I Spent 4 Days in Dakar, Senegal- What's It Like?
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- čas přidán 17. 05. 2024
- I spent four days in Dakar, Senegal in February 2024 and this video is an overview of the city. I discuss the neighborhoods, walkability, transit, crime, new projects, and more, plus a few tips for visitors. I cover Dakar the same way that I cover North American cities and want to provide a thorough city profile on this great west African city.
If you would like to support the channel, please visit my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/geographyking
Album displayed:
Rush: "Exit Stage Left" (1981)
0:00 Intro
3:44 Plateau / Sandaga Market
5:31 Other Neighborhoods
9:12 Poverty & Crime
11:20 Goree Island
12:16 Walkability & Public Transit
16:23 Future Plans
17:40 Tips for Visitors
18:31 Outro
I'm white. Been living in and out of Dakar for 30 years. As any city it has its down sides but overall it's been a wonderful place to live in. The people are very engaging ; the weather's great ; crime's low and you pretty much find everything you need, within limits. The major problem in Senegal is the demographic expansion - people are born faster than the economy can accommodate, so major urban centres are getting crowded and the job market is very bad. Nevertheless, the Senegalese keep a positive mindset and things rarely turn ugly. As a tourist spot, do not expect Paris or Orlando, and the beaches in Senegal aren't those of the Caribbean... but for open-minded adults willing to step out of their comfort zone, they'll discover a wonderful people and a rich culture that will broaden one's existential outlook.
Thanks for that great insider input. Is a Senagalese white person still considered a toubab, or is it only for tourists?
As long as its not orlando
Not being Paris or Orlando is a great thing 😂
Dakar is such a great city, such a rich dynamic culture, fantastic music, great cuisine, and it’s such a positive place. Unfortunately, in my opinion the catch-up to Western culture has posed some big drawbacks. Everybody (understandably) has been lured by the idea of freedom of owning a car ( like the West), and the delirious effects have been horrible traffic, noise, smog, and congestion. Not anything worse than the rest of the world, but it’s been a hard thing to witness over the course of the last 30 years. Pikine Tally Boubesse was my neighborhood, and non le tally ne pas bi tres boubess, ça te jure!
They still are. And I honestly don't think white Senegalese is a thing. @@GeographyKing
Kyle,
As an armchair traveler who can't afford to go anywhere, I really appreciate this one. This was beautifully and concisely done. That marketplace looked like the setting for a vintage Bond foot chase.
Dakar was just a place in Africa to me, and now I almost feel like I've been there.
If this did morph into a travelogue channel, I think it might be the King of Travelogue Channels. Great piece of work here.
Thanks! There'll be more international travel content as I'm entering that aspect of my life. I've got another major international trip this fall.
The picture of the dust from the plane gave me a whole new perspective on dust clouds.
Every now and then the atmospheric systems are just right to where those dust clouds make it all the way to Florida.
@@GeographyKing
They actually go all the way to the Amazon...
Anually about 30 million tons of Sahara dust end up in the amazon rainforest.
Gotta be great for the turbines
@@warriorson7979 west africa is much closer to the amazon than it is to florida
@@warriorson7979and parts of the US as well
The King never misses, good video. Thanks for going to Dakar so I can see it without having to travel there
I'm an american and my sister has lived in Dakar for the past 7 years or so and I had the privilege of visiting her in Dakar and Casamance in 2018. I agreed that it feels like a very modern city and whereas the stereotype of most developing cities is you have the very wealthy and the very poor, I felt there was a solid middle class and upper middle class that is continuing to grow. Overall it seems like a very livable city (as long as you speak French). The beaches are the high point of the city and they definitely have a thriving beach culture and surfing community, not unlike the coastal areas near Los Angeles.
New Mexico born NYC based… spent time in Kampala Uganda… east Africa is stunningly beautiful. Teddy Roosevelt was inspired at a place there called Murchison Falls, to return stateside and found Yellowstone and the national parks system. Great video. 🌍
Kampala is such an interesting city and such a diverse kaleidoscope of different peoples, languages, and cultures. There motor bike taxis are pretty sketchy though, I had some close calls with oncoming cars at the merci of my chauffeur
A few quick tips with the airport:
There is a shuttle bus that goes from the airport to downtown Dakar near the Palais de Justice. Cheap, easy, and comfy.
