The Real Gambia >> Customer References.

Alex Harrison - UK August 2010

We stumbled across a review for Moses and his tour company when researching our trip to Gambia. Further research took us to his website which only enforced our idea that Moses was the man to organise trips and tours with.

Moses really took us under his wing and showed us parts of Gambia we would not have seen other wise. Do not hesitate to use this man and his wealth of knowledge and his love of the Gambia - you will not be disappointed.

We organised one trip while still in the UK and after using him once we hung out pretty much the whole time doing something crazy and fun everyday.

His tours can be catered to whatever you like so if you fancy a lazy afternoon cruising down the river with some fishing he is your guy, if you want to take an off road safari to visit uncle Johns and get drunk on local home brewed spirits he is your man, if you want to feed some monkeys, stroke a crocodile and then head to Paradise beach let moses organise it for you and you will see the real Gambia and have a real insight to a wonderful country.

Not only was Moses our tour guide he became our friend and even organised a birthday party at his house for my sister. He even had a cake which said 'Happy Birthday Charlotte' made which we enjoyed with his friends and some beers.

If you going to Gambia do not use anybody else but Moses!!!!

Carole and Jamie Condie - England

We went to the Gambia last year and before I went I did a little research and found Moses on the web. I emailed him and explained that my husband and I had never been to the Gambia before and were a little nervous. Moses emailed me back asking where we were staying etc and arranged to meet us the day after we arrived.
He met us in our hotel lobby and sat and asked us what we wanted to see and what we didn't. He was so thoughtful, polite and we felt safe with him at all times. While we where there it was a special festival time where they slaughter a ram and go to prayers. Some of the other holiday makers in our hotel also wanted to see this, so Moses arranged to pick us all up - he took us to meet his family and explained and showed us all that they did on this special day.
Moses then took us back to his compound where he prepared us a meal and supplied drinks. It was a very interesting day and I enjoyed it immensely. I would certainly recommend anyone to book with Moses and if we return to the Gambia I would love to see him.

Jay Grant and Zayna Pearce - Braintree, Essex, England.

After booking our Gambia holiday I contacted Moses through his Website and he arranged to meet us at our hotel the day after our arrival, he arrived on time and we spent a good while sitting down and chatting about what sort of things we were looking for in our holiday.
Moses then informed us that a football match was taking place that evening and that we could attend with him, it was Gambia U21 vs Ghana U21 and what an experience! Even my girlfriend who doesn't like football couldn't help but enjoy the carnival atmosphere inside the Stadium, this was also helped by the fact that Gambia won, Moses would not accept any money for taking us out although I insisted on paying for his ticket(about 25pence if I remember correctly). Our first excursion with Moses was a day out to visit the Crocodile pool and then onto the monkey park, Being able to touch Crocodiles and have photo's taken with them was fantastic and quite surreal and the monkey reserve was so much fun as the monkeys are very friendly (especially when your pockets are full of monkey nuts!). Our second excursion was to visit James island and rather than take the boring run of the mill tourist bus etc we went by taxi,ferry(an amazing experience in itself),taxi,canoe. All time spent with Moses is pleasant as he is a mind full of information about this fabulous country, first time visitors as we were could not choose a better guide as everywhere we went with him he would know people and be greeted with a smile and while 'bumsters' can be a little frustrating, they all leave you alone if you are with Moses. Finally I will end by saying that as well as being a great guide, after meeting Moses you will have also gained a good friend as he is a genuinely nice guy and his enthusiasm for all he does is commendable to say the least. Thankyou Moses for a great holiday and promise we will be back to see you again soon!

Andrew & Sheila - UK - February, 2010

Dear Moses,

I hope you find the following comment useful:-
"I met Moses in February 2010, when I was visiting The Gambia and Senegal. I had planned a trip round both countries with Sheila, my partner, with the intention of seeing as much of the birds and other wildlife as possible in both countries. We were aware that public transport does exist in the Gambia, but that getting to some of the more remote places we wanted to visit would take a lot of time. We decided to look for someone to help us travel from the coast right to the far East of the Gambia and on to the Niokola Koba National Park in Senegal. I found Moses' web-site, and liked the look of it, and was impressed by the very helpful replies I received to all my questions.
Moses helped tailor a trip to meet exactly what we wanted to see, and even once we arrived, made some changes so that we could visit all the places we wanted to as easily as possible. He knows a lot of people all over the country, which helped us on our travels.
Moses was genuinely concerned to ensure we enjoyed ourselves, and we did! We visited Abuko, Kiang West and Bao Bolon National Parks, the River Gambia National Park to see the chimpanzees, and two community forests near Georgetown, stopping along the way at towns and villages and to see other wildlife spots.
Moses speaks excellent English and is good company. Travelling with a guide ensured we could spend more time doing the things we had come to the Gambia to enjoy, rather than standing by the side of the road waiting for crowded minibuses! We are very pleased we travelled with him, and his driver, in a comfortable 4x4 jeep, and I would have no hesitation in recommending him!"
Remember to let me know if you are able to make progress with your proposal for your village - we would certainly be interested in coming back to the Gambia as there are many other places I'd like to go - maybe in a few years' time - and if we do, I'll be in touch.
Andrew Sneddon

