The Gambia is generally recognised to have the most agreeable climate in West Africa. The weather is subtropical with distinct dry and rainy seasons. From mid-November to mid-May, coastal areas are dry, while the rainy season lasts from 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 the Atlantic coast at the bulge of Africa. 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 also the smallest and westernmost African nation. The country mainly consists of a low plateau, which decreases in height as it nears the Atlantic coast. The plain is broken in a few places by low flat-topped hills and by the river and its tributaries. The area extending from MacCarthy Island, where Georgetown is located, to the eastern end of the country, is enclosed by low rocky hills. The coast and river banks are backed mainly by mangrove swamps, while the lower part of the river has steep red ironstone banks which are covered with tropical forest and bamboo. Away from the river, the landscape consists of wooded, park-like savannah, with large areas covered by a variety of trees such as mahogany, rosewood, oil palm and rubber. On the coast, the river meets the Atlantic with impressive sand cliffs and 50km (30 miles) of broad, unspoiled beaches, palm-fringed and strewn with shells.