The Gambia's dry season is the quiet one. Malaria advice still covers the beach.

Are there mosquitoes in The Gambia? Yes, and the CDC recommends malaria prevention medicine for the whole country, including Banjul, the Kololi, Kotu and Senegambia resort strip, Bijilo and river trips to Makasutu and Janjanbureh. The December–April dry season brings the fewest bites, but malaria lags behind the rains, so the first weeks of the season still catch the end of it.

Malaria at the resorts, and why early December matters

The CDC's wording is "CDC recommends that travelers going to The Gambia take prescription medicine to prevent malaria." Transmission occurs in all areas, mostly chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum, with no exception for the coastal resorts or the dry season.

The rains tend to run from about June or July to October, and malaria follows them with a lag. At Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul, adult malaria admissions peaked in November in both 2021 and 2022, a 2023 study in Malaria Journal found. A trip in early December catches the tail of that season. Malaria mosquitoes bite from dusk to dawn, and one traveler's rule of thumb on the coast is that they come out around 6 pm. Put repellent on before sunset drinks, wear long sleeves and pants for dinner and sleep in a screened or air-conditioned room or under a net.

For yellow fever, the CDC's recommendation is "Vaccine is recommended for all travelers ≥9 months old." The Gambia asks for the certificate only from travelers 9 months and older arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, including ">12-hour airport transits or layovers" there, and not on a direct flight from the United States.

Evenings, beach sand flies and the river

On the resort strip, January and February tend to be the quietest months, while November and early December tend to bring more mosquitoes in the evening. Small biting flies that visitors call sand flies turn up on the Kololi and Kotu beaches on some days and not others, and they have a reputation for being worst early in the season. Which insect they are hasn't been pinned down. Repellent on your ankles and lower legs before a beach walk helps either way.

The CDC's Gambia page lists no dengue, Zika or leishmaniasis. It does list African tick-bite fever and Rift Valley fever, which spreads through contact with infected livestock or by mosquito bite; Senegal's 2025 outbreak had wound down by early 2026. Travelers on Gambia forums also warn about mango fly larvae picked up from damp laundry or sunbeds left out overnight, so dry clothes indoors or iron them.

On a river trip to Makasutu or Janjanbureh, stay out of the water, since the CDC says schistosomiasis is found in The Gambia and advises avoiding fresh, unchlorinated water.

Where you're going

Crossing into Senegal? The CDC's malaria and yellow fever advice is the same there. Flying on to Cape Verde? The CDC recommends no malaria medicine there, but the islands require yellow fever proof from travelers 1 year or older arriving from a country with yellow fever risk. Our Senegal and Cape Verde briefings have the details.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from TripAdvisor forum threads about the coast and linked so you can read them in full. None is dated, and bites on the strip change a lot between November and February.

• Kotu beach

  One poster had never been bothered by sand flies on Kotu beach during the day, though they had not been on the beach after dusk. Another had met a lot of them on the beach, apparently gathered around a hole a stray dog had dug, and suggested steering clear of holes in the sand. TripAdvisor ↗

• Kololi · November (start of the season)

  A poster said sand flies can be on the beach at that time of year and were awful in November, and another said mosquitoes are worse at the start of the season. Posters recommended DEET-based repellent. TripAdvisor ↗

• Sanyang (south coast) · January-February

  A poster living in Sanyang said January-February is about the best time of year for sitting outside, with mosquitoes increasing where rainwater collects, but still advised using repellent. TripAdvisor ↗

• Senegambia area (Kololi) · January-February

  A repeat visitor said there were very few mosquitoes around Senegambia in January and February, with only the odd bite in nine years of visits. TripAdvisor ↗

One more rule outlasts the trip. Any fever during or after your trip means a doctor visit, and you tell them you were in The Gambia. That holds for a year after you get home.

Traveler questions