Home » Seasonal rentals in Senegal » Residences » Residences for Rent in Saint-Louis

Saint-Louis is not a town where you sleep one night and move on. People come for the UNESCO-listed island, the river, the birds of the north, a three-week assignment or a semester at the university — and beyond a few nights, many travelers look for the same thing: space, a kitchen of their own, and the freedom to plan their days without set hours. That's exactly what a serviced apartment (résidence) offers: a self-contained furnished home, with its own keys and front door, plus the services of a building and someone on site to talk to.

This page lists the serviced apartments available in Saint-Louis, from studios to three-room family apartments, on the island and on the mainland. You'll find homes designed for three nights as well as three months. If you'd rather be welcomed and looked after, with nothing to manage, our hotels and guesthouses in the town will suit your stay better — both options exist here, they're simply used differently.

We are a Senegalese company and we put you in direct contact with the owners: no extra middleman, and a resident rate for those who live in the country.

Saint-Louis & the furnished serviced apartment

It helps to understand why this town offers accommodation differently from others. Founded in 1659 on a sandbank in the middle of the river, Saint-Louis was the oldest French trading post in West Africa, then the capital of Senegal, then of all French West Africa. It has kept a historic center listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000: a grid of narrow streets, low houses with wooden galleries, inner courtyards, balconies overlooking the river.

These buildings are restored apartment by apartment, room by room, respecting proportions that haven't changed in two centuries. That's why the Saint-Louis offering is made up of small units — three homes in a former merchant's house, six in a residence in Hydrobase — and why no two apartments are ever quite alike. High ceilings, shutters, patios: you won't get the same home as anywhere else, and that's precisely the point.

On top of this comes steady local demand that few visitors suspect. Saint-Louis is a university town, an administrative center for the river, a town of NGOs and farming and fisheries programs. Consultants, lecturers, researchers, civil servants on temporary postings: all year round, there are people settling here for six weeks who want to be able to cook, have guests over and work from home. Mid-term furnished rentals are therefore an established market, not a tourist improvisation — which explains how well equipped many homes are, and why the kitchens are genuinely usable.

Finally, Saint-Louis has its peaks. The international jazz festival, which held its 34th edition in 2026, fills the town every year; the Fanal, the great lantern procession at the end of December, which grew out of the processions of the signares (Afro-European women of the colonial era) to midnight mass, does the same. For these periods, all accommodation in town is booked well in advance.

What a serviced apartment in Saint-Louis offers

• Furnished studio — one living space with a kitchenette and shower room, for a single person on assignment or a short stay. The most common option on the mainland.
• One- or two-bedroom apartment — separate bedroom(s), living room, fully equipped kitchen. The format for a family, a couple staying a while, or two colleagues traveling for work.
• Home in a restored house on the island — a few units in an old building, often around a courtyard or patio, with the original proportions and shutters.
• Serviced residence — cleaning, laundry, security, sometimes a reception. You keep the independence of a furnished rental and add what a bare rental lacks.
• Mid- and long-term home — fully equipped, storage, workspace. Many owners offer a discount beyond a certain length of stay.

The best way to choose is to think about how you travel. You cook, you have guests over, you want space and free hours: a serviced apartment is made for that. You leave early, come back late and want everything taken care of, breakfast included: look instead at the town's hotels and guesthouses. You're coming with extended family or friends and want the whole place to yourselves: what you need is a whole-property rental. All three exist in Saint-Louis, and the site lists them all.

Which area to stay in

• The island — the listed center, between the river and the sea channel. Everything is done on foot: the straight streets, the galleried facades, the cafés, Place Faidherbe, and guided tours that explain it all in half a day. It's the choice for a heritage stay, and the quietest in the evening. On the other hand, parking is tight and homes are smaller.
• Sor — the town on the mainland, on the other side of the Faidherbe Bridge. This is where you'll find the bus and bush taxi station, the main market, the hospital, government offices and the road to the university. More choice, larger homes, real everyday life. The right choice for an assignment or a long stay.
• Hydrobase — on the Langue de Barbarie, to the south, where the Aéropostale airline landed its seaplanes on the river in the days of the aviator Mermoz. Today it's Saint-Louis's beach, the one most used by Saint-Louis residents themselves, with newer residences and a real seaside feel, a few minutes from the island.
• Guet Ndar and the Langue — the fishermen's quarter, one of the most densely populated in Senegal, spectacular when the pirogues come back — you can also head south along the sand spit by pirogue. Accommodation there is scarce and the atmosphere very intense: people go to see it, but rarely stay there.

The Faidherbe Bridge, opened at the very end of the 19th century, links the island to Sor and remains the town's only main route: five minutes to cross, except at rush hour.

When to go

The dry season, from November to May, is the most pleasant: Saint-Louis, further north and set on the water, is noticeably cooler than Dakar in the early morning, and the trade wind blows almost constantly. It's also the season for the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, where European migratory birds spend the winter: birdwatching there is at its best from midwinter to early spring, early in the morning.

The rainy season (hivernage), from July to September, brings heat and some rain, but also a high river and a town free of visitors — it's the easiest time to find a home at short notice. Whatever the season, the Lompoul desert, to the south, makes a day trip from town. Two dates to know if you don't like crowds, or if on the contrary you're coming for them: the jazz festival in spring, and the Fanal at the end of December. For both, book early.

Good to know & booking

Saint-Louis can be reached by road from Dakar, in about half a day on the national highway, and has its own airport. Once there, the island is explored on foot; horse-drawn carriages and taxis link it to Sor and Hydrobase.

A word on cooking, since it's the main argument for a serviced apartment: the Sor market and the fish landed at Guet Ndar are within reach, and on a long stay that's as much a pleasure as a saving. Plan your first grocery run as soon as you arrive if you land late in the day.

Here's how it works: 20% of the stay paid online to secure your dates and be put in touch, then the balance paid directly to the residence. On long stays, note that the owner may ask for an additional deposit to guarantee the booking; this is shown on the listing before you book, and that deposit follows exactly the same cancellation policy.

You can cancel free of charge up to 7 days before arrival in low season (June 1 – October 31) and 14 days in high season (November 1 – May 31). A detail that matters in Saint-Louis: the jazz festival and the Fanal fall in high season, with a 14-day deadline — set yourself a reminder if your dates aren't certain. The resident rate is shown on each listing: it's for people who live in Senegal, the Senegalese diaspora included, and is activated on a verified account — we call every applicant, and verification is done by phone. Many owners also offer a discount on long stays, to be discussed directly with them. Tourist tax: 1,000 FCFA per person per night, paid 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 owner cancels, we offer you an equivalent serviced apartment on the island or in Sor, or failing that, all fees are refunded.

Who is it for?

Travelers who come for the heritage, who want to sleep in the listed town rather than next to it, and stay long enough to see it come alive. Professionals on assignment — consultants, NGOs, river authorities, farming and fisheries companies — who settle in for several weeks and need an office, a kitchen and room to host a colleague. The academic community, visiting lecturers and researchers, whose comings and goings the town hosts all year round. The Senegalese diaspora, who often come back as a family and need space, several bedrooms and a proper dining table. And Dakar residents, for whom Saint-Louis is the ultimate long weekend: far enough to feel like a change of scene, close enough to leave on a Friday evening.

There's a special moment in Saint-Louis when you stay on the island. It's early in the morning, before the town wakes up: the river is flat, the low light skims the ocher facades, a pirogue passes under the bridge, and you suddenly understand why this town was once a capital. To see it, you need a window of your own and the time to stay — that's all Saint-Louis asks.

FAQ