Dave and Linda - UK - February, 2010

Hi Moses
me old china just a wee note to say a BIG THANK YOU to you the Ring Leader ,Bob and all the Beach Gang For a wonderful time for are 1st Time in GAMBIA I have attached a few pictures for your web site Till the gang i am sorry we missed you all on the last to say Good Bye But all going well will be back next year Let me know how your plans go and how the school is doing from time to time

Best Wishes
Dave and Linda

Keith family - UK - December 2009

What an unforgetable experience, We thoroughly enjoyed our days out with moses a very kind and thoughtful man. He always looked out for you and your family whilst on his tours. The safari in Senegal was excellent and the lunch prepared by Moses's Sister was lovely, it was very nice to have something traditional. Also the crocodile park was quite an experience and the nature walk was very interesting. If we were to come back to The Gambia we would most certainly use Moses as our tour guide again.

Jagoda & Jedrzej - Netherlands - April, 2009

I lack some of the words needed to express how amazed I was with Moses and the experiences that myself and my wife have had thanks to him. I've listed a few reasons below about why it was so great, suffice to say that I'm extremally happy that I met him:

It was safe
I was concerned about safety of going to a place I don't know with a person I didn't meet before. Initially I took just one excursion to see what happens, preparing for possibility of being cheated or abandoned in a remote place. Now when I think about it it's funny, because Moses is very good, honest person. It was absolutely safe to travel with him, so I went for some further excursions without any hesitation.

I saw places and did things, that I'm absolutely sure - people going with tour operators wouldn't have a chance to experience
We went to a places where I would never go on my own or with tour operator. He organized a few unbelievable events, which wouldn't be possible for bigger groups. I won't get into much details here as these were more spontaneous things, but these were things that let us feel real Gambia, in addition to seeing usual tourist spots.

Way of traveling was more interesting, agile, more Gambian
- With tour operator we would go either by coach or big transporter. With Moses we travelled by Jeeps.
- Getting to James' Island - we took canoe, while getting there with tour operator was ridiculous! They transfer people by steel ferry, and then about 50 meters people were transported also by canoes to the island. It took them forever. We were a lot faster and with canoe on the whole way
- River cruise - there were 4 people on our boat - including Moses and captain, so basically it was private, relaxing trip. We talked a lot with both Moses and captain, learned a lot. I don't even want to think how would it look like on a boat loaded with 20 people from tour operator

Moses didn't accept compromises in quality of his services
Mentioned river cruise - when we went to a port, Moses argued with his contrahents for about 20 minutes, we didn't know why, because they were talking in local language (but we still felt safe, because Gambians are friendly, so meantime we actually were taking pictures with the people he argued with). So at one point he immediately went to someone else and explained that he wanted us to have a boat with roof, which was currently broken. Those people tried to convince him to make an exception this time. He could do so, making things easier for himself, and we wouldn't even know about anything, because we had no idea there was possibility of having boat with roof for sunbathing. So he quickly organized type of boat he wanted us to have. We could feel many other times, that Moses isn't kind of person that would like just to get his cut and then forget about us. He made an impression, that the best possible satisfaction for us was his top priority. Money were on a way further place.

It was cheaper and money stays in Gambia
Traveling with Moses was cheaper than with tour operator. Sometimes a lot. And we got higher quality and more real Gambia experience than with tour operator. Another thing - when paying local person, money stays in Gambia, where it will be more useful than paying to tour operator, who transfers income back to Europe.

We did also try drinks from his juice bar. I takes some time to prepare them, as fruits are squeezed during preparation. It took a while but was worth waiting. If someone still has some questions, doubts or simply needs a confirmation of this reference, feel free to call me: (+31) 617 801 053.

Arthur and Linda - County Durham - 20 March, 2009

My wife and I took our first trip to The Gambia in March of this year, staying at the Corinthia Atlantic Hotel and this turned into the experience of a lifetime thanks to the efforts of one man - Moses Colley.

My wife and I are fairly seasoned travellers and we have learned over the years that the first impressions given by holiday reps can be totally misleading and consist mostly of scaremongering to prevent the holiday maker from looking elsewhere.

