Dar Es Salaam Airport

I have used this airport many times since 1974. In the 70s the terminal building looked like a shabby rural bus station but the building that was then erected is nice and also architecturally beautiful from inside. Decent shops. Two lounges which are small but nice and -particularly important - cool. The rest of the building is hot and humid and the a/c in the departure hall is hardly working. The toilets can also be cumbersome since water is frequently lacking.

I was suprised when going through this airport. I had purchased my visa in London before leaving. There was a small queue for non Tanzanian passport holders but a Tanzanian immigration officer said I could go through the Tanzanian passport desk. I was through in a couple of minutes. My bag was ready for collection.It was the fastest I have ever been through an airport. The only down side was the price of cigarettes in the duty free shop on leaving. They where double the price if you had bought from a supermarket in Dar Es Sallam.

For a very small airport in a poor African country its really not bad. The departure hall is relatively spacious with plenty of seats a decent cafeteria and restaurant and a good selection of souvenir shops and there's even a bc lounge (not sure if its for a certain airline). The arrival area is less nice. It is below the departure area and looks like just a concrete basement area. Neither level is fully enclosed and especially on the arrivals level which opens directly outside (no doors) there will probably be mosquitos etc. inside. There is a foreign curency exchange offering the same rates as those in the city. There isn't really any public transport (unless you count the dalla-dallas (minibuses) on the highway outside which will undoubtedly be impossible to board with any luggage) but as soon as you exit if no one meets you you're likely to have taxi drivers approaching you from all directions (don't pay more than 10000tsh (about $9).