Far away in the distance the august mountain Kilimanjaro shone in the upper air like a vast celestial mould of Christmas pudding streaked with frozen rivers of brandy butter.
Edward Marsh
Tanzania holiday experts at WEXAS will tailor-make all aspects of your itinerary to create a Tanzania holiday, personal to you.
Tanzania is arguably the best example of an East African country. Here you’ll find Africa’s highest mountain, the world’s largest intact caldera, Africa’s most renowned national park and the world’s largest game reserve and three of the world’s largest lakes, as well as some of the finest beaches anywhere on the outlying spice islands.
In all, one quarter of the country is given over to conservation, protected as national parks, and this enables Tanzania to support one fifth of Africa’s large mammal population. Here, you can see the world’s largest annual migration, as two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle move on to pastures new. Meanwhile bird watchers will delight in having more than 1,000 species to spot.
No wonder then that most tourists will tick off these evocative highlights on their first trip, and rightly so. Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater, Dar es Salaam, Lake Victoria, the Rift Valley, Zanzibar and Pemba. It’s Africa as imagined in your childhood, all wild animals, lush rainforest, tribal herdsmen, bizarre rock formations and islands of paradise.
Returnees to the country, though, should head for the real wildernesses in the southern and western reaches of the country. Try Mafia Island, Selous Game Reserve, Mikumi and Mahale. Relatively tourist-free and with upmarket safari lodges these areas are arguably even more like the real Africa.
Tanzania facts
Capital: Dodoma
Language: Kiswahili and English.
People: 99% belong to 120 small tribal groups.
Religion: Christian (33%), Muslim (33%), traditional beliefs (30%).
Size (sq km): 945,087.
Population: 34,569,232
Population density/sq km: 36.6.
Etiquette
Do not use the left hand. Greet and reply to individuals with 'Jambo'. The more Kiswahili you know, the more delighted locals will be. Dress is smart.
Shopping
Drums, carved chess sets, jewellery, salad bowls, ebony.
Food & drink
Both traditional African food, Afro-Indian and Indian meals are widely available, including roasted meat and maize, cassava, spicy curries and mutton biryanis, and chicken and rice. Safari, a good lager, is produced locally, as is Konyagi gin.
International Airports
Dar es Salaam (DAR) is 15 km from city. International flights to Kilimanjaro International Airport ( JRO) and Zanzibar (ZNZ).
Internal travel
Good road network, though of variable quality. Ferries on great lakes are erratic. Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar is well served by ferries. Rail and air links are useful, especially small bush planes for getting to remote game parks.
Red tape
Visas
Required for all (except Australia).
Vaccinations
BCG, Cholera, Hep. A, Hep. B, Malaria, Meningitis ACWY, Rabies, Typhoid, Y. Fever3 (See page 649).
Driving requirements
International Driving Permit is required for hiring cars, must be endorsed by police on arrival. For other situations, a temporary local driving licence should be obtained (available on presentation of national driving licence).
Reps in UK/US
UK: 3 Stratford Street, London WC1 1AS, tel 0207 569 1470. US: 2139 R Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008, tel (202) 884 1080, fax (202) 797 7408, email balozi@tanzaniaembassy-us.org.
UK/US reps in Tanzania
UK: Umoja House, Garden Avenue, Dar es Salaam, tel (22) 211 0101, fax (22) 211 0102, email bhc.dar@fco.gov.uk. USA: 686 Old Bagamoyo Road, Msasani, Dar es Salaam, tel (22) 266 8001, fax (22) 266 8238, email embassyd@state.gov.
Currency
Tanzanian shilling (TSh).
Finance
Traveller's cheques widely accepted, credit cards less so.
Business hours
0800-1200 and 1400-1630 Monday-Friday, 0800-1300 Saturday.
Safety & life expectancy
Safety information
Fairly safe, but be careful after dark. Usual street crime.
Life expectancy
Life expectancy: M 44.56, F 45.94
Useful websites for travel
www.tanzania-online.gov.uk, http://usembassy.state.gov/tanzania, www.zanzibar.net.
Local media
Many English-language papers, including Daily News, Business Times, The Guardian and Sunday News.
Tourist boards
n/a.
Below is a selection of some ideas for holidays to Tanzania. This is simply a taste of what we can offer. If you're interested in a specific Tanzania itinerary then please call one of our consultants on 0845 643 6562.
Serengeti Under Canvas is an original concept that reaches well beyond the bounds of traditional Tanzanian safaris and allows you to go where the animals are. Three Bedouin-style tented migratory camps operate all year round, moving across the Serengeti, bring...
This tailor-made safari combines excellent game-viewing with some of Africa’s most breathtaking scenery. Staying in a combination of lodges and luxury mobile camps (the best type of accommodation for tracking game on the move), the trip is a safari in it... Please call 0845 643 6562 for price details.
More information »Dear Rui [Ribeiro],
We are safely back from a memorable holiday in Tanzania. You will be amused to hear that after all the hooha about yellow fever they were not in the slightest bit interested in that but fussed madly about swine flu instead! All the arrangements worked like clockwork and we were treated like royalty. We saw masses of game and had far too much to eat and drink. Zanzibar provided a great excuse to do absolutely nothing. Thank you very much for making all the arrangements.
Charles Winnifrith
Rainy season March-June. Coast is hot and humid all year. Interior is hot and dry, northern highlands are cool and temperate.
GMT +3.
Tanzanian shilling (TSh).
Get foreign currency online
