Senegal: Cruising the Sine Saloum Delta

UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Sine Saloum Delta is a large area of mangrove wetland in the south of the northern part of northern Senegal, just north of The Gambia. The majority of the delta has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a smaller area within this is nominated as the Saloum Delta National Park. The delta is home to a wide variety of wildlife and is a particularly important breeding grounds for many birds, several varieties of which are migratory.

The Sine Saloum Delta is almost as different from Dakar as it is possible to be, whilst remaining within Senegal. The waters are clean (though cloudy from the mangroves), the area is quite unpopulated, there is little rubbish outside the villages and towns many of which are, for West Africa, remarkably clean, and it is very peaceful, other than the ubiquitous call to prayer close to population centres.

Even if you just spend a couple of days in the area, on and close to the Saloum River, it is worth making a detour here. If you are able to spend longer (two weeks or more) you can explore the river systems more closely, which is both a delight for the peace and quiet, wildlife and the friendly population, and a challenge in getting through some of the shallower waterways.

Entrance to the Sine Saloum at Djifere

Recced on 8 December 2025
HW Djifere 1108UTC 1.2m
LW Djifere 1710UTC 0.4m

Channel markers

The channel essentially runs 2.3nm on 078°M. It is buoyed and marked by a safe water mark and then lateral buoys of which there are 3 pairs and a single green (1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5, 7 & 8). Some of the buoyage has moved a bit compared to that shown on the latest update of the Navionics charting. The lateral buoys feel small in terms of the scale of the stretch of water and the distances between them.

Depth of water and tidal flow

We arrived at buoys #1 & #2 at 1530UTC and at buoys #7 & #8 at 1600. Min depth seen was 4.4m (ie sounding of approx 3.9m), shortly after buoys #1 & #2. There was approx 1.3kt outflow.

Clearance

The only port of entry in Senegal is Dakar and, technically, Dakar is also the only port of exit too. Most cruisers check in at Dakar and then sail south to the Sine Saloum Delta, frequently breaking the journey overnight off Sali (14°26’08.3″N 17°00’33.7″W). If, after your visit to the Sine Saloum, you don’t wish to sail 60nm upwind to check-out you could either:

• a) Anchor off Dangane (in a tributary off the Saloum River) and/or off Foundiougne or Kaolack (both on the Saloum, though few crews go up as far as Kaolack) and take a bus and/or taxi back to Dakar to complete exit formalities there, or
• b) Anchor off Toubacouta (on the Biandala River) and take a taxi to the border post at Karang. You will need good French to achieve this, as the local ‘French’ is a heavily accented, pidgin French which a poor French speaker will struggle to understand (and even native French speakers have difficulty).

Navigation and Charting

There are paper charts of the area but they essentially only cover the Saloum River and not any of the other tributaries and rivers. Navionics charting is variable. Eyeball navigation is essential and, in the shallower bolons (tributaries) reference to historic images on Google Earth can make the difference between getting through and going aground. Forward-looking sonar would be very useful. Raymarine’s live-sonar, which gives an approx 30m bubble around the echo-sounder is helpful. You could recce bolons from a dinghy using a handheld echo-sounder, such as the Deeper Pro, before attempting a route in a deeper draught yacht.

The tidal range is very small (about 0.4m at neaps in Dec 2025, not significantly greater at springs) but the bottom is soft mud so it is possible to extricate oneself if you run aground. That said, have a good plan of action should you go firmly aground on a falling tide. Yachts with a 2m draught have travelled from the Saloum to the Diambos via the red route below and yachts with a 1.65m draught successful travelled the green route. But a shallow draft and a lifting keel are both advantageous!

From Bolon Labor (close to Gouk on the Diamboss) on to Toubacouta and then the bottom end of the Bandiala River the rivers are deeper (only marginally so in places, but deeper nevertheless) and easier to navigate. Also, by the time that you get to Bolon Labor you will have learned to ‘read ‘ the river, which makes things easier. Remember that the outside of a bend is usually deeper than the inside and areas where a river widens are usually shallow (similarly narrow rivers are often deeper than wide rivers).