If you go with a taxi, remember prices are negotiated in advance and drivers will try and price gouge. They will offer to take the expressway “Corniche” and ask for the toll from you, and then not take the exit. You can say you’ll pay the toll when you get there, but be ready to wait in traffic.
Lastly, don’t exchange all your money at the airport - their rates are awful. It’s hard finding anyone who exchanges CFA outside Africa, but just get enough to get you into the city. Dakar is peppered with currency exchanges that offer much better rates.
Glad you had fun Kyle! Never thought I’d see a City Profile Vid on Dakar. Goal is to go back next year - fingers crossed
Do you feel like they've already outgrown the airport? I flew in and out of there but also had an intra-trip flight to Gambia. It was overly chaotic right at the entrance each time and there weren't even enough seats in the gate waiting area to accommodate a widebody passenger load. I think maybe they underestimated the volume of traffic.
@@GeographyKing They have definitely outgrown the airport. Senghor Airport is not very old and it feels more like a smaller regional airport than a big intl one in a major capital. Senegal only has two other commercial airports, both much smaller. If there are plans to expand it, I have not yet heard. I don’t know if this is a contributor, but it always felt like there was much demand but not many flights elsewhere among neighboring nations. People take overnight busses from the likes of Mali and Guinea just to fly out of Senegal. A friend of mine visited Cape Verde with two weeks between each flight. I went to Morocco and had to connect in Portugal and I was never on a flight that wasn’t packed. I hope there can be improvement so that infrastructure meets demand.
@@holdenackerman8783 Are you a Dakar native?
What do you think that should be the future of the old airport area?
Salute from São Paulo city, Brazil.
@@eduardocajias5626 Not a Dakar native, no. Just lived there for a couple of years but left over 2020. From everything I’ve heard, the city’s changed a lot and I’d like to visit again. As for the future of the old airport lot, I’m worried it’ll just be more high rise housing. Most of the recent development in the Dakar region outside the city looks like a bunch of little collections of buildings without much care to how they are connected. I’m hoping the airport can be a more thoughtfully designed place with green space and improved public transit.
@@holdenackerman8783 THANK you!
From an urbanism perspective, I think Dakar is one of, if not the best, in subsaharan Africa. It's pretty underrated and I'd love to visit
I'm a Texan heading there in 2 weeks. Video couldn't have come at a better time. I noticed the same sandy skies landing in Tunisia and Morocco as well. Didn't expect to see such a high quality train line!
Itchy boots is traveling by motorcycle in Africa. She started in Morocco went down the Gold Coast across to DRC and is now in Madagascar. Truly epic no hyperbole.
French with Senegalese origin here: Good job for your review, pretty good. Grew up in Plateau near the Predisential Palace, loved the city.
Goree island is a must see. It hs a Catholic church that is open to tourists and a Mosque that is not open to tourists. Its an interesting juxtaposition
Kyle, this is awesome. Thanks for the coverage.
Dakar looks clean with lots of interesting architecture I would visit there. I vote for the airport land to be turned into green space with parks, trials, a zoo, amphitheater, lakes, etc with mix income housing on the periphery
There are discussions on that, ecologists are asking for a central park but the former goverment wanted to have a housing project so we're still waiting
Wow. Our daughter was in the Peace Corps in Senegal in 2007, and we spent 2 days in Dakar before visiting Thies, Koalack, and 2 eco-tourism resorts. The development you show is simply amazing!
i was in dakar last month, oddly during the presidential inauguration. infrastructure was mainly very decent and goree island was very scenic. I felt pretty safe for the most part and the weather was quite pleasant in april. Would go back to senegal to visit some of the other areas of the country.
Lovely unbiased video. Always makes me nervous as a South African to see Europeans and Americans cover African cities because they rarely do any research and assume all our cities are undeveloped slums. They don’t see Cape Town, Kigali, Dakar. Good job
Looove this video. I love to see it when people in Africa are maintaining. That new train looks top of the line, and I imagine there will be more to follow. It'll attract more industry and business types, for sure.
