La Somone Holidays

La Somone’s only an hour-and-a-half’s drive south of Senegal’s capital, Dakar, but it feels a million miles away from the hubbub of the city. Here, the back-to-basics coastline steals the show. There’s around three kilometres of tea-tinted sand to dig your toes into, and it’s joined by little more than a few beachfront hotels and a scattering of rustic seafood joints.

Eagle-eyed birdwatchers can spy the likes of pelicans and herons at Somone Lagoon Reserve. If you fancy getting up close and personal with the wildlife, your best bet is to snap up a boat and make tracks towards the mangroves that surround the lagoon. When it’s time to stop for some grub, you can chow down on freshly caught fish at one of the half a dozen waterfront eateries.

For those that prefer to stick to dry land, there’s another wildlife hotspot on La Somone’s doorstep – Bandia Animal Reserve’s around a 20-minute cab ride away. It’s a popular hangout for must-see mammals like rhinos, zebras and giraffes. You can ogle them on an off-road safari, before popping in to the reserve’s restaurant – it comes with views of a watering hole where buffalos and crocodiles wallow.