Senegal

Travel Senegal on your gap year. Ideas for gap year travel to Senegal.

Senegal gap year - Gap year programmes in Senegal

Senegal is becoming an increasingly popular gap year volunteer destination. Indeed, Senegal attracts more visitors each year than any other country in West Africa. Senegal's lush, beautiful vegetation makes it a huge natural oasis in the middle of the deserts that surround it on all sides. Senegal also has some of the finest beaches in Africa and is generally considered to be one of the safest countries in Africa to visit. If seeing the wildlife is one of the reasons you want to visit Africa on your gap year, there is plenty to be found in Senegal. The main language in Senegal is French, which makes it a particularly good destination for anyone who's studied French at school or college.

Senegal is also home to one of Real Gap's most rewarding volunteer projects - the ‘Senegal Community Volunteer Project.' This programme is based in Senegal's capital city, Dakar. Real Gap's Senegal volunteer projects provide various types of care and support to some of Senegal's most disadvantaged people and communities. The emphasis is very much on sharing and exchanging different cultural ideas, as two-way process, between local people and the volunteers. There is a wide variety of different projects available in Senegal, giving volunteers a unique insight in to the types of problems and challenges encountered by developing countries such as Senegal. This volunteer experience is enhanced by the fact that, for the duration of their volunteer placement in Senegal, participants actually stay with a Senegalese family. The type of work that volunteers might get involved in during their time in Senegal ranges from helping to care for orphaned babies and children to getting involved with HIV and Aids awareness education projects. If you want to help out on a wildlife-based volunteer project in Senegal there is also the opportunity to monitor and care for animals in a local zoo. Volunteers on this programme make a real difference to the lives of people in Senegal and, at the same time, get to know Senegal and its people on a far more intimate level than tourists. 

A great thing about Real Gap's Senegal volunteer projects is that they're based in Dakar, one of Africa's most popular and lively cities. Dakar has a real cosmopolitan atmosphere. It's the home of many of Senegal's internationally renowned musicians, has numerous superb restaurants and an extremely lively nightlife in some of Africa's best bars and nightclubs. Like most cities in Africa Senegal's capital can also get quite crowded and chaotic, but this just adds to its bustling atmosphere.

Dakar is also, of course, the finishing point for Senegal's biggest sporting event - the famous Paris to Dakar rally. The Paris to Dakar rally has been going for over 20 years and is the longest rally of its kind in the world. It's also regarded as the world's toughest motor race, with participants having to negotiate a gruelling 7,000 desert miles en route to Senegal. The race's official finishing point in Senegal is Lac Retba, which is also a popular picnicking spot in Dakar.

All in all Senegal is a beautiful and varied environment in which to explore West African culture. It's also home to one of Real Gap's most rewarding programmes, making Senegal an ideal African gap year volunteer destination in every respect.

Senegal gap year - Gap year programmes in Senegal


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