Home » Seasonal rentals in Senegal » Lodges » Lodges for Rent in Pointe Sarène

Pointe Sarène has an advantage no other place on this coast can claim: it is the closest beach to the international airport. About fifty kilometers, a direct road, and you are on several kilometers of fine sand lined with casuarina trees (filaos), about a hundred kilometers south of Dakar. For a first or last night, it is unbeatable.

The lodge is the type of accommodation that makes the most of this spot: low-rise units set among the casuarinas, facing the ocean, without the dense construction of the big resorts. This page lists the lodges in Pointe Sarène.

We are a Senegalese company and we put you in direct contact with the establishments. The resident rate is displayed on each property.

Pointe Sarène & the beachfront lodge

Pointe Sarène is a fishing village in the municipality of Malicounda, south of Mbour, on the stretch of the Petite Côte that runs down toward Joal. For a long time, that is exactly what it remained: pirogues pulled up on the sand, a huge empty beach, and the Balabougou classified forest behind. The area is now undergoing planned tourism development over more than a hundred hectares, with hotel and residential projects. In other words: you are arriving at a turning point, when the beach still has its village calm but the infrastructure is being built.

This situation explains why lodges dominate. On a coast that is still lightly built up, with large plots available between the casuarinas and the ocean, the logic is not to put up a building but to spread a few units across existing tree cover. The lodges of Pointe Sarène are therefore typically groups of huts (cases) or bungalows scattered through grounds, with a shared building for meals, a pool, and the sea at the end of the path. You sleep on the ground floor, window open, to the sound of the surf.

The second defining factor is the proximity of the airport. About fifty kilometers, without crossing Dakar: that completely changes how you can use the place. A flight landing in the evening lets you sleep with your feet in the sand that same night, and a flight leaving late in the day lets you enjoy one last morning on the beach. Many travelers now organize their stay in Senegal by bookending their tour with two nights here — something few beach destinations in the country can offer.

Finally, a word about the sea. The Petite Côte is open to the Atlantic and swimming requires some care: the currents are real, the shore break can be strong, and conditions change with the tide. It is a superb beach, not a swimming pool — hence the pool at most lodges, which is not a gimmick but a necessity on rough-sea days.

What a lodge in Pointe Sarène covers

• Beachfront huts or bungalows — low-rise units scattered among the casuarinas, a few dozen meters from the sand. The area's signature format.
• Lodge with pool — almost standard here, and useful: the sea is not swimmable every day.
• Lodge with meals — independent dining options are limited in the village; most establishments work on a half-board or full-board basis, with fish landed on the beach.
• Family unit — several beds per hut, for families coming down from Dakar or bookending a tour.
• Short stay, one or two nights — a local specialty linked to the airport: many establishments are set up for late arrivals and early departures.

If you are looking for nightlife, shops and big resort facilities, Saly is about thirty minutes to the north. Pointe Sarène offers the opposite: space and quiet.

What to do there

• The beach, at length — several kilometers of sand, casuarinas for shade, and few people around on weekdays.
• The fishing village — the pirogues come back in late morning; it is the best time to understand how life works on this coast.
• The Mbour fishing wharf — about twenty minutes to the north, one of the biggest in the country, spectacular when the pirogues return.
• The Bandia reserve — the most accessible wildlife outing on the coast, a half-day trip from the lodge.
• Joal-Fadiouth — to the south, the shell island and its wooden bridge, to combine with a trip down toward the delta.
• Bush outings — the classified forest behind the beach can be explored on foot or by bike early in the morning.

When to go

From November to May, the dry season offers the best conditions: clear skies, heat tempered by the sea breeze, mild nights. It is also when the beach is most swimmable and the sunsets over the Atlantic are at their clearest.

From July to September, the rainy season (hivernage) warms the water, turns the land behind the beach green and brings visitor numbers down; you can then find a hut within a few days and rates ease, at the cost of humid heat and a few downpours. As everywhere on the Petite Côte, demand peaks over the year-end holidays, the French school vacations and, to a lesser extent, weekends when Dakar residents head out of town.

Good to know & booking

From the international airport, allow less than an hour without going through Dakar: that is the area's main logistical selling point. From Dakar itself, it takes a little over two hours via the highway and Mbour.

Two useful habits. Swim where the villagers swim and ask your lodge for advice: the sea is beautiful but the currents on this coast are real. And if you are arriving late after a flight, let the establishment know in advance — it is common practice here, but it needs arranging.

To sleep in the village rather than set back from it, in step with the return of the fishing boats, the campements (eco-lodges) of Pointe Sarène offer the exact opposite of this page.

Your stay is secured with 20% paid online, with the balance paid to the lodge on arrival — usually in cash, sometimes by bank transfer depending on the establishment. When the lodge sells only on a board basis, meals are included in the displayed rate.

A useful point given how Pointe Sarène is often used, for first and last nights: if you book less than 7 days before arrival in low season or 14 days in high season, the booking is final upon confirmation, but you can ask to change your dates once, up to 48 hours before — which covers most flight changes. Outside these windows, cancellation is free. The resident rate is shown on each property for people living in Senegal, the Senegalese diaspora included, on an account verified after a phone call. 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. If the lodge cancels, the same applies: an equivalent property offered on the Petite Côte, or a full refund of fees.

Who is it for?

Travelers bookending a tour: first and last night in Senegal, without crossing Dakar. It is Pointe Sarène's most distinctive use and the one it serves best. Couples and families who want the beach without the bustle of the big resorts. Dakar residents, for a two-night weekend of doing nothing but walking on the sand. Lovers of peace and quiet, especially on weekdays, when the beach is almost empty. And those who want to see this coast before it changes: development is under way, and today's village will not be the village of ten years from now.

What stays with you from Pointe Sarène is the width. The beach runs off to the right and left with no end in sight, the casuarinas form a dark line behind, the pirogues lie at an angle on the sand, and there is no one around. You stepped off a plane an hour ago, and you have already forgotten what the airport looked like.

FAQ