Dakar
From World travel guide
Dakar is in Senegal.
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Get in
Dakar is a major West African hub, so lots of flights (by African standards). Be prepared to arrive at a godforsaken time of the night though, many flights arrived around 3am.
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Airlines
From South Africa: SAA (code sharing with Delta) From Europe: Air France
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Get around
- Taxis. Cheap and safe and everywhere.
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See
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Do
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Buy
- Islam Couture/ Embroidery:Dakar has some amazing (and amazingly expensive) stores specialised in haute-couture, embroidered traditional west African Muslim clothes.
- Marche Sandaga: Madness. A decrepit concrete structure that has - despite appearance - three levels of activity: meat and vegetable stalls on the main floor, fish in the basement dungeon and - surprise - restaurant stalls on the roof. You will need to brave the crumpled stairs and step around guys cleaning dead chicken to make it up. Around the market building a sprawling network of stalls offer everything from pirated music CDs, Manchester United shirts, electronic gadgets and islamic books - but be aware the hawkers can be *very* aggressive. The place is also famous for pick-pockets, so take only the amount of money you need and keep it in a safe place.
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Eat
- Chez Ndeye / Ker Ndeye (On a street parallel to Ponty) Inexpensive. Authentic Senegalese food. Besides the lovely Thiebou Dien, the place features home-made Tamarind juice. Try to catch the excellent Kora player.
- Cafe Du Rome (City center) Welcome to Cafe du Rome, authentic French food (as a matter of fact, you ARE in France), from oysters to steak tartar, and the famous Sole Meuniere that doesn't disappoint. It is pricey by Dakar standards, but the food is great.
- Patisserie Laetitia Walking along the street of Cafe du Rome towards La Corniche (the sea) - away from the center - two blocks up on your right hand side, you find the ultimate place for breakfast in Dakar. No, they don't serve eggs, bacon or sausage, but fresh, slightly warm croissants, pain au chocolat, and (my personal favourite) pain au raisins. The coffee is good and the juices freshly squeezed. Sit in the little room to the right of the counter, it features the most amazing orange and yellow lamps and little triangular tables with stools to sit on. You will be surrounded by locals in beautiful Muslim outfits, reading the paper and discussing the latest news. What a great place. In fact, a reason to move to Dakar.
- Hotel Farid/ Lebanese Restaurant Drink a gigantic Arrak (made from palm fruit) as an aperitif and then order the 20 Mezze.
- Centre Culturel Francais Ask for the local food they serve for lunch (not on the menu) during the week. On weekends you must ask nicely to convince them to let you try what they prepare for the staff.
- Peanuts: The roasted peanuts you can buy on the street or get with your order of beer in any bar are delicious. These nuts are not greasy at all and have just the right amount of salt - and sometimes they are still slightly warm from being roasted.
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Drink
Gazelle is the local favourite beer - it comes in serious bottles, or Flag, which is stronger and more expensive.
- Le Hanoi You can't go wrong with a bar that has palm trees painted on one wall, a French military guy (opinions differ if he was secret service or just a regular drunk) behind the bar who insists the black waitress is his "little sister".
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Sleep
- Al Afifa Hotel (City Center) Clean air-conditioned rooms at reasonable prices. Not budget though!
- Sofitel Terange - Between Independent Square and the Atlantic Ocean (City center). Very good setting. It is a good (although not cheap!) starter for medium budget travellers to acclimate in Senegal. Comfortable rooms, cosy atmosphere. Roomrate round 100 euro. Breakfast is 15 euro and splendid!
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Budget
- Hotel Oceanic - 9, rue de Thann. +221 822-2044 (fax +221 821.5228)[1] - Océanic is a budget option for around 30 euro (roomrate). Centrally located. Rooms and beds are (a bit) run down but the bathroom is OK. Good breakfast at neighbouring self-service restaurant. See videoclip on internet.
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Get out
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External links
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