Description: Dar es Salaam is a major African city with more than 3 million people. Unless you have a particular reason for spending some time in Dar, we feel it just doesn’t fit in well with most itineraries. Due to the timing of flights, we do occasionally recommend overnights in Dar. The best bet for a half-day in Dar is to head to Mwenge where there is some good souvenir shopping, especially wood carvings. And near there is the Makumbusho Village Museum where you can find a collection of authentic homes from 18 Tanzanian tribes. You can get a short tour and a broad overview of village life in Tanzania. There are also some decent beach hotels in/near Dar es Salaam, but for anything more than a 1 or 2 night visit, these are mostly outshined by nearby Zanzibar, which is where most people go. Near Dar, just a couple hours north, is Bagamoyo. This is a laid-back large village that has several very nice beach hotels.
Accommodations
$$
Harbour View Suites
Holiday Inn Dar es Salaam City Centre
Hotel Slipway
Peacock Hotel
The Retreat Dar es Salaam
Hotel Sea Cliff
Southern Sun
$$$
Amani Beach Hotel
Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam, The Kilimanjaro
Mövenpick Royal Palm Hotel
“It was excellent! The pre-trip planning with Karen was great and she and/or Allison promptly answered my many questions at various points prior to our actual trip. Also, Karen was extremely helpful in making our final day in Tanzania as comfortable as possible – she arranged for us to spend the afternoon in the Arusha Access 2 Tanzania day room. Our transport guide for the day, Haji, brought us a wonderful selection of Tanzanian food for lunch! He as well as Stella and the A2T staff were very nice and welcoming! Our safari guide Noel was such a good man and an excellent guide. He was thrilled to learn that we had requested him at the recommendation of my friend, and he didn’t disappoint. I don’t know how anyone can navigate the unmarked Serengeti roads like he did. He made sure that we were comfortable, safe, and had everything that we needed. During the trip, another A2T guide, David, and his 2 passengers (whom we previously met during the village tour) invited us into their land cruiser to watch the wildebeest crossing because they had a better position. We really appreciated that!”