Have one day in Dar es Salaam and wondering what to do in this big African city? Maybe you have a long layover or just an extra day in Dar es Salaam before or after your safari. Well here’s your perfect 1 day itinerary!
Where is Dar es Salaam?
Dar es Salaam is a large bustling African city of over 4 million people. While no longer the capital of Tanzania, it is still the country’s main economic hub and major financial centre of East Africa. Despite its size, it is a friendly city, if not a bit chaotic at times.
Being our first time in Africa, we were not sure what to expect when we landed in Dar es Salaam and set off to explore the city on our first day. However, wandering around the downtown area, we quickly felt at ease and never once felt unsafe.
Where to Stay in Dar es Salaam
We booked ourselves into the Protea Dar es Salaam Courtyard Hotel. Protea hotels are part of the Marriott family, so we were able to book using our Marriott points – yay! The hotel is rated highly on TripAdvisor and rightly so.
Although not located right in the centre of town, it was easy and inexpensive for us to hop into a taxi into the city centre and be there within 10 minutes (depending on traffic, of course). The location was also nice since it felt a lot more peaceful and was a few steps away from the ocean.
The hotel also has a shuttle to pick you up from DAR airport but it is quite pricey ($40 US). However, we felt it was worth it after our 24 hour journey to get to Tanzania. We arrived late at night, were super tired and not in the mood to haggle with taxi drivers.
Check out our Dar es Salaam Airport: Arrival and Departure Guide
Things to do in Dar es Salaam
Breakfast at your hotel
The highlight of the Protea Dar es Salaam Courtyard hotel was the breakfast buffet! Honestly, this is one of the best breakfast buffets I’ve ever had around the world. Lots of selection, both African and Western, for a good price, attentive service and comfortable atmosphere.
Normally when we travel we venture outside the hotel in search of local food but this was definitely a good choice. Enjoy a little sleep in, wander over to the dining room and indulge in this fantastic breakfast spread. Then you’ll have energy to wander around and explore Dar es Salaam in one day!
Pick up any necessities at City Mall
After breakfast, take a taxi (about $5) to City Mall. If you didn’t have a chance to pick up a SIM card at the airport, you can do so here. Don’t just stop at any cell phone shop (which there are many of at this mall) because surprisingly most do not sell SIM cards. You need to head all the way to the third floor, to the back corner and look for an orange Halotel sign. If you have any issues finding it, ask at any of the mobile shops.
SIM Cards here cost only 2000 TSH! And you can get 1GB data plus talk and text for a measly 10,000 TSH. Make sure you bring your passport with you. It can’t be a photocopy, either (I learned this the hard way). Regular photo IDs or drivers licenses won’t work.
On the bottom floor of the mall there is a grocery store called Maisha Supermarket where you can pick up some necessities. We stopped there to get deodorant, tooth paste (the airline left behind our luggage) and insect repellent in preparation for our safari. I don’t know about you guys, but we love checking out grocery stores around the world to pick up local snacks! So this is a great place to do so.
Another thing to do at City Mall is take out cash!! If you are exploring further around the country you may not see an ATM for awhile so you will want to ensure you have enough cash on you. We were told Tanzania ATMs are known for running out of cash. And we did experience this twice! Luckily, the ATMs at Barclay’s on the bottom floor of City Mall had enough cash and had guards standing outside.
If you’re not too full from your buffet breakfast, you can pick up some lunch at the cafeteria on the top floor of the mall. We wandered up there and it looked like they had some interesting choices but we were too full.
One last thing, use the bathrooms in the mall before you set out exploring because you may not be able to find a public toilet for awhile.
Wander downtown Dar es Salaam
Once we picked up our necessities at City Mall we set off on foot to explore the downtown area. We headed in the direction of the water with no particular destination in mind.
One thing we noticed was for such a big city, it was pretty clean. Dusty, but clean, with no litter on the streets.
There’s not really anything special to see in downtown, but it was just cool walking around for the first time in a big African city and seeing locals going about their day.
Try the Fruit Vendors
There were many people selling fruit from carts on pretty much every block downtown. We couldn’t help but purchase some. There were carts of jackfruit, pineapple, bananas, watermelon, etc. and they cut it all up for you so you can eat it with a toothpick while walking around the city.
We ended up going for a cup of jackfruit. Initially we had no idea what it was but it looked interesting so we had to try it! It was only 1000 TSH for the cup and was pretty refreshing to eat as we walked around.
Check out St. Joseph’s Cathedral
Once you reach the seafront head toward your left and you will come to St. Joseph’s Cathedral. We stopped and took some nice photos but did not go inside.
View the Azania Front Church
Keep on walking down Sokoine Drive and you will come to Azania Front Church, which also makes for some nice photos.
Looking for a full Tanzania itinerary? Check out our 12 Day Tanzania Itinerary
Explore the National Museum
Head to the National Museum to pass an hour or 2 of your time. It is a good place to learn about the history and culture of Tanzania. The entrance fee is 6500 TSH. There are also some modest botanical gardens next door.
Shop at Kariakoo Market
If you are looking for local things to do in Dar es Salaam and are up for the chaos, catch a taxi to Kariakoo Market. Here you will experience hectic, exhilarating local market life! You will find everything from exotic fruits to spices to knock off electronics. As with any busy place around the world, beware of pickpockets!
