Dakar eSIM
In Dakar you connect to Orange or Free, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The median across the country is 29 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Orange and Free
- Real speed in Senegal
- 29 Mbps median, 6 Mbps for the slowest tenth124 travellers across Senegal, rolling 90 days
- 5G
- 4G only
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Dakar
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $10.89 | $10.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $7.30 | $21.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $6.38 | $31.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $5.39 | $53.89 |
How Senegal compares across Africa
- Speed rank
- 13 of 20 destinations we sell in Africa
- Regional median
- 29.5 Mbps
- Consistency
- The slowest tenth still reaches 21 percent of the median
- Upstream networks
- 2, Orange, Free
- 5G
- 4G only
- Next fastest nearby
- Namibia, 29 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Algeria, 27 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 1: Dakar
- tenth percentile
- 6 Mbps
- Behind these figures
- 124 travellers, rolling 90 days
Landing at Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS)
- Airport
- DSS / GOBD
- Distance
- 43 km from the centre of Dakar
- Wifi on arrival
- Free wifi in the terminalThe airport advertises a free internet connection at terminal level, provided in partnership with Senegal Numerique. Wi-Fi is listed among its passenger services alongside lounges, ATMs and exchange offices. The page does not state a network name or a login method.
Getting into Dakar
- Road transfer to central Dakar (DSS)
- Airport taxi to Dakar at the published rank fare (DSS)
- Dakar Dem Dikk shuttle between Diamniadio TER station and the airport (DSS)
- TER Dakar to Diamniadio
- Sunu BRT line B1, Guediawaye to Petersen
- Dakar to Goree island ferry, pedestrians only
Worth knowing about Dakar
- Blaise Diagne International Airport sits 43 km east of downtown Dakar, so the transfer into the city is long by capital-city standards.
- The Dakar regional express rail line (TER) opened in January 2019 between downtown Dakar and Diamniadio, but the station at the airport itself was still under construction as of early 2023, so there is no rail service from the terminal.
- Dakar Mobilite runs the Sunu BRT under a 15 year public service delegation signed with the state authority CETUD on 21 March 2022. The company is 70 percent owned by Meridiam and 30 percent by FONSIS.
- The Sunu BRT runs on 18.3 km of dedicated track with 23 closed stations built around central platforms, linking Guediawaye in the northern suburbs to the Dakar plateau. Its buses run on electric batteries.
- BRT station counters accept only cash and mobile money, meaning Orange Money and Wave. Bank cards are accepted at commercial agencies and on the app and website, but not at station counters, ticket machines or resellers.
- BRT fare media are contactless. There is an anonymous card, a nominative card carrying a photograph, and a contactless ticket that holds 2, 5 or 10 trips. The ticket costs 500 FCFA and the nominative card 2000 FCFA.
- The BRT also sells a paper ticket carrying a QR code, valid one hour from purchase, and an M ticket generated as a QR code inside the mobile application.
- BRT line B1 runs between Guediawaye and Petersen with a bus every 6 minutes. Passengers place the ticket on the validator target and wait for the gates to open. BRT commercial agencies open 6am to 9pm.
- The TER covers 36 km from Dakar to Diamniadio across 13 stations. It runs every 10 minutes Monday to Saturday between 5.30am and 9pm, and every 20 minutes on Sundays and public holidays.
- Dakar Dem Dikk buses connect Diamniadio TER station to Blaise Diagne airport for 3000 FCFA. The first departure is at 6am, then every 90 minutes until 1pm and every 60 minutes until 10.30pm.
- The Sama TER card costs 1000 FCFA. The anonymous version is sold at station ticket windows from 5.15am to 10.30pm. The nominative version needs an identity check and a photograph at a commercial agency.
- Blaise Diagne airport publishes fixed taxi fares of 13,000 FCFA to Dakar by day and 18,000 FCFA at night. Use of the motorway is optional and the toll is paid by the passenger.
- Buying or identifying an Orange SIM in Senegal is done in person at an agency, with a valid Senegalese identity document, a passport, or an ECOWAS identity card. A third party needs a legalised power of attorney.
- Cap Vert, the peninsula Dakar occupies, is the westernmost point of the African continent and of the Afro Eurasian mainland. Pointe des Almadies marks its north western tip and Cap Manuel the south eastern one.
- Goree lies two kilometres out from Dakar's main harbour and is reached by a regular 30 minute ferry for pedestrians only. There are no cars on the island, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.