Safari Masters Review - Tanzania Self-Drive Safari Roadtrip

Are you planning a self-drive safari roadtrip through Tanzania? Then look no further! In this article, we share our experiences with Safari Masters, a company operating in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. In total, we traveled around Tanzania with a trusty Toyota Land Cruiser for 4 weeks. Read our full review below.

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

LUCAS5 at https://safarimasters.com/

Full transparency 
We did a barter deal with Safari Masters. For featuring them in our travel documentary, we received a discount on our rental fee.

The Website and Booking Process

The website of Safari Masters tells you everything you need to know before renting a vehicle. The site is clearly structured, and the booking process is straightforward. Communication runs either through email or, even quicker, through WhatsApp. The company provides different types of vehicles, such as Toyota Land Cruisers with or without rooftop tents, as well as Toyota Hilux. You can book directly through the website, or alternatively request a quote.

The Pick-up

If you pick up your vehicle from Arusha, the safari hub of Tanzania, you will likely arrive via Kilimanjaro International Airport. This airport is at least 1-2 hours away from Arusha, depending on the traffic. In theory, you can pick up the car right at the airport. Alternatively, you can have it delivered to Moshi, should you want to climb Kilimanjaro before your roadtrip. Another option is to be picked up at the airport and then be driven to Safari Masters’ office in Arusha. We organized a transport from our hotel in Moshi to their office in Arusha, as we wanted to head west anyway. The trip from Moshi to Arusha takes at least 2-3 hours.

The Instructions

The entire process of getting to know the car, checking for damages, and reading through the paperwork took roughly one-and-a-half hours. During that time, we also got a thorough introduction on how to put up the rooftop tent as well as the awning.

The Car

We picked a Toyota Land Cruiser. This car is very capable as a 4x4, which is highly important in Tanzania’s national parks. The vehicles are not new, but definitely have seen some things. They are in very good shape, though. Our vehicle was from 1998 and had 120.000 km on the clock. The vehicle did not have a turbo, so on some uphill sections it slowed down quite a lot. However, you don’t travel to Tanzania to drive a racing car but to have a reliable off-roader. 

The car has five seats, so, in theory, it would work for a family. However, it will be a little challenging to store your luggage as the trunk is also used to store the camping gear. In any case, do not expect your luggage to stay clean. Tanzania is very dusty.

Most importantly, the car worked the entire time flawlessly. We did not have a single mechanical issue. 

The car also comes with a double fuel tank. Frankly, we never had to use the auxiliary tank as there are plenty of fuel stations around, but it was definitely good to have. The four-wheel drive worked very well. We used both 4H and 4L. 

Another impressive feature is that the car is equipped with a UHF radio. If you travel with two vehicles, you can easily communicate with one another. Alternatively, you can use the radio to call for help in a national park, should you get stuck, for example.

The air con, on the other hand, was too weak to keep up with the heat. We always drove with open windows. 

Pop-up Roof

One of the coolest features of the car is its pop-up roof. Unlike most other rental vehicles, where the perspective is limited to that of a sitting position, you can open the roof and stand up. This allows you to gain a better view of many animals, especially when the grass is high. We used this feature in every national park. You can drive 30-40 km/h with an open roof, but you need to close it when going faster.

The Rooftop Tent

The tent was reasonably easy to put up; however, you need to be in shape as you have to climb up on the side of the vehicle to unbuckle the safety straps and pull down the ladder. You’ll also get dusty doing this.

The tent comes equipped with a mattress, so you do not need to bring your own. With a width of 120 cm, the bed was rather small for two people. Safari Masters also supplied us with freshly washed sleeping bags and pillows. Even at night, it is fairly warm in Tanzania, so you rarely need a full-on sleeping bag. However, at Ngorongoro’s Simba A campsite, it was refreshingly chilly, so the sleeping bags were perfect. 

The Equipment

The car came equipped with A LOT of gear. In fact, there was so much gear that we decided to leave some of it behind when we picked up the vehicle. Among other things, there were two camping chairs, a table, a large gas bottle, cooking equipment, a shovel, an air-compressor, and even a towing rope. The cooking equipment was used but in decent shape.

The car also came with a large fridge, which is conveniently accessible on the side of the car.

Before we left Arusha, we also paid a visit to Shoppers Supermarket to stock up on groceries and water. We'd highly recommend thoroughly checking if you need to buy anything before leaving Arusha, as it can be very tough to find adequate gear in other parts of the country.

Communications during the Trip

Similar to the booking process, most of the communication runs through WhatsApp. Safari Masters is always quick to answer.

Our Trip

We traveled around Tanzania for a total of six weeks, driving 4.600 km. If you would like to learn more about our trip, make sure to watch our Tanzania Travel Documentary on YouTube.

The Drop-off

Once we had concluded our roadtrip, we returned to a hotel in Moshi. In advance, we had arranged that the car would be picked up by Safari Masters the next day. A quick look around the car was sufficient to determine there were no major issues.

Problems

We did not have any mechanical issues. The car ran the entire time perfectly. Saying that, our speedometer & odometer stopped working halfway through the trip.  All other electronics worked fine.

Another problem we encountered was a crack in our windshield. This was caused by a truck flinging up a small rock on the road. We immediately realized that the windshield would need to be replaced. As with most rental companies, neither the windshield nor the tires are covered by insurance. 

Summary

For us, Safari Masters were an excellent choice for our Tanzania roadtrip. We put the car through quite a lot, driving along very dusty off-road trails, through water crossings, and on bone-rattling gravel paths in the far north. It held up perfectly fine without any mechanical problems.

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

LUCAS5 at https://safarimasters.com/

Make sure to watch our full Tanzania Travel Documentary on YouTube.