Dar es Salaam Tanzania
4
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Frequently Asked Questions
At the commercial berths, among cargo ships and warehouses: the harbour has no dedicated cruise terminal yet. This is one of the busiest roadsteads in East Africa, shared by cranes, container ships, lateen-rigged dhows and ferries.
No. The port area is not built for pedestrians: a taxi or excursion shuttle is needed to reach the centre a few kilometres away. The ride is short but dense, and traffic sets the pace.
Everything that can realistically be explored in a few hours: the National Museum, the Askari Monument, the botanical gardens and the waterfront. The peninsula also holds St Joseph’s Cathedral with its pointed spire, the Azania Front Lutheran Church facing the sea and old tile-roofed administrative buildings.
The human story told from the Olduvai Gorge excavations, with casts of some of the most famous fossils in palaeontology. It is the most substantial visit in the centre and the best way to understand why Tanzania matters so much to prehistory.
A bronze statue raised in 1927, a few streets from the National Museum, honouring African soldiers of the First World War. It marks the historic centre and serves as a landmark in the district.
A taxi or shuttle to Kivukoni, then the National Museum, the Askari Monument and the botanical gardens founded in 1893, shaded by flame trees and jacarandas. Finish on the waterfront with grilled fish and sugarcane juice pressed in front of you.
Yes, with some care. The Kivukoni fish market is at full pitch early in the morning, when the boats come in: squid, snapper and crab change hands in cheerful chaos. Kariakoo, a vast popular market, bursts with kangas and kitenges. Go accompanied and leave valuables on board.
Several cruise itineraries combine the two, since a short crossing separates the coasts. During a port call it depends entirely on the ship’s programme: this is not an outing to improvise on your own in a few hours.
Yes, by excursion: boat trips run to offshore islets where coral reefs suit swimming with a mask. In the city itself, swimming is not what the call is about.
A city that does not perform for passing passengers. It simply carries on living: coloured minibuses, loaded bicycles, street vendors, crowded ferries to the Kigamboni peninsula. It is a working port, and that unstaged spectacle is what gives the call its flavour.
