hi, i have booked to go to ocean view hotel, cape point in november for 1 week.
can anyone tell me if we need yellow fever jab - some sites say must have it and others say optional.
Also do you have to be very careful what you eat - do you have to avoid salad and are there many places to eat at cape point.

thanks for any help

helen :

We first visited The Gambia five yearsago and were told we had to have the yellow fever jab and obtain the certificate or we would not be allowed access into the country. We have visited three times and have never been asked for this.
We have stayed at the Palma Rima. It is about a mile from the Sennegambia area. During the day we always walk along the beach,both ways,along the waters edge. That way you get less hassle.
At night we get a taxi for about £2. We find it better to ring the same taxi driver every time. The others then get used to you waiting outside and don't bother you.
Because we had previously stayed at Kololi we thought there would not be enough to do around Kotu but were pleasantly surprised. There are a few restaurants and bars - would especially recommend the Italian restaurant and the bar under the Kalabash club - can't just remember the name!

With the yellow fever jab, as far as i know, you don't need it to go to the Gambia, but you may need to prove you've had it when you visit other countries. I'm sure I read a post on here a while back saying that Portugal and Spain were among the countries who might not let you in if you'd been to the Gambia and not had the jab. However we've been to Spain twice since and no-one has mentioned it. We took the view that it was better to be safe than sorry so had the jab, plus it lasts 10 yrs and we do a lot of travelling so we thought we'd end up getting our money's worth.

As for food hygiene etc, we were on half board so mainly ate in our hotel but we did have lunch out at some of the local restaurants. Unfortunately, we both ended up with a dose of Banjul belly, but I couldn't tell you if that was caused by the food, the water, the sun or the anti malaria tablets. We just took some Diareze and tried not to let it bother us too much - to be honest, we pretty much expect it to happen wherever we go anyway! As long as you are sensible then I'm sure you'll be fine.

Hi Corrine76

Thanks for your advice on the GTS website, I have spent the last couple of days reading all the info and it was extremely helpful. Will take your advice and get myself a decent guide book as we plan to do as much as we possibly can whilst we are out there. Thanks again for your help
Scruffyish

Hi Caz & Dave,

Thanks for the info on the Kotu area it's good to know there are some restaurants and bars in the vicinity, we are there for a fortnight so no doubt we will try them all!! Thanks also for the tip about walking to Kololi via the beach we will definitely do that.
Cheers
Scruffyish

I have been recommended Gambia and had the good fortune of speaking to a great travel firm who specialise in Turkey and Gambia. I have just booked the Kombo Beach with gambiadeals.com and spoke to a lady called Jay, who has been numerous times to the Gambia and even has a holiday home out there. She told me all about the trips I could do and that the local goverment guides give you far more information than the travel firms do. My wife also spoke to her and we were given a direct number for her if we had anymore questions. I called a couple of days after I booked and spoke to a chap, I did not get his name, but he had been many times too. He recommended a restaurant called Ali Baba's garden for a nice meal and they have entertainment there in the garden such as regae bands and it is very reasonable in price. Thanks to the knowledgeable staff at gambiadeals.com I am really looking forward to this trip and I can highly recommend them if you want a resonable price holiday! I go next week I can't wait!!!

Hi mrhappy,

You lucky thing I've still got a month to wait before I go!!
Hope you have a great holiday and don't forget to come back to Holidaytruths and tell us all about it when you get back.
All the best
Scruffyish

Ali Babas is always busy - haven't tried the food but the entertainment is good.
If you like chinese try the big one just round the corner - can't just remember the name but the food is excellent. They do an 'all you can eat' buffet a couple of times a week - excellent value
The food is also good at the Paradiso , just further up the main street form Ali Babas.
There are plenty of restaurants in this area. Also a few at Kotu near to the Palma Rimahotel if you go along there.
We are going back in March - can't wait

I'm soooooo excited................my tickets have just arrived!!
We don't fly until the 2nd of Dec but it's just made it seem that much more real to me now.......................Sorry for the outburst, but I just had to share my excitement!!
Caz and Dave which hotel are you going to in March? and thanks again for your earlier info on the Palma Rima area in Kotu.
Cheers
Scruffyish

HI all , I have had 6 weeks in Gambia this year, I love the country ,not the tourist areas ,or the guided tours( who in a sane world pays 30 quid to sit in an old army 3 tonner (truck) or land rover for 3/4/5/6 hours. you must be nuts the army will take you for free just join up.
Get a knowledgeable local with a 4/4 to take you to the REAL bush africa. (PM me for one ) he probably sleeps in the bush and is awakened by monkeys at dawn
My advise if you want a gambia experience rent a decent local type house, take candles for when the leckky is off and get to know the locals ,spend your money with them,laugh and eat with them , oh you may come home with wife no 2 but thats ok in africa(its moslem)
I did everything with gambian this time my meals cost 60p my drinks 30p max it was great.and no one married me .
I had the cleaner from paradise if you sat still she dusted you ,if you took clothes off to change she washed them. can recommend name
All water was boiled so no Banjul Belly and best of all only gambians and like minded europeans, LOVED IT cheers maxie

:DHi Folks,

This is a wee bit late but I've had the flu all over the festive period and am just starting to feel "normal" again. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who gave me info regarding my holiday to the Palma Rima in Gambia. We had an absolutely fantastic time and I have put a report on the hotel reviews section.
Thanks again, it was a great holiday.....................just wish I was back there now!!
Cheers
Scruffyish

here is Scruffyfish's review.
I didn't help but wanted to say that it is so nice when people get positive feedback from any help they have given!

