Coco Beach is Dar's closest swim, a curving sand strand of about two kilometres on the eastern side of the Msasani Peninsula. The water is shallow and warm; the swimming is fine on the rising tide and around half-tide, less good at low water when reef and seagrass appear. Sundays the beach turns into the city's main outdoor social space: families, footballers, fish-fryers, hawkers with cold sodas, and music from every direction.
Weekdays are dramatically quieter. There are no formal facilities — no lifeguards, no rental loungers — but a handful of low-key beach bars at the southern end serve cold beer and grilled prawns. Use a taxi to get there and back; the walk along the road is not pleasant after dark.