Bed and breakfast Keur Niaye

Ok, this is one of the few special places that create memories from your trip, not just a comfortable place to stay during your trip. And not only in Toubakouta, but in Senegal overall. Visiting Keur Niaye is like spending a vacation in the country with your favorite aunt as a kid. This is thanks to Celine and Gilles, who created a beautiful place, gather their guests around the dinner table for warm and mind-opening conversations and inventive, delicious, fine home-cooked meals, who share incredible experiences of local life through their guided tours, while being highly responsible for the well-being of local community and nature, and, last, but not least - leaving guests, who don't speak French feeling comfortable. Thank you again, we appreciate the memories you gave us!

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The owners were amazing: extremely fiendly and helpful! They also spoke English quite well (apart from their native language French). They helped us book tours that I think we could have never arranged by ourselves: amongst others a village tour with a villager/guide (who also spoke English well enough) that I would highly recommend if you go to Toubacouta. The other staff members at the B&B were also pleasant. Their cooking was great with both western and local elements, and they could even cater to our rather advanced food preferences (vegetarianism and allergies to nuts and soy protein)! The nice owners ate their meals together with the guests which was a convenient time to socialize and get some tips on what to do in the area.

Dodo is an amazingly knowledgeable guy making you feel comfortable and secure. Best breakfast we had in Senegal, great chats, relaxing chillout area and tidy, clean, well-functioning rooms with good beds and moskito nets. Besides his ability to talk with you about everything you might want to know, but also giving you personal space at any time, Dodo knew everything about the birds, the delta and nature around. Acitivites are not the cheapest but a great experience and the money is invested into charity village activities like school meals

Lovely place with the perfect host Celine. Very nice and clean room with comfy bed. The garden is an oasis to lounge in, with many different types of birds. Perfect base to explore the Seloum delta. The food is great, specifically dinner! Easy to arrange excursions from the hotel.

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Celine and Giles were charming hosts, genuinely engaged in the local community with a deep respect for the people they work with and the environment. We enjoyed every minute of our stay and the trips we did. The food was delicious, and the fact we all sat around the same table for breakfast and dinner made it very sociable. The garden is beautiful, with no need to go very far for birdwatching. We have such fond memories of our stay

- Super friendly and safe environment; - Special thanks to Céline that helped us out in English with our (many) questions and helped us out arranging a transfer to the airport; - Delicious homemade food by Céline, make sure you taste her amazing dishes; - A very nice range of activities organized at Keur Niaye, hands up to Dudu that guided us on two different occasions.

- Not exactly negative but for the guided tours bare in mind it is good to have at least some basic knowledge of French.

Celine, Gilles and their team create a warm welcome in their family-run guesthouse. My room was spacious and beautifully designed. Celine is a fantastic chef and you can enjoy delicious breakfast and dinner in the garden. Thanks for the chats, I very much enjoyed learning about the life in Toubakouta!

Céline's place is excellent - located in the fairly large village of Toubakouta, close to the border with the Gambia, and sitting right on the Sine Saloum Delta. The rooms are large and comfortable, equipped with Mosquito nets, showers and plenty of storage space. The atmosphere around the lodge is relaxed and comfortable, with communal spaces for sitting and chatting, playing games (also provided) and taking meals together. The food is also very good, with fresh bread from the local bakery, homemade jams, juices and yogurt and even some Korean options. There are numerous activities to take part in, easy to choose from from a 'a la carte' book (in Both English and French). This includes things like boats or kayaks in the Delta, guided tours of the region on foot or bike, as well as more surprising options like Tai Chi, African Drumming or lessons on cookery. We took part in a day-long trip with local guide Doudou (who is also excellent) on the water to some of the island and villages in the Delta, and it was fantastic as we got to lunch together with some local people in the Senegalese style. If you're not sure what you would like to do, there's Céline can also help guide you and many of the choices can be arranged at fairly short notice, meaning it's perfectly possible to show up with no plans and just take it from there. Finally, its also worth mentioning that Céline and her husband Gilles who run the Keur Niaye, are also well-known and clearly well respected within the community. They, and their staff, support a number of good causes across Toubakouta and the surrounding area.

For those travelling on a tighter budget, the activities, though completely worth it in our opinion, may be a little on the expensive side. I'll admit though that I didn't have any point of comparison, so this might be the standard going rate across-the-board in Sine Saloum. I'll also note again those good causes which the traveller will be supporting and Keur Niaye. The shower pressure and electric heating is dependent on the solar energy, which could be a little temperamental at times (though it was mostly fine)

Celine and Gilles were delightful hosts, always attentive to us. Everyone at Keur Niaye was gracious and highly capable. We especially appreciated Doudou, their guide who took us on several outings. The garden is beautiful, and our room was extremely comfortable. Celine and Gilles were excellent company and fascinating people. Their support for the community in the town of Toubakouta is admirable and added greatly to our experience there.