Like Norway and Chile, The Gambia is a long, narrow country – except that, unlike them, it runs east to west, not north to south, and three of the former British colony’s four sides, including the two longest, are land boundaries with French-speaking Senegal.

A 350-miles long by, at its broadest, 50-miles wide wedge that almost cuts its far bigger neighbour in half, this tiny nation of around one and a half million souls occupies both banks of the mighty, slow-flowing River Gambia.

That short, impromptu geography lesson might be of little interest to you were it not for the fact that the country’s fourth boundary, with the open sea, boasts some of the very finest beaches in all of Africa’s long Atlantic coast – which, together with lots of sunshine and high affordability is why The Gambia is being touted as one of the fastest rising hip new destinations.

Make no mistake, it’s still essentially a dirt-poor country – with a largely below-subsistence agricultural economy – that still has to import 80 per cent of its food needs. But the tourism infrastructure has long been in place and is now rapidly improving.

Hotels are intimate and bijou rather than big and soulless. My own, the all-suite Ngala Lodge, sits in luxuriant gardens on a low bluff above a sweeping bay of glorious, firm golden sands, washed by rolling surf that gently lulled me to sleep each evening. It has just 18 suites in all, each of them charming, roomy and painstakingly cared for – and, thankfully TV-free, though wi-fi internet connection is available

As for Ngala’s food, wow! – Dutch-born chef Marco is right on the button of current London culinary trends, using the freshest of ingredients – with an emphasis on fish straight off the boats – all of it meticulously prepared, simply cooked and beautifully presented.

80 per cent pf the population is Muslim and most drink alcohol in moderation. Whether that’s out of religious considerations or because drink is very expensive, I really don’t know. Wine and spirits come at UK prices or above but the locally brewed JulBrew lager – with its distinctive Kingfisher logo – is so good that one of my fellow guests stuffed two six-packs into his luggage to take home to the UK.

The straggling oceanside tourist district offers a wide choice of eating options at various price points, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Korean, Chinese, Mexican, French, Italian and other cuisines are available while, at the bottom end of the price range you could go native and sample the local street foods, often of indeterminate origin but usually tasty and barbecued and served at one of the many kerbside chop shops as such tin-roofed shacks are dubbed.

Like Senegal, The Gambia is low-lying and almost pan-flat, with mangrove swamps giving way to tangled bush that is studded with palms, baobabs, acacias and other tropical trees.

It proved hard to drag myself away from the cooling sea-breezes that made the hotel’s bougainvillea flower-bedecked poolside such a haven but the excursions offered by the ever-attentive The Gambia Experience rep through West Africa Tours proved too intriguing to miss.

With 127 countries now under my belt, the opportunity to take the popular ‘Circle of Life’ side-trip into Senegal and make it 128 seemed a bargain at £64, including a visit to the Senegal Nature Reserve and a simple al fresco lunch, as well as the services of a super-informative guide.

First off we had to brave the dockside chaos and take the packed ferry from Banjul, the capital city, north across the broad estuary of the Gambia River.

As we chugged across, an itinerant shoe mender repaired my sandals against my will. He demanded 150 Dallasi (about £3) for the unasked for work. Our guide suggested 25 Dallasi (50p) would be a fairer price. But, what the hell, the lad had done an impeccable job of gluing, stitching and polishing, so I added a 10 Dalasi note to the 25 as a tip and he went away more than happy.

Less than an hour later, we’d fought past wayward goats, horses and carts and milling throngs around the customs post, and crossed the border into Senegal. We faced a bumpy ride along the nature reserve trails but it brought us close encounters of a rhino kind, with two dauntingly massive examples of that primeval species, accompanied by a family of inquisitive wart hogs, trotting towards us. The beasts settled down not five feet from the truck, posing like over-sized catwalk veterans and eventually had to be shooed away.

We didn’t get to see any of the promised giraffes in the wild but a succession of antelope, deer, buffalo and a massive colony of monkeys kept the camera shutters clicking and the place also proved to be a bird-watcher’s paradise.

Having got close to nature in Senegal, I got close to local culture back in Senegal by taking the much-vaunted Ida’s Home Cooking Lesson, another add-on offered by The Gambia Experience.

Since it was the very tail end of the tourist season, I was the only participant that day – lucky me. I had the full attention of a delightful lady who prepares traditional local foods with loving care and is keen to demonstrate how easy it is to take a taste of Gambia back home by learning some of her skills.

After kitting me out in a colourful traditional shirt, Ida drove me to the amazing fish and vegetable market right on the beach at the fishing village of Tangy to buy our ingredients for yassi – an unctuous stew laden with fish, vegetables and lime, served over rice.

From sea, to market to cook pot was a wonderful progression of aromas and taste sensations.

Watch out for Ida Cham-Njai’s forthcoming cookbook or, better yet, try her Yabouy cooking lessons (gambiahomecooking.com) for yourself,

A great taster for the whole African experience, The Gambia is safe, stable and relatively crime free. You’ll be pestered by street vendors hawking everything from peanuts to soft drinks and trinkets and by kids collecting plastic bottles or asking for small change but, unlike in some Third World countries, they don’t grab at you and the sparkling eyes, ready smiles and eagerness to converse make up for it all. What’s more, everyone in The Gambia speaks English, which is the country’s official language.

Factfile

Roger St Pierre travelled to West Africa with the 22-year old Serenity Holidays organisation (reservations: 0845 330 4567, Gambia.co.uk), which runs the The Gambia Experience and The Senegal Experience programmes as well as packages to Corsica and Sardinia.

Serenity’s local knowledge and attention to detail ensured total peace of mind and a smooth running holiday. Including flights with Monarch, Friday flight and single room supplement and optional carbon offset fee, the four-night half-board luxury package came to £935.