Dar es Salaam Region · Tanzania
Where to stay in Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam is a city in Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania, home to about 4,715,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- DAR10 km · Julius Nyerere International Airport
- Currency
- TZSTanzanian shilling
- Time zone
- Africa/Dar es Salaam
- Language
- English, Swahili
About
About Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania and capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. It is located on the Swahili coast.
Dar es Salaam is certainly not at the top of the list of places to see for most visitors to Tanzania. It's often a necessary stop on their way to Zanzibar, the northern safari circuit or home, but Dar has its charm. Walks around the city centre are a great way to get a feel for the culture and Kariakoo market can be an interesting place for the more adventurous. It can also be a good base for visiting some of the nearby sites such as Bagamoyo, Bongoyo and Mbudja Islands, as well as learn to scuba dive or go deep sea fishing.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Dar es Salaam
See
- National Museum
- Makumbusho Village Museum
- Askari Monument
- Zoological Gardens
- Karimjee Hall
- Azania Front Lutheran Church
- St. Joseph's Cathedral
Do
- Graham
- Century Cinemax
- Suncrest Cineplex
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Dar es Salaam to stay in
The cost of accommodation can vary from TSh 10,000 a night for very basic rooms to hundreds of dollars for the Holiday Inn Hotel. The YWCA and the YMCA are the main place to stay and meet fellow backpackers. They fill up quickly.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Dar es Salaam
6 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Kaiserhof | 1906 | 1.2 km |
| DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Dar es Salaam - Oyster Bay | 6.9 km | |
| Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam, The Kilimanjaro Hyatt Hotels Corporation | 1.4 km | |
| Kituri Royal Inn | 4.1 km | |
| Transit Motel Airport | 9.8 km | |
| Transit Motel Ukonga | 11.2 km |
All 6 hotels in Dar es Salaam, with their history and operators
When to go
The best time to visit Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. February is the warmest month, with average highs of 33 °C; April is the wettest, with about 233 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Dar es Salaam: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR), about 10 km from the city centre in a straight line; Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ, 66 km) is also within reach.
Getting in
Citizens of many Commonwealth and African nations can enter Tanzania visa-free. The list of included countries can be found here. However, travellers from most countries, including United Kingdom, Canada, or India, can obtain a visa on arrival for a fee of US$50 (US$100 for citizens of the United States), here is the list of countries that require referral visa. The fee must be paid in cash and in US dollars. Other requirements may exist for business or other types of visas. Check with the nearest Tanzanian consular section.
Getting around
Walking around central Dar is a nice way to see the city and probably the best way to get around. In general people will leave you alone except for the occasional greeting. There aren't many sidewalks in Dar so exercise caution when walking along busy roads. Cycling around Dar is possible but can be difficult and scary. You should be comfortable with cycling in high-congestion areas where a cyclist is often low in the food chain. Tanzanians have little patience when driving and in their mind any vehicle smaller than theirs is responsible for getting out of the way.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
DAR · Julius Nyerere International Airport
ZNZ · Abeid Amani Karume International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Dar es Salaam
Eat
Due in part to the growth of the expatriate community and the increasing importance of tourism, the number of international restaurants has risen very rapidly. The city now offers a rich and internationalized diversity of cuisine, ranging from traditional Tanzanian Barbecue style options such as Nyama Choma (Roasted meat – served with rice or ugali) and Mishkaki (Shish kebab – usually barbecued and served with salt, hot peppers, chapati, fries, and rice on the side), and the long-established traditional Indian and Zanzibari cuisine, to options from all corners of the globe including Chinese, Thai, Turkish, Italian, and Japanese food.
Drink
You should only drink bottled water. A 1.5-litre bottle will cost you TSh 1,000 in a store or on the street, depending on the brand (and TSh 2000 or more at restaurants), but you can also drink tap water if you've purified it with iodine tablets or boiled it (at least 3–5 minutes at a rolling boil). "Seepage" from the sewer pipes into the water pipes is quite common. Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, and Safari (the latter being a stronger beer, 5.5% alcohol) are local beers and popular with Tanzanians and foreigners. These are typically TSh 2300-3000 apiece for 500-ml bottles in local spots, but can cost TSh 4000 or more at some bars and restaurants.
Stay safe
Homosexuality is illegal in Tanzania, with a possibility of life imprisonment. Public displays of homosexuality like holding hands or kissing in public places could lead to arrest and imprisonment. Tanzania is one of the least policed countries in the world. Rapes and murders often go unreported and little data exist to suggest how common these crimes are. Domestic violence and sexual harassment, which often go well beyond verbal cat-calling, are extremely common. Foreign female students have documented multiple accounts of sexual assault and/or rape.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Dar es Salaam: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Dar es Salaam?
Dar es Salaam has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. February is the warmest month, with average highs of 33 °C; April is the wettest, with about 233 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Dar es Salaam?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR), about 10 km from the city centre in a straight line; Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ, 66 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Dar es Salaam?
Tanzanian shilling (TZS).
Nearby
Destinations near Dar es Salaam
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.