Coco Beach is the main beach in Dar es Salaam and is located in the Oyster Bay district, after which it is also sometimes called.

My idea of a beautiful sandy beach similar to those of Zanzibar was quickly proven wrong.

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The nearby islands of Bongoyo or Sinda offer nicer beaches, but you'll only need to go there as part of a day trip.

A beach full of algae and dirt

The sea here is shallow, so you can't swim at all during low tide.

The water recedes up to 500 metres from the shore, revealing a huge amount of smelly algae.

The whole beach is lined with cheap food stalls, but their owners don't bother to clean them up and all the waste is dumped on the beach.

Overall, although Coco Beach is visually attractive at first glance (especially during high tide), it was probably the least beautiful of all the beaches we visited in Tanzania.

To the south of the beach, there is a nice view of the sea from the roughly 10 meter high cliffs.

How to get there

There is no public transport to Oyster Bay.

We recommend using the Bolt and Uber apps, which work great in Dar es Salaam and you'll pay around 9 000 tzs for a ride from the centre.

If you want to take a tuk tuk or regular taxi, the drivers will try to negotiate a price with you that is many times higher than the Bolt or Uber apps.

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