Dar es Salaam
Tanzania's largest city and the port from which the Zanzibar ferry leaves four times a day — a city that is not the capital, and which most people see only between the airport and the jetty
- When to go
- October 26° · 14 rainy days
- Per day
- €€price 2 of 5
- How many days
- 1days
- For you
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- Nearest airport
- 9 km Dar es Salaam · 67 km Zanzibar
- Right now
Dar es Salaam is a city you pass through on the way to Zanzibar, and that is not unjust: five million people, traffic and humidity, with a fish market at dawn and one museum that are worth a one-day stop. The Azam ferry to Stone Town leaves from the jetty in the centre, two hours and about 35 dollars — the morning one is calm, the afternoon one rolls.
The city is a port founded by the sultan of Zanzibar in the 1860s and made capital of the colony by the Germans; Tanzania's capital has officially been Dodoma inland since 1974, but the embassies, banks and everything else stayed here. The centre around the harbour has German buildings, the Azania cathedral and the Kariakoo market, and is walked in half a day in the morning — in the afternoon the sea-level humidity allows nothing. From Nyerere airport to the centre is half an hour without traffic and an hour and a half with it; the taxi is taken from the desk, not from the first person who approaches.
The Zanzibar ferry is why you come here: Azam Marine sails four times a day from the jetty in the centre, two hours to Stone Town, about 35 dollars economy for non-residents, with the ticket bought at the counter or online with a passport. The seven o'clock morning sailing has a calm sea; the half past three afternoon one can roll, and that is when you take a tablet. The alternative is the twenty-minute flight, several times dearer and worth it only when the sea is rough. Touts around the port sell tickets 'without queuing' — tickets are bought only at the counter marked Azam.
Anyone with a day goes to the Kivukoni fish market at dawn, where the catch comes off the boats and is sold at auction, and to the National Museum with fossils from Olduvai and the history of the slave trade; the Makonde carvers' village at Mwenge has carvings made on the spot. The beaches in the north, Coco and Msasani, are city beaches; Bongoyo island, half an hour by boat, is a beach with a reef for a day. In the evening you eat fish at Coco beach on the shore or in Msasani, where the restaurants are, and go back by taxi.
What to see in Dar es Salaam
The Kivukoni fish market
The market by the harbour at dawn, where fish comes off the boats and is sold at auction, then grilled beside it. Go at six, in shoes that can get wet; by eight it is over. The liveliest hour in the city.
The Azam ferry
Four sailings a day from the jetty in the centre, two hours to Stone Town; economy about 35 dollars for non-residents, ticket at the counter or online with a passport. The morning one is calm — the afternoon one needs a tablet.
The National Museum
Fossils from Olduvai, the history of the slave trade, the colonial period and Nyerere's car in the courtyard. Two hours, air-conditioned; the House of Culture next door has the ethnography. In the afternoon, when outside is impossible.
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The Makonde village at Mwenge
The carvers' market of the Makonde people in the north of the city, with workshops where ebony is cut on the spot. Prices are bargained, you buy from the carver rather than the seller. An hour, on the way to the beaches.
Bongoyo island
Half an hour by boat from Msasani, an island with a beach, a reef for snorkelling and grilled fish. A day at sea for those who do not make it to Zanzibar; out in the morning, back in the afternoon, all per boat.
Coco beach at night
The city beach on the Msasani peninsula, where half the city gathers at weekends with grills, coconuts and music. Not for swimming but for watching; Fridays and Saturdays after five.
Two things you probably did not know
Dar es Salaam means house of peace in Arabic. The sultan of Zanzibar founded it in 1865 as a summer residence, giving the name to what had been the fishing village of Mzizima.
Dar es Salaam is one of the fastest growing cities in the world; United Nations projections put it above ten million people by 2030. Tanzania's official capital has been Dodoma since 1996, but most of the government is still here.
Ready for Dar es Salaam?
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Within reach from here: Stone Town, Nungwi and Diani Beach
See how much of that actually suits you — or pin Dar es Salaam if you have been.
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