Use this Dakar Shopping Guide to help plan your shopping tour of Dakar. See below for more information about the best places to shop and souvenirs you are likely to find. For more general information about shopping in Senegal see our Senegal Shopping Guide. And if all that shopping has worn you out, see our Dakar Restaurant Guide to find a great place to refuel your body.

Dakar Shopping Guide

Don't hesitate to hire an ambulant vendor to help you shop, because they usually offer the best prices, the easiest bargaining, and have human consideration. Being some of the harder workers of the country they really deserve the money you will pay them. Better to hire the real ambulant ones than to accept a hassling guy, whether it be for price, bargaining facility or genuine, real life quest and Care For Destination mentality. But of course ambulant vendors only have what they can carry so they can't have everything. So go ahead and go to the markets!

Kermel Market

Your local connexion tip : This market is above all worth seeing, but not necessarily buying. Even if there is no hassle, and if the market is really genuine, prices are higher than in any other markets. But the place itself is really nice (architecture, location in the town, ...)

Sandaga Market

Your local connection tip: Absolutely genuine market in which Senegalese, Lebanese, Mauritanian, Chinese (especially at the North End of "Centenaire") and all West African people sell anything from food to electronics, including all kind of clothes (traditional, Western, fake, and nonsense), toiletry, plates, etc, and of course arts and crafts, creating a melting pot atmosphere. Very pleasant if you are able to escape from the huge hassling activity which is the most important business in this market, but this can be a good entrance test: if you manage to bargain your liberty where you want and wander if you want to, you will certainly be able to bargain for anything you wish to buy!

Village des arts de Soumbédioune

Your local connection tip: Meant for tourists, so if you are looking for a genuine market, don't even put a foot inside, but if you want to find quickly a wide range of arts and crafts without being hassled, it is worth going.

Soumbedioune Fishermen Market

Your local connection tip: Defenitely worth coming, as a cultural scene, and if you want to buy seafood. Keep in mind that all Dakar families, from the poorest to the richest, prefer coming here to buy seafood than anywhere else. In function of the tide, of the month, etc, just ask us what will be the best time to go the day you intend to go there: don't go anytime, you would miss the reason why you came!

Other Markets

Tillene Market, HLM Market, Colobane Market, Castor Market, Grand Yoff Market, ...
shhhhhhhht, don't tell the others: these markets are totally genuine, and if you don't go there with shorts, a swimming suit, backpacker bag or visible camera, local people WILL think you live here. We won't write anything on these markets: if you are smart enough to guess it is worth it, you will be smart enough to find them just by knowing the names... or you can just ask us!

To conclude, below are  other details of  these places plus some special places meeting Caring For Destination aims: if you need something in the list please go there rather than any other place!