Bus travel is generally reliable if you pick the right company. It can be somewhat scary as Tanzanians seem to value arriving quickly more than arriving safely ('Mungu akipenda, tutafika' - If god wants it, we shall arrive).
If you're traveling to Arusha, Royal Coach is perhaps an even better option. The buses are very nice, have a/c (when working), a bathroom, and travel at 80kph for safety. The Royal Coach ticket office is located downtown near the Jambo Inn and Econolodge: buses leave from here early in the morning as well, although they then wait at the main bus stand for at least an hour.
All other buses leave from Dar Es Salaam's central bus station in Ubungo, just west of the city (TSh5,000 taxi ride from downtown [or more, depending on your negotiation skills]). Here you can find buses to the majority of other cities. Although there are many touts outside of Ubungo's ticket area, they are mostly harmless. If you are put off by them, ask the taxi to take you inside the station for a small extra fee. The ticket offices are located just outside the station, though you can buy the tickets from the bus if you have entered already. This might be a better idea regardless, as you cannot tell the state of the bus from outside, nor how full the bus is (buses will only leave when completely full).
Warning: Some of the cheaper lines run buses which are remarkably dilapidated, uncomfortable, will take a very long time to fill up, and will likely have to stop more often on the way, assuming they make it at all. Bus travel by night is not allowed, so most buses except for those to nearby cities will leave early in the morning.
Warning: Keep valuables and bags containing valuables with you at all times during bus travel. It is not uncommon for bags placed on an over-head shelf to be stolen from the bus during a stop, especially if the passenger has stepped off of the bus.
Sometimes the touts for the shadier bus companies claim to be working for or selling tickets for the more reputable bus companies. It is best to find the ticket office of a reputable bus company in the line of offices just outside of the bus stand. It is not necessary to book a ticket in advance, but it is a good idea to do so during high travel times (Easter, Christmas). Also make sure the correct date is written on the ticket.
The nearest dala-dala stand is also called "Ubungo", just down the road: Leaving the bus stand, head left on Morogoro Road, going toward the city; watch for the people crowding at the dala stand a short distance along. Dala-dalas to downtown will be marked "Posta"; people are typically happy to point them out to you if you ask.
Taxi prices from Ubungo are highest inside the stand, where there is a fairly strong cartel (similar to the airport). However there are always taxis outside the stand as well, with whom better prices can be negotiated. If you make a deal with a tout, and not directly with the driver (sitting in the car) the price will include a commission for the tout. Your negotiating position will be affected by things like the weather, time of day, traffic, how many other taxis there are, whether you can bargain in kiswahili, whether you have lots of bags, etc. Starting to walk to the daladala stand can show you're serious about negotiating - actually going there and taking a dala will really save you money.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Dar es Salaam
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Dar es Salaam - updated Apr 2024
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Dar es Salaam Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
