything
- Accept a glass of attaya green tea when offered - the slow three-round brewing ritual is the point
- Dress modestly away from the beach resorts - shoulders and knees covered in villages
✗ Better avoided
- Skip the greeting and go straight to your question - it reads as cold
- Hand over money or food with your left hand
- Photograph people without asking first
- Show affection in public - couples keep it low-key here
💡 Worth knowing
- The dalasi is a cash economy - cards work only in bigger hotels and resorts
- Haggling is expected in markets and for taxis - friendly, not fierce
- Business slows around Friday midday prayers, then picks up again
- Alcohol is served freely in coastal resorts and bars despite the Muslim majority
Plugs and voltage
Type G · 230 V travel adapter →
CurrencyDalasi (GMD)
LanguagesEnglish
Driving sideright
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.