For non-stop, easy access sun, sea, sand, cheap holidays to Gambia are the obvious choice. Its deep sandy beaches are fringed and managed by a line of all-inclusive resorts.
Each resort offers an optional and multilingual itinerary of sunset cruises, village visits, water sports and traditional West African feasts for those who tire of lying on loungers, and western buffet dinners. Things don't get much easier for the exhausted winter-weary on cheap holidays to Gambia.
The capital Banjul is low key and low-rise, formerly the focal point of a British trading colony that was allegedly acquired from the King of Kombo for 103 bars of iron a year.
Behind the coast, there's another scene to explore on cheap holidays on Gambia. Roads and villages follow the course of the Gambia River until the easternmost town of Basse Santa Su where it flows among truck stops and ramshackle markets close to the Senegal border.
Excursions north and south into French speaking Senegal with its government-run campements and strong social traditions are easy to arrange, but even drives or boat trips upriver within the Gambia give an authentic taste of Africa no longer accessible along the coast.
It's possible to see monkeys and chimpanzees at the Abuko Reserve, but Gambia's greatest wildlife show is aerial. Over 600 species of bird have been recorded including the migratory ones, and the Tanji Bird Reserve on the coast is a magnet for birdwatchers on cheap holidays to Gambia.
Print >