Tim and Rowena Barnes

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Travel Notes for Tanzania

General

In general, Tanzania is pretty safe and has a fairly well developed infrastructure for tourists. With few exceptions, the people we dealt with were honest and did not try to rip us off. It would be a good place for a first time visit to Africa. However, Tanzania is not a particularly cheap location - accommodation, travel, western food and Safaris are all quite expensive.

Travel

As with most African countries, it is worth investing in some internal flights to avoid too many long bus journeys. That said, I would recommend doing at least one bus trip - it gives you a very different perspective on the country and the chance to meet some locals. Our internal travel costs were:
  • Bus from Dar Es Salaam to Arusha, 8 hours, Scandinavian, $22 per person
  • Flight Arusha to Zanzibar, Precision Airlines (booked in Dar, cash only), $120 per person
  • Flight Zanzibar to Arusha, Tropical Airways, $50 per person (the ferry isn't much cheaper and takes about 2 hours).
Taxis are not too expensive and once you have got a feel for the going rate you can haggle them down a bit. Just make sure you agree the fee before you start.

Safaris

There are three main categories of safaris; budget camping, luxury camping and lodge. We chose budget camping (lodge safaris are very expensive), for this we got:
  • travel in a landrover
  • a guide/driver and a cook
  • camping at public campsites
  • accommodation in good sized tents with thick foam mats - we brought our own sleeping bags
  • three good meals a day
There are a large number of Safaris operators to choose from. We went with Roy Safaris because they proposed a good itinerary and were reasonably competitive. We paid $2620 for two people for eight days - seven nights, inclusive of all park fees (these are not trivial, e.g. $100 for a vehicle and 2 people for Ngrongoro). This was relatively expensive because we wanted to be on our own, but at the end of the trip we were happy we had got value for money. Clearly it would be cheaper if you are prepared to join with others and share a jeep between four. On top of the fee quoted by the safari operator, you need to allow for drinking water (we bought a case in supermarket before we left Arusha) - and tips for the guide/driver (~$10/day) and the cook (~$7/day). We booked our Safari from the UK and had to pay a 30% deposit up front by money transfer. This is standard practice and not a problem if you are using a reputable operator (it also means you can carry less cash). I am sure you could turn up in Arusha and book a safari on the spot, but you would probably loose at least two days and it would be a hassle.

It terms of an itinerary my observations are as follows:
  • jeep safaris are a great way to see all the animals, but after 3-4 days I began to tire of being stuck in the car all day;
  • Ngrongoro and the central Serengeti were impressive, but they are very crowded and it does detract from the experience;
  • the highlight of our trip was Lake Natron, which isn't in a national park and didn't involve game viewing.
So my tips for designing an itinerary are:
  • consider going to some of the less visited areas, e.g. northern or western Serengeti or better still Selous in the south of the country;
  • include a day doing something other than game viewing in the jeep, e.g. a walking safari, visiting a local village or a boat trip;
  • spend two nights in one place.
Feedback on Roy Safaris
We were 100% satisfied with Roy Safaris. When we were arranging the safari by email from the UK they were very efficient, responsive and helpful. On the safari, their equipment was in good condition, the vehicle well maintained (it did breakdown, but it took a hell of a hammering on the track from Lake Natron) and the driver and cook were great. Our only complaint is the cups they provided weren't big enough - we Brits like a decent sized cup of tea. Roy Safaris' website is at www.roysafaris.com

Hotels

Accommodation is quite expensive in Tanzania. Here's where we stayed:

In Dar Es Salam
  • Econolodge, $25 for a double room with noisy aircon. This was OK for the price, but a bit grubby
  • Q Bar, Msasani Peninsula, $40 (double). This is an excellent place. Brilliant, clean comfortable room, good aircon, great food and a serious bar. Strongly recommended.
In Arusha:
  • The Outpost, Serengeti Road, $40. We liked The Outpost alot. It has an old colonial feel and the rooms are really well presented and had the largest mosquito net we have ever seen. The buffet supper is good, if a bit pricey.
On Zanzibar:
  • The Garden Lodge in Stone Town $30. Clean airy rooms on the first and second floor (not so nice on the ground floor) and a nice roof top cafe.
  • East Coast Visitors Inn at Jambiani $35 for a bungalow. Fine.
There are lots of hotels on the beaches of Zanzibar and there is an efficient minibus bus service that links the hotels in Stone Town with those on the coast. All you do is tell your Stone Town hotel which resort you want to go to and when, and they will arrange the minibus. The minibus will take you to the resort and steer you in the direction of the hotels where they get commission. However, if you ask, they are OK about taking you to other hotels. It's quite a slick operation, but it works well for the tourist and the minibus isn't expensive. If you want to go to one of the more popular hotels it is advisable to book in advance.

Money

To cash travellers cheques in Tanzania you need the purchase receipts to prove they are genuine and not stolen. This was a bit of a problem as ours were a mish-mash of cheques left over from previous trips and we had long since lost the receipts. Luckily some of the banks didn't check the receipts that carefully and we were able to make the few receipts we had go a long way.
Cash dollars seemed to be the best option in Tanzania. Travellers cheques weren't that popular at banks and the charges were quite high. Cash on credit cards was available at a few banks. Paying for your safari by money transfer would reduce the need to carry large amounts of cash or cheques.


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© Copyright Tim Barnes 2004