Dakar, Senegal — 28–30 September 2026
Chaotic, but interesting.
Dakar hits you immediately. Leave the hotel and every eye is on you — a distinctive European-looking guy walking through streets where someone is selling something at almost every corner. People ask for money or try to sell you something constantly. It gets a bit annoying after a while. Everyone stayed friendly though, and I never felt unsafe.
First night: the mosque woke me at 6 AM. Lucky I wanted to get up early anyway.
Street life is the real show. Business happens on the pavement. Interesting to watch. Tiring if you stay in it all day.
I did a guided day: boat from Dakar port to Île de Gorée (about 20–30 minutes). Former slave-trade island. Then a city tour. The two things that actually stay with you are the enormous Monument de la Renaissance Africaine and the Musée des Civilisations Noires. The museum building looks huge from outside. Inside it felt quite empty. A lot of what was there was art.
Yango works for taxis. Used it to get to Ngor. Lots of beach spots there. Ate excellent fish at Restaurant Le Ngor Pieds dans l’eau. After that I walked the coast — more monuments, some street art, Atlantic air.
Three days is enough to get the flavour. Dakar is loud, commercial, and in your face. It is also open and easy to move around if you accept the hustle instead of fighting it.
