Tanzania

Highlights

Serengeti National Park: whisper it quietly in Kenya, but the Serengeti is surely the finest wildlife park in Africa; you’ll see all the biggies here, and more.

Ngorongoro Crater: basically a massive hole that is the size of Crete, and with 25,000 large animals, you’ll get just about as close as you want.

Zanzibar: after a dusty safari, the lure of the lazy spice island of Zanzibar is strong, with its old town and great beaches.

Dar es Salaam: a pleasant city with a good museum and the Arabic and Indian feel of the downtown area is enchanting.

Bagamoyo: David Livingstone I presume? Well not quite, but his body did rest in the tiny chapel here on its way to London. The mosque dates to the 18th century.

Makonde Plateau: few tourists venture to the Mozambique border, but this is where the famous makonde carvings originate, and an interesting area to visit.

The best time to visit Tanzania is probably between June and September, when the rain is light and temperatures aren’t too extreme 70s (°F); you might even need a jacket in the evening.

The climate is typically tropical. Coastal areas tend to be hot and humid, and it’s not ideal to visit during the main rainy season from March to May. After the cooler season, the rain kicks in with a mini rainy season from November to January.

Festivals & Events

Tanzania is not really known for its festivals, but there are a couple of interesting things to see, especially if the idea of men beating each other with big leaves appeals. Perhaps not worth basing your holiday around, but good fun if it coincides with your visit.

January: Makunduchi New Year Festival offers lots of singing, dancing, drinking and a bizarre tradition where men fight with banana leaves.
July: on July 7th, Saba Saba Day is a celebration of the founding of the Tanganyika African National Union, also known as Peasants’ Day.
July: Zanzibar hosts a colorful music and traditional dance festival known as Mwakakongwa Festival, or Tamasha Festival.
June/July: ZIFF, the Zanzibar International Film Festival, offers a great setting, an interesting mix of film, and a lot of fun.

Safari: the main reason for a trip to Tanzania, and you’d have to have ridiculous expectations to be disappointed. Unforgettable, stunning, amazing … you get the picture.

Climbing/trekking: for the energetic, a trek/climb to the peak of Africa’s highest mountain is a great experience, but you’ll need a beach break after it.

Water sports: if you can drag yourself from lazing on the beach, there is great scuba and snorkeling potential around Zanzibar and Mafia islands, with good coral reefs.

Big game fishing: fishing trips from the island of Mafia are popular, with big catches guaranteed. September to March is the best time. Zanzibar Spice tour: a chap called Mr Mitu has been running spice tours here since the year dot; a wealth of knowledge and bad jokes, but it’s a must do here.

Dar es Salaam International Airport is the main gateway to Tanzania, but there is also an international airport near Arusha, Kilimanjaro International Airport. There are also connections to neighboring countries by boat on Lake Victoria, or Lake Tanganyika. The road conditions can vary hugely here and of course, if you go on safari, you’ll spend a lot of time bumping along dusty tracks. It’s pretty much impossible to avoid dust getting everywhere, but it’s worth it for the experience you will have.

Travel in Africa generally has more risks that come with it than travel in other places, with malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, typhoid, cholera and AIDS all present. Take precautions, even if that means sleeping head-to-foot in clothes - the mosquitoes here are pretty resourceful. The tap water is okay for washing in, but not much else, so use the bottled stuff for drinking, brushing teeth and cleaning vegetables. Take care when walking around the cities late at night, and if you’re camping, take extra care; elephants are usually pretty good at avoiding tents, but they have been known to knock a few trees over.