What to do on Safari in Tanzania and Zanzibar

My business partner, Mark Harrison, is a man of the world, so here’s some amazing advice he has for those of you who are considering taking a holiday to Africa to see wildlife, game, visit Tanzania, go on safari, or climb Mount Kilimanjaro . . .

Alright, I just spoke with Julian of Tanzania Odyssey (1-866-356-4691) – he’s Chris Fox’s agent in UK, and he’s passed my sniff test in terms of experience and real knowledge of what is possible and pleasant when doing a safari.  I’ve gotten the latest intelligence on the scene down there, and it affects my recommendations.

Ruaha is indeed the least peopled, largest park with the best game and probably the most interesting water, however… apparently, the park officials have put a bunch of rules on walking, so its less free than it used to be.  So for walking, the Selous Park is going to be better, since it is still totally open for walking.

So, given that you have a good bit of time (assuming the 20th-7th), I’d recommend something like the following:

1. Fly into Kilimanjaro International
2. Climb Kilimanjaro 7-8 days total
   • The climb up and down takes 6 days and you need a day on either end… though perhaps you could fly down to a game park
   • If I was going to skip any one element, I would skip this – I did some walking on Kilimanjaro with local friends (though admittedly, we didn’t bother to go to the top) and it’s really just a very, very long walk where you have an altitude headache much of the time.  However, to say you experienced the snows of Kilimanjaro is a feather in the cap that the climate is not going to allow many more generations to claim.
3. Fly to Ruaha 2-3 days, stay at Mwagusi Lodge
   • If you’ve just climbed Kilimanjaro, you’re likely to be a bit tuckered out so a few days of not walking, seeing amazing game from a vehicle, enjoying excellent dinners on the sand river under the stars, sleeping to the sound of elephants and wildcats walking around your tent at night… that may be a good break
4. Fly to Selous 2-3 days (one day could overlap with Ruaha – morning in Ruaha, evening in Selous), I don’t actually have a recommendation for a lodge here, but
   • This is where the walking tours are going to be best – it’s still open and unrestricted
5. Fly to Zanzibar for beach, diving, etc.
   • There are four hotel concepts I would recommend (depending on the time and desire to move that you have you can do one or more):
     • Unguja Lodge in Kizimkazi Mkunguni – this is a beautiful dive lodge in the village I used to live in.  The advantage here is that you are really, truly in a real village, and you can do out at night to the food market, or walk around the village in the day and it’s the real deal, not something put on for the tourists.  However, there is no beach (it has a volcanic rock cliff to the ocean) – the village beach is close, but the tides leave long flats during the ebb tide.  Amazing in any case.
     • Matemwe Lodge in Matemwe – same architect, so beautiful, airy, open… the east coast beaches are broad and endless, but there is no village to speak of, and the ebb tide leaves even longer flats.
     • Kendwa – on the northern tip, has the best beach – a broad steep sandy beach that makes it so that you have a swimming beach regardless of the tide.  Insanely romantic swimming under the stars with bioluminescence.  Get a hotel recommendation from Julian, I was always on the grunty tour when I was here, so I don’t know what the nice hotels here are…
     • Stone Town – Serena Hotel – Very comfortable hotel on the waterfront (beach) in the middle so Stone Town.  Stone Town you definitely want to see at some point in your life.  Amazing winding streets, beautiful (decaying) architecture, the seafood market at the park at night (get the fresh cane juice and the Zanzibar pizzas – have the seafood if you feed adventurous :-)  )

It will be tough if not impossible to do all of this, but you’ve got a lifetime to come back and do more, so I’d recommend doing a bit less this time and coming back again.  Another amazing place is Pemba, the other island of the Zanzibar peninsula to the north where practically no tourist (or Tanzanian, for that matter) ever goes.  The most amazing freediving of my life.

Frankly, if I were going to skip anything, I’d skip the hike up Kilimanjaro, since it’s long, a bit boring, and you’re really into such things, may irritate you.

Share on Tumblr

Tagged as: Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, Pemba, Pemba Island, Stonetown, Tanzania, Travel and Tourism, UK, Zanzibar