I would urge you to listen to the welcome meeting with the holiday rep and then seek out Moses to book your trips out at a fraction of the price and a more interesting tour by far. Moses is the most dedicated young man I have come across in years and we were comfortable in his charge and saw sides of The Gambia we would never have seen through the holiday reps tours and believe me, we have compared the two.

His enthusiasm for his country is unmatched and he quickly dispelled any of the misconceptions regarding travelling out in a 'third world' country that we were exposed to prior to our trip. We had a number of completely relaxing and informative trips out over our two weeks holiday and I would recommend him to anyone, especially if it is your first trip to The Gambia.

To find Moses from the hotel, just step out onto the beach and turn right. You will see the Juice Bars a 100yds or so down the beach (try one of his freshly squeezed fruit juices while you are there - superb!

Take a look at his website - www.realgambiamoses.com

Sean Smith - September 2008

Whilst on holiday in Gambia my wife and I joined professional tour guides Lamin and Mosses colley for a trip into the real Gambia. We took a 90 minute trip in an open top 4 x 4 into the rural part of the country, as we left the hussle and bussle of the buisy towns it became apparent that the further you went in inland the more beutiful it became.En route the guides gave us a comprehensive insite into the area the customs and the way of life. on the outskirts of the village we stopped at the communal gardens where we helped with the produce and discussed there methods of farming and the problems they have to face

We went on into the village to meet the boys family and learnt about there way of life. Whilst we were there we visited the local store and purchased some rice for the family a simple gesture but one which ment so much.My wife helped prepare the food in the coompound kitchen and was instructed in there cooking methods by the local ladies.

In the afternoon we went into the village and whitnessed local celebrations an dancing this was not like hotel entertainment it was the real thing .

We then went down to the mangrove where we swam in the river and relaxed with the locals in a most beutiful unspoilt location,the ladies of the village soon arrived with the food they had earlier prepared .We sat in the sunshine enjoyed the feast and sipped on green tea before having to depart for the hotel,
This was a day that my wife and I will allways treasure and an experience that money can not buy.Living in the UK is difficuilt at the momment but having expeirienced a differant way of life I can allways close my eyes,think and realise how lucky we are. {but saying that, "who is the happier"}.

Lamin and Mosses also carry out trips to all the local attractions, arrange transport and give an in depth commentry whilst you are out.

I would recommend them if you are looking for value for money trips.

Steve Montague - Portchester - Oct 2006

I've been to Gambia with my family twice now, the climate is great especially in the winter when its cold in the UK, a reasonably short flight and you arrive in a climate thats not humid and hot (about 30 C), the summer out there is humid though.

The first time I went all of my trips were arranged through the company we booked with, they were great and we saw many interesting things but we still felt like a tourists and wanted to see more of the real Gambia.

On our second visit got chatting to Moses at his Juice bar on the beach, after a while he told us about the excursions and trips he organised, also he went on to explain that he'd studied for qualifications in Travel & Tourism and that ultimately that was what he wanted to do full time. After explaining what we'd seen and what we'd like to see he put a few days out together for us, when I asked him how much it would cost, he was that confident that we'd have a good time, he said "if you enjoy yourselves pay me whatever you want to, if not then don't" or something like that, obviously taxi costs and any entrance fees we paid for as we went along.

We had some great days out;
We fed the monkeys during our walk around the jungle in Monkey Park during the walk we saw some amazing jungle, wildlife and birds.
We went to the Crocodile Pool at Bakau where they you can stroke the fish eating crocodiles.
We walked around the Abuko Nature Reserve looking at the different birds and trees, also there's a small zoo there with Hyena and baboons.
Lamin Lodge was a real treat, right on the edge of the mangroves and really picturesque, when we arrived one of his many friends showed us how the Gambians use the oysters that their women collect in small canoes, the oysters are cooked and the shells are used for everything from making paint dye's for their walls to road surfaces. At the logde there's a very quaint restaurant, the monkeys come in when the diners leave and you can watch them drinking out of the bottles and eating any leftovers, highly comical.
Also there was the great tour of the shops and Market at Banjul. We saw lots of other things and went to other places but the one that stuck in our minds the most was visiting Moses's girlfriends home and meeting her family.

So if you want to see the real Gambia or just the best bits I'd have no hesitation in recommending Moses, its not just the places he takes you either, everywhere you go he tells you about the trees, the habitat, the history, the people, the culture and numerous other things.

If you don't want to venture too far he's happy just to take you into town and show you the best places to buy souveneers, beer, water, snacks or whatever there is to offer, failing that just visit him at his juice bar for a chat, he's an honest bloke and won't rip you off, one of the reasons that I built this site for him, Moses wrote all of it (apart from this reference) and I just put it together for him.