Travel | The WAS@BI

Coming to Saint-Louis

There is an airfield in Dakar-Bango, not far from where the famous Jean Mermoz and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry landed during the Aeropostale era, but it no longer accommodates regular commercial flights. Coming from abroad, you can land at Blaise Diagne International Airport of Diass in the Thiès region. The travel time between the airport and Dakar is around 45 minutes and between the airport and Thiès, it is 20 minutes, by toll highway in both cases.

To reach Saint-Louis from Dakar by car, you will need 4 hours. From Thiès the journey takes 3 hours.

If you arrive late, it is better to sleep one night in Dakar or Thiès and leave the next morning. Traveling at night is reckless because of wandering livestock and poorly lit vehicles. Getting out of Dakar is now much faster since the construction of the toll highway.

The road between Dakar and Saint-Louis is in very good condition. It is already a very pleasant trip, in the heart of the Sahel landscapes and Senegalese culture.

Different options:

- Shared taxi: reserve a place in a car for 10,000 cfa (15 euros). The taxi transports you from “door to door”: It takes you where you are in Dakar and will drop you off where you want in Saint-Louis. Disadvantages: the taxi only leaves once full and you may not be the first to drop off. However, this solution is well established and it is undoubtedly the most interesting for single people or couples.

- Private taxi: approximately 4 hours by road for a cost between 40,000 and 45,000 CFA francs (approximately 65 euros) per full taxi.

- The “7 seater”: the less expensive solution: around 7000 CFA francs (10 euros) per person with luggage. The “7 seater” are only available at bus stations. A more “traditional” way of travelling, more tiring and longer.