I went to the African holiday destination set to be big in 2025 – with TUI breaks, hot winters and no jet lag

CHOOSING where to go on your next holiday can be a tricky decision to make – do you go to your favourite usual resort, or try a new place altogether?

One destination that should be on your hot list for next year is Senegal – and I visited when the first flights launched from the UK.

The African destination was named one of National Geographic’s Best of the World 2025.

It’s food scene was praised, being a mix of Wolof and French which includes the national dish Thieboudienne (a one pot with fish and rice) as well as street food Ndambe, a baguette filed with spicy beans.

Actress Issa Rae, who spent some of her childhood in Senegal, returned with Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski as part of a National Geographic series coming next year.

She said: “This is such a beautifully welcoming country.”

And that’s what I found when I visited back in 2022, when TUI launched their first holiday packages there, and the first flights from the UK in a decade.

The destination is often overlooked by British holidaymakers wanting to go to Africa, with many heading to either the nearby Morocco or bucket list safaris in Kenya.

But it shouldn’t be for a multitude of reasons – such as there being no time difference so no jet lag, thanks to the 5hr30 direct flights.

You can expect highs of 32C in the winter – so its ideal for some last minute winter sun.

The TUI website states: “Pointe Sarene’s one of the freshest faces to join west Africa’s holiday scene, but it’s set to become one of the continent’s next big names.

“This sleepy fishing village – and its surrounding area – received a £150million tourism investment in the last decade.”

While its easy to lose the days relaxing on the beach, there are some amazing places to see, all of which can be part of day tour excursions.

There is the capital of Dakar, a bustling hub with mixes of African and French culture.

The island of Goree is a must, a UNESCO site which was one of the first and largest slave-trading sites.

It makes for a sobering experience, where you can still see the cells and the exit ports where they would be taken to Europe.

And while no-where near as established as Kenya, you can even go on safari.

Don’t expect the big five, but there are still giraffes, rhinos and zebras to spot in the wild.

And while most far-flung destinations come with the high price tag, another one of Senegal’s selling points? The price.

All-inclusive holidays are as little as £820pp, which includes your hotel, return flights and all food and booze.

The most popular hotel is Riu Baobab on Pointe Sarene, with other hotels including Neptune and Palm Beach.

Previous tourists have sung its praises, with one saying it was “one of the best hotels they’d been too”.

Others praised the friendly staff as well as being clean.

When I stayed, my days were spent at the hotel’s swim up bar, it’s waterpark and its many buffet restaurants, flitting between them all.

Even into the night you can expect live shows and an underground ‘nightclub’ (although we were some of the few tourists, bar some other German holidaymakers).

I visited Senegal with no expectations of what it would be like – and its become one of my favourite places to have ever been.