The highlight is Kyle’s cool shirt!
Thanks for sharing your experience, Kyle! Personally, I think it's funny that Dakar has more rail infrastructure than a lot of US cities. I think that's really cool!!!
Dakar was always on my want to travel to list and now I want to go even more, so thank you for the insights :)
Really interesting and well done! I hope to go to Africa and explore at some point too. Glad you were able to make this video!
Yeah it was a great experience. Seeing the cities but also small villages was a great way to see the countries
I worjedvin Dakar in 2008 and loved the people I dealt with Amazing hospitality.
TER is a common name for the intercity services in France, basically like the Amtrak state-funded services in the US (your Carolinians and San Joaquin’s). However, this feels more like a regional rail service based on distance and the main goal of connecting the city to its main airport (Air Senegal actually wants to move domestic flights back to the old one, which still does GA/charter and Cargo)
It really looks like Senegal (and Dakar) is going to be the beating heart of West Africa’s future, given the political stability & investments in transit. I really hope that it is a success story that spreads through the region, given the rash of coups that have arisen in the Sahel belt to the east. I hope they don’t spread to Senegal.
0:22 even knowing the title and content of the video I initially heard you say “of which I spent 4 days in the car” and I was like “oh, that’s awful Kyle”. 😂
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Don't worry we just democrately elected a new president in march
Excellent description of my birth hometown
Hello sir!
I really enjoyed watching your video and it makes me want to buy a ticket and go to Senegal right now. I missed it. By the way, you did a fantastic job describing Senegal (the country of Teranga). Thank you for visiting!
I hope to return. The people were very kind and helpful. I saw a lot of the country besides Dakar, but there's still more to see.
that's awesome, thanks for the video
Senegal Senegal, fast-food Dakar!..., a lyric from a song called "Senegal Fast Food" from one of my favorites artists Amadou & Mariam who are actually from Mali but tend to work with a lot of west African artists. Great video very informative!
I was thinking of this song too. That album is so good.
So interesting! Thanks for sharing this with us, western media usually shows Africa negatively, and it’s nice to see a real perspective
Senegal is definitely Coup Belt-adjacent. Glad to see this.
They are definitely surrounded by some scary waters. When Guinea is your most stable neighbor you've got some major security issues nearby.
@@GeographyKing Whay about Cote d'Ivoire and Gana?!
They are supposed not to be so instable, aren't they?!
@@GeographyKing*What about
@@eduardocajias5626 Côte d'Ivoire is now but they weren't few years ago and the weird thing is that their president managed to steal an illegal 3rd term
I don’t know what it is about your channel but I watch every episode regardless of the region you cover.
I have traveled to Sénégal and Dakar for 2-week stays a handful of times to work with colleagues there. I am bilingual in French and English. It does help! I love many things about Sénégal and Dakar. The people and the hospitality are number one. The food is also wonderful. I love the beaches. My work brings me east of Dakar, nearer to Mbour, Kaolack, Fatick, and as remote as Gossas. I love the art, especially the painting, and have acquired several pieces over the years. Thank you for this portrait of Dakar and Sénégal. The Sénégalese are very enterprising, warm, and peaceful. I smile and laugh so much when I am there. Visit Sénégal if you want to experience authentic beaches and a warm culture.
You've done a great job with this video. in the USA, we're really ignorant about Africa and the diversity and what the cities are like and such. There are middle class areas of African cities and developed areas, not just markets and villages and animals and such. Glad to get a glimpse at Dakar. I'm a fan of the music their, particularly mbalax and Youssef Ndor, Titi, Vivienne, Cuomba Gawlo, Wallie Seck, and so many more.
Geography King's Tax Write-off video 😊
Awesome stuff
Thanks for sharing
What an amazing video! I’m a geography and travel nerd so thank you!
I genuinely love your channel so much. You keep it real no matter where you’re talking about.
