Home » Seasonal rentals in Senegal » Lodges with a Pool » Lodges with a Pool for Rent in Cap Skirring

The question deserves a frank answer: why a pool in Cap Skirring, when there are miles of beach a hundred meters from your hut?

For two reasons that anyone who has stayed in Casamance knows. The first is the ocean: open to the Atlantic, with a shore break and real currents along some stretches, it is superb but not swimmable every day, nor for everyone. The second is the lodge itself: its huts are scattered under a dense canopy, in permanent shade, and the pool is very often the only open, sunlit space on the property. This page lists the lodges in Cap Skirring that have one.

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

The clearing in the middle of the forest

To understand what a pool brings, you have to picture what a Casamance lodge is. Lower Casamance is the wettest region of Senegal, and the forest cover comes down almost to the beach: huge kapok trees, oil palms, dense vegetation. The lodges were built within that cover, slipping their units between the trees rather than clearing land to build. Shade is natural and permanent, which is a luxury in a hot, humid region.

But permanent shade has a downside: the property has no center. The huts are scattered, the main building is often little more than the dining table, and there is no open space for people to gather. The pool plays exactly that role. It is the clearing — the only open, sunny spot where people run into each other between naps and where children spend the afternoon. On a week-long stay in a forest, that gathering point changes the feel of the stay far more than you would imagine.

Then there is humidity, the real comfort issue in Casamance. At the start and end of the dry season, the air stays heavy, and the sea — even a hundred meters away — means walking through the vegetation, getting covered in sand, then rinsing off the salt. A pool lets you cool off several times a day without the hassle. Many travelers who thought they would not use it end up spending more time there than on the beach.

Finally, there is the safety argument, which is decisive for some guests. The beach at Cap Skirring is long, often deserted, with currents that vary by stretch and by tide. You swim where the locals swim, and nowhere else. For families with young children, or for less confident swimmers, a pool is not a comfort: it is what lets you get in the water every day without thinking about it.

What "with pool" means here

• Pool in a clearing of the grounds — the typical setup: an open space among the trees, with sun loungers and sometimes a bar. The lodge's gathering point.
• Pool close to the beach — when the property is on the seafront, you switch between ocean and pool in the same day. The most sought-after combination.
• Partly shaded pool — useful here, where the midday sun is strong and humidity high. Check the balance of shade and sun on the listing.
• Pool and half or full board — often go together, especially outside the center: the board is included in the displayed rate when the lodge only sells board packages.

Check before booking: whether there is a shallow area if you are coming with young children, the distance between your hut and the pool — units are scattered and it can mean a two- or three-minute walk — and whether the lodge has air conditioning, as the two amenities do not always go together.

Where you are

Cap Skirring is in the far southwest of the country, about seventy kilometers from Ziguinchor, with a beach that runs north to Boucotte and Diembéring and south to Kabrousse. The main page for lodges in Cap Skirring covers the vegetation, access and seasons.

On the water side, keep in mind that surfing is done on long beach breaks, that the bolongs (mangrove creeks) are explored by pirogue between mangroves and rice fields, and that fishing is one of the area's recognized specialties. The pool replaces none of this — it fills the hours you spend at the lodge.

When the pool is most useful

In October–November and May–June, at either end of the dry season, when humidity is still or already high and the heat is sticky. That is when the pool gets used several times a day, far more than the beach.

From December to March, the air is dry, nights are mild and the sea becomes the main option; the pool is then for the children, for rinsing off and for the middle of the day. From July to September, the rainy season (hivernage) makes humidity constant — the pool is still welcome, and the idea that everything closes at this time of year is wrong: closures affect two to four large resorts, while independent lodges operate normally. Just confirm that the one you have in mind is open. The end-of-year holidays and French school holidays are the busiest times, and lodges with a pool on the seafront are booked months in advance.

Good to know & booking

Three ways to get there: a flight in season to Cap Skirring airport, the ferry to Ziguinchor and then the road, or the road from Dakar through The Gambia. Connections vary from year to year: check them when you book. Once there, a means of transportation is useful if the lodge is outside the center, and bring cash — ATMs are concentrated in the center.

For a more personal welcome and a local address book, the guesthouses in Cap Skirring often hold up better outside peak season.

You secure the hut by paying 20% online and pay the balance at the lodge on arrival, including board where applicable. For a destination reached by seasonal flight, spreading the payment has a real advantage: your budget stays available until departure.

Watch the cancellation calendar: high season runs from November 1 to May 31, which covers exactly the Casamance season, and free cancellation is possible up to 14 days before arrival — compared with 7 days from June 1 to October 31. If your flight is not confirmed, set yourself a reminder for that date. If the lodge has to cancel on its side, we offer an equivalent solution or refund the fees in full. The resident rate is shown on every listing, on an account verified after a phone call. The tourism promotion tax (TPT) is added to the rate: allow 1,000 FCFA per person per night, paid on site to the owner. Senegal Rent does not collect it; the information is given for your budget.

Who is it for?

Families with young children, first: on a long, deserted beach where currents vary by stretch, a pool is what lets you get in the water every day without weighing the risks. Stays of a week or more, where the lodge becomes a place to live and the pool clearing serves as the village square. Travelers coming at the start or end of the dry season, when humidity makes the amenity genuinely useful. Couples who alternate beach in the morning and pool in the afternoon. And swimmers who are not at ease in the sea, for whom the Casamance ocean remains demanding.

If you are a surfer or a strong swimmer, coming in January and spending your days in the water, the pool will not weigh in your choice — and the Cap Skirring lodges without a pool are often closer to the beach and cheaper. The area's campements (eco-lodges) also offer the same coastline at a much lower rate.

The moment it clicks comes around 4 p.m. You walk from your hut, under the kapok trees, in a green, humid half-light where it already feels cooler. Then the path opens up, the light suddenly falls full on, and there is this blue water in the middle of the forest with three people around it. It looks almost like a film set — and that is where the day happens.

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