Where to Stay in Banjul: Cape Point, Bakau, Kotu and the Senegambia Strip

The first thing to know when booking accommodation for Banjul is that almost every visitor stays 10 to 20 km west of St Mary's Island along the breezy Kombo Atlantic coastline. While Banjul Island is fascinating by day, its port and market streets empty out at dusk, whereas the coastal belt across Denton Bridge offers wide golden beaches, palm-shaded gardens, birdwatching lagoons and dozens of open-air restaurants within a twenty-minute taxi ride of the capital.

1. Cape Point and Bakau (Closest to Banjul Island, quiet cliffs and ocean breezes)

Sitting at the northernmost tip of the mainland peninsula where the Gambia River estuary meets the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Point and Bakau are only ten to fifteen minutes across Denton Bridge from central Banjul. You get a broad, breezy sweep of sand at Cape Point, dramatic red-laterite cliff hotels in Bakau, the Kachikally Crocodile Pool and Botanic Gardens on your doorstep, and an authentic Gambian coastal town feel.

2. Kotu and Fajara (Best for birdwatching, calm family beaches and golf)

Immediately southwest of Bakau along the Atlantic shore. Kotu is the favourite base for naturalists and couples seeking a peaceful beach holiday: the tidal mangrove channels around Kotu Bridge and the adjacent golf course fairways teem with kingfishers, bee-eaters and herons right outside your hotel garden, and the beach is wide, flat and uncrowded with friendly fruit-juice shacks along the sand.

3. Kololi and the Senegambia Strip (Best for restaurant variety, live music and resorts)

Five minutes south of Kotu and directly beside the trails of Bijilo Forest Park (Monkey Park). Kololi is The Gambia's main dining and entertainment hub, where two dozen international and Gambian restaurants, craft stalls, currency bureaux and live kora and reggae bars line the lively Senegambia highway, backed by large beachfront resort hotels.

4. Brufut and Bijilo South (Best for secluded luxury and quiet oceanfront lodges)

A further ten minutes down the coast toward Tanji, offering tranquil, upmarket boutique hotels and cliff-top eco-lodges perched above long, quiet stretches of golden sand.