10-DAY SENEGAL & GAMBIA MOTORCYCLE TOUR

This 10-day expedition takes riders deep into West Africa, from Atlantic fishing villages to the mangrove waterways of the Saloum Delta and the iconic red dirt roads of Casamance. Along the route we cross into The Gambia and ferry across the mighty Gambia River with our motorcycles, riding through savannah landscapes, jungle forests, and remote villages rarely seen by travelers. Two countries in one loop, and one of the few tours anywhere where the border crossing itself — customs formalities, a river ferry loaded with motorcycles, local life pressing in around the bikes — is a genuine highlight rather than an errand.

The route is built as a loop out of Saly on Senegal's Atlantic coast. From there it strings together the fishing villages of the Petite Côte, the sandy trails and mangrove bolongs of the Saloum Delta, the Senegalese savannah and the Fouladou region, the crossing into The Gambia, the winding forest tracks of the Kalounayes classified forest, the red laterite of Casamance and its capital Ziguinchor, and then the return north through the delta to Saly. It is a west africa motorcycle tour in the fullest sense: bush, forest, savannah, mangrove and coast, ridden back to back over nine nights.

We named this tour Dakar Rally DNA for a reason, and it is worth being precise about what that means. This is the region where the world-famous original Paris to Dakar Rally used to reach its goal line, at Lac Rose near Dakar. The tour is built for riders with off-road experience and a dream of experiencing the spirit of that rally and the terrain that made it legendary — sandy tracks, bush, laterite and long days between remote overnight stops.

We are not recreating rally stages, and we do not pretend to. What the tour delivers is the setting the rally made famous: Senegal's sand, savannah and Atlantic light, ridden on modern adventure bikes with a support crew behind you instead of a race clock. If the words "Paris to Dakar" have ever meant anything to you, this is the closest our catalog comes to riding inside that story — and the arrival airport, AIBD, puts you within reach of Dakar itself, which you can explore properly on the optional extra day at the end of the tour.

We publish a terrain profile for every tour so you can match the route to your skills before you book. Senegal & Gambia rates 85% off-road, 60% comfort and 100% fun — in plain words, this is a genuine dirt tour. The vast majority of your riding days are spent on sandy tracks, red laterite, forest trails and bush pistes, not pavement. This tour is for riders with off-road experience; it sits at the opposite end of our catalog from road-focused rides like Greece, Thailand and Oman, which stay around 95% on pavement.

The itinerary is sequenced to build your sand skills progressively. Day 2, the 150 km stage from Saly to Toubacouta, is deliberately a familiarization day on sandy tracks, crossing the fishing villages of the Petite Côte and easing into the bush before arriving in the beautiful Saloum Delta. Day 3 stretches to 200 km of rolling tracks through the Senegalese savannah toward Casamance, with your first taste of the characteristic red laterite. By day 5 you are on winding tracks through the Kalounayes classified forest, and by day 8 the route serves up the most technical riding of the trip: dry-mangrove trails (a dry-season specialty) and varied sandy tracks on the return to Toubacouta.

Daily distances stay honest for the terrain — from a short 40 km relaxation stage into Ziguinchor on day 6 up to the 220 km northbound link on day 7, with most days in the 120–200 km range. Add them up and the loop covers roughly 1,200 km of riding, almost all of it on dirt. A local guide and support vehicle travel with the group the entire way, a professional multilingual tour leader rides with you, and fuel and road tolls are covered. Nine nights of accommodation in shared rooms, with all breakfasts included, take care of the recovery side of the equation — that is the 60% comfort score doing its job: real beds and real support on a route that is genuinely wild in between.

These are the anchors of the tour as the itinerary above lays them out:

