HI ,I have not been ,but know after contacting friends in gambia,I know from quotes given taxis are up again. as are prices for locals,now that the dalasi is down to 35--6 to the pound their is a 25 -30 percent increase in real terms on last years prices,that will last maybe this and next year, cheers maxie

Looked this morning and the Dalassi was up to 41.69 so that is slightly better if correct.

Better for the tourist but not so good for the locals - expect taxi drivers etc to put up their prices to adjust for this freefall in their currency.

SM

So what will 42 Dalasi buy in terms of meals & drinks , which is the usual chief source of expense ?

HI. 42 dalsi will buy one third of a burger .On average a meal is 250 to 500 , more if you have wine ,a burger in sennigambia is100- 150 dalasi,bottle of julbrew 25- 30 dalasi. soft drinks 15-30 dalasi, thats a pretty fair guide , cant help more dont drink alcohol unfortunately. Dont forget the waiter/watresses they only get paid 800- 1000 dalasi a month, Do haggle the taxis or they can and will rip you off,150 from sennigambia to kotu thats a 50 dalasi fare, 700 to serrekunda thats 150- 200 max, and a return at that, (remember that if he takes a local hire as taxis will,the fare may be as little as 20 per cent of what you pay) now these are fares I know that have been charged, please dont be too mean but dont get ripped off more than once .and you will be at least once .chill cheers and enjoy the smiling coast maxie ps dont assume the taxis are licenced and trained my driver last year bought his licence 3 weeksbefore I arrived, it was good fun teaching him to drive, he had a good car though airbags the lot .sorry cant name him or the car
I keep reading about the hassle be firm tell them no you are disturbing me fimly. if they dont go threaten with the military that works. dont mix up traders with bumsters

Thanks for the info Maxie. It sounds like the food is pretty expensive if they charge that much for a burger. I always tip 10% + depending on the overall cost. Seems like Gambia is a lot more expensive than Goa, plus you get the hassle too ! However, we intend to enjoy ourselves come what may !

HI ,DALASI STILL 42 to the pound@22/11/07 Looks like its leveled around there, cheer maxie. rate taken from gambian tourist exchange(in Sennegambia itself)
OH for the record "the taxi" I mentioned had a problem(his words) he crashed it, but its ok he has another one, (his words again) hope it has airbags he is picking me up at airport in january.
Funny taxis drivers all tell me they are broke !but keep changing cars !!

hi.
it might sound expensive but if you look around you can get some great bargains food wise. re your taxi, that's quite amusing. you wait until you see the state of some of the cars out there!! half of them are cut and shuts - i've never seen a country so able to use literally anything to make a car!! most drive fairly slowly though!