Another excellent video! I follow this channel especially for the state and city guides, and I love seeing some outside the US. Great stuff - thank you for making these!
Great city, successful city, and the reason for that is what you imply: a dedicated effort toward nurturing a middle class. Glad to see Dakar is not emulating those cities in Arabia where it's a playground for millionaires while 99% of the rest labor to cater to their every whim. Also glad to see a commitment to a strong public transit system. The only cloud on the horizon is a literal one: that sand from the encroaching Sahara. That's a real problem, and I don't think it has a solution.
Thanks very much for a very objective description of a West African city. Though I have never been to Dakar, I hope to visit very soon.
Thanks very much! Nice overview!
Great video! I have a friend who was living there for a couple of years and she loved it!
Good job. Nice overview of Dakar. I was there a couple of times for work in 2014 and 2015, so before the new airport. Access to the city was a lot easier then, I assume, since the new airport is so far away. I don’t recall what months I was there, but there was never any rain. We were mostly out in Thies, very rural. I’ve been all over sub-Saharan Africa, and Senegal is one of the more enjoyable countries I’ve been to.
Great video!!
Fantastic video, Kyle. Lots of interesting and useful info and insights. Been hoping to visit West Africa someday and this definitely puts Dakar near the top of the list. Thanks.
Thank you Kyle!
really nice video.
I've always found it interesting why Lebanese people are everywhere. Since the time of The Phoenicians, the Lebanese have not only traveled the world, but resided in it.
You can find them in South America too. I'm interested in having a conversation with a historian or a sociologist who can give me some answers.
They’re here in 🇿🇦 too
I had no idea. But now I want to go. Thanks for this video. I really enjoyed it!
Awesome underrated place! I have yet to visit anywhere in Africa and I’ve been curious about some places that are a bit out of the way. Looks like you had a good time and I’ll definitely be adding Senegal to my travel itinerary.
Forsure I have enjoyed the video . Vibrant explanation.
Best travel video I've ever seen!⭐
Thank you!
I was watching Jeopardy today and the question was, The Gambia is surrounded by what other country? I knew the answer because of your videos!
Weird question: how are the bathrooms in Dakar?
I know that's a dumb question. But I've often found the bathroom situation in other countries to be an interesting "surprise." For example, in Singapore, which is one of the most developed places on earth, there were 2 extremes. Some were so clean and shiny with such fancy fixtures that you felt guilty using them, and others were so unbelievably disgusting that one could barely handle even seeing them. Worse than a dirty outhouse or porta potty. Another example is Europe, where squat toilets are common; strange and uncomfortable at first and then you get used to them surprisingly quick.
(Yes I realize some bathrooms in the US are horrendously bad. And I know a lot of foreign people find the space under the dividers to be a violation of privacy.)
I've never been to Africa, so I would have no idea. Just curious. It's an interesting part of travel people don't talk about enough IMHO.
So we kinda have both squat toilets and WC chairs with flush, we have showers but here you'll always find a tap, a bucket with water, you might NEVER find toilet paper as we use bidets. That's it otherwise it depends on you it might be the same experience as Europe
Anything on St.Louis, Senegal? All I know about it is that it's a fair sized city on the coast where fishing is very important to its' economy.
I spent two days there right after Dakar. It was quite different for sure. I was able to walk most of the city and it definitely doesn't feel as big as its population. But the central island of the city is great for walking. I literally walked up and down every street in S patterns on the island. The oceanside area not on the island has a large fishing beach and it goes right up to the border with Mauritania. A lot of boat builders and repair men are there, and there's a fairly large goat market plaza.
I love videos like these! I would 100% click on other videos about cities outside of North America, even if you personally haven't visited.
100 MPH trains in Senegal. I've said for years that even small African countries will have high speed rail before Canada does. Canada doesn't have anything near this fast - and it NEVER will.
Why not? You’d think with the population centers of canada a transcontinental railway would be perfect
@@Alex-tx2dh Canada seems to have an aversion to expensive projects the past 30 years. Literally nothing big gets built in Canada these days. As soon as a large project is announced, locals always protest against it and the project gets shelved.
