Welcome to the Garden Guest House. We offer you an ecologically sound alternative to the usual hotel or "luxury safari" rip-offs. We believe in giving you real value for money and a genuine experience of this country, its culture and its wonderful people. The "Real Gambia" experience. Unlike the hotels, we do not try to pass off on you any psuedo culture. We always offer you the real thing.

We live on the edge of town, in a quiet part of Bakau, a town large by Gambian standards, small compared to Europe/USA. It is safe, secure and the crime rate is very low compared to USA/Europe. Bakau is great, it has everything most holiday makers want. Bars, places of entertainment, supermarket, practical places e.g. chemists, doctors, dentists, and many things to see and do all within walking distance. Nor is Bakau a big impersonal city. It is a vibrant yet friendly small town. Yet our place with it's small garden and quiet location can seem like the bush, when everyone is out. We are here, in Bakau, because everything any one may want is available here, including being able to walk out of town into the bush!

As well as a beautiful beach only a few minutes walk away, there are many other local activities such as lively markets, and lessons in dance, drumming and other West African instruments such as kora, the 21 string bridged harp/lute and the balafon, a type of xylophone or marimba.

We offer you the opportunity to live in a normal house, much like any others in the area. Living in with the local community, amongst the people; you will not be divorced from them, as you would be enclosed in an hotel that could be anywhere on the planet. But you still have a very secure and happy environment.

We have been in business connected to West africa since the late 80's and have been running holidays here since 1994. We have a wealth of experience and have all the right contacts to make sure you have an excellent holiday here. We are offering you a package that allows you to have your own unique experience, exploring this country and its culture, whilst being quietly and expertly looked after in the background.

This is a not for profit endeavour. We keep guest numbers low, so we do not make too much impact on the area while we are there. We have water and energy saving measures in place and minimise our use of motor cars. We buy our vegetables from organic sources as much as possible and always try to support the local women's vegetable garden cooperative.

Our kitchen is fully equipped with fridge, cooker, juicer, electric kettle, cutlery, cooking pots, crockery, double sink and built in cupboards. We keep it stocked with tea, coffee, local herb teas, fruit, jam and marmite, margarine and bread. You can help yourself at any time. Nyima, our chef and good friend, arrives around 5pm daily to clean the kitchen. Whilst she cooks for us, our guests may choose to learn from her about African cuisine. Nyima will invite you to both her husband's compound and her mother's, where you could learn more about cooking in West Africa. Nyima makes traditional Gambian dishes, as well as a few western ones, but we specialise in vegetarian versions, which are very hard to find in West Africa.