The Africa Hub, an online platform that brings African destination experts together to host webinars and offers training toolkits, recently hosted an ‘Introduction to Tanzania’ webinar where Tim Golds, Nomad Tanzania Regional Sales Manager for the UK, Asia and Australasia, shared professional knowledge on the tourism details of the East African country.

Nomad Tanzania operates a collection of high-quality safari lodges and tented camps in remote locations in the country.

The country’s capital city is Dodoma, while Dar es Salaam is the largest city and more widely known as the commercial hub. The country has a population of just over 47 million and the main languages are Swahili and English.

The Tanzanian shilling is the official currency, but US dollars are also widely accepted in tourist areas.

Entry points and air access

Tanzania has four main entry points; Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), the most common entry point into the country for travellers exploring the Northern Safari Circuit; Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR), a good option for those visiting Dar es Salaam or the Southern Safari Circuit; Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) in Zanzibar; and Mwanza, the port city on the shore of Lake Victoria for travellers coming from Rwanda.

Zanzibar, the Indian Ocean archipelago off the coast of Tanzania, is a semi-autonomous province of the country.  

The following airlines operate to Tanzania: Swiss International Air Lines, EgyptAir, Airlink, Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, RwandAir, Kenya Airways, KLM, Qatar Airways and Emirates.

Climate

Southern Tanzania tends to be warmer than the north of the country. Winter is from June to August, with cool mornings and evenings, but is sunny during the day.

September to October is warm, generally hot and dry. November to February also has warm temperatures, but with a chance of some rain.

March to May has moderate temperatures and a good chance of rain, and is the ideal time for game experiences in the north, with very few tourists around.

Regarding tourist seasons in the different regions, north is year-round, but typically has two peak seasons – June-September and January-March. The west and south are from June to March.

National parks

Tanzania boasts several key regions with many national parks and attractions:

• Mahale Mountains National Park – Home to the world’s largest protected population of the eastern subspecies of chimpanzee. At least 337 bird species, many of which are rare and endemic to the Albertine Rift. Mahale contains eight primates in addition to chimps; including Yellow baboons, Blue monkeys, Red colobus, Pied colobus, Vervet monkeys, and three species of Galago. Lake Tanganyika, which is part of Mahale, is the world’s second longest and second deepest freshwater lake. The lake is home to at least 400 species of fish, about 250 of which are cichlids, and 98% are endemic.
• Katavi National Park – A great walking and fly-camping destination that has a higher age limit of 12 for children. There is no guest WiFi available and is where travellers ‘fall off the map’.
• Serengeti National Park – Located in the north-western region, the park spans over 14 750sqkm of grassland savannah, woodlands, and riverine forests. The Serengeti is a Unesco World Heritage Site, home to the largest mammal migration in the world, with over 1.5 million wildebeest and zebras making the annual journey.

• Ngorongoro Crater – An extinct volcanic caldera in the Eastern (Great) Rift Valley. The caldera, which is the largest in the world and a Unesco World Heritage Site, measures between 16km and 19km across and has an area of 264sqkm. Ngorongoro is thought to have formed about 2.5 million years ago. Home to a diverse array of animals including elephants, Black rhinoceros, leopards, buffalo, zebras, warthogs, wildebeest, Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, and the densest population of lions in the world. Lake Magadi, a shallow soda lake ringed by extinct volcanoes, is renowned as a habitat for great flocks of pink flamingos.

• Tarangire National Park – There are more breeding species of birds found in Tarangire National Park than anywhere else on the planet. The Tarangire River flows through the park and becomes the only water source for thousands of migrating animals in the dry season (June-October). It has a huge diversity of wildlife and is believed to have the largest elephant concentration in the world. After Serengeti National Park it has the second-highest wildlife concentration in Tanzania. It is an ideal walking safari destination.
• Mount Kilimanjaro National Park – Also known as the ‘Roof of Africa’, this is where travellers can climb the tallest mountain on the continent and the highest single free-standing mountain above sea level in the world. The park has Unesco World Heritage Site status.

• Ruaha National Park – The Great Ruaha River travels along the south-eastern border of the park. The dry seasons shrink the river, which draws wildlife in for drinking. The Mdonya woodlands is a great area for seeing hartebeest, sable, and roan antelope. The park predators feature lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyena, and wild dog. Ruaha has over 570 species.
• Nyerere National Park – The park covers over 30 893sqkm, making it the largest national park in Africa. The animals tend to be less familiar with humans, something that makes a safari here a more authentic African experience. For bird watchers, there are more than 430 recorded bird species in the park. Nyerere has the best diversity of activities of all Tanzania’s parks.
• Tanzania coast and Zanzibar – Zanzibar consists of several islands lying off the coast of East Africa. The archipelago is also known as the Spice Islands. There are four main islands – three primary islands with human populations, and a fourth coral island that serves as an essential breeding ground for sea birds.

What travellers can do

Tanzania offers a huge variety of adventures and activities; horse-riding safaris, hiking, kayaking, opportunities to meet some local tribes, boating safaris, chimp trekking, ballooning safaris, fly camping, diving, snorkelling, helicopter rides, walking safaris, and night game drives.