Senegal

===Entry requirements=== Senegal has open borders, which means that citizens of almost every country in the world can obtain a visa on arrival. Citizens of Yemen, Hong Kong, Macao, and Kosovo must apply for a visa at their local Senegalese consulate/embassy.

The currency of the country is the West African CFA franc, denoted CFA (ISO currency code: XOF). It's also used by seven other West African countries. It is interchangeable at par with the Central African CFA franc (XAF), which is used by six countries. Both currencies are fixed at a rate of 1 euro = 655.957 CFA francs.

Taxi, taxi-brousse, taxi-clando, car-charette, and transport commun (cars rapides) Buslines in Dakar and around Dakar are maintained by SOTRAC (Société des Transports en commun de Cap Vert), now managed by a private company and called Dakar Demm Dikk. Car hire is available in Dakar (city and airport) and sometimes in MBour and Saly Portudal.

Wolof is the native language of some Senegalese people, but you will find that almost everyone speaks it. Knowing the basic Wolof greetings and phrases will go a long way in getting you better service and prices.

Although highly exaggerated, there is still fighting going on in the Casamance region of Senegal. The "struggle" goes on between the government and the Mouvement des forces démocratiques de la Casamance (MFDC). It would be wise to avoid travel to this area. If this is not possible, at least first check with the embassy for the latest situation. To find out how much the situation has improved look at this IRIN News report:

Get necessary vaccines before arrival. Officially, certification of yellow fever vaccine is required upon arrival if coming from a country in a yellow fever zone, but it is not commonly checked. Avoid tap water and all dishes prepared with it. Bottled water, such as Kirene which is most common and bottled in Senegal, is widely available and inexpensive.

The Senegalese in general are very friendly and hospitable. === Sensitive issues === As a tourist, you may be asked by people to give money or gifts. Even if you feel compelled to, do not give out anything to anyone. However noble this deed might be, you could be encouraging people (unintentionally) to be dependent on foreign visitors and this, in turn, could give people more of a reason to harass tourists.