Dar Es Salaam

Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania, on the Indian Ocean. It is the port, the business centre and the place where many international flights land, but it is not the capital. That is Dodoma. The name means haven of peace.

Most travellers only see Dar es Salaam briefly: on the way to the parks in the south, to Zanzibar, or on the way home.

Why you pass through

The airport. Julius Nyerere International Airport, code DAR, is the largest airport in the country. If you are heading for Nyerere or Ruaha in the south, you often fly via Dar es Salaam.

The ferry to Zanzibar. The ferry to Stone Town leaves from the harbour in the centre. You need your passport, because Zanzibar has its own immigration desk.

The flight home. If you fly home with KLM, the flight from Kilimanjaro to Amsterdam stops in Dar es Salaam. You stay on board.

For the safari parks in the north you do not need Dar es Salaam. You reach those through Kilimanjaro, see our page about the Tanzania airport.

What to watch for

Dar es Salaam is a big, busy city, and a few things are worth knowing before you arrive:

1. Pickpockets, and bag snatchers on motorbikes
2. People at the airport, the bus stations and the ferry terminal who offer to share a taxi. Do not accept
3. Unreliable ticket sellers at the ferry terminal. Buy your ticket at the official office
4. No bajaj, the three-wheeled taxi, after dark

If you travel with us, you are collected and dropped off by someone we know. More on our page is Tanzania safe.

If you stay a night

You may need to, if your flight lands late or leaves early. In that case choose a hotel close to the airport or on the water on the Msasani peninsula, and have yourself collected. The city is no reason to make a trip longer. We would rather give those days to the parks or the sea.

From the city to the south or the sea

For most trips Dar es Salaam is a change of planes or boats. Where you go next, Nyerere, Ruaha or Zanzibar, is laid out in our itineraries.

View our itineraries