Isn't Canada wealthy enough to build a railway system?
@@lawsonhellu4718 Sure. Just not willing.
The U.S. doesn't even have a DEPENDABLE long distance bus service! Greyhound has deteriorated to an unbelievable degree!
I'm enjoying these videos of western Africa because it gives me an insight that I've never seen before.
I was a bit taken aback when you described Goree Island and "a wonderful experience". I don't think I could have such a "wonderful experience" in a place that featured a "House of Slaves". What was so wonderful about it?
Lastly, keep rocking those shirts and I admire the top button being buttoned. I used to also button my top button until my neck got to be so fat. LOL.
Very cool
We get some of that Saharan dust every now and then in Texas, it sure makes for some interesting sunsets. I loved this video, Kyle! No one around these parts knows what's happening in this world any further than their own noses. 😊. You're a breath of fresh air, and Dakar is a cool place! ❤
Very true, although, most people in the US aren’t even aware if this
Would love to see more videos about the rest of Senegal and the Gambia
You've sold me on Dakar, I guess I'll be adding another city to my bucket list (as well as learning French)!
thanks kyle. I love seeing this african city from a more nuanced perspective. Would love to see you visit even more african cities
I'll be back in west Africa this fall. Within a week of being back from this trip, I was ready to book the next one.
Twice when I was ubering with my Chevy Cruze I picked up seven people. Five in the back seat and two on the front passenger seat. And me.
So cool with how much you visit the continental US, you also go to atypical international destinations!
Everyone, everywhere, in every country.
They're just people trying to get through the day.
Buying stuff, going to work, looking forward to their next day off
The nice with with an airstrip like that is you can repurpose the paved areas as just future roads.
40 + years of driving truck.
Most pre-mobile and gps.
Spent a fortune on paper maps.
Hundreds of telephone booth phonebooks with now missing pages.
Do phonebooks even still exist?
Caribou to Key West, every street covered 150 to 250 miles inland from the shore.
Hagstrom for NY, NJ, and Connecticut.
Rand McNally and Thomas guides.
Laminated truckers atlases.
Every major national metro area.
Tens of thousands of cities covered
of 109,000 total US.
Most of northern neighbor too.
Retired now and nowhere to go,
they just sit on a shelf and collect dust.
Memories only for me now,
I've been everywhere man !
What good are they to anyone but me?
400 foldouts, 200 books...
I don't know what most people would think of you...
But, for me (a crazy lover of all kind of maps - I've studied Journalism and Geography), I am full of "envy" of all your travels...
Salute from São Paulo city, Brazil.
Kyle, what the public transit vehicle at around 13:28 reminded me of is the jeepneys of the Philippines. Speaking of the bus in the Muppet movie, was the name it was given "Electric Mayhem"--same as this one?
It was actually a photo of the real Muppet bus from the movie
Really good job as usual Kyle. I have one minor point: you can easily get by without speaking French by investing in a portable translation device, like a Vasco.
I absolutely loved the akon city reference. Dakar is probably my number one destination to visit in Africa
Akon City is a nice dream, but probably unrealistic.
I spent a lot of time in Dakar and it can be a lot but it’s not scary at all and I want to go back soon
1:27 the new capital is actually pronounced Jamiajo.
Hi Kyle, love your channel. Curious, what took you to Africa? Tourism, or something else?
Thank you! Since I was a little kid I looked at the atlas and saw how Senegal is closer to the US than most of Europe and wanted to visit. I was there for fun, but fun for me is a lot of exploration on foot so it can end up like work from a workout standpoint.
@@GeographyKing I've been to a few places in Eastern Africa. This was in the last millennium and I'm guessing before much of the modernization. I hope they'll be able to keep things maintained and not be too exploited.
I want to visit!
I bet a lot of that built up dust gets washed away in the rainy season
Looks good city 🇰🇪
Great video! I'd love to see you cover more non-American cities in the future.
U did good covering Dakar! My only question isxwhere did you source that murder rate that took 1100 lives in Senegal in 2022?
Part of that land should be a giant green park, similar to central park in the middle of Manhattan...the rest could be used fir commerce, industrial n residential development.
