Tanzania’s mainland coast is blessed with warm seas and palm trees, but its most prominent feature is Dar es Salaam, East Africa’s largest city.
Dar es Salaam translates as ‘place of peace’ and while perhaps its costal position was once peaceful, this thriving, sprawling city is anything but peaceful nowadays. Lively markets, towering office buildings, schools, hospitals, malls and restaurants are all packed together along with housing for the almost six and a half million people that call Dar home.
The city has sprung up on a natural harbour and as such has a long and fascinating Swahili history dating back to the Arab trading era, it is now a convenient hub for domestic and international travel.
The city itself offers a number of boutique hotels and international hotel chains and there are a few coastal hotels and resorts strung out along the mainland coast but we would recommend flying to one of Tanzania’s picturesque islands, Zanzibar, Mafia or Pemba if you are looking for time on a beach, ocean sports or a spa.