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Safari guide

Everything worth knowing before a first Tanzanian trip, with the short answer here and the dated, sourced version a click away.

Most of what is worth knowing before a first Tanzanian trip is scattered across a dozen pages on this site. This is the front door to all of it, with the short answer here and the long one a click away.

Everything that can change — fees, visa rules, seasons, luggage limits — is dated and sourced on the page it lives on, rather than restated here to go stale at a different rate.

Bush flights and the 15 kg bagOne soft bag of about 15 kg plus a day bag on light-aircraft sectors, and soft is a requirement rather than a preference. Hard cases go into store and rejoin you.The packing list Visas, yellow fever and healthMost nationalities need a visa and an e-visa system operates; a yellow fever certificate is required if you arrive from a country with transmission risk. Malaria is present throughout, Zanzibar included.The practical facts, dated and sourced When to come, month by monthJune to October is driest and busiest. January and February put you on the calving plains. March to May is green, cheap and genuinely wet.Month by month The Great Migration, honestlyA continuous circuit driven by rain, not an event with a date. River crossings run roughly July to September in the far north; calving is late January to early March.Where the herds are What a safari actually costsPark fees are commonly a quarter to two-fifths of the price and no operator can discount them. Accommodation standard is the biggest variable; group size is the second.The breakdown Access: what to ask before you bookNever accept an adjective where a measurement is possible. Twelve questions, what a good answer sounds like, and why light aircraft are the part that catches people out.The twelve questions Combining safari and the coastSafari first, every time. Three coastal nights is the minimum that feels like a rest, and the two halves do not share a good season.Bush and beach Visiting communities respectfullyPublished fees, photography rules set by the community, and the right to decline on the day. Name peoples correctly: Maasai, Hadzabe, Datoga, Iraqw.Responsible travel What to expect on the groundHonest odds rather than a checklist. Nothing is guaranteed, the parks are not zoos, and an operator promising sightings is selling something they cannot deliver.Wildlife and when to see it Vehicles, hoists and transfersPrivate 4×4 with a pop-up roof on every journey. What the vehicle carries, what it cannot do, and the step height into it.The fleet How planning and paying workSeven steps from a first email to a last day, with no payment until you accept a written, itemised proposal.How we work Everything elseTwenty-five questions in five groups: planning, money, life on safari, access, and the company itself.Questions

The short answers

Reviewed November 2026. Check anything that matters against its source.

Quick facts
Luggage on bush flightsOne soft bag, about 15 kg, plus a small day bag. subject to confirmation
Time zoneEast Africa Time, UTC+3, all year. Tanzania has never used daylight saving.
CurrencyTanzanian shilling. US dollars are widely accepted for park fees and tourism; notes dated before 2009 are often refused.
Electricity230 V, 50 Hz, UK-style Type G three-pin. Camps often run on solar with limited hours and no high-draw sockets.
LanguagesKiswahili and English are both official; English is widely spoken in tourism.
Plastic bagsSingle-use plastic bags are banned nationwide. Zip-locks for toiletries are tolerated and should leave with you.
TippingCustomary, in cash, directly, at the end. We will tell you the usual range rather than pretend there is a fixed rate.
Drinking waterBottled or filtered, supplied in the vehicle and at camp. Do not drink from the tap.
Mobile coverageGood in the towns, patchy to absent in the parks. A local SIM is cheap and easy to buy at the airport.
SwimmingNot in Lake Victoria — bilharzia is endemic. Not in Lake Natron, which is strongly alkaline. The Indian Ocean and Lake Tanganyika are fine.

Visa, health and fee rules change without much notice and the consequences fall on you at a border. Read the dated version with its official sources before you travel, not this summary.

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