Dakar is West Africa's most accessible big city for exchange: a peninsula capital of cheap taxis, Atlantic surf, thumping mbalax music and a famous culture of hospitality known as teranga. Studying here means real immersion, improving your French while picking up Wolof, and experiencing a side of the world few of your peers will. Cheikh Anta Diop University and a cluster of study-abroad centres make it a genuine hub for international students.

Student life mixes campus energy with beach and music. UCAD is enormous and lively, while research centres like WARC and the Baobab Center host international students and Wolof classes. Evenings run late around Point E, Almadies and Ngor, and live mbalax is a must, the genre Youssou N'Dour made famous. Attaya, the slow ritual of pouring mint tea, is where real conversations happen.

• Catch live music at Just 4 U or, when it is open, Youssou N'Dour's Thiossane club; mbalax is best loud and late.
• Take Wolof classes at the West African Research Center (WARC) or the Baobab Center; even basic Wolof transforms how locals treat you.
• Ask the Dakar group on Studcasa which stretches of Almadies and Ngor are safe and fun after dark before you head out.

Senegal is affordable but Dakar is its most expensive corner, so budget around 700 to 1,100 euros a month depending on how you live. The West African CFA franc is pegged to the euro at roughly 656 to one, which makes prices easy to read. Street food and shared taxis cost next to nothing; imported goods and Almadies nightlife are where money disappears.

• A plate of thieboudienne at a local eatery costs 1,500 to 3,000 CFA (around 2 to 5 euros); imported groceries cost far more.
• Agree the fare before getting into a yellow taxi, or use the Yango and Heetch apps to avoid haggling.
• A room in a shared flat in Point E or Mermoz might run 150,000 to 300,000 CFA a month; always negotiate and view first.

Most exchange students land a homestay or a shared flat in Fann, Point E, Mermoz or Sacre-Coeur, which are central, relatively safe and close to UCAD and the study centres. A host family is the fastest route into the language and the food, and is what many programmes arrange by default. Always view a place in person and never wire a deposit to someone you have not met.

• Ask your programme, WARC or the Baobab Center about vetted homestays, the best way to eat well and learn Wolof fast.
• For a shared flat, look in Point E, Fann Residence, Mermoz or Sacre-Coeur near the university and centres.
• Ask the Dakar group on Studcasa for current landlord and agency recommendations, and never pay before viewing.

Dakar's transport is being transformed. The new BRT rapid-bus line and the TER commuter train from Dakar to Diamniadio and the airport are fast and modern, while the colourful cars rapides minibuses and shared clando taxis remain the cheap, chaotic old guard. Yellow taxis have no meters, so ride-hailing apps like Yango and Heetch are the easy option.

• Use Yango or Heetch for door-to-door trips at a fixed, fair price, far simpler than negotiating a yellow taxi.
• Take the TER train or the BRT for quick, air-conditioned runs along their routes; Dakar Dem Dikk buses cover the rest cheaply.
• Traffic in the Plateau is brutal at rush hour, so build in extra time and avoid crossing town at 6pm.

Universite Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) is the giant, one of Francophone Africa's largest universities, in Fann near the coast, teaching in French across every discipline. Alongside it sit private schools like ISM and Suffolk University Dakar, and the study-abroad centres (WARC, CIEE, Baobab) that run French and Wolof courses for internationals. Terms can feel less rigidly scheduled than in Europe, so stay in close contact with your faculty.

• Confirm your class times directly with your department at UCAD, as schedules and occasional strikes can shift dates.
• The study-abroad centres like WARC and the Baobab Center are your best resource for language classes and academic support.

Here's the good news: Senegal scrapped visas for short visits, so students from the EU, UK, US, Canada, Australia and many other countries can enter visa-free for up to 90 days with just a passport valid six months and, in practice, proof of yellow-fever vaccination. For a short program or a long weekend, that's all you need.

The catch is that a full semester runs past 90 days. For that you either arrange a long-stay visa before you travel or, more commonly, enter visa-free and apply for a residence permit (carte de séjour) once you're there through the foreigners' police. Start that paperwork early with your university's help, it's slow, and every step depends on your nationality, so double-check your own country's rules.

• Up to 90 days, visa-free for EU/UK/US/CA/AU and many others
• Full semester (90+ days), long-stay visa or carte de séjour
• Bring: passport valid 6 months, yellow-fever certificate, passport photos

Senegalese food is a highlight of any exchange. The national dish is thieboudienne, fish, rice and vegetables in a rich tomato sauce, traditionally eaten from a shared platter with your right hand. Add poulet yassa in its onion-and-lemon sauce, mafe peanut stew, fresh bissap and baobab juices, and the endless ritual of attaya tea.

• Eat thieboudienne at lunch, the main meal, ideally shared from a communal bowl, using your right hand.
• Buy fresh fish and produce at Marche Kermel or the Soumbedioune seafront market, and grab grilled dibi meat at night.
• Say yes to attaya when offered; the three rounds of mint tea are a social ritual, not just a drink.

Dakar spreads along a peninsula from the downtown Plateau out to the western tip. The Plateau is the administrative and business core; Fann holds UCAD and the research centres; Point E is the leafy, bar-lined student and expat favourite; and Almadies and Ngor at the far west have the beaches, nightlife and the westernmost point of the African mainland. Medina is the dense, historic, deeply local heart.

• Point E and Fann for proximity to the university, cafes and a safe, sociable base.
• Almadies, Ngor and Yoff for beaches, surf and the best nightlife, though rents run higher.
• Mermoz and Sacre-Coeur for good-value, central residential streets.

Weekends reward you richly. The former slave island of Ile de Goree, a sobering UNESCO site, is a twenty-minute ferry from the Plateau; the surreal pink Lake Retba and the Somone lagoon are day-trips; and the Petite Cote beaches around Saly and Toubab Dialaw are a couple of hours south. Further afield, colonial Saint-Louis and the Sine-Saloum Delta are unmissable overnights.

• Take the ferry from the Plateau to Ile de Goree (about 20 min) for its history and pastel streets; go early.
• Day-trip to Lac Rose (Lake Retba) or the beaches of the Petite Cote around Saly and Toubab Dialaw.
• Plan an overnight to UNESCO-listed Saint-Louis (about 4h north) or the mangroves of the Sine-Saloum Delta.

Dakar rewards openness and a bit of Wolof: 'nanga def' for how are you and 'jerejef' for thank you go a long way. Dress modestly away from the beaches, especially in Medina and at religious sites, and always agree taxi fares up front. It is a friendly city but stay street-smart with phones and cash after dark, and drink bottled or filtered water.

• Learn a handful of Wolof greetings like 'nanga def' and 'jerejef'; locals light up when you try.
• Carry small CFA notes for taxis and street food, and settle the fare before you get in.
• Drink filtered or bottled water, and dress modestly away from the beach, particularly on Fridays and at mosques.