Home » Seasonal rentals in Senegal » Campsites » Campsites for Rent in Lompoul

Halfway between Dakar and Saint-Louis, less than ten kilometers from the Atlantic, lie eighteen square kilometers of ochre dunes forty to fifty meters high, with almost no vegetation. The Lompoul desert is not a tourist figure of speech: it is a real erg, tiny by Saharan standards but thoroughly otherworldly, and the only one in the country.

You don't sleep in a hotel here. You sleep in a khaïma — the Moorish tent of fabric stretched over poles, pitched in a hollow between two dunes, with a bed, a rug and nothing else. That is what the camping category means here: tented campements (desert camps), not pitches where you set up your own tent. This page brings them together.

We are a Senegalese company and we put you in direct contact with the properties. The resident rate is shown on every listing.

Lompoul & the khaïma campement

You first need to understand what this desert is, because what makes it unique explains the type of accommodation. Lompoul is not an extension of the Sahara: it is an isolated dune field in the Louga region, between Kébémer and Lompoul-sur-Mer, wedged between the Niayes — the market-garden hollows of the northern coast — and the ocean. This very fine sand, ochre and sometimes distinctly red, forms ridges that shift with the wind. You climb them on foot, sinking to your ankles, and from the top you can see the sea to the west.

This setting rules out construction. You can't build on a live dune: the sand moves, there are no possible foundations, no utility connections and no roads inside the dune field. The only way to occupy the place without fixing it in place is the tent — and not just any tent. The Moorish khaïma, fabric stretched taut and open on one side, is exactly the dwelling this environment calls for: it goes up and comes down, lets air through at night and gives shade by day. The Lompoul campements have always worked this way, with a shared area for meals and khaïmas scattered in the hollows, out of sight of one another.

The rhythm of the stay follows from the rest. Nothing happens in Lompoul between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.: it is too hot, the light is flat, the sand burns. Everything happens at sunrise and sunset, when the dunes take on their colors and the temperature becomes bearable. One night is therefore the natural format — arrive late in the afternoon, climb the ridges for sunset, have dinner outdoors, sleep under canvas, climb back up at dawn, leave in the morning. Two nights for those who want to take their time.

Finally, a word on how fragile the site is, because it would be dishonest to keep quiet about it: the dune field is affected by zircon mining projects, a resource abundant in the sands of the northern coast. The footprint and timeline keep changing, but the issue is real and has been debated for several years. It is no reason to stay away — rather a reason to come now, and to make sure tourism carries weight in the balance.

What a campement in Lompoul looks like

• Single or double khaïma — the classic Moorish tent, pitched in a dune hollow, with a bed, rug and lamp. Bathrooms are usually shared, sometimes attached depending on the campement.
• Family khaïma — several beds under the same canvas, for families and groups.
• Campement with a shared area — a large tent or straw-roofed shelter for meals and evenings, often with a fire and music. This is where campement life happens.
• Meals included — the absolute rule: there is nowhere to eat for miles. Dinner and breakfast are included, and often lunch if you stay for the day.
• One-night package — the dominant format, matched to the rhythm of the place: arrive late afternoon, leave after sunrise.

A useful clarification: "camping" here does not mean you pitch your own tent. The Lompoul campements provide the accommodation, and wild camping in the dune field is not the norm.

What to do there

• Climb the dunes at sunset — this is the main activity and it is enough on its own. Allow twenty minutes of climbing through the sand for the highest ridges.
• A camel ride — at the end of the day, the classic way to cross the dune field.
• 4x4 in the dunes — to cover more ground and reach the least-visited areas.
• The beach at Lompoul-sur-Mer — a few kilometers away, the ocean and a fishing village, easy to combine in a morning.
• The sky — with no lights for miles and no clouds in the dry season, the night sky is one of the clearest in the country. Many visitors don't expect it and talk about it once they are back home.

When to go

From November to February is the best window, hands down: hot but bearable days, cool nights — sometimes downright cold in the tent, so bring a fleece — and clear skies. From March to May, the afternoon heat becomes severe and the harmattan can fill the air with sand, reducing visibility and taking the edge off the sunsets.

From July to September, the rainy season (hivernage) brings some rain and humid heat; some campements close or scale back, and you need to confirm they are open before committing. All year round, weekends, long weekends and the end-of-year holidays are the busiest times: the number of khaïmas is limited, and they go fast.

Good to know & booking

From Dakar, allow about three hours on the northern road; from Saint-Louis, it is shorter, which makes Lompoul a natural stopover between the two cities. The last stretch is on a sandy track: the campements provide a transfer from a meeting point, and that is by far the simplest option — don't take an ordinary car into the sand unless you know what you are doing. Organized transfers are also available from Dakar and Saint-Louis.

A pool in the desert does exist, and it makes a big difference to a stay from March to June: the campsites with a pool in Lompoul page lists the campements that have one.

What to bring: a headlamp, sunscreen, a scarf or cheche (head wrap) for blowing sand, a water bottle, and something warm for the night in the dry season — the advice everyone forgets and nobody regrets. Bring cash too: there is nothing on site.

You secure the khaïma by paying 20% of the total online, and pay the rest at the campement on arrival, in cash — there is nothing for miles around, and that is part of why you come.

For a single night, cancellation works a little differently: free cancellation runs up to 7 days before arrival in low season (June–October) and 14 days in high season (November–May), yet many Lompoul bookings are made just a few days ahead. A booking made within those windows is therefore final upon confirmation — with, in return, the option to change your dates once, up to 48 hours before arrival and subject to availability. The resident rate is shown on every listing, for people living in Senegal and the Senegalese diaspora, on an account verified after a phone call. Tourist tax: 1,000 FCFA per person per night, payable on site. It goes to the owner and does not pass through Senegal Rent; we mention it so you can budget for it. And if the campement has to cancel, we offer you an equivalent option in the desert or on the nearby coast, or failing that, refund all fees in full.

Who is it for?

Travelers on the road between Dakar and Saint-Louis: this is the stopover that turns a long drive into part of the trip, and the most common way the place is used. Families, because a night in a tent in the dunes is the kind of memory children talk about for years. Photographers, for the low morning and evening light on the ochre sand. Couples looking for a night out of the ordinary. And Dakar residents, for whom three hours on the road is enough to feel like another continent — it is the weekend getaway when you have already done the Petite Côte a hundred times.

An honest caveat: the comfort is that of a tent in the desert. Bathrooms often shared, no air conditioning, sand everywhere and patchy phone signal. Those who come expecting a hotel room leave annoyed; the others never forget the night they spent there.

The moment always comes at the same time, about twenty minutes before the sun touches the horizon. You are sitting on top of a ridge, the sand is still warm, the wind suddenly drops, and the shadows stretch across the hollows until the whole dune field becomes a play of ochre and black curves. Nobody speaks. An hour later, it is completely dark and the sky is full of stars all the way to the horizon.

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