If you have a friend with a vehicle or can rent one, you have several good options. Go to the Island Campement of Boubon, a half-hour drive up the Tillaberry Road. Cross the river for 50F/person and then on the island there’s a pleasant, reasonably-priced bar/restaurant. You can stay overnight in huts for 5000F. Another option is the Relais, a hotel campement on the river, open only on weekends. Just down from the Golf Club of Niamey on the Tillaberry road, they offer a reasonably-priced lunch, camel ride, and pirogue trip. Or just have a coke or beer and watch the river. The third option is Plage La Pillule, 10 km south of Niamey on the road to Say, just past the peage. Take water and lunch and rent out a shady spot in someone’s garden along the river. Canoe rides also available. Walk up the wash 2-3 km to the sand dunes. This “beach” is a favorite of well-off Niamey households.
River trips do not have to be expensive if you do not need to see hippos. Rent out a whole non-motorized canoe for about 1000F an hour on either side of the river. Expect to have to barter more around the Kennedy bridge and the hotels. To see the hippos, one way to do it is with Les Pirogues de l’Amitié, run by Sani Boureima, 93-80-69-51. From Grand Hotel, walk towards river. Turn into the first side street on the left and then go through the metal gate doors. They speak French, Zarma, and Hausa, and a tiny bit of English. The boat is a motorized, covered pirogue. You will have to bargain really hard. His starting prices are 25,000-30,000F for 2 hours to see the hippos, but Peace Corps volunteers have gotten it down to 15,000 with tons of bargaining and patience. The boat fits 10-12 people. A day-long trip is 50.000. You can also do a 2-day boat trip for 80,000F, and you provide your own meals and camping stuff.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Niamey
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Niamey - updated Apr 2024
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Niamey Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