Couldn't agree more.
Yeah a lot of senegalese people are asking for that
@@ibrahima6907 that's what they should do
Kool vodeo, zero desire to go there
Nice job. Would like to know economic factors, though.
excellent. what is the story behind your cool shirt?
I bought it at a market in a smaller town in Senegal. It's great material for being outside in the heat.
Was Medina funky and cold?
Love the video, hate the top button 😉
Did you pick up some Dakar Noir?
0:55 does anyone know why there is a long white part there in the pink?
That's actually a separate country called The Gambia. That border is a very strange relic of colonialism, with Senegal being French but the British having control of the Gambia River. I have a video about the Gambia if you are interested in learning more about it.
@@GeographyKing thank you
So you were able to speak French there or how did you do?
You can get by w/o knowing French. I traveled Senegal and Gambia for a few weeks and did just fine w/ English and hand gestures. Il Goree is a must.
I actually do speak French. I'm not fluent but do pretty well. You can certainly visit without knowing French but you'll be limited as to what you can do. But also, if something goes wrong it can be a major issue. While I was there, the bus from a smaller town back to Dakar got cancelled. I was stuck in that town and had to walk the streets trying to find people that were trying to get to Dakar to fill a taxi with since the driver wouldn't leave unless the taxi was full. Without knowing French I'd have been screwed, but if you just stay in Dakar you can probably at least find a hotel with English speaking people on staff.
@@michaeldescalso211 Would you have used English and hand gestures in Mexico or Spain?
Great video. Can you drink the tap water? Are public toilets available? What is the currency? How is the wi-fi? Are ATMs widely available? Are credit cards accepted? Do shops close at prayer times? Is renting a car unnecessary?
I drank the tap water in my hotel, but you'll be served bottled water in restaurants. I'm not sure about public toilets. Currency is West African Franc (XOF), the same as in several other countries in the region. Wi-fi was good all throughout the city and there's a good 5G signal everywhere in town (even in some of the rural areas as well). ATMS are widely available, they usually work, but a lot of places only take cash. Hotels and nicer restaurants take cards, but cash is king. Nothing closes at call to prayer. It's actually not at all audible publicly like it is in Morocco or Middle Eastern countries. But call to prayer isn't "everything stop right now", it's more of a general timeframe for most. Renting a car isn't necessary for intown stuff, but you may want to if you want to travel out of the city. They do have good Greyhound style/air-conditioned motorcoach buses for routes of the city. I didn't rent a car while there and visited many other parts of the country via bus and taxi.
Yes, you can drink the tap water in Dakar (I used to live there).
10:50 and to put that in perspective for the Australian viewers, in 2022, for a population of 26 million people, there were 232 murders.
Even Dekar has better transit than 90% of American cities. Honestly it’s fantastic to see for them; pretty sad to see for us.
That old airport would be a great place for John Fisher to move the A's!
Cool video but I have to make a correction. It's completely wrong to say the old airport is unused, we travel offshore from that airport.
I hope you got a chance to go to the casamance
I'd like to visit but I couldn't get everywhere. I went to Saint Louis, Mbour, Thies, Fadiouth, Somone, and then to the Gambia for a week. If I get back to Senegal I'll likely go there.
Exit, Stage Left. Is there a connection that I missed?
That was very interesting! And even for us Europeans Africa is mostly "unknown territory". My experience might be a bit of a strange way to be a little familiar with Dakar. But the area in and around Dakar is well covered in Google Streetview. Thus when you regularly play GeoGuesser (which I did for a while) you end up in this region every once in a while, virtually of course. But a dry country with mostly African looking people and all signs written in French makes a Dakar-guess a good choice.
Great video. I am happy you cobfirmed me it's a democracy, as I prefer not to visit authoritarian-led countries, not to give my money to dictatures
Nothing about restaurants? how is food there?
The food was good and there were lots of great restaurants. I'll have a more visitor-oriented video about Senegal in general coming up to go over stuff like that.
Endless Summer taught me all I know about Dakar...airplane wing go in the trunk.