Pirogue hire on the Pink Lake is priced for the whole boat, five to six seats, and not per person: 20 minutes, 35 minutes or an hour on Lake Retba, with a boatman. The more people in the pirogue, the better value the ride is for each of you.

One price for the whole pirogue

The principle differs from the per-person ride: you book the pirogue, with its boatman, for your family or group of friends. There are three lengths: 20 minutes, 35 minutes and one hour. The pirogue has five or six seats, and the price is for the boat, whether there are two of you on board or six.

Lake Retba changes colour with the time of day and the season, with pink, orange and violet reflections. The hour leaves more time to follow the shore and look at the salt pans and the dunes around the lake. The boatman is included in the price.

For a family or a group of six, hiring the boat is the simplest option: one payment, one boat, and everyone enjoys the lake at their own pace. For a couple or a solo traveller, the per-person ride may suit better.

If you live in Dakar, this is an outing to slot into a day at the lake, with children or friends; if you are visiting, it is a way to share a pirogue with the people you are travelling with and to photograph the lake from the water, well away from the shore.

The Pink Lake, between the Sahel and the Atlantic

The Pink Lake is thirty kilometres north-east of Dakar, where the Sahel meets the Atlantic. Barely three square kilometres in size, it is known as the legendary finish of the Paris-Dakar rally and lives from salt harvesting, local crafts and adventure sports. The Dakar region includes it, and the Pink Lake page describes the site in detail.

To extend your day

Around the lake, quad and buggy rides and camel or horse rides are classics, and other pirogue excursions are available elsewhere in Senegal.