• Saly (days 1 and 9). The tour opens with your arrival at AIBD airport and a transfer to Saly on the Atlantic coast — hotel check-in, safety briefing, motorcycle handover, and a first dinner together. Nine days later the loop closes here with the bike return, a debriefing and a closing dinner.
• The Petite Côte and the Saloum Delta (day 2). Sandy-track familiarization through Atlantic fishing villages and bush landscapes, ending in Toubacouta at the edge of the Saloum Delta — where sandy trails wind through mangroves, remote fishing villages, and the waterway bolongs.
• Savannah and the Fouladou (day 3). A 200 km day of rolling savannah tracks toward Casamance and the Fouladou region, with an optional visit to the megalithic circles en route to Kolda, and the first long stretches of red laterite under the wheels.
• The Gambia crossing (day 4). The Senegal–Gambia border, customs formalities, and the ferry crossing of the legendary Gambia River with the motorcycles, surrounded by local life — a unique experience and, for many riders, the single most memorable moment of the tour. A new country by motorcycle, on different Gambian tracks, before continuing to Nioro du Rip.
• The Kalounayes forest and Diola culture (day 5). Winding tracks through the Kalounayes classified forest, dense forest landscapes, typical red laterite, and immersion in authentic Diola culture and traditional villages.
• Ziguinchor (day 6). A short 40 km relaxation stage into Casamance's capital, with easy tracks, an optional city visit and a free afternoon — the breather in the middle of the tour.
• The long link north (day 7). 220 km of road and tracks from Ziguinchor back toward the Saloum Delta, riding the full variety of Casamance-to-Saloum landscapes in a single day.
• Back into the Delta (day 8). Return to the Saloum Delta by different tracks: technical dry-mangrove trails, varied sandy riding, and a reunion with the bolongs before the final night in Toubacouta.
• The Somone lagoon and the finish (day 9). The last riding stage passes the Somone lagoon on the way back to "civilization" in Saly.
• Departure — or one more day (days 10–11). Day 10 is breakfast and the AIBD airport transfer. Or take the extra-day option: a Dakar city tour, a Gorée Island tour and an extra night with breakfast, flying out the following day. Given how far you have come, we think the Dakar option is worth it.

Group activities and entry fees are included in the tour price, so there is no ticket-counter arithmetic along the way. As with every itinerary we run, the plan can flex with weather conditions and unforeseen circumstances — that flexibility is part of what a local guide and 17+ years of operating experience are for.

We would rather tell you straight before you book than surprise you on day 2. This is an 85% off-road tour, and the page above says it plainly: it is for riders with off-road experience and a dream of riding the region of the original Paris–Dakar. If sandy tracks, laterite and forest trails sound like the reason you ride — not an obstacle — this tour is built for you. If you are a street rider with no dirt time yet, our catalog has road-focused tours that will fit you better first; when you book, we ask about your adventure and off-road skills precisely so we can make sure the match is right.

The formal bar is the same as our other tours: you must be 20 or older with at least one year of experience on a 500cc-or-bigger motorcycle, hold a valid driver's license with motorcycle endorsement, carry a passport with at least six months' validity at tour start, and have a credit card with sufficient funds for the refundable security deposit, sized according to the rental bike. Riding two-up is possible — the Add Pillion/Passenger option covers your co-rider — though the terrain profile is worth an honest conversation with your passenger first.

What you get in exchange for meeting that bar is a small group — minimum 6, maximum 10 riders — a professional multilingual tour leader, a local guide and a support vehicle the whole way, and a route through villages and landscapes that very few travelers, let alone motorcyclists, ever see.

The motorcycle. You will ride a top-notch Yamaha Tenere 700, perfectly suited for West Africa's mix of sandy tracks, bush and backroads — a proven mid-weight adventure bike with genuine off-road ability, included in the base tour price. Mandatory third-party liability insurance and a motorcycle damage and theft liability reduction insurance are already included, and all our bikes are latest-model, professionally maintained machines.

What the price covers. The tour starts at $5,499 per rider on the Yamaha T700 in a shared room. That includes 9 nights of accommodation, all breakfasts, the base motorcycle rental, fuel and road tolls, both insurances above, group activities and entry fees, airport transfers on the official arrival and departure days, a pre-tour preparation guide and briefing, up to 25% discount on riding gear and accessories from our partners Klim, Giant Loop and Mosko Moto, a MotoDreamer apparel gift, and all taxes — backed by our price match guarantee. A single-room upgrade is +$799 and the pillion/passenger option is +$2,999. Airfare, lunches, dinners and drinks, personal paperwork and visas, and tips are not included; for travel and evacuation insurance with cancellation coverage we point riders to Global Rescue.

Booking and payment. The next confirmed departure is April 2 to 11, 2027. Hit Book Now, pick your date and pay the deposit; we accept bank transfer, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal and Bitcoin, and you can split the balance into monthly payments with no interest. Booking as a group is rewarded: when 5 riders pay, rider number 6 travels free (valid on the base tour price). Private group or customized tour dates are also available on request — choose your own date on the booking form.

Who is behind it. MotoDreamer is a rider-founded company with 17+ years of experience and more than 4,000 happy customers — we were the first operator in Colombia, and every departure runs on the same principles: safety first, certified multilingual tour leaders, expert local knowledge, and price match and departure guarantees on every booking. If a west africa motorcycle tour has been sitting on your list since the first time you heard the words "Paris to Dakar", this is the one we built to scratch that itch.