Senegal & the car with driver
Dakar is built at the tip of a peninsula, the Cap-Vert peninsula, and that geography dictates everything. To get into or out of the city, everyone goes through the same bottleneck, the toll motorway that runs towards Diamniadio, the airport and the Petite Côte. During office hours and on Friday evenings, the bottleneck tightens. Inside the city, traffic is a mix of taxis, cars rapides (minibuses), two-wheelers, carts and pedestrians.
In these conditions, the driver is more than someone behind the wheel. He knows which road to avoid at which hour, where to drop you outside a building in the Plateau without blocking the street, and how to reach Ngor or the Almadies without crossing the whole city. He waits during your meeting and picks you up at the door. It is this continuity, more than the comfort of the seat, that sets hire with a driver apart from a taxi ride.
It is also different from a transfer. A transfer is a journey fixed in advance, from one point to another. Here, you keep the vehicle and the driver for a set length of time, and the route is decided as the day goes on. To travel from one town to another, see our intercity transfers instead; for the airport, the airport / Dakar transfers.
Formats: hire with a driver
- Two hours: a loop around town, an errand, a round trip to an outlying neighbourhood.
- Five hours: a morning of appointments, a tour of Dakar or a half-day outside the city.
- The full day: the vehicle stays with you from morning to evening, to string together visits and stops, or to head for Lac Rose or the Petite Côte.
- Wedding and ceremony: a vehicle and driver for the day’s journeys, for the bride and groom as well as the guests.
- Choice of vehicle: a saloon for one to four passengers, a van for a family or small group, a minibus or bus for a group, a 4×4 when you want a high vehicle.
Where to go with a driver from Dakar
- Dakar and its neighbourhoods: Plateau, Médina, the Corniche, Soumbédioune, Mamelles. A saloon is enough, and the driver knows the detours that avoid the jams.
- The ferry terminal for Gorée Island: the island is explored on foot, with no cars. The driver drops you at the terminal in the Plateau; the ferry ticket is bought at the counter, outside any QFS booking.
- Lac Rose: 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on traffic, through the north-eastern suburbs. Leave early: getting out of Dakar is the only real sticking point.
- Toubab Dialaw: 1 to 1½ hours, via the motorway and then a road that drops back down towards the sea.
- Saly and the Somone: 1¼ to 2 hours to Saly on the toll motorway, with the Somone on the same Petite Côte road.
For tracks and dunes experienced as an activity in their own right, the 4×4 (safari & dunes) category is a better fit. All mobility options are grouped together in transport & transfers.
When to book a driver
All year round, but not at any hour. On weekdays, the morning and evening office rush saturates the main roads; a driver plans the route accordingly, but for an outing beyond Dakar, an early start is still the best insurance. On Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons, the Petite Côte motorway is at its busiest.
The dry season, November–May, brings the most visitors, and the end-of-year weekends bring weddings and family celebrations: book a few days ahead, more for a group vehicle. From 31 October to 13 November 2026, the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) take place between Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly: allow extra time on these roads.
Good to know & budget
The price is shown on each listing and is per vehicle, not per person: whether you are four in a saloon or twelve in a van, the cost is shared. It depends on the duration and the type of vehicle. You pay 20% to secure your booking (the booking fee), and the balance is paid on site, on the day. If you live in Senegal, you get the resident rate: up to 30% off depending on the listing (the exact rate is shown on each listing).
There are no entry charges or taxes linked to the service. Only the motorway toll comes into play once you leave Dakar: depending on the option, it is either included or payable on site and not included in the price, and the listing says which, as it does for fuel. Entry to the sites you visit, such as the Gorée ferry or a reserve, is paid on site and not included in the price.
When you book, give the pick-up address, the time, the number of passengers and bags, the planned stops and whether you need a child seat.
Who is it for?
Visitors gain a day without haggling or waiting at the kerb: Dakar in the morning, Lac Rose in the afternoon, without having to negotiate a fare at every stop. Families and small groups appreciate the price per vehicle, which shares out all the better the more of you there are. Business travellers get a schedule that holds: a driver waiting outside every meeting, and a guaranteed ride back when the meeting overruns.
Residents know the city, but do not always feel like parking in it. A morning of errands, parents to take out, a wedding where nobody wants to drive, guests to ferry around, a trip to Saly without getting behind the wheel on the way back: that is where hiring a driver really makes sense, with the resident rate as a bonus.
For years, the road to Lac Rose was the most famous in the country. The Paris–Dakar Rally very often held its finish there. The last African finish took place in 2007, before the race left for South America. Today the same journey takes about an hour from Dakar, with no helmet and no stopwatch, sitting in the back.
Frequently asked questions
How is it different from a transfer?
A transfer is a fixed journey from one point to another. Hire with a driver gives you the vehicle and the driver for a set length of time, two hours, five hours or a full day, and the route is decided as your needs arise.
Is the price per person?
No, it’s per vehicle and is shown on each listing. You pay 20% to secure your booking (the booking fee), and the balance is paid on site, on the day. If you live in Senegal, you get the resident rate: up to 30% off. Depending on the option, the toll is either included or payable on site and not included in the price: the listing says which.
Can you go to Lac Rose or Saly with the driver?
Yes, with the full-day option or a dedicated outing. Allow 45 minutes to an hour and a half for Lac Rose, and 1¼ to 2 hours for Saly, depending on traffic.
Can the driver cover a wedding?
Yes, there is a wedding and ceremony option: give the day’s schedule, the addresses and the number of people to be driven.
