Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

To most travellers, Dar es Salaam is just a convenient port of call on the way to more exotic destinations of Zanzibar, the game parks, Pemba or Mafia Islands. However, Dar es Salaam boasts having beautiful unspoiled beaches, popular for swimming, snorkelling, fishing, scuba diving and water sports.

Life in Dar es Salaam revolves around the huge harbour, with the business district fanning out from here in a series of fascinating side and main streets. On the northern arm of the harbour is Kivukoni Front, with its bustling fish market, where every morning at dawn the dhows sail in to offload the night’s catch, and yelling fishwives compete with each other for the best of the catch.