The Gambia coast offers miles of superb golden beaches and the vibrancy of Bakau, Serrekunda and the capital, Banjul , is as colorfully African as you might imagine. During the day, fish for Barracuda on the Atlantic Ocean , strike a bargain in one of the many markets and in the evening, sample the wide variety of Gambian and international cuisine.

The Gambia has large numbers of repeat visitors with 44 per cent of peak season winter arrivals having visited previously, 16 per cent having been more than five times and a fifth traveling with children. Forty per cent of all visitors bring school materials, a further 10 per cent bring other gifts, nurses bring out medicines; and sometimes cars and other equipment are sent out to The Gambia to create or enhance livelihood opportunities for poor Gambians. This kind of “person to person” aid is significant and increasing, and also plays a major part in the development of relationships between Gambians and visitors. Other tourists support schooling and higher education in the UK . The young men who seek to engage tourists in conversation and sell guiding services or trinkets, the ‘bumsters', do so because for a significant number of their predecessors it has made a difference to their own and their families' opportunities. Although the “bumsters” are an annoyance for many tourists, others enjoy the opportunities to engage with Gambians and to make a difference. Capital of the country is Banjul .

The Gambia is generally recognized to have the most agreeable climate in West Africa . The weather is subtropical with distinct dry and rainy seasons. From mid-November to mid-May, coastal areas are dry, while the rainy season lasts from June to October. Inland the cool season is shorter and daytime temperatures are very high between March and June. Sunny periods occur on most days even during the rainy season.