13 Things to Know Before Your Self-Drive Safari in Tanzania

Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, Ngorongoro - each of these names evokes vivid images. No matter if on the BBC, National Geographic, or the Discovery Channel, almost everyone has seen these places on the screen. Experiencing them in person on a self-drive safari road trip is one of the great adventures in life!

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1. Safety

The most important element of every trip abroad is safety. Reading the news can often warp our picture of African countries, and Tanzania is no exception. Whenever Western media report on Tanzania, it is either because of its status as an extraordinary safari destination or because of political unrest.

Luckily, as an international tourist, only the former will affect your trip. In the rare cases when political demonstrations occur, they mostly take place in large cities, such as Dodoma and Daressalam. In all likelihood, you will be hundreds of kilometers away.

Of course, that does not mean that there is no crime in Tanzania. Especially at the start of our trip, we were warned by multiple people to never leave our car unlocked anywhere. So yes, as everywhere else around the world, opportunity creates crime. And with Tanzania not being an affluent country, this is true more so than elsewhere. However, we never had any negative experience.

Of course, you should always be cautious, especially late at night. But you have likely come to Tanzania for its nature and wildlife, so you won’t be spending too much time in its urban centers. For that reason, wild animals roaming around your campsite should be much more of a concern.

2. Best Time To Travel

If you can, avoid visiting Tanzania during its rainy seasons. These last from March to May and from September to December. The reason is simple: traveling will be much harder, not just because camping in the rain can be challenging but also because some parts of the country will be inaccessible. There are no tarred roads in the national parks of Tanzania. Following heavy rains, flooding often damages the earthen tracks. Getting stuck in deep mud is highly likely during that time of year.

The high season for traveling to Tanzania is from June to August. This is when most visitors arrive, and national parks can get uncomfortably crowded. For that reason, we highly recommend visiting in January and February, as there will be fewer tourists around. This is a great advantage when spending time in the national parks, as you’ll have many of the game trails to yourself. This does not apply to Ngorongoro Crater, however, which is busy year-round.

3. Where to Start Your Trip

Contrary to neighboring Kenya or Uganda, you should not fly into either Tanzania's capital, Dodoma, or its largest city, Daressalam. If your goal is to go on a self-drive safari road trip, flying into Kilimanjaro Airport near Arusha is the much better choice. This airport is the closest to the best-known national parks in Tanzania's north. It is also where most car rental agencies have their offices.

4. Car Rental

The most important decision before a self-drive roadtrip around Tanzania is picking the right vehicle. If you intend to explore the country both on and off the road, which you have to when visiting Tanzania's national parks, you require a four-wheel drive with good ground clearance.

No matter which rental company you go with, make sure that you pick a reliable four-wheel drive such as a Toyota Land Cruiser. Do not penny-pinch and rent a small SUV instead. This is the wrong place to save money.

The company we went with was Safari Masters. If you want to book with them, mention our discount code LUCAS5 to get 5% off your rental fee.

We specifically picked Safari Masters because they rent out Toyota Land Cruisers with all the necessary camping gear. Additionally, their vehicles are equipped with pop-up safari roofs, which allow you to stand up and watch animals from a different perspective.

5. Mediocre Camping Infrastructure

The camping infrastructure in Tanzania is surprisingly bad. Compared to many other African safari destinations such as Namibia, South Africa, or even neighboring Uganda, there are barely any campsites around. The reason for that is likely that most visitors to Tanzania are on guided tours, where they stay in tented camps or lodges.

Whereas you can find a decent number of campsites in Tanzania's north, the center and south are much less developed. As a result, there simply are no campsites. During our trip, we resorted to wild camping several times.

In the north, there are both privately run and state-run campsites. The former tends to be both better and more affordable. Private hosts and lodges, for example, often offer dinner as well. On the other hand, you have to bring everything when staying at public campsites in national parks. These are mostly very basic and often have run-down facilities. As a bonus, they are incredibly expensive.

Always check the app iOverlander for any up-to-date reviews.

6. Road Infrastructure

By now, all major highways in Tanzania are paved. In the west of the country, there is barely any traffic, and you will make fairly good progress. In the east, however, all the way from the southern border with Zambia to the cities of Dodoma, Dar es Salaam, and Arusha, there is much more traffic. Some sections are completely clogged with trucks, and progress is often abysmally slow.

Equally, driving in national parks requires a lot of time. All roads are unpaved, and some stretches are very bumpy. This is particularly true for the road connecting Ngorongoro with the Central Serengeti. Additionally, as soon as you leave the major tracks within the national parks, things will slow down even further. Progress on small backcountry trails rarely exceeds 20 km/h. On the other hand, your reason for coming here is spotting wildlife, which is best done by going slowly, anyway.

