Dar es Salaam
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
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Harbour View Suites
Holiday Inn Dar es Salaam City Centre
Hotel Slipway
Peacock Hotel
The Retreat Dar es Salaam
Hotel Sea Cliff
Southern Sun
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Amani Beach Hotel
Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam, The Kilimanjaro
Mövenpick Royal Palm Hotel
“A2T brings a level of professionalism to every aspect of the safari trip preparation process. We asked for a number of specifics (bean bags for the cameras, an extra battery to power a CPAP) and all was in order in the safari vehicle when we got there. David was asking why we went with A2T and I mentioned using some of these questions to sort through almost 2 dozen tour operators that I contacted on the way to choosing A2T. Having so much information available from A2T at every step of the process, including how to fill out the visa forms (and a link to the form), how much cash to bring for various things, how to pack, etc. makes what is otherwise a complicated and somewhat atypical trip to prepare for very straightforward. Karen spoke with us about why one would wish to choose one versus a different lodge and we found that each one brought a unique, wonderful experience on our trip.”