Beach of the month: Bijilo Beach

My Magazine 2022/04

3 min

Travellers are still massively choosing holiday destinations by the sea or ocean, so you will always meet sun, sand, and sea seekers on the islands and world-famous beaches worldwide. Destinations where people enjoy sunny days almost all year round are also popular in the winter months when there is cold and snow elsewhere in the world.

The Gambia is one of those destinations that visitors love to visit from October to April. Many Europeans come every year and spend between 4 and 6 months in The Gambia.
The beaches in The Gambia are the place where Gambians, visitors, ex-pats, athletes, musicians, fruit sellers, etc. meet.

Locals love to spend time on the beach, especially throughout the weekend and on bigger feasts. Football matches, barbeques, photo shootings, and birthday parties are just some of the most popular activities. It is, of course, also a number one location for long walks and jogging. Tourists usually enjoy relaxing on the sunbeds, reading books, long walks, dining and chatting with friends and locals.

You can also find providers of activities such as surfing, horseriding, fishing, quad biking, jet skiing, etc.

There are many beach resorts, bars, and restaurants in The Gambia. It is considered a prime location. However, there are still many untouched beaches along the coast.
This month we took a closer look at Bijlo beach.

BIJILO BEACH

Only a few beaches may beat the ambience and activities on Bijilo beach, which spreads from around Zing Bar to Coco Ocean Resort.
Spending a day out at this beautiful beach will give you an awesome and splendid experience, especially on weekends.

What can you do?

You can swim, do horseback riding, watch traditional Gambia wrestling, jog, listen to music, play football, taste fruit juices from the juice bars and eat delicious food from beach restaurants. The most magical scenery is at the time of sunset.

Some of the places you can find on this beach are Zing Bar, King’s beach bar, Lemon Creek hotel, Kasumai Beach bar and restaurant, Sunbird beach bar & restaurant, Sea Front Hotel and Coco Ocean Spa & Resort.

The Seafront Residences is a luxury apartment-style boutique hotel located along the beach. There is a beautiful beach bar and restaurant to enjoy privacy, good food and fresh cocktails. The place is favoured by locals and tourists looking for a pristine, crowd-free location.

Taking a stroll from the East to the West towards Kololi, one can also find Roots Beach bar and restaurant with a fantastic beachfront decorated with sunbeds and tents for its customers to swim, relax on the sunbeds, and eat and drink from their nice bar and restaurant. In front of the Roots, you can also find “Happy Sammy’s juice bar where you can enjoy your favourite local fresh juices.

Furthermore, as you venture more into this beach you will come to the beautiful Kasumai Beach area famous for its crowd and activities during the weekend. Famous Kasumai BBQ & Steakhouse is attached to the hotel. There are 2 pools, sunbeds around the pool and on the beach, and women juice pressers sell all kinds of juices.

One can enjoy different music sounds played by the bar or from people who bring their own musical sets.
Enjoy horse riding with on “Bill Da White Horse”.
Most probably, you will see young boys play football, volleyball, and wrestling around this area.
SunBird Beach offers luxury apartments, a beautiful garden with 100 sunbeds and a restaurant.

The first true beach restaurant in the Gambia, Coco beach is ideal for all occasions. Located right on the beach with airy louvred windows and a terrace, Coco beach offers a casual dining option of daily specials, grills, sushi, sashimi and salads from an open kitchen where you can see your chef at work.