The Gambia lies in a region that has arguably the most agreeable climate in West Africa. The weather is subtropical with distinct dry and rainy seasons. From mid November to early June, coastal areas are usually dry, while the rainy season lasts from late June to October. Inland the cool season is shorter and daytime temperatures are very high between March and June. Sunny periods occur on most days even during the rainy season.

Lightweight or tropical for most of the year with rainwear for the rainy season.

The Gambia is situated on West Africa’s Atlantic coast. The country consists of a thin ribbon of land, at no point wider than 50km (30 miles), running east-west on both banks of the River Gambia. The Gambia is bordered to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and on all other sides by Senegal. It is the smallest and westernmost mainland African nation. The country mainly consists of a low plateau, which decreases in height as it nears the Atlantic coast. The plain is bisected by the river and is broken in a few places by low flat-topped hills and by the river’s tributaries. In the west of the country, near the coast, the river banks are backed mainly by mangrove swamps, while in the inland area which extends from central Gambia to the eastern border the river has steep red ironstone banks covered with tropical forest. Away from the river, the landscape consists of wooded, park-like savannah, with large areas covered by a variety of trees such as baobab, silk-cotton, mahogany and oil palm. On the coast, the river meets the Atlantic with impressive sand cliffs and 50km (30 miles) of beaches, the best of which are broad, palm-fringed and strewn with shells.