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What was the highlight or most memorable moment of your tour?
"There were several: langue de Barbarie, Gambia River Cruise, crossing Sine Saloum in a pirogue.
There were also some low lights - the long journey st Louis to Georgetown, with vehicle problems and temperatures in excess of 40 deg. waiting at Kaolak for several hours. dakar suburbs are extensive and ghastly.
We never went to the location (with the two women) pictured in the tour notes - where is it?"
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How was your Explore Tour Leader?
"Baba was excellent in every way and a very good drummer as well. I even forgive him the snoring (river boat).
Attentive to our every need and obviously well respected by all the hotels/local guides we used. A lovely man."
What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?
"Brace yourself - it's debilitatingly hot upriver.
There is an awful lot of rubbish, mainly polythene, all over the country. After the initial shock you kind of see past it..."
What was the highlight or most memorable moment of your tour?
Isle de Goree and the Gambia River Cruise
How was your Explore Tour Leader?
Excellent and very accommodating. His knowledge of the birds of the region and history of SeneGambia was very good.
What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?
Take your binoculars - this trip is for serious birders.
Do you have anything else to add?
It can get very hot (we generally experienced temperatures in the 30's Celsius) and it peaked at 46°C!
What was the highlight or most memorable moment of your tour?
Everything from Tendaba onwards was the best
How was your Explore Tour Leader?
Fantastic. Babagallie was very professional throughout, lots of fun and very considerate of all members of the group. A very intelligent person, with a love of history and wildlife, he was very helpful and informative. He gave us a number of talks after dinner on various aspects of the history and culture of the region. Our driver was also excellent. They made a brilliant team.
What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?
"Do not go on this tour if there are more than 12 people booked on it. We had 17 and it was far too many. Some of the transport used for birdwatching was not big enough to enable good birdwatching. There was a lot of travelling in the bus, 12 hours on one day, and although there were enough seats for everybody, it was quite cramped, and for a lot of the time the air conditioning was not coping with the extreme heat and humidity. Once this had been fixed it was quite a bit more comfortable.
Be well prepared for very basic especially in the Gambia. I loved it, but some people were surprised by how basic it was.
All in all, the people were lovely in Senegal and in Gambia. I felt there was more of interest in Gambia overall"
Do you have anything else to add?
No more than 12 on this tour. For the Gambia river cruise, only 12 people could sleep on the upper deck. The 5 poor souls who had to sleep on the lower deck suffered from diesel fumes. I enjoyed the trip overall but had it been my first Explore trip, I may not go on another one. I will be very wary of the group size on any other trips I may book. I notice that the new brochure no longer states maximum group size and I think this is a retrograde step. One of the reasons for choosing and Explore holiday is the small group size.
Our response
Thank you for your feedback – it’s great to learn how good you thought our local staff were. We are sorry though that you were unhappy with the group size; there is always a balance to be struck between ensuring a good group experience and being able to offer the tour at a competitive price – many of the costs are fixed, rather than on a per person basis, and to reduce the maximum number to 12 would result in a very substantial increase in the selling price of the tour.
Everyone can sleep on the upper deck on the boat, and they usually do, actually on the deck. There should not be any diesel fumes even on the lower deck – the boat is moored overnight in the middle of the river with the engines not running, so there should not be an issue with this.
