Saly Portudal

Saly is where package tourism to Senegal concentrated from the 1970s onwards: a few kilometres of hotels, apartments and restaurants along a sandy shore, with a marina, golf nearby and a long line of beach vendors. The name comes from Portudal, a Portuguese trading post established here in the fifteenth century, of which nothing visible survives. It is the most developed stretch of coast in the country and functions as a base for the Petite Côte and the Saloum rather than as a Senegalese town.

What you actually see

• The beach strip - several kilometres of sand backed by hotels and apartments.
• The marina - a small harbour with fishing and pleasure boats.
• The restaurant strip - a dense run of places along the main road behind the beach.
• The base position - Bandia, Somone and the Saloum all within an hour.

When to go

November to May is the dry season and the peak. European winter holidays fill the hotels around Christmas and February. The rains from July are the low season and many places close.

Honest expectations

Beach vendors and touts are persistent and this is the most hassled stretch of coast in Senegal. Erosion has taken large parts of the beach and sea defences are visible along much of it. Saly is a resort enclave and gives very little sense of the country.

Nearby

Mbour and its fish market are south, Somone lagoon is north, and Bandia is inland.