Skip to content
Voykit
Set your trip — dates, party, bagsPlanner

Draft data. Times, fares and step counts are desk estimates awaiting field checks. Unknown times stay unknown. How we verify

Back to Dakar

In the print dialog pick “Save as PDF” to keep it on your phone. A5 makes a pocket booklet; A4 suits a desk printer.

Voykit pocket guide · Senegal

Dakar

Dakar is a car-and-morning city: take the Gorée ferry early, walk the Plateau before noon, keep evenings for Ngor and the Almadies, pre-book the airport ride, and never rely on a taxi appearing.

Dakar sits on a peninsula and the sights are spread along its coast: the Plateau and the market district in the south, Gorée Island a short ferry ride offshore, and the Ngor and Almadies coast in the north-west. The airport, Blaise Diagne, is about 45 km from the centre, so the airport ride is a real leg, not a footnote. Traffic is heavy, pavements are broken, and prayer times, Fridays and Ramadan shape opening hours. Four clusters cover a first visit; a car with a driver joins them.

The PlateauSandaga and the MédinaGorée IslandNgor and the AlmadiesNgor and the AlmadiesThe Plateau2.5 kmpins: sleep areas · dots: places
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
Senegal
Best months
Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · Nov · Dec
Time zone
Africa/Dakar
Stay
2 days: Gorée morning, Plateau afternoon

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
XOF
Money
Keep XOF 10,000 in small notes for taxis, snacks and tips; use ATMs inside banks or hotels in daylight only.
Daily spend
Budget XOF 10,000–20,000 excl. bed · Mid XOF 20,000–50,000 excl. bed · High XOF 50,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data
Orange, Free and Expresso sell SIMs at the airport and shops; passport registration required.
Emergency
Police 17 · Fire and rescue 18 · SAMU ambulance 1515 · Gendarmerie 800 00 20 20
Plugs
Types C, D, E, K · 230 V · 50 Hz · European two-pin plugs fit almost everywhere; power cuts are rare in Dakar, commoner elsewhere.
Tipping
Street food: Nothing.; Restaurant: 5–10% where no service is added.; Driver or guide day: 5,000–10,000 XOF.; Hotel porter: 500–1,000 XOF.
Water
Not drinkable from the tap for visitors. Bottled water (Kirène) everywhere; sachets are local practice.
Toilets
Western toilets in hotels and restaurants; squat toilets and buckets on the road. Carry tissues and hand gel.

Get in

By air

Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS)
DSS to Dakar: one pre-booked car, 60–100 minutes; the risk is a ride that is not there, a fare argued in the hall, and traffic on the motorway into the city.

Get around

Walk short distances in the Plateau; taxi or ride-hailing car between clusters; ferry for Gorée.

Passes
No pass. Taxis have no meters: agree the fare before you get in.
Late at night
No metro. Ride-hailing and taxis run late but thin out after dark; book the ride back.

See and do

  1. 01House of Slaves, GoréeMaison des Esclaves

    Go early on a Gorée morning: a memorial house on the island tied to the Atlantic slave trade; 30–60 minutes, quiet and heavy.

  2. 02IFAN Museum of African ArtsMusée Théodore Monod d'art africain

    A museum of masks, textiles and objects from West Africa on Place Soweto: an hour in the Plateau, indoors in the heat of the day.

Hours and prices are desk estimates (checked 2026-09); anything marked (check) is not confirmed. Coordinates open in any map app.

Eat

Thieboudienne lunch, Plateau canteen
Senegal's national dish, fish and rice in tomato sauce, eaten at lunch in a small canteen on the Plateau; served from noon until it runs out.

Sleep

Ngor and the Almadies
Beach and restaurants at the north-west tip; a 30-minute car ride from the Plateau and closer to nothing else.
The Plateau
Walk to the museum and Place de l'Indépendance; a hotel with a 24-hour desk and a car-accessible door matters more than the view.

Language

French is the language of the state and signs; Wolof is what people speak in the street and the market across most of the country. A few words of Wolof open doors fast. English is limited outside top hotels.

  • 'Salaam aleekum' (hello), 'Jërejëf' (thank you), 'Ñaata la?' (how much?), 'Ba beneen yoon' (see you).
  • WhatsApp is how drivers, guides and guesthouses work.

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Long greetings: peace, family, health, work; avoid: Jumping straight to business
  • Hands: Right hand for giving, receiving and eating; avoid: Left hand for food or money
  • Teranga (hospitality): Accept tea and a little food when offered; avoid: Refusing flatly
  • Religious leaders: Speak respectfully of marabouts and brotherhood founders; avoid: Jokes about religion
  • Bargaining: Laugh, counter, take your time; avoid: Anger or walking off rudely
  • Photos: Ask, and accept a no; avoid: Shooting women and children without consent

Red lines

  • Greetings come first: say hello and ask how someone is before any question or purchase.
  • Use the right hand to give, receive and eat.
  • Ask before photographing people; do not photograph police, soldiers, government buildings or the airport.
  • During Ramadan avoid eating, drinking or smoking in public in daylight.

Scams (Senegal page)

  • Instant 'friend' guides: Guides at Gorée and Saint-Louis are licensed: ask for the badge, agree the price first.
  • 'Donation' for a baptism or school: A stranger's story ending in money is a script; walk on politely.
  • Taxi fare switch: Fix the fare before the door closes, or use Yango/Heetch.
  • Unofficial border 'fees': Pay only posted fees and ask for a receipt; Diama beats Rosso.
  • Bracelet and gift trick: Do not accept 'gifts'; a payment demand always follows.
  • Fake e-visa sites: Most Western passports need no visa; check the ministry, not a paid 'Senegal visa' site.

One and two days

1 day

The first day of the timed plan.

Day 1 — Plateau morning and a Thieboudienne lunch

  1. 08:00IFAN Museum of African Arts
  2. independence square walk (optional)
  3. Thieboudienne lunch, Plateau canteen
  4. Hotel or AC café 14:00–17:00; a car to Ngor for the evening if you are staying on the Plateau.

2 days

The first two days of the timed plan.

Day 1 — Plateau morning and a Thieboudienne lunch

  1. 08:00IFAN Museum of African Arts
  2. independence square walk (optional)
  3. Thieboudienne lunch, Plateau canteen
  4. Hotel or AC café 14:00–17:00; a car to Ngor for the evening if you are staying on the Plateau.

Day 2 — Gorée by ferry, a 12:30 lunch on the island

  1. 08:00House of Slaves, Gorée
  2. goree island walk (optional)
  3. 12:30Lunch on Gorée 12:30
  4. Know the last boat back before you land; the ferry timetable is field-verified.

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

Dakar

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

Take me to

  • Maison des EsclavesHouse of Slaves, Gorée
  • Musée Théodore Monod d'art africainIFAN Museum of African Arts

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/dakar). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.