We were advised not to head there late as it is supposedly not safe to walk around after dusk, unless accompanied by a local.
Unfortunately we had to skip Kariakoo altogether due to having to spend extra time sorting out our lost luggage. We really regret not making it there!
Have dinner in downtown Dar es Salaam
Time for a fantastic local feast! Walk back towards City Mall to find a little gem of a place called Mamboz BBQ. Located on Morogoro Street, this little sidewalk eatery is just the kind of place any street food enthusiast will love! Honestly eating here was one of my favorite things to do in Dar es Salaam.
Make sure you don’t head there too early. We arrived there around 6pm but they were still setting up and the food was still marinating. I think our food was ready closer to 7pm.
Their specialty is bbq chicken, of course, and it is delicious! They have a lot of the menu – we wanted to try many different things so it was hard to choose!
The smell of the charcoal and grilled chicken wafting through the air was so tantalizing. If you don’t see Mamboz Bbq at first you will surely smell it from a block or 2 away.
There’s something about dining on the sidewalk, sitting on plastic chairs – it just feels more authentic and local. We really love it. But then again we are street food-lovers so this isn’t for everyone!
The great thing about Mamboz is the price was good! Not as dirt cheap as street food can come, but it was good for the amount of food we got! It was some of my favorite food we ate in Tanzania.
One Day in Dar es Salaam Itinerary Map
If you have any other favorite things to do in Dar es Salaam let us know in the comments below!
Click here to read our full Privacy Policy and Affiliate Disclosure Statement
If you’re off to explore more of Tanzania, check out some of our other posts:
Maasai Homestay Experience in Arusha
What To Wear On A Safari in Tanzania
Tanzanian Budget Airlines: Are they safe to fly?
Things To Do in Zanzibar + Itinerary
Pin this One Day in Dar es Salaam Itinerary!
Crazily enough, I’d never even really considered visiting Dar es Salaam (until now!) so thank you for the wonderful post, beautiful photos and ideas!
Thanks so much, Sierra! Most people I talked to were like “Get out of Dar as quick as you can, there’s nothing to see there” but I thought it would be nice to spend at least a day. I’m glad we did. I probably wouldn’t suggest spending more than a day or 2 there, but there’s enough interesting things to fill at least a day before heading off on safari or Zanzibar!
That street food looks so good! I’ve never seen much written about Dar es Salaam so it’s great to see such a detailed post about this city!
Thanks Lisa!!
Ya, most people are eager to get out of Dar and off to their safari or beach holiday in Zanzibar. When we were researching what to do in the city there really wasn’t much I could find online. So I thought it would be helpful to share what we found to do to occupy a day 🙂
I never considered Dar es Salaam unless a drop off point to get to Zanzibar but this makes me reconsider it at least for a stopover to explore. Hoping to go to Tanzania soon so this post will come in handy!
Thanks for your comment Annika! Yes, most people seem to dismiss Dar and try to get out of there as quickly as possible. But we felt it was worth exploring for a day 🙂 Enjoy Tanzania!!
I haven’t been to Africa yet so but city looks so interesting. There’s so much to do even for just 1 day!
It was always my dream to visit Africa and I highly recommend it to everyone! Dar es Salaam is a big African city and it was interesting to compare it to cities back home in North America. Definitely worth exploring for a day before heading off to see the rest of the country 🙂
Thanks for these really practical tips for Dar Es Salaam! Seems like a nice place to visit – will keep in mind if I make it over there!!
No problem! It is worth exploring if you find yourself with some time in Dar 🙂
I wish that I had seen your post before I went to Dar Es Salaam. I was there for a day after a visit to Zanzibar as well, but many years ago. Looks like I need to go there again. That street food looks sooo good!
Aw, did you get to see some of the city when you were there? It seems like a lot of people get stuck with a day or half a day there due to the flight/ferry schedules so I thought it would be good to share some of the things we found to do there! The street food was really good!
So glad you found Mamboz, the best BBQ in the city centre. There are some interesting exhibits in the museum too… but the mosques, temples and churches are a nice wander.
Thanks Annie! Yes, we were glad we found it! It was so good. There were a bunch of other little restaurants we wanted to try but had no room to eat anymore haha
I knew next to nothing about Dar Es Salaam until I read this post. Great tips for a day in the city before exploring elsewhere.
Thanks Jayne! We didn’t know anything about it before we went so it kind of surprised us.
What is jackfruit? That market is calling my name! I would absolutely want to try some of that BBQ chicken, it looks so good!
Jackfruit is this huge, funny looking fruit! Try Googling a photo of it 🙂 The first time I ever saw one was in the Philippines.
Omg yes, the BBQ chicken is definitely recommended!
Gosh, I didn’t know anything about Dar es Salaam before reading your post! It’s definitely on my radar now and I would love to see that beautiful cathedral!
haha I didn’t know anything about it before we booked our trip to Tanzania! It’s worth a day of exploring 🙂 Yes, the cathedral was so pretty.
I’ve never read much about this city, so this was a great post. And that street food looks so good, and looks like you covered a lot of ground in one day!
Thanks so much Dee! We hadn’t read a lot about it either so figured it would be good to share a post about it to help other travelers 🙂
The food was definitely really good!
[…] Wondering what to do in Dar es Salaam? Check out our Dar es Salaam One Day Itinerary […]