Accra ⇄ Dar es Salaam · Zanzibar · One stop · Via Nairobi, Addis Ababa or Kigali
Accra and Dar es Salaam lie on opposite coasts of the same continent, one on the Atlantic, one on the Indian Ocean, and no airline flies between them nonstop. With one change in Nairobi, Addis Ababa or Kigali you are there the same day, and Zanzibar is only a short hop further. The two countries share more than an ocean-to-ocean flight path: Kwame Nkrumah and Julius Nyerere built the idea of a united Africa together. Here are the routes, the entry rules, and what Tanzania holds beyond the safari brochures.
Flight times are approximate, without the connection. Tanzania is three hours ahead of Ghana all year. All three African hubs below need no transit visa if you stay airside.
| Via | Airline from Accra | Accra → hub | Hub → Dar es Salaam | Also to Zanzibar? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nairobi | Kenya Airways | about 6 h | about 1 h 15 | Yes, from Nairobi |
| Addis Ababa | Ethiopian Airlines | about 5 h 45 | about 3 h | Yes, from Addis Ababa |
| Kigali | RwandAir | about 6 h | about 1 h 45 | Check RwandAir's current network |
| Dubai / Doha | Emirates, Qatar Airways | about 8–9 h | about 5 h 30 | Yes, from both |
Which one to pick
Quickest: Kenya Airways via Nairobi, the shortest second leg, or Ethiopian via Addis Ababa, which has the most frequencies from Accra, up to three a day from December 2026. For Zanzibar: book straight through to Zanzibar on one ticket rather than flying to Dar and taking the ferry, unless you want the two-hour crossing. The Gulf routes double back on themselves and only make sense on a very good fare.
Local time in both cities, the weather at this moment, and a converter between cedis, Tanzanian shillings and the main currencies.
Say it in Swahili
Swahili is spoken by almost everyone in Tanzania, and a greeting matters more than anywhere in West Africa.
Key facts
When Ghana became independent in 1957, Julius Nyerere was a teacher leading Tanganyika's independence movement. He watched Accra closely. Four years later Tanganyika was free, and Nyerere and Kwame Nkrumah became the two great voices of African unity, though they disagreed sharply on how fast it should come. Nkrumah wanted one government for Africa at once; Nyerere argued for building it region by region. Both helped found the Organisation of African Unity in Addis Ababa in 1963.
Tanzania and Ghana also share a German chapter. Dar es Salaam was the capital of German East Africa, as Lomé was of German Togo, which reached into today's Volta Region. In 1905 the Maji Maji rising against German forced cotton growing spread across the south of the colony; the German response, including deliberate famine, killed many tens of thousands of people. The colonial buildings of the old German quarter near the harbour still stand.
Tours in and around Dar es Salaam with local guides, booked before you travel. Entrance fees are included in the tour price; tips are not included but always welcome.
Tanzanians visiting Ghana should check the Ghana visa rules before travel. The same routes via Nairobi, Addis Ababa or Kigali run in reverse. Visitors from the Indian Ocean coast will find the Atlantic forts a striking contrast to Zanzibar: the same trade in people, the other side of the continent.
Airport pickup with free internet, private vehicle hire and a three-destination tour, booked before you land. Entrance fees are included in the tour price; tips are not included but always welcome.
Before you fly, tune in to the country you are going to. Live radio from all over the continent, in one place.
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GhanaFlights.info belongs to an independent network of more than 70 African travel, heritage and information websites, online since December 2000. No Google advertising, no sponsored praise: just the routes and the countries, as they are.
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Updated and fact-checked: 29 October 2026. Routes from the airline timetables on GhanaFlights.info; flight times approximate; entry and health rules checked in October 2026. Always confirm with the airline and the Tanzanian authorities before booking. Text and research by Remo Kurka for GhanaFlights.info. This website carries no Google advertising.