Djibouti

Djibouti (جيبوتي) is the capital city of Djibouti and has a population of around 400,000.

Djibouti city

Understand

The city was founded in 1888 and was designated the capital of French Somaliland three years later. The city has some beaches along its eastern shore. Today it's mostly notable for its harbour, which accounts for much of the local economic activity.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport (JIB  ^IATA). There are regular flights by Air France (to Paris-CDG), Ethiopian Airways (Addis Ababa) and Kenya Airways (Nairobi via Addis Ababa) flights. There are also regular flights with Fly Dubai (to UAE-Dubai-DXB terminal 2).  

By train

There are passenger trains from Addis Abeba via Dire Dawa every second day. Journey time for the full trip is about 12 hours. The new trains are comfortable and there is a dining car on board. Tickets are sold at the station and should be bought at least few days beforehand. Additionally, there is a ticket office in central Djibouti.

• 2 Nagad railway station (10 km south of city centre). (updated Jun 2019)

Get around

Street scene, Djibouti

Get around by Green TaxiCabs. Some people will tell you to avoid the taxis with the drivers chewing khat, which is a natural, amphetamine-like stimulant. It gives the local Djiboutians and Somalis something called Merran, which is the Somali word for 'energy'.

Taxis cost from 500 Fdj to any amount, depending on distance. For example: Camp Lemonier to the city centre cost 1,500 Fdj. Negotiate and you may get a lower price, but there are better things to do than to argue over 500 Fdj.

See

• Beaches on the eastern shore.

Do

• 1 Aden Bay Casino, Sheraton Djibouti, ☏ +253 356549. Open F-W 18:00-04:00, Th 18:00-05:00. The casino in the Sheraton Hotel has 40 poker machines, black jack, poker and roulette tables. 
• 2 Bawadi Mall, Rue De Venice, ☏ +253 21 35 28 40. Mall that is also home to a Geant hypermarket, a movie theater, and several western style fast food outlets (ie Burger King, Pizza Hut, ChicKing). (updated Aug 2023)

Eat

• Melting Pot (Restaurant), Heron (Heron, Bernard street), ☏ +253 21350399. 11:00-23:00. A fusion cuisine restaurant a few hundred metres from the port. On the menu are camel meat, sushi, sashimi, fish, lobster, crab, best steaks in Djibouti, beers and mojitos. Nice atmosphere with outdoor and indoor setting. US$4-30. (updated Jul 2016)
• La Mer Rouge Restaurant, Ambouli (near camp lemonier, airoport), ☏ +253 21350299. 11-23. A seafood restaurant. Excellent location, walking distance from Camp Lemonier and not far from airport and BA188. Nice outdoor and indoor settings. On the menu are live crabs, lobsters, fresh fish, clams and other food from the Red Sea. The fish is cooked in a traditional Yemenite clay oven on acacia wood. Website Email at lamerrougedj.com. 'phone +253 21340005. 

Drink

• Club Hermes. Underground club, low key. Good security at the door. 1,000 Fdj per beer. 
• Club Menelik. Inside the Menelik Hotel, security is good here. Drinks are 1,000 Fdj/beer & 1,500 Fdj/mixed drink. The music ranges widely, but often consists of 1990s to current hip-hop & R&B. 
• La Galette. An underground club. 1,000 Fdj for beer, 1,500 Fdj for mixed drinks and 1,000 Fdj for sheesha (hookah). 
• La Oasis. Nice place with a second, smaller bar upstairs. 
• Le Maries. Nice place with a dancefloor in the front alongside a bar. In the back are some couches for sitting and smoking Sheesha smoking (1,000 Fdj to participate). 

Sleep

Splurge

• 1 Djibouti Palace Kempinski (Ilot Du Heron), ☏ +253 325555. (updated Jun 2019)

Stay safe

For taxis, make sure you go with someone who knows the city; otherwise, you will pay way more than you should. Agree on the price in advance, and only enter the taxi once you have agreed.