🇸🇳Senegal

Dakar water ranges from sheltered training areas to offshore rock and wreck sites with current, limited visibility, sharp structure and possible fishing lines. Select depth by certification and recent experience: examples include 5 m to 8 m training areas, Tacoma around 13 m and advanced wrecks around 34 m. Ask each operator about oxygen, communications, boat crew, safe entry/exit, emergency oxygen and evacuation. No wreck penetration or staged decompression without specialized training and infrastructure. Verify diving-to-flying intervals with your instructor or a DAN resource. For snorkeling or apnea, demand current bacterial results for Ngor and other beaches before entry; never breath-hold dive alone. Park legislation restricts underwater activities at Iles de la Madeleine.

Senegal's better-equipped emergency medical facilities are concentrated in Dakar; care and ambulance reliability decline outside the capital. Senegal's SAMU has a national emergency medical number, 1515, but response resources vary by location. Contact local emergency services first for a suspected dive injury, provide oxygen if trained and available, and obtain urgent medical evaluation. DAN can advise on diving injuries and evacuation. A currently operating, dive-capable local recompression chamber was not independently verified; ask the actual operator to document the facility it would use and ensure insurance includes medically necessary evacuation and diving treatment. Review CDC yellow fever and malaria advice before travel.

The Iles de la Madeleine National Park's regulation, Article 5, prohibits ordinary marine and underwater activity, including recreational diving and snorkeling, with narrowly defined special authorizations. Article 4 requires a guide for boat visits. Follow park authority instructions rather than operator promotional claims. Senegal's Direction des Aires Marines Communautaires Protegees lists protected areas including Joal-Fadiouth, Bamboung, Abene, Saint-Louis and Sangomar; their access rules are not interchangeable. In all regions, avoid touching marine life, collecting coral, shells or wreck artifacts, or anchoring over habitat. The Saloum Delta and Djoudj bird sanctuary are protected ecological and cultural landscapes, not open swimming venues. Support local guides and minimize plastic waste.