Is a short town tour of Dar es Salaam worth $100. ea
 

We are finishing our 8 day Tanzanian Safari with 3 days on Zanzibar. Our return flight to the States leaves Dar es Salaam at 11pm since we have 5 1/2 hours between flights, a short town tour and dinner at Slipway was suggested. However, our tour coordinator is quoting $95. each for the transfer to and from the restraunt and airport with a short tour. Dinner is NOT included. Seems high in relation to the rest of the package. Are we missing something here? We are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary with this trip and especially want to make the most of our last day. Any thoughts?

This is far too expensive, in my opinion.

A cab from the airport to downtown Dar should be about $10. The slipway is farther, being generous I would say $20.

With only about 3.5 hours to kill, I would just drive to the slipway, have a leisurely dinner, and drive back to the airport.

You will probably land at terminal 2 airport from Zanzibar (this is smaller than the International terminal). There will be cabs waiting there. Just negotiate a price to the slipway before getting in. Then ask this driver to pick you up. If he is not there when you are through with your meal, just have the restaurant call for a cab to the airport.

There is not too much to see in Dar for your limited amount of time. You can ask the driver to go by way of the Askari Monument and the Azania Luthern church. This will give you a flavor of the town.

Thanks for your very helpful reply. You confirmed my suspicions. One more question if you don't mind. Do you or anyone else know if baggage can/should be checked upon arrival from Zanzibar to the KLM flight leaving later that night.

And, just for the record, we have found fodors.com and the travel forum to be extremely helpful, not to mention interesting and fun. We are internet AND travel rookies and really appreciate the advice. Looking forward to sharing our experience with those interested. J

I'd contact KLM direct to ascertain whether they will check luggage for a later flight. In all likelihood they will, but with security the way it is these days, who knows for certain. Best that KLM answers the question.

You are not missing anything in Dar, and the seafood at the Slipway can be quite good. Maybe ask your TO to quote you on just the transfer, as it is the 'short tour' which is adding to the price. That way you should be able to reduce the price as well as have security in the fact that you known the trasnfer is arranged and not have to haggle with taxi drivers

Thanks Mark1 for the good information. That was the conclusion we were edging towards. We have not visited DAR, however in my opinion, for $200.00 the tour should be something more spectacular than a cab ride and a bit of narration. I will contact our TO and suggest the cab ride arrangement.
Thank you again for your imput.

For 200 zimbabwe dolars maybe but not US$. There is VEry little to see there. It will just be some guy point and saying "very old building" to something that was knocked up the the 50/60's. Save the cash. If you want a tour around the town 20-30 US$ will get you the use of a taxi for a hour of 2.
Rich,
Photos of Tanzania and a few other places
http://www.franceinfocus.net

There is a nice museum in Dar that is certainly worthwhile visiting. Look in the Lonely Planet guide to East Africa for more ideas about things to do in Dar.