Places

A selection of the places we used/visited are shown in the picture below:

Money

The CFA is pegged to the Euro. 1€ = 656CFA (£1 is approx 750CFA). Bring cash from Dakar or Sali. There is an ATM in Toubacouta and there may be an ATM at each of Dangane, Foudiougne and Kaolack but don’t depend on it (we have not visited any of these 3). Try to bring small denomination notes. ATMs tend to give out 10,000CFA notes, occasionally 5,000CFA, which are too large for most stallholders to change easily. Local people very often pay using the digital payment services Wave or Orange Money.

Food, Water and LPG

It is possible to buy basic fresh provisions (onions, peppers, cassava, bread) at most villages in the morning. There are small, dark village stores selling store cupboard goods, bottled water and selling (perhaps exchanging?) LPG bottles open all day. All the villages have standpipes with potable water.

Provisioning and Laundry

Much better provisioning is available at Toubacouta (and I assume Dangane, Foudiougne and Kaolack). There are 2 service laundries in Toubacouta.

Diesel and Petrol

Diesel and petrol can be obtained via jerry can at Dangane and Toubacouta. I assume they are also available at Djifer, Dangane, Foudiougne and Kaolack.

Communications

Starlink (Roam) worked for us in Dec 2025 but we stayed in-country for only about 3 weeks. We had bought Orange mobile phone sim cards (for data only) and had a very good service throughout the Sine Saloum. One of the ‘navigation features’ of the area are the very tall phone masts located close to each significant town/village.

Medical and Health

This is a malarious area and though many people will say it is safe in the winter months, I would recommend following a full course of anti-malarials.

Transport and Travel

There are buses to Dakar from Tobacouta, Dangane, Foudiougne and Kaolack but we have not used these services. Taxis are available in Toubacouta for local trips (eg to the local wildlife reserve or to the border post at Karang for check-out.

Exit from the Sine Saloum

We exited the Sine Saloum via the River Bandiala’s exit to the sea. This is a relatively shallow and narrow exit which is very poorly charted and which is not buoyed. Approaching HW springs we saw a minum depth of 3.5m on our route out (though friends following the same Navionics track the next day saw a minimum of 8m). The sandbanks on each side of the ‘deep water’ break, which at least provides confidence as to the route to take! Check the sea state carefully before committing to the route and use Google Earth historic mapping to back-up whatever charting you are using. The entrance/exit at Djifere is safer and easier but requires that you retrace your route through the rivers of the delta.

Nicky Barker
SY Blue Velvet of Sark

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About the Author

Nicky and her husband, Reg, first set off long-term sailing on their Rustler 42 Blue Velvet of Sark in early 2013.  Having spent some time in the rias of Galicia, Spain, they spent 4 seasons cruising the Mediterranean before crossing the Atlantic in late 2017/early 2018. From then until early 2020 they spent their winters in the Caribbean, cruising the eastern islands – Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas – as well as the Honduran Bay Islands (where they spent the first Covid lockdown), and summers on the east coast of the USA and Canada – from Charleston north to the Bras d’Or Lakes of Nova Scotia.

Covid forced a return to their home in Guernsey and then family meant that they remained cruising UK, French and Irish waters until 2025 when they were able to head off long distance again. After spending summer 2025 in Scotland and Ireland (to avoid potential Schengen difficulties), they sailed via Porto Santo and the Canaries to Senegal and The Gambia and then, in January 2026, across to Martinique. Culebra is a favourite entry point to the USA and they are now back in the Chesapeake Bay, looking forward to a summer which they hope will include Maine and Nova Scotia and, perhaps, Newfoundland, before returning to the Caribbean for winter 2026/7.

Read the blog at www.blue-velvet-exploring-the-world.blogspot.com/

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