Travelling to Tanzania takes you to the heart of the African wilderness. Here a cheetah feeds her fuzzy little cubs, there a herd of elephants grazes with snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro in the background. Everywhere you go, a thousand strong herd of wildebeest wander the African savannah. Tanzania’s most famous park is the Serengeti, but there are also superb smaller reserves like Tarangire, Selous, and Lake Manyara. A vast ecosystem bursting with predators and their prey exists inside the immense volcanic caldera that is the Ngorongoro Crater.
In this land of abundant fauna, where do you begin, or end? Since we are the Africa safari specialists, let us assign an Enchanting Travels consultant to design your holiday in Tanzania. We’ll help build an action-packed itinerary. We’ll plan every early morning and evening game drive in green, open-sided vehicles with experienced local guides who ensure you see more than your bucket list demands. We can even help you track chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains or witness the Great Migration. When the safari day is done, you can unwind with sundowners in comfortable camp chairs set out to overlook an escarpment of the Rift Valley.
Off Tanzania’s coast is the Zanzibar archipelago rich in nature and culture. The World Heritage Site of Stone Town is great for an afternoon visit before you head back to the coral-filled waters of the Indian Ocean, touched by pristine beaches. Join the most discerning, who come for a batch of post-safari pampering.
Places: Nairobi (1 day) → Laikipia - Community Reserves (3) → Masai Mara (3) → Zanzibar Stone Town (1) → Zanzibar (4)
Tour Highlights: Contemporary African Art & Culture, National Museum, Nairobi National Park, Cultural Encounters with Pastoral Communities...
Ideal For: Beaches Heritage & Culture Wildlife & Safaris
Places: Kigali (1 day) → Volcanoes National Park (2) → Kigali (1) → Lake Manyara & Ngorongoro (2) → Serengeti (Central) (3) → Zanzibar (4)
Tour Highlights: Local Crafts, Kigali Genocide Memorial, Hilly Country, Gorilla Trekking, Hiking, Walking Trails, Local Crafts, Kigali...
Ideal For: Beaches Nature & Landscapes Wildlife & Safaris
Places: Dar es Salaam (1 day) → Ruaha (3) → Selous (3) → Ras Kutani (4) → Dar es Salaam (1)
Tour Highlights: National Museum and House of Culture, Waterfront and Markets, Contemporary African City Culture, African Big...
Ideal For: Beaches Nature & Landscapes Wildlife & Safaris
Places: Kigali (1 day) → Volcanoes National Park (2) → Kigali (1) → Lake Manyara & Ngorongoro (2) → Serengeti (Central) (3) → Dar es Salaam (1) → Victoria Falls (2) → Cape Town (3)
Tour Highlights: Local Crafts, Kigali Genocide Memorial, Hilly Country, Gorilla Trekking, Hiking, Walking Trails, Local Crafts, Kigali...
Ideal For: Heritage & Culture Nature & Landscapes Wildlife & Safaris
The best travel time for your tour of Tanzania depends on which regions you wish to visit, and what you want to experience during your Tanzania vacation.
Great Migration, fascinating cultures and the spice islands of Zanzibar – follow this link to discover the top ten things to do in Tanzania.
Put away your concerns about security in Tanzania, as the mainland as well as Zanzibar, are generally considered a safe destination for travel. However, as with all other destinations, it is prudent to follow some safety measures to ensure that your Tanzania tour is stress-free.
Are credit cards accepted in Zanzibar? What clothes should you pack? Which vaccinations do you need for Zanzibar? Follow the link for an overview on the most important Zanzibar travel tips.
The vast cultural diversity of Tanzania is most witnessed in the lyrics of the country’s national anthem Mungu Ibariki Afrika, which focuses on unity. As a patriarchal, community-centric culture, Tanzania considers family to be very important. By learning the basic Kiswahili language, such as Jambo (Hello), you will be a guest who is positively received!
The majority of Tanzanians (55%) are Muslims, and there are 35% Christians, as well as a few ethnic groups with their own native belief systems. The culture is very respectful to its different religions and Eid ul-Fitr and Christmas are usually celebrated together by all. Intermarriages are common, and it is not uncommon to find few Christians having more than one wife or Muslims drinking beer during some cultural ceremonies.
Culture in Tanzania embraces creativity. Tanzanian literature boasts few eminent writers – Shafi Adam Shafi, Chachage Seithy L. Chachage, Amandina Lihamba, Edwin Semzaba, Penina Muhando Mlama and Euphrase Kezilahabi. Makonde sculpture is quite famous in Tanzania and the country has its own unique Tingatinga painting style. In music, in among traditional forms, you may also experience during your Tanzania tour the new genre of Bongoflava, a derivative of American hip hop.
English and Swahili are the official languages spoken in Tanzania and Swahili is the national language of Tanzania. There are a total of 128 languages spoken throughout Tanzania, with most from the Bantu Family. Wildlife and nature are an important part of the culture, which is best experienced meeting local people during your Tanzania safari within one of the country’s spectacular national parks.
Go on your Tanzania tour with an open heart and you will have a marvelous time!
Food in Tanzania greatly varies from region to region and depends on what food products are available. Tanzanian meals are incomplete without staple carbohydrates – rice, corn, cassava, plantains or sorghum. These are often made into a thick mash or porridge, known as ugali. On the mainland, you can expect most meals to comprise of meat stews, but with a large immigrant population from the Indian subcontinent there are also lots of spicy curries, and biryani available.
By the coast, you can enjoy a lot of fresh seafood for surprisingly low prices during one of our Tanzania tours. Naturally, the catch of the day in Zanzibar, known as the Spice Island, is usually delicately flavored with spices and coconut milk.
Tanzania is a nation of tea, coffee and buttermilk drinkers and you can expect nyama choma (roasted meat of goat or beef) to be a popular item on the menu, which is often flavored with lime and hot pepper. To complete a meal or for a daytime snack there is always an abundance of tropical fruit!
There is also a lively street food culture and when you are on your Tanzania tour, you may come across in the towns corn on the cob or fried plantains/sweet potatoes, being roasted on charcoal. Dried fruit, fried and dried fish, peanuts and popcorn are also available street side.
The Enchanting Travels team look forward to planning unique Tanzania tours just for you!
The first humans in Tanzania were hunters and gatherers and agriculture is thought to have begun around 1,000 BC. By the 4th century AD, Bantu people, with their iron tools and weapons, began migrating to Tanzania, followed by the Persians, Romans, and eventually the Arab merchants who brought Islam to the country in the 8th century.
Renowned Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama traveled to Tanzania in 1498 and captured many of the islands. By the early 18th century, the spice island of Zanzibar was held by the Sultan of Oman, before the British took over and abolished the slave trade that was renowned in Zanzibar in the late 19th century. The mainland area of what is known today as Tanzania, is thought to have been named by a British civil servant in 1920, derived from the Swahili words ‘tanga’ (sail) and ‘nyika’ (bright arid plain).
Independence reached Tanzania in 1961 and by the following year the country became a republic with Julius Nyerere as Prime Minister and the father of the nation. A policy of socialism was adopted but failed, causing the country to go into debt until the mid-1980s.
Today, after political and economic reform, the country is recovering and Tanzania tours have prospered. The country is not only strong but also graciously offers refuge to over a half a million civilians fleeing violence from surrounding countries.
