Diamniadio
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What to do in Diamniadio?
Diamniadio is not somewhere you sightsee; it is somewhere you use. No old town, no beach: just a city built from scratch in a decade, some thirty kilometres from Dakar, where people come for a match, a concert, a trade fair or a train.
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At a glance
| Region | Dakar Region, Rufisque department |
| Type of place | New town and urban hub: ministries, university, conference centre, major sports venues |
| Getting there from Dakar | About thirty kilometres; under an hour by TER, from 30 minutes to over an hour on the toll motorway depending on traffic |
| Getting there from Blaise Diagne International Airport (AIBD) | Around twenty minutes by road depending on traffic; direct TER since 28 September 2026 |
| Recommended time | As long as an event lasts, then half a day or a day in the surrounding area |
| Official fees | No additional official fees to get around the hub; each match, concert or event has its own ticketing |
| Highlight | Dakar 2026 YOG, 31 October to 13 November |
| QFS activities nearby | Airport transfers, trips to Lac Rose and the Petite Côte |
Resident or visitor: two ways to use the same city
If you live in Senegal, Diamniadio is already in your diary: paperwork at a ministry, a trade fair, a match at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium, a concert at the Dakar Arena. Take the TER rather than the motorway on an event night, and make the most of the trip by stretching the weekend out to Lac Rose or the cliffs of Toubab Dialaw.
If you are visiting, you will inevitably pass through Diamniadio, between the airport and Dakar. During the YOG it becomes a destination in its own right: pick an event and plan your journey around it. The rest of the year it is a stopover, not a goal: save your time for the coast.
A city built for big occasions
The hub was created in the mid-2010s to take pressure off an overcrowded peninsula, with a second centre on the airport road. The first landmark was the Abdou Diouf International Conference Centre (CICAD), completed for the 2014 Francophonie Summit. Then came the ministerial office complexes (the sphères ministérielles), Amadou Mahtar Mbow University, the Dakar Arena indoor sports hall and the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium, opened in February 2022 with 50,000 seats. Finished neighbourhoods still sit beside bare plots, but this is now where Senegal hosts its major events.
The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games prove the point: the competition is shared between Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly. In Diamniadio, events are held at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium (archery), the Dakar Arena (badminton), the exhibition centre, the Dakar Expo Center (including gymnastics, table tennis and wushu), and the equestrian complex. During the fortnight, allow plenty of time: altered traffic, packed TER trains and accommodation in high demand.
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Book an activity from Diamniadio with QFS
No activities are offered within the hub itself, but everything starts from here. To arrive or leave, see our airport / Dakar transfers and our intercity transfers. For a getaway, head north to Lac Rose and its quad & buggy rides, or south to Toubab Dialaw, Saly and the whole of the Petite Côte. Rufisque is right next door, Dakar at the end of the line. You pay 20% to secure your booking (the booking fee), and the balance is paid on site, on the day, to the local provider; any official fees are payable on site and not included in the price; if you live in Senegal, you get the resident rate: up to 30% off. For the big picture: Dakar Region.
Frequently asked questions
Which 2026 YOG events take place in Diamniadio?
How do you get to Diamniadio from Dakar?
Does the TER run from Diamniadio to the airport?
What is there to do around Diamniadio?
Sénégal travel news
Latest news
Discover the latest trends and tips for traveling in Senegal. From cultural tourism to outdoor activities, stay informed about events and news that will enrich your stay.
Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games: your guide to Africa’s first Olympic Games, from the stands
Prayer times in Senegal: understanding the five daily prayers, from Dakar to Touba
TER Dakar–AIBD: the train finally serves the airport, and how to make the most of it
Great Mosque of Touba: entering the holy city as a guest
Podor: the gum arabic trading post at the end of the river
Mamelles Lighthouse: Dakar’s oldest watchman, at the top of the city
Lac de Guiers: the great lake that keeps Dakar supplied with water
Éloubaline Island: at the end of the creek, the houses that drink the rain
Mar Lodj: the Saloum island with no roads, no ticket office and no borders between faiths
Djifère: the end of the road, facing Sangomar
Niodior: the Saloum island many people read about before they see it
Dionewar: the Gandoul island that faces the ocean
Missirah: the fishing village with the giant kapok tree, at the far end of the Saloum
Sipo Island: the island that had a queen, across the water from Toubacouta
Wendaye Island: crossing a Diola island on foot, from the pirogue to the rice paddies
Pointe Saint-Georges: the end of the track where you watch for manatees
Boucotte: where the beach at Cap Skirring turns wild again
Édioungou: the village where *bolong* clay becomes a jar
Diakène: the gateway to the mangroves, between the Cap Skirring road and Egueye Island
Egueye Island: an island with no village, where the mangrove has the last word
Ourong Island: the end of the chain, where the Casamance islands run out
Katakalousse: the bridge on the Cap Skirring road, and the pirogue to the islands
Cachouane: the peninsula where the Casamance stops running
Kadioute: not an island, but a Diola museum among the roots of a kapok tree
Djilapao: a sculpted house at the end of a *bolong*
Mlomp: two-storey houses of raw earth, in the shade of kapok trees
Niokolo-Koba National Park: Senegal’s great wild bush, which owes you nothing
Dindéfélo Falls: the waterfall the villages chose to keep
Énampore: the house that drinks the rain, at the end of the Bandial road
Guembeul Reserve: on foot among the gazelles the Sahel had lost
Simal: the village on the bolong, at the end of the tann track
Hann Bel-Air: the bay Dakar damaged and is trying to repair
Ngor Beach: the village beach, between pirogues, the landing point and evening football
Anse Bernard: the Plateau’s only beach, and the one Dakar nearly lost
Ndianda: the Serer village you drive through without seeing, ten minutes from Joal
Carabane Island: reading Casamance’s former capital on foot
Lompoul desert: a little Sahara best experienced at sunset
Langue de Barbarie National Park: the park the sea redraws every year
Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary: the pelican haven that almost drowned under a fern
Nguéniène market: on Wednesdays, the Serer bush does its shopping (and you are invited)
Tortoise Village (Village des Tortues) in Noflaye: the African spurred tortoise’s waiting room
Popenguine Nature Reserve: the bush that women brought back to life
Joal-Fadiouth: the island where people are buried together, and the town where Senghor was born
The Somone lagoon: the mangrove that local people replanted
Hann Park: come for the forest, the zoo is not the point of the outing
Ngor Island: one island, two faces, and it is up to you to choose yours
Write to us: a real team, here in Senegal, will reply
Live in Senegal? The resident rate is made for you
Register your activity: we will take care of making it bookable
AFCON 2025: winners in Rabat, a title under appeal, and a country that lives for football
Dak’Art 2026: a month to see Dakar through its artists, from 19 November to 19 December
Saint-Louis Jazz Festival: five May nights when the whole island starts to swing
African Renaissance Monument: contested before it even stood, now Dakar’s landmark
Gorée Island: it is not one house that is listed, but the whole island
Lac Rose (Pink Lake): at Lake Retba, everything comes down to salt
Sine-Saloum Delta: a delta listed for its shells as much as for its mangroves
Madeleine Islands: the park you visit to take nothing away
Fathala Reserve: the Saloum forest where you come looking for the Derby eland
Bandia Reserve: a rebuilt savannah, from giraffes to the griots’ baobab
Mosque of the Divinity: the mosque born of a dream, set on the ocean’s edge at Ouakam
The Mamelles Lighthouse: Panorama and History of Dakar
Dakar’s markets: six markets, six ways to read the city (and to haggle)
House of Slaves, Gorée: what the door helps you understand
Great Mosque of Dakar: one minaret, three stories, and respect above all
Museum of Black Civilisations: a 1966 dream that opened in 2018
Théodore Monod Museum: West African art up close, in the calm of the Plateau
How to book your activity in Senegal
3 days in Dakar: a day of memory, a day of ocean, a day in working-class Dakar
What to do in Dakar Region? Pick what you feel like, we will show you where to go
Bringing Senegal to life? We bring you the people who want to experience it
About us: Senegal to do, not just to see
Saly and the Petite Côte: pick what you feel like, then get out of the resort
Frequently asked questions: booking an activity in Senegal
What to do and see in Senegal: our iconic places, region by region
Our partners: the people who bring Senegal to life, one activity at a time
Book a private activity in Senegal for your group