Where to Stay in Gambia

The Gambia splits cleanly into three places to lay your head. Banjul keeps its government-run hotels and modest business guesthouses tight along Independence Drive. From Kotu past Kololi to Senegambia, the Atlantic shoreline stacks beach resorts, family guesthouses and a few eco-lodges where sunrise slips through sliding glass. Head upriver and Georgetown plus Basse give you timber lodges and no-frills hotels, ceiling fans clacking above mosquito nets. Expect European wallets to relax: a sea-view double in Kotu still undercuts a London dorm bed. Budget travellers pay €15, 25 in courtyard homes where grilled-fish smoke drifts through the evening. Mid-range beach spots charge €40, 80 and throw in a pool ringed by coconut palms. Top-end means €100, 200 for a suite facing the Atlantic, hammocks slung between baobabs. October-to-May fills the coast while Europe shivers and the dry harmattan breeze keeps days warm and nights cool. December-January packs the river lodges when binocular-toting visitors come for the bird spectacle above the Gambia River. Almost everyone stays inside a 30-km radius of the airport, so taxis and hotel shuttles turn the strip into a village. English rules at every reception desk and both dalasi and euros are welcome.