AATF Pre-Convention Excursion

Make the most of your 2027 AATF-Paris convention experience by kicking off your trip in Senegal! This 5-day program is jam-packed for the ultimate in a French immersion program, exclusively offered to AATF members and their adult traveling partners. Discover Senegal with your French educator colleagues on a journey designed to enrich your teaching, deepen your cultural understanding, and inspire your classroom.

This 5-day, 4-night educational travel program offers a first-hand chance to experience Senegalese teranga (hospitality) through unforgettable cultural experiences rooted in authenticity and connection across Senegal’s vibrant towns, coastal villages, and historic landmarks. Highlights will include guided visits to Léopold Sedar Senghor’s childhood home, hands-on workshops of drumming, dance, and batik, a stroll on “seashell island,” and a tour via pirogue. At the conclusion of our trip, you will have time to fly onward to Paris to join the 2027 AATF Convention in Paris.

From the coastal calm of Toubab Dialaw to the historical resonance of Gorée Island and the energy of Dakar, this is more than a trip—it’s a transformational opportunity to see the Francophone world through a new lens and return to your classroom with lived experience, new resources, and renewed inspiration.

Highlights

• Immerse yourself in Senegal’s diverse cultural landscape—languages, religions, ethnicities, cuisine
• Enjoy authentic 1-on-1 and small group interactions with students, teachers, artists, artisans, and local families
• Engage in hands-on workshops like batik-making, djembé drumming, and Senegalese dance at an art center perched on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean
• Visit iconic sites, bookstores, and artisanal markets to gain deeper insights into local life and Senegalese communities
• Practice your French in real-world settings—everyone is encouraged to speak French 100% of the time, with a little Wolof added for fun

We will need a minimum of 8 participants to run the trip at $1975 per person in double-occupancy rooms. The trip cost will lower to $1775 at 12 people, and $1575 at 16 or more people. When you sign up, the total amount due will reflect the higher amount owed, and will be adjusted before final payments are due. If we do not have enough people to run the trip, all payments, including deposits will be refunded.

Registration is required by January 31, 2027 to reserve your spot. Participants for this trip are expected to be current AATF members at the time of registration and at time of travel. An AATF member may invite a spouse, or partner to join the trip if they are at least 21 years old.

Day by day

1. Day 1 – Arrive in Senegal · DSS – Toubab DialawParticipants arrive at DSS/Dakar and Vive will provide a bus transfer at designated times to our starting point, a magical location overlooking the ocean. We will prepare you with some Wolof so you can learn about Senegalese products, perspectives, and practices through a specially-designed cultural orientation in the village. Afterwards, you’ll share your experiences together with the group.
   
   We’ll enjoy a Senegalese meal together at lunch. Throughout the day you will start the first half of the batik workshop and learn Senegalese drumming and dancing.
   
   We’ll practice a little more Wolof and the art of bargaining and then head out for a walk by the ocean to see the local fisherman’s pirogues before sunset.
   
   (If you arrive the day before, we can provide a transfer and additional hotel night for an extra fee.)
2. Day 2 · Toubab Dialaw – Joal/Fadiouth – Toubab DialawBegin the day with a drive south to Joal-Fadiouth and be sure to watch for monkeys on the side of the road. We’ll get a local tour of Léopold Sédar Senghor’s childhood home with the giant baobab in the back garden. Just a few kilometers away, we’ll do a walking and pirogue tour of the seashell island and the Catholic-Muslim cemetery. You’ll pause for a visit of the sacred baobab and learn about the local social structures of the neighborhoods in Fadiouth. You’ll enjoy lunch under thatched roofs along the mangroves of Joal-Fadiouth with time for an “arbre à palabre” conversation before we return to our hotel for dinner after along day.
3. Day 3 · DakarWe will start our day in Dakar. Before it gets too hot, we’ll climb some stairs for a great view of Dakar at the Monument de la Renaissance. We’ll continue towards downtown Dakar along the coast to the Marché Artisanal next to the urban fishing village of Soumbédioune and tour the inside of an impressive nearby mosque and learn about Islam in Senegal.
   
   We will continue our tour to the Dakar Plateau neighborhood for a family-style lunch at a classic restaurant with a chance to savor your favorite local dishes. We will continue on a walking tour of this historical and contemporary neighborhood. We will discover the Place de l’Indépendance, the Catholic cathedral, local boutiques, and other historical landmarks on a bus and walking tour of downtown Dakar. See the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly, and more.
4. Day 4 · Dakar – Gorée – DakarToday we’ll leave our hotel early to head downtown to the port to catch the 30-minute ferrry to Gorée Island, a beautiful pedestrian island. Visit the Slave House and other monuments on Gorée. Pause for lunch along the water and then take the afternoon ferry back to Dakar.
5. Day 5 · Dakar – Petite CôteWe’ll start the day with a conversation with a local environmental activist and participate in a beach clean-up on Pointe des Almadies with a local environmental activist. We’ll enjoy lunch on this westernmost point of Africa. That afternoon, we will work our way back towards the airport with a chance to pause for various cultural visits.
   
   Finally, around 6pm we’ll head to the Dakar Airport to catch evening flights. If you have a flight the next day, we can provide an additional hotel night and airport transfer for an additional fee.

What’s included