Dar es Salaam

Although Dodoma, in the middle of the country, is Tanzania’s designated capital city, Dar es Salaam remains Tanzania’s social and commercial heart, as the country’s largest city and main port. Many travellers fly into and out of Dar, as it’s usually called, when visiting southern Tanzania or the Indian Ocean islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia. (If you’re visiting northern Tanzania you’d more likely fly to Kilimanjaro International Airport, before travelling to the northern parks and wildlife areas of Tarangire, Manyara, Ngorongoro and Serengeti.)

From Dar airport, we’ll often be able to arrange for you to connect straight through to your safari or beach lodge, but occasionally an overnight stop here is needed. Then visitors are often surprised how much they enjoy the place.

Dar isn’t one of Africa’s most beautiful cities; many parts of it are dusty and poor. Yet it’s a vibrant and interesting corner of modern Africa. Colourfully clad people jostle with vehicles and bicycles in the streets, whilst street-stalls sell anything from wooden carvings to matching sets of luggages.