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
“I really appreciated how straightforward and simple the process was—from putting together the itinerary, all the way through the lead-up to the trip. The initial planning call, along with the payment plan, then the pre-trip call to make sure everyone was on the same page (including the helpful YouTube videos)—it all felt seamless. And the best part was truly the expertise and professionalism of Wilfred. He did a wonderful job not only showcasing his knowledge of wildlife and Tanzanian culture, but also really took the time to get a sense of what we wanted out of the trip—even when, at times, we admittedly weren’t the most vocal, simply because we didn’t always know the breadth of possibilities.”