Road signs, especially speed signs, are completely hit and miss. Very often, you will find that signs indicating the speed limit are missing either before or after towns. This makes it extremely difficult to determine if you are allowed to go 60 or 80 km/h, for example.

7. Driving

Driving in Tanzania can be adventurous for someone unaccustomed to African traffic; however, we perceived it as less reckless than in neighboring Uganda. Sometimes, safari vehicle drivers and large buses will overtake dangerously. Certain cities are known for their hectic traffic as well, including Arusha in the north and Tunduma in the south. Here, the local driving style is a mix of recklessness and calculated risk-taking. Shared taxis are known to engage in wild overtaking attempts, even if traffic is approaching in the oncoming lane. Sometimes, you’ll see cars moving to the shoulder lane to avoid a head-on collision.

One general rule to heed is that the larger vehicle has the right of way, no matter the actual road rules. Motorbikes almost always wait for a car to pass, even when they have the right of way at an intersection or in a roundabout. At first, this is highly confusing, but after a while, you’ll get used to it. Equally, large trucks will often drive onto a road without so much as looking, so be prepared to brake. 

Under no circumstances should you drive at night. This is not only important to avoid collisions with animals, but also with other cars.

When driving through a city, you’ll always be swarmed by motorcycles that will overtake you left and right. Additionally, watch out for speed bumps as well as shared taxis and tuk-tuks suddenly stopping to pick up passengers. 

The most important rule for driving in Tanzania is to always stay calm and focused. 

8. Navigation

Google Maps works reasonably well in Tanzania. However, as always when venturing into the wilderness, you should not rely on having phone coverage. For that reason, we highly recommend downloading offline maps of the area you intend to visit. We have used the app Maps.Me for over a decade now and it has rarely failed us.

9. Health

Closely related to your personal safety is your health and well-being. Tanzania is home to a number of dangerous diseases. Premier among those are malaria and yellow fever. While there is no effective vaccination against malaria yet, a vaccination against yellow fever is compulsory to enter the country. Both diseases are carried by mosquitoes, so it is always a good idea to wear long, loose-fitting clothes and to not hold back on using insect repellent. 

Another bothersome insect spreading diseases is the tsetse fly. This biting insect transmits sleeping sickness, a very serious ailment that can lead to death if untreated. The number of sleeping disease cases has dropped dramatically in the last few decades, though, so chances of catching it are very low. 

A more common but no less dangerous disease is bilharziasis. This illness is caused by parasitic flatworms that live in water. Avoiding this disease is comparatively easy. Simply do not swim in any lake or river in Tanzania, no matter how inviting it looks. 

10. Groceries & Cooking

If you intend to travel around Tanzania on your own and cook for yourself, it is paramount to plan. Well-stocked 'Western-style' supermarkets are extremely rare. No matter where you want to travel, you should get all your basic supplies in Arusha at the start of your trip. Shoppers Supermarket is your best bet to buy as many supplies as possible. On the opposite side of the road, there is also a local market where you can buy fruit and vegetables.

While you can find the occasional small supermarket in other larger cities around the country, their range of goods is surprisingly limited.

11. Cash

Credit cards are accepted at many lodges and all national park gates, but some fuel stations, shops, private campsites, and local restaurants require cash. Carry enough Tanzanian shillings, along with some US dollars in good condition for emergencies. Cash is also important for tipping.

12. Police

Similar to other African countries, Tanzania has a lot of roadblocks where police or the military check vehicles. For tourists, that usually means being waved through.

On the other hand, police are much stricter when it comes to speeding. During our road trip, we were stopped four or five times by officials who claimed we had driven too fast or overtaken in an unsafe manner. In one case, we had truly crossed a double white line, although the line was barely visible anymore. In all other cases, the stopping was more or less an attempt to issue us with a fine or solicit a bribe. One police officer in particular was very obvious in his attempt by claiming we had 'overtaken too long' - when the road was completely free for kilometers in both directions.

If you are certain you did nothing wrong, apologize or stand your ground in a firm voice and refuse to pay a fine. In most cases, the police do not have any proof of your alleged wrongdoing and will eventually let you go.

13. Costs

Tanzania is not a rich country, but a safari, be it guided or self-guided, will invariably be expensive. The entry fees to national parks are the highest we have ever seen, and the cost for staying at self-sufficient campsites will get you a decent hotel room in other places. If you are looking for a budget safari destination, Tanzania is not it.

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Get 5% off your 4x4 rental using our discount code

LUCAS5 at https://safarimasters.com/

(Mention code at time of booking)

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