Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)

Having lived in Dar Es salaam(Tanzania) for almost 25 years till I moved to London, it was nothing strange that I felt "homesick" and wanted to revisit the city where I had spent my child hood and having finished studies spent part of my youth. The very thought of going to Dar es salaam, made me tingle with pleasure at the memories of the warm and lush beaches and cool evenings, with wind rustling through the palm trees The vast open plains dominate much of Tanzania and you suddenly feel very, very small. And so you should. You have just joined one of the largest, wildest animal populations in ... more

Well, I must admit that this would not be a place that I would choose to go again......... As soon as our truck stopped in the car park and we got off we were under siege by people trying to sell us T-shirts, cashew nuts, and sunglasses. If it wasn’t that they were trying to persuade us to change our US dollars with them instead of in the Bureau de Change or Bank. Never change money on the street, apart from it being illegal, they always rip you off in some way or another – these people are professionals. There are plenty of Internet places here, contrasted by little street stalls selling ... more

There are no facilities for transiting internationally. You must imperatively contact the ground staff for performing your international transit. Otherwise you will have to go through the immigration and customs (50$) for rechecking-in. Fortunately the staff is very friendly. They will accompany you through the immigration back and forth as many times as necessary (there is a locked little green door for that purpose and they will get the key). When spending a long time waiting for your connection, the departure hall is OK though there is no A/C. There are several lounges, one has internet ... more

When arriving at Dar Es Salam try and get over the shock of the burnt out planes at the end of the runway and stay on your toes. If you look like an obvious first time in Africa backpacker which its hard not if you've just arrived then do your homework before you leave. Know exactly where you're going to stay for your first night and ignore thetaxi touts at the arrivals lounge. Go outside to the first taxi that you can see. Most touts dont have a taxi they just get paid to get one for you and this can take a while. Also when getting a Yellow Fever certificate make sure its the yellow coloured ... more