Cheap flights from London to Banjul

Give yourself a long runway: the further ahead you book, the more choice you have, especially for the weeks around Christmas and New Year, when planes fill with people leaving the United Kingdom's winter behind. That stretch is the busy one and fares climb with it, while September comes out cheapest. July and August are the gaps in the fare calendar — the priced stretch runs from October to June and takes in September — and midweek departures usually cost less than the Friday-to-Sunday rush.

The connecting itineraries run through legacy hubs — Royal Air Maroc via Casablanca, TAP Portugal via Lisbon and Turkish Airlines via Istanbul — which adds a stop and travel time, but checked baggage and meals come included. Easyjet, Wizz Air UK and Vueling work the other end of the market, with lean base fares where a hold bag, a seat choice and any food cost extra, so the headline price grows once you add what you actually need. Enter Air sells charter seats, often inside package trips, while Accesrail and Hahn Air Technologies appear on tickets as issuing partners rather than the airline operating the flight.

You land at Banjul airport, the only one in The Gambia, and it is not on the capital's doorstep: the city itself and the beach settlements along the coast each sit a drive away. Taxis and pre-arranged hotel transfers are the usual ways onward, and it is normal to agree the fare before you set off, since meters are not the norm. If you are continuing beyond the capital — up-country or towards the Senegalese border — sort that transport before you fly rather than after you land.

Currency

GMD (D)

Power sockets

Type G · 230 V

Language

English

Emergency number

112, 116, 118

Driving side

right

Calling code

+220

Internet domain

.gm

Population of Banjul

31 k (2013)

Time zone

UTC+00 (Africa/Banjul)

Country facts: Wikidata

• Check the entry rules The Gambia applies to your passport, including any visa and how much validity it needs, before you pay for anything.
• Check which London airport your fare leaves from — City, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton and Stansted are all in play — and weigh it against the trip across town.
• Easyjet, Wizz Air UK and Vueling fares usually cover just a cabin bag, so price the hold luggage before you compare totals.
• If separate tickets make up your journey, leave a wide gap between flights, since the second airline owes you nothing if the first runs late.
• Aim for September if the fare matters most, and expect the weeks around Christmas and New Year to fill and price up first.