Hi there
Just wanted to thank you for posting your report on your holiday to Palma Rima. So pleased to hear you had a good time and hotel was OK.
We are going there in March. And at the moment I'm full of cold bordering on FLu so hope you are feeling better now.
Looking forward so much to our holiday in Gambia its keeping me going now what with shock of being back at work, January blues and feeling ill.
So many thanks
Wendy

Hi Wendililac,

Sorry to hear you are feeling poorly, I really hope it doesn't develop into flu as it seems to be taking ages to shake this off
Never mind at least you've got your holiday to look forward to, that should keep you going for the next couple of months.
As for the hotel, it was brilliant and nothing was too much trouble for the staff, so you will definitely feel pampered when you get there.
Hope you start to feel better soon
Scruffyish

Hiya
So glad you enjoyed the Gambia. It's difficult to recommend places to other people especially somewhere like this that is not your average tourist place.
Must admit we love it for a winter sun holiday. The people are lovely - even the majority of the bumsters as long as you don't be offended by them!
Did you like the area around the Palma Rima? We have always stopped at the Sennegambia until last year but are going back to the Palma Rima in March. The area is a bit quieter and we prefer the beach and beach bars around here.
Which bars/restaurants did you try? Did you manage to go fishing?
Only 8 weeks now till we go - can't wait!
Carolyn

Hi Carolyn,

Thanks for all your help prior to going, it was really helpful and YES we loved it!! To be honest at first it was a bit overwhelming with all the attention from the Bumsters and traders but after a few days when they had got used to seeing our faces around they were quite happy just to chat and pass the time of day with us.
We went out on quite a few fishing trips and absolutely loved it, the best by far was with "Captain Bob" who is situated down at the Palma Rima beach, we negotiated a really good price with him, and got to inspect his gear and boat before we went and it was a fantastic day..............I caught my very first Stingray .........my partner is so jealous as he was desparate to catch one!! Did quite a bit of Creek fishing as well which although there were no big catches, it was still great fun.
We ate in pretty much all of the beach shacks along the Palma Rima area and quite honestly didn't have a bad meal in any of them, we also ate out in Senegambia quite a bit at night at Ali Baba's Garden (had some excellent nights there), the Chinese restaurants (which were amazing) and went for a Lebanese meal there too, which by Gambia standards was expensive but well worth the money. Have got to admit that rather than find a favourite bar we used to hang out with the Gambians down at "Happy corner" (just next to Churchill's) and drink green tea and Palm Wine with the local traders and Bumsters. We also went to Villagers and Fantasy Bar across the road and they were great nights and met heaps of locals there. We did quite a few trips all of which we negotiated ourselves with some of the Jeep drivers outside the Palma Rima and had an excellent time. Personally I liked the fact that the area around the hotel was pretty low-key as I felt that the Senegambia area was just a bit too manic!!
I'm so jealous, I wish I was going back in March, but we already have 3 holidays booked for this year and I've just booked to go to Goa (for the 1st time) for 3 weeks in March 2007, so think my other half would kill me if I tried to squeeze another holiday in!!
Thanks again for all your help and have a Brilliant time when you go back in March.
Scruffyish

Yep all booked up and packed ready to go 17 february,glad you enjoyed time with the locals,cheerss maxie

Hi Scruffyish
So glad to hear that you did similar things that we do - hanging out with the locals and enjoying their company! Like you say at first the bumsters are quite intimidating but once you get to know them all they become your friends.
You mentioned Bob - is he the English guy that arranges fishing trips? He took us to Paradise beach which was wonderful He became a good friend- always willing to take you places,really nice man.
Our friends have just returned after spending Christmas and New Year there - they stayed at the apartments at Luigis restaurant and were really impressed.
We are going to the Al A Carte restaurant at the Sennegambia for our anniversary meal as we ate there 5 years ago for our silver wedding!
Hope its still as good
We booked for Goa yesterday for Feb 2007. Just read that you have too! What a coincidence - we obviously like the same things!!!
We have wanted to go for ages as we think it will be similar to Gambia - maybe better?Really looking forward to it
Carolyn

Hi Carolyn,

Captain "Bob" was a Gambian guy who is married to an English lady from Bristol, so don't think it's the same guy...............can't actually remember what his real name was but I just called him Bob !!
That's fantastic that you are off to Goa too, I've wanted to go there for years too but my other half always said that he wouldn't be able to stand the long flight (smoker), however on our flight out to Gambia we were actually on the plane for 11 + hours because we got hit by Lightning on take off, had to circle Gatwick for 3 hours to get rid of fuel, land again and wait for safety checks, refuel, change of pilot and crew and then take off for Banjul .............again !! So, I pointed out to him that if he survived that, he can certainly sit on a plane for around 9 hours to Goa !! Will look out for you on the Goa forum now cos it looks like I'm gonna be a regular there from now on.
Cheers
Scruffyish