Getting to Dodoma and Around by SGR Train, Plane and Road

Positioned at the geographic crossroads of Tanzania, Dodoma is now the best-connected inland city in East Africa thanks to the electrified Standard Gauge Railway linking the Indian Ocean coast to the central plateau, complemented by paved trunk highways and a convenient urban airport.

By electric SGR train from Dar es Salaam and Morogoro

The fastest and most comfortable way to reach the capital is the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). Modern electric multiple-unit (EMU) express trains and locomotive-hauled services connect Magufuli Station in central Dar es Salaam with Morogoro and Dodoma's grand Samia Suluhu Hassan SGR Station, cutting what used to be a nine-hour bus journey down to roughly three to three and a half hours:

• Booking and classes: tickets must be booked with passport details through the official TRC online ticketing portal or station counters. Choose between standard Economy, spacious Business Class and VIP Royal Class coaches with panoramic windows looking out across the Uluguru Mountains and baobab plains.
• Arrival at Samia Suluhu Hassan Station: the multi-storey station stands on the southern side of the city near the University of Dodoma loop. Arrive early for airport-style luggage scanners, and take a waiting taxi or three-wheeled bajaji into central Dodoma or Kilimani in about fifteen minutes.

Flights to Dodoma Airport (DOD) and long-distance buses

Air Tanzania, Precision Air and Flightlink operate daily domestic turboprop flights linking Dodoma Airport (DOD) with Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro (JRO) and Zanzibar. Because the current runway sits right inside the urban fabric just north of the centre, a taxi from the arrivals gate reaches Nyerere Square hotels in ten minutes, while the massive new Msalato International Airport is taking shape north of town along the Kondoa highway. By road, intercity coaches arrive at the modern Nane Nane Bus Terminal east of the centre along the Morogoro highway, with direct routes to Arusha (via Babati and Kondoa), Mwanza, Mbeya and Iringa.

Getting around Dodoma and hiring a car for excursions

Inside the city, blue city buses (daladalas), three-wheeled auto-rickshaws (bajajis) and ride-hailing apps make short trips between Nyerere Square, Sabasaba Market and Area C simple. For visiting vineyards around Hombolo and Bihawana or driving north to the Kondoa Rock-Art shelters, arrange a 4x4 vehicle with a local driver through your hotel.