Here's an attractive town for a few days, reminiscent of the seaside resorts of France (especially those on the Atlantic coast), where cycling is king. Really, three or four days here is worth it, as the area is calm and the mangrove beaches are clean and accessible from the center in less than 10 minutes. This is a real luxury when compared with Dar es Salaam, but the size of the town is not the same. Tanga is a large town that has grown rich thanks to its favourable position facing the sea. However, the visitor will end up bored as, apart from the beach, there's not much to see or do in town.Tanga has a population of around 250,000. Located 45 km from the Kenyan border and 154 km from Mombasa, it was once the capital of Deutsh Ostafrika, after the town of Bagamoyo. Its port was interesting, but the town's position was too far north: Mzizima, the future Dar es Salaam, was better situated. In 1911, the country's first major railway line was completed: Tanga-Moshi, 350 km long, but no longer in operation. The districts between the railway line and the sea retain a fine colonial atmosphere (German, you can see). In particular, you'll find a number of large buildings from the era, now reclaimed by the Tanzanian government. The rest of the town is a huge market town of less interest. Behind the Catholic cathedral, take a look at the fishing port. The avenue running alongside the sea leads only to the commercial port. Tanga is most interesting for its region and the wild, superb coastline that surrounds it, especially to the south. A must-see, however, for the charm of its old colonial houses, its dirt streets and its peaceful atmosphere. You either love or hate the sound of the muezzin at 5.30 am. If you're a light sleeper, you'll find it hard to sleep past 7am.We can only hope that the government will have the good sense to improve, or even simply build, the infrastructure needed to develop the coast and enable a well-deserved boom in tourism. In the meantime, lovers of unspoilt horizons are happy to take advantage of the beaches along the coast. From Tanga, it's easy to reach the south bank of Pangani by public transport, but it's only possible to cross Saadani National Park by 4x4. To continue south to Bagamoyo, you have to bypass the park and join the Arusha-Dar national road.Tanga isn't exactly a hectic town. However, as soon as you leave the town center and the area around the bus station, you enter even more peaceful neighbourhoods, which have been the delight of settlers for decades. This is particularly true of the districts to the east of the bay.

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