A few minutes by pirogue from the village of N'Gor in the north of the peninsula, N'Gor Island is the easiest day-trip swim from Dakar — a small, mostly residential island with two coves of bright sand. Local boatmen shuttle across from the beach as fast as they can fill the boats; the trip takes five minutes and costs a few hundred CFA each way.
The island is best known internationally for the right-hand reef break off its north side, immortalised in the 1966 surf film The Endless Summer and still rated one of the best waves in West Africa. The two beaches on the inland side are quiet, safe for swimming and have a couple of simple restaurants serving grilled fish. Bring cash; nothing is expensive.