Updated: 22 May 2008
Karibu, welcome — this page provides important updates to the current (2nd) edition of the Rough Guide to Tanzania. If you're after more general advice, or want to sound the opinions of fellow travellers, try Rough Guides' readers forum or their community pages, or Lonely Planet's ever-popular Thorn Tree travellers' forum. Given that the address of this page is not yet in the book, I'd appreciate it if you could post the URL (www.bluegecko.org/roughguidetotanzania) wherever you see fit: blogs, webpages, and - in Tanzania - on message boards in hotels, tourist board offices, etc. Thanks in advance.
That's yer lot for now. I do hope that Tanzania tickles your fancy as much as it does mine — it's a great place. Safari njema - Happy travels!
disclaimer
(legal stuff for companies)
Entrance fees to Ngorongoro Crater (www.ngorongoro-crater-africa.org) have increased yet again (thank you Dirk for the tip), the latest iteration coming into effect on 1 July 2007:
• Entrance fees to Ngorongoro Conservation Area are $50 per person for 24 hours. You'll still have to pay even if you're only passing through (ie. to the Serengeti) and have no intention of lingering.
• Crater Fees, for entering Ngorongoro Crater itself, are now $200 per vehicle for half a day. As stated in the book, this is in addition to the standard $50 per person per 24 hours fee for visiting the Conservation Area. A "half day" is now defined as four hours, I believe, though that still gives you plenty of time to eyeball the crater's denizens, whether in the morning or in the afternoon. Incidentally, there may be a restriction in place to prevent visitors from paying for and visiting Ngorongoro Crater twice in the same day, but I'm not in a position to be certain about this.
Joas Kahembe, the coordinator of this cultural tourism project, forgot to renew his Internet domain on time (it had been www.authenticculture.org), with the result that it's now a link farm. I received an anguished email from Joas asking me to quote his email address instead. So, here it is: kahembeculture at yahoo dot com.
This highly recommended mid-range safari company based in Arusha has moved to its "compound" in Sakina, northwest of town off the Nairobi highway. This means that their office on Goliondoi Road in central Arusha is no more. You can email them directly at simon at eastafricansafari dot info, or have a gander through their website.
This combined safari-and-climbing company, based in Arusha, wrote me late 2006 to ask that their review be moved to the mid-range operators list (p.406–407); they're presently listed as a budget operator. I've no qualms in doing so — high standards have been a hallmark for years, and they're especially highly rated for Kilimanjaro expeditions. The reason that they were listed under budget operators is that a good number of their options were very reasonably priced, and compared favourably to the competition in that price range.
So, as of now, consider them as a mid-market operator, one with very reasonable prices.
This Arusha-based safari company has moved to Olorien, on the eastern side of town - you're probably best off catching a taxi. Their website has a map [www.safarimakers.com]. Old Moshi Road is marked in the bottom right hand corner of pp.382-383 in the Rough Guide. Safari Makers' phone number, website and PO Box remain the same.
Be aware that the safari company currently operating from Safari Makers' former premises on India Street has nothing to do with Safari Makers, and is not recommended in the Rough Guide.
It's always well worth remembering some of the "before you buy" advice contained in the guidebook:
1. Read the guidebook! The following advice, and much more besides, is fully covered in the box on pp.68–69 of the present edition of the Rough Guide.
2. Don't scrimp and save Remember that even the cheapest of cheap safaris offered by disreputable and illegal fly-by-night operators are never really cheap: you're looking at at least $80/100 per day per person for the most basic of trips, with no guarantees. Given that that's quite an investment even for comparatively rich wazungu, it's well worth spending a little more to be sure of a good trip.
3. Always ask to see the TALA licence for the company before you hand over any money, certainly at the "budget" level. This takes the form of a certificate. Although the certificate itself is no guarantee of quality, it is a legal requirement for companies taking clients into national parks and so, if anything, the annual fee required of companies ($2000 for the "Tour Operator" version) does at least show some commitment on their part. When requesting the licence, demand to see the original, not a photocopy – names and dates are easily faked. Once you've got it in front of you, ensure that the company name on the certificate is the same as the company presenting it. And check the date — if you're checking the certificate between July and December, the date on the certificate has to be for the current year. From January to June, however, you may have to settle for the previous year's certificate, as the deadline for payment for the current year is the end of June. That said, if you're there in, say, May, and the company still hasn't obtained its new licence, chances are that they're perhaps not too serious about their obligations, whether officially or as regards their clients. The tourist boards in both Arusha and Dar es Salaam should have copies of the register, although they may be a few months out of date. If you're not yet in Tanzania, contact the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) to confirm whether or not a given company is licenced: use the contact form on www.tanzaniatouristboard.com. While you're at it, know that there are at least three kinds of TALA licence:
• The Tour Operator version is the most common, and gives access to wildlife parks such as Serengeti, Mikumi, Tarangire, Manyara and Ruaha.
• The Mountaineering licence lets companies organize hiking trips up Mount Meru (Arusha National Park) and Kilimanjaro, but does NOT let them take clients into the wildlife parks. Be very wary about this: it's all too common to have companies with valid Mountaineering certificates, which are cheaper than "Tour Operator" ones, offer wildlife safaris, which — were they to organize things themselves — is actually illegal.
• The Travel Agent version of the licence may or may not allow access to the wildlife parks, I really don't know. You're not in any case likely to see one of these.
4. Check the blacklist at the tourist board (office on Boma Road in Arusha). This is actually just a collection of business cards, most of them from "briefcase" outfits that disappeared long ago. The collection is useful, however, for checking post box numbers: fake and otherwise disreputable companies will frequently change their names and phone numbers but for some reason they tend to keep the same post box number. The tourist board office in Dar es Salaam has old photocopies of the "blacklist" that are of little or no use. Once again, if you're not yet in Tanzania, email them via their website.
5. Ensure that the company you'll be travelling with is the one that's selling the safari. You could try to get this stated in writing. That said, safari companies also offering mountaineering trips, chimp-tracking in Gombe or Mahale, or gorilla-tracking in Rwanda or Uganda, may well be passing you on to another operator. Find out all that you can about them before parting with your money.
To comment, praise or criticize the book, or share your experiences, please use the standard Rough Guides contacts initially (you'll find them in the book on p.801). If there's anything urgent that would benefit from being mentioned on this page, email me directly at tanzania2 at bluegecko dot org, but please also copy the email to the usual Rough Guides address, in case it falls foul of my rabid spam filters.
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