Marché Sandaga — Attraction in Dakar

Commenting on the market including all the surroundings roads and buildings.

Every road is for a particular product, for example Rue Abdou Karim Bourgi is for curtains, whereby you can get different types of curtains which can be stiched at your required length and height, and delivered at your place by the next day at latest.

So basically you can get absolutely EVERYTHING you can think of there, just you need to know in which road the shops are located. You can google search before arriving there so as to save you time and energy. Also it is recommended to be there around 10am and to leave there by 3pm due to heavy traffic.

Parking is almost impossible to find so better go by taxi/Yango etc.

For foreigners, if ever you are having difficulty finding a particular product, better enter a shop and ask the employees/shop owners than asking anyone on the road. Because some people will harass you to take you to different shops of their choice and ask you for money. As soon as they approach you better tell them that you don't need them and to leave you alone.

Prices are usually not displayed and you will have to bargain for almost everything. So better have an idea about the prices of different things you need so as to have some bargaining powers.

The places are usually very crowded and some areas...

The items for sale a really lovely! Bags galore, sunglasses, dresses, home decor, etc.

Unfortunately, the sellers are SO relentless and pushy. As soon as you show any sort of interest they will not stop offering you other items, keep pressing on how amazing the items are and inflate the prices by about 500%.

My dad is from Senegal, so they kinda listened to him and left us alone after he kept insisting. Once my sister and I returned on our own though, we were followed around the entire market by men, insisting we should follow them to their stands and shops, after us multiple times refusing to follow and demanding to be left alone.

I ended up getting 1 items even though I wanted to buy way more because I was just so uncomfortable and couldn't stand being near the market anymore.

We never felt unsafe! It was just frustrating, if you have strong nerves, patience and can (and like to) haggle, you'll have a...

This place is a horrible experience if you are a tourist. From about a kilometer away, people will already start harassing you. They do not understand 'no, thank you'. You will be called all sorts of unkind things in wolof if you get frustrated with them. You cannot stand still for one minute without people tugging at your pocket for your wallet. I came to buy a souvenir but left empty handed, extremely annoyed and disappointed. I am quite used to such markets but this was another level. Will never return to Sandaga and would recommend others to avoid at all costs. If you want a wax fabric, I've read online that marche HLM is a good place, will go...