Dakar: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Dakar is the capital of Senegal, 12 m (39 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS), 40 km (25 mi) from the centre. It has 2 railway stations on record, including Dakar station. It is a port city: Autonomous Port of Dakar and 1 more. Our booking partner lists 967 places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Dakar runs from about 11 h 18 min a day in late December to 13 h 2 min in late June (computed for 14.69° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Dakar is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS), 40 km (25 mi) from the centre, whose 11,483-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft.
Flights to Dakar: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Dakar station, Dalifort station. Trains to Dakar
Buses to Dakar · Driving and car hire · Ferries
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 967 places to stay in Dakar. Of the 341 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (177), and 8 are five-star. Across 58 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.1 out of 10. Guests have left 15,024 reviews in total.
Hotels in Dakar: the full picture, and book
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Pikine, 10 km
- Touba, 170 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Bissau, 373 km (Guinea-Bissau) — flights · ferries
- Serekunda, 162 km (Gambia) — flights
- Guédiawaye, 10 km
- Thiès, 57 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Kaolack, 160 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Rufisque, 19 km — tours
- Mbour, 60 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Saint-Louis, 179 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
Twin towns and sister cities: Isfahan, Bissau, Marseille, Ann Arbor, Milan, Sfax, East Jerusalem, Niamey, Kinshasa, Bamako, Brazzaville, Washington, D.C., Taipei, Oran.
Common questions
Which airport serves Dakar?
Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS), 40 km (25 mi) from the centre.
How big is Dakar?
About 2.6 million people live in Dakar, across 80 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Dakar in?
Africa/Dakar, currently UTC+0.
What currency is used in Dakar?
The Franc (XOF). Traffic drives on the right.
How many hotels are there in Dakar?
Our booking partner lists 967 places to stay in Dakar, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Dakar?
Pikine (10 km), Touba (170 km), Bissau (373 km), Serekunda (162 km), Guédiawaye (10 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.