Getting to Dakar and Around by TER Express Train, Taxi and Ferry

Opened in 2017, Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS) sits at Diass, roughly 50 km east of the Cap-Vert peninsula. Thanks to a dedicated rail link and a toll motorway, getting into central Dakar is straightforward once you know your arrival time.

The Train Express Régional (TER) from DSS Airport to Plateau

If you land between early morning and mid-evening, the hands-down cleanest and most reliable route into the city is the air-conditioned electric Train Express Régional (TER). From the arrivals hall at DSS, walk across the covered pedestrian footbridge (or hop on the free terminal shuttle bus) to the airport rail station. A quick connecting train takes you to Diamniadio junction, where you step across the platform onto the main frequent TER service running straight into the restored nineteenth-century Gare de Dakar on Place de Tirailleurs in Plateau (just ten minutes on foot from the Île de Gorée ferry terminal). If your flight lands late at night after TER service finishes, take an official licensed airport taxi via the Autoroute à Péage toll road (45 to 60 minutes depending on whether your hotel is in Plateau or Les Almadies).

Getting around Dakar: ride apps, yellow taxis and Dakar Dem Dikk

Within the peninsula, most visitors rely on two options:

• Ride-hailing apps (Yango and Heetch): widely used across Dakar, showing fixed upfront fares in the app so you never have to haggle on the kerbside.
• Yellow-and-black street taxis: abundant everywhere. Meters are not used; always state your destination clearly (for example, Phare des Mamelles, Embarcadère de Gorée or Plage de Ngor) and agree on the exact fare before opening the door.

Ferries to Île de Gorée and pirogues to Ngor Island

The state passenger ferry (la chaloupe) to Île de Gorée departs from the Gare Maritime Internationale at the Port of Dakar in Plateau; arrive at least thirty minutes before departure with your passport. For Ngor Island, motorised wooden pirogues cross continuously from the small beach